UGA’s path to the BCS title game? It’s not a straight shot
These are the Oregon Ducks. Georgia wouldn't mind seeing them, er, quack up. (AP photo)
The last BCS title game not to include an SEC representative was staged in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 4, 2006, exactly one year before Nick Saban was introduced as Alabama’s new coach. The last BCS title game to include a team from a conference other than the SEC was staged in Glendale, Ariz., on Jan. 10, 2011, and by now you’re sensing where I’m going with this.
Georgia is No. 5 in the BCS standings. If it wins the rest of its games, it will be 12-1 and the SEC champion. Is there any way a 12-1 SEC champion would NOT play for the BCS title?
Yes, this is putting a wobbly cart before a skittish horse. To get to 12-1, the Bulldogs have to beat Auburn, and then Georgia Southern and Georgia Tech, and then would come Alabama. (Provided Alabama doesn’t do something crazy like lose to Texas A&M and Auburn, which it won’t.) Let’s assume Georgia arrives at the Dome on Dec. 1 having lost only once to play the still-unbeaten Crimson Tide, and let’s assume the Bulldogs contrive to topple the mighty men of Saban. What then?
The teams ranked 2-4 in the BCS standings are all unbeaten. It’s possible, if not probable, all will stay that way. Kansas State still must play Texas on Dec. 1, and the Wildcats might have to face TCU this Saturday without quarterback Collin Klein, who suffered a head injury against Oklahoma State. Oregon still must play Stanford and Oregon State, and it could meet USC, which the Ducks just beat 62-51, again in the Pac-12 title game. Notre Dame must play at USC on Nov. 24.
But what if Kansas State, Oregon and Notre Dame — or two of the three — are still undefeated at the close of business Dec. 1? Should a one-loss SEC champ get the nod over any of the above?
For Georgia: Having taken the past six national championships, the SEC has essentially become college football. Only last year we saw an Alabama team that didn’t win its division play for the BCS title, which it won. The Bulldogs could make the argument that other one-loss SEC champs — LSU in 2003, Florida in 2006 and 2008 — and even the two-loss LSU of 2007 have not only qualified for the national championship game but won the thing.
Against Georgia: Undefeated is undefeated, even if you’re not from the SEC. (Or, in Notre Dame’s case, from any league.) And surely there are folks in other precincts who have wearied of SEC domination and would lobby long and loud that somebody else deserves a chance.
Also against Georgia: Its schedule. The Bulldogs have played only two ranked teams, and they lost to one of those by 28 points.
Georgia’s rebuttal: Alabama would make a third ranked opponent, and if the Bulldogs beat an unbeaten Bama they’d have registered victories over a team ranked No. 1 in the BCS standings and another (meaning Florida) that was No. 2.
For our concluding word, we turn to Brad Edwards, who monitors the BCS for ESPN Insider. His verdict: For a 12-1 Georgia to play for the national title, “two of the three undefeated teams ranked above it have to lose.”
That’s it? No SEC-deserves-a-spot groundswell? Said Edwards: “If (Georgia jumping any of the unbeatens) did happen, it would be because of the SEC’s six consecutive championships … (But) I don’t think even a one-loss SEC champ is going to finish ahead of any of those teams. I don’t think any of the teams in the group is considered a fraud. Notre Dame has skeptics, but people still believe it has a championship-caliber defense.”
About Georgia: “You also have the factor of that one loss. If Georgia’s profile were more like Alabama’s last year, where you lost to a top team in overtime and dominated everybody else you played, it might be different.”
What about those one-loss SEC champs who’ve reached the title game? “The difference is, in every case those teams were beating out another one-loss team, or another two-loss team in LSU’s case (in 2007). If those three teams stay undefeated, I really don’t see many voters putting Georgia higher than fourth.”
Edwards’ salient point: No once-beaten team has made the BCS title game ahead of an unbeaten team from any major conference. For all the griping about this screwy system, that much has been a constant: Undefeated is undefeated. (Although tell that to 9-0 Louisville of the Big East, ranked No. 9 in the BCS standings.)
For these unlucky ‘Dogs, just coming close would be more of the same. In 2002, a 12-1 Georgia finished third in the BCS standings, missing the title game because Miami and Ohio State were undefeated. In 2007, the 9-2 Bulldogs were No. 4 in the penultimate rankings, whereupon two teams ahead of them lost; Georgia, however, was passed in the final standings by three two-loss conference champions. And now, after seeing three BCS titles taken by one-loss SEC champs, this might be the one-loss SEC champ that never gets the chance.
Further reading: If you missed the weekly Heat Check (Georgia is mentioned), it can be found here.
By Mark Bradley
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490 comments Add your comment
DawgNole
November 6th, 2012
2:38 pm
Red Stick
November 5th, 2012
11:29 pm
Tide Rising, good to hear from you. It was a great game and a great effort by both squads. Our rivalry has gotten to be huge and is college football at it’s best as demonstrated by being the most watched game, by far, on any network this season.
Not sure if you know this but the 10 rating easily beat the 3.1 CBS has been averaging on Saturday nights with their non-sports programming.
_______________________
Makes you wonder why they continue to show “non-sports” programming at all on Saturday nights–as ratings hungry (and greedy) as they are. Saturday night traditionally was believed by the major networks to be the weakest ratings night of the week, but recent years have shown that both college football and the NFL playoffs are ratings bonanzas on Saturday nights. Sadly, the networks continue to show most major sports championships late on Monday nights, which means they’re obviously not friends of the working stiffs.
old dog
November 6th, 2012
2:44 pm
Notre Dame ain’t proved nothin’ yet…….they need to play an LSU, ‘Bama, even us. Last time with pretty-boy Quinn at the helm they looked relevant, until Jamarcus Russell (IQ-56) wore them out. When they play a team with real speed (like even average SEC teams have) and beat them then they will have arrived. ‘Till then, just another pretender.
Lets not trip up against Auburn. Auburn and Tech both have nothing to lose, so to their seniors especially, this IS their bowl game. We better not lay down……..
Josh
November 6th, 2012
3:05 pm
unbiