Yet another BCS whiff: Alabama’s brand burns the Cowboys
Maybe there'll be a touchdown scored the second time around. Then again ... (AP photo)
Nobody ever said the BCS made sense, and this year it makes less sense than … well, can you make less sense than zero? Alabama did not win its division and did not win its conference but could well be the national champion in a sport where we’re told Every Game Counts.
Actually, what this year’s serving of BCS glop tells us is that it’s good to have an aura. Nick Saban has an aura, albeit one of fire and brimstone, which means Alabama has an aura, which means Alabama got a nod it didn’t deserve.
Bama played its two toughest conference games — LSU and Arkansas — at home. It didn’t play either Georgia or South Carolina, the best teams in the SEC East. It played five teams that finished with a winning record, and one was Georgia Southern. The Tide beat three teams that finished the Top 25 of the BCS standings.
Oklahoma State played four such teams and won all four games. It played seven teams that finished with winning records. The Cowboys did, for mavens of minutiae, win their conference title. The knock on them is that they lost to unranked Iowa State. But they did lose on the road, and in overtime.
Alabama, the counter-argument goes, only lost in OT to the nation’s No. 1 team. But Alabama lost at home. Alabama was favored that night and couldn’t win. But because Alabama is coached by the dark lord Saban and because Alabama is from the SEC, which is the feeder league for BCS titlists, the Tide gets a second chance.
And this time the talking heads on ESPN, who make less sense with every week, had no problem with the concept of a rematch or the reality of a non-conference champion playing for the BCS crown. (Oddly enough, some of those same voices hooted down Georgia’s credentials in 2007. “Can’t consider a team that didn’t win its conference,” the ESPN choir harrumphed.) And Saturday night, moments after Oklahoma State finished routing Oklahoma, which entered the season ranked No. 1, some ESPN boys leaped at the chance to say, “Ah, that doesn’t really matter.”
“SportsCenter” opened with the highlights of the SEC title game and then Oklahoma State’s dismissal of its bitter rival. Then the Bristol anchors tossed, as they say in TV, to Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit. Musburger, who had famously lobbied for Georgia Tech to be promoted above Colorado to No. 1 when calling Tech’s victory in the Citrus Bowl in January 1991, started with a little joke. What’s wrong with a rematch, he asked, and cited the extremely appropriate case study of Rocky Balboa versus Apollo Creed.
Then Herbstreit dismissed Oklahoma State by saying the Cowboys had lost in Ames, Iowa, and, more to the point, didn’t pass “the eyeball test.” Which made you wonder: How could Kirk Herbstreit know just how Oklahoma State had looked against Oklahoma? He (and Musburger) had been sitting in a booth in Charlotte, N.C., calling the ACC title game.
Because big-time college football has no playoff grid, ephemeral stuff like “the eyeball test” and someone’s opinion — yours, mine and especially Kirk Herbstreit’s — are allowed to hold disproportionate sway. Alabama won’t be playing for the (exceedingly mythical) national championship because it had a better season than Oklahoma State but because its has the stronger brand. It’s Alabama. It plays in the SEC. It’s coached by Saban. Good enough for me! Give that team a second chance!
And that’s what big-time college football has become — a game of brands, not reality. Is it mere coincidence that ESPN has a 15-year contract to carry SEC games? (ESPN also has a contract with the Big 12, Oklahoma State’s diminishing league, but the bigger Big 12 package is with Fox Sports.)
This was a year when opinion mattered. Five of the seven computer rankings had Oklahoma State above Alabama, but the Tide finished ahead in both human polls. Why? Because of the brand. You cannot tell me that if Alabama’s name were attached to Oklahoma State’s body of work and vice versa that the results wouldn’t have been different. We all know they would have.
And now we’re faced with this scenario: A winner of nothing save some eyeball test can split two games against another team … and be declared national champ. Some “system” this is.
By Mark Bradley
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1,739 comments Add your comment
Reality
December 4th, 2011
11:46 pm
i already saw this game. lsu won 9-6!
Unfortunately they are showing it again as if it wasn’t boring enough the first time.
Hopefully someone will actually score a touchdown this time.
I wont know because I wont be watching like everyone else.
Nobody is going to care about the game really.
simmadownnow
December 4th, 2011
11:46 pm
They could’ve put a stop to this in 2004 when Slive promoted a playoff system. Guess who said no? That’s right – everybody except the SEC and ACC. Now you’ll eat it and like it!
JT
December 4th, 2011
11:46 pm
Who did Oklahoma State lose to?(rhetorical question) I guess you just HAD to write something, that is what you get paid to do. Bottom line: no matter how you slice it, the best two teams are playing for the championship.
Blackoutanyone?
December 4th, 2011
11:47 pm
Tide Rising… you know the deal here. A bunch of lame half wits attempting to talk college football. Most of these people support Mark Richt… lol that says it all. BTW hearing good things about Winston and Yeldon’s visits this weekend. Roll Tide!!
UGADawg83
December 4th, 2011
11:48 pm
Does anyone really believe LSU and Bama aren’t the two best teams? This should be the game. However, it is kind of funny that what was unacceptable in 2007 is now acceptable.
kerryb
December 4th, 2011
11:48 pm
I’m going to laugh my behind off that night when they beat you pretty good this time. Come on here and run your pie holes then. Losing twice to them in one year is going to be real embarrassing. They are better than they were the first time you played them and you struggled against Georgia Southern. This is just their year. They are faster, bigger, stronger, and more experienced than EVERYONE.
UGA>GT
December 4th, 2011
11:49 pm
Some really bad bowl games this year. How did Virginia Tech get a BCS game? Boise State gets 6-6 Arizona State in the Maaco Bowl? Baylor gets Washington? It seems there may be about 5 watchable games this bowl season.
Tide Rising
December 4th, 2011
11:49 pm
We should get the shot if you are. I don’t believe Bama held them to no first downs and 12 yards in a half and Bama didn’t score 10 points on them.- Kerryb
Kerryb,
So is it a 60 minute game or only 30??? And bravo for holding LSU to 2 first downs in the 1st half. And that has exactly what to do with the 32 pt asskicking final score?
puppies
December 4th, 2011
11:49 pm
well why are you on here crying about it? watch the 1980 season again.
Alexander
December 4th, 2011
11:49 pm
According to YOUR argument….non conference winning teams shouldn’t get a chance to play for the championship? Really? Funny how March Madness….MLB….NBA….NFL….and every other sport on the planet doesn’t have that requirement!
Quit crying. National Championship teams make #1 teams come from behind to get to OT. They don’t make 5-win chump opponents bowl eligible.
Or try to milk a tragedy for their own purposes.
Sam
December 4th, 2011
11:49 pm
Oh, bless your little butt hurt heart! If I were for a college team in Georgia I guess my feelings would be hurt also. Bama doesn’t care what you or anyone else thinks. The system is what it is. In 2008 the Big 12 had an opportunity to vote for a +1 system, as proposed by Mike Slive. Well, they turned down that proposal. The current system picked LSU and Bama, now you and the nation can just deal with it. I got a good idea, don’t watch it! Roll Tide!!
Big Dawg
December 4th, 2011
11:49 pm
Oversigning Bowl I…..E$PN now has complete control over college football, who plays who, when and where. If Bama wins, Saban will have two MNC’s and only 1 SEC Championship. Oversigning is now being forced on everyone that has any desire to keep up…but then integrity and the state of Alabama has never been used in the same sentence.
kerryb
December 4th, 2011
11:49 pm
AJC blogs stink. Half the time your post doesn’t go through.
Tide Rising
December 4th, 2011
11:50 pm
Alabama is in the title game for the 2nd time in 3 years. To the haters out there I say na na na na na na!
Reality
December 4th, 2011
11:50 pm
Didn’t have to play Georgia? Are you kidding me?
Yes they didnt have to play Georgia. The team that has beaten Bama 3 of the last 4 times they have played.
Honestly UGA would have had a lot better shot at beating Bama. They aren’t nearly as good as LSU.
Who has Bama beaten ?
Georgia Southern ???
Rob
December 4th, 2011
11:50 pm
Yeah I meant AP, not the computers, and yes, I know it doesn’t count. The computers do have OSU at #2. Heck, even the poll that didn’t want to be apart of the BCS anymore because of disagreements, agrees with 2 out of the three components that led to Bama’s #2 ranking.
Sour Grapes
December 4th, 2011
11:51 pm
If GA fans don’t watch will they still play the game?
puppies
December 4th, 2011
11:52 pm
u must still be in a BLACKOUT
Reality
December 4th, 2011
11:52 pm
National Championship means nothing in College Football. Zero.
Its a beauty contest sort of like figure skating.
Tide Rising
December 4th, 2011
11:52 pm
Yes they didnt have to play Georgia. The team that has beaten Bama 3 of the last 4 times they have played.- Reality
Aaaaah. The dawg fans loves that braggin about beating Mike Shula.
But why stop in talking about the last 4 games between Bama and UGA, 2 of which were played way back in 03 and 04? Lets just talk about the overall series of which Alabama leads by a double digit margin of 36-25.
36-25 na na na na na!
kerryb
December 4th, 2011
11:53 pm
It’s going to be funny watching Bama get beaten really good this time. It will be pretty embarrassing for Bama to lose to LSU twice in one year. They are bigger, faster, and more experienced than EVERYBODY. It’s just their year.
Reality
December 4th, 2011
11:53 pm
Bama played 4 teams with a winning record all year.
Thats some impressive resume.
Tide Rising
December 4th, 2011
11:53 pm
Reality,
And who has Georgia beaten???
Crickets chirping….
GTBob
December 4th, 2011
11:54 pm
Does anyone really believe LSU and Bama aren’t the two best teams?
I believe LSU is the best team in the country and has already proven they are better then Alabama. Im not sure anyone really knows how good Alabama is. They haven’t beaten a ranked team in over 2 months.
kerryb
December 4th, 2011
11:54 pm
I wish they wouldn’t take that Bama game off our schedule next year. It would have been nice to shut all of these inbred Bama fans up.
puppies
December 4th, 2011
11:54 pm
no we arent nearly as good. our defense is #1 in the country. they scored 6 tds on ga. we have gave up 9 all year. dumb dog.
Reality
December 4th, 2011
11:55 pm
Aaaaah. The dawg fans loves that braggin about beating Mike Shula.
No it was Saban. And in Tuscaloosa.
Look it up.
Sour Grapes
December 4th, 2011
11:55 pm
not any of the good teams they played. 35-21, 45-42, and wait for it……………………………42-10.
Tide Rising
December 4th, 2011
11:55 pm
Reality,
And how many teams with winning record teams has Georgia played?
Crickets chirping…..
Realist
December 4th, 2011
11:55 pm
Yeah Reality, UGA might have stayed within 31 of Alabama instead of the 32 point embarrassment that LSU handed you. What’s UGA’s record in the GA Dome this year again?
DP
December 4th, 2011
11:55 pm
Hey Dawg fans, put the TV on ESPNU. They’re showing the replay of LSU-Georgia. The second quarter is just starting, Georgia is ahead 10-0!
kerryb
December 4th, 2011
11:55 pm
Tide Rising, I believe during the Saban years Richt is 1-1 against Bama.
Rob
December 4th, 2011
11:56 pm
Bob: How exactly did they prove that again? I saw a game where Alabama outgained them, and left 9 points on the field in regulation. What game did you watch?
Reality
December 4th, 2011
11:56 pm
And who has Georgia beaten???
And who has Bama beaten
I asked you first.
Crickets chirping louder ….
Realist
December 4th, 2011
11:56 pm
GTBob, Alabama beat Auburn last week. Ranked 25th in the BCS today.
puppies
December 4th, 2011
11:57 pm
good enough the #1 team in the country did NOT score a td on us. dam stupid
Billy Hatton
December 4th, 2011
11:57 pm
Mark
I wonder what you would have said if OSU had been selected instead of Alabama.
This was a lose lose for the BCS because of people like you.
Until we get a playoff system we will continue to have these type situations and even after we get the playoff system there will be people like you that will criticize that system.
I and millions of other people will watch this game no matter who plays in it because its the National Championship Game.
Just reading between the lines it sound like you are not a very nice person.
I wonder what your going to write about the H. T. winner if it’s not your selection ?????????
Blackoutanyone?
December 4th, 2011
11:57 pm
Tide Rising.. they beat… Kentucky.. Vandy.. UT.. UF.. Miss. schools and the barn… you know what never mind
Tide Rising
December 4th, 2011
11:58 pm
Reality,
So you beat Saban in his 1st year which is always a transition year? And the following year? You know. The blackout game???
So when exactly is the last time the dawgs won a national title. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Realist
December 4th, 2011
11:58 pm
And Reality, congrats on that big UGA win in Tuscaloosa 4 years ago. Won any games since then that mattered at all in the national championship picture? You know, like Alabama, LSU, Florida, and Auburn play seemingly every week in the SEC. Didn’t think so… hope you don’t embarrass the conference in your bowl game this year like you did against UCF.
Tide in Durango
December 4th, 2011
11:58 pm
MB – name ONE RANKED TEAM out of conference a BIG12 team beat. The answer is none. Face it – they look good beating up lower ranked Big12 teams but a Bama or LSU would shut down Okie offense. DONT FORGET WHILE YOUR MOANING AND BITCHING your UK BASKETBALL TEAM GETS FAVORABLE SEEDS IN BB TOURNEY.
FWIW – last time Bama played Georgia it was 31-0 at half. GAME SET MATCH. OVER.
Reality
December 4th, 2011
11:59 pm
Either way Alabama is a joke of a state.
I say let them win it.
Its like giving someone in Hell ice water.
They have to live in Alabama after its over. That makes they rest of us the real winners.
Sour Grapes
December 4th, 2011
11:59 pm
@Dp:
GA fans turn their DVRs off at that point cause, well, you know they beat LSU in the first half.
DP
December 4th, 2011
11:59 pm
Alabama’s best win is by 24 over Arkansas, the team that beat South Carolina by 17 to set up Georgia for an SEC championship game humiliation.
What’s Georgia’s best win this year? Maybe the last second win over Vandy, which Alabama shut out 34-0 the previous week?
Watching the SEC championship game replay, Crowell just limped off the field with menstrual cramps.
bama0805
December 4th, 2011
11:59 pm
If OSU would have taken care of business against a 6-6 team this would not be an issue, but they didn’t. Maybe the reason so many teams we played have bad records is because the BIG 3 of the west hammered all of them. OSU had their shot and choked.
Tide Rising
December 4th, 2011
11:59 pm
Blackout anyone,
Oh thats right. They avoided LSU, Bama, and Arkansas during the regular season. I’ll take the LSU game as a barometer of how the dawgs woulda fared against Bama and Ark. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH.
Reality
December 5th, 2011
12:00 am
FWIW – last time Bama played Georgia it was 31-0 at half. GAME SET MATCH. OVER.
FWIW UGA has won 3 of the last 4.
How dorky is houndstooth too anyway ???
aladawg
December 5th, 2011
12:00 am
RTR22, eat sh– you moron
BC$ Slave
December 5th, 2011
12:00 am
Tide Rising:
This is not about “hating” bama.
This is about what makes sense.
If defeating ranked opponents is the way you judge strength…OkSU beat more ranked opponents than UA.
OkSU has a legitimate argument for a chance to play in the MNC.
Are they better than Alabama? Only head to head play can determine that for sure.
You may not look better on paper, but if you win the game…you are the better team that day.
kerryb
December 5th, 2011
12:00 am
Bama fans who have you beaten? the only good team you played that we didnt play was Arkansas. We beat Auburn 45-7 You beat then what? 44-14? We beat Miss state by about the same score you did. We both lost to LSU. How are you better than us?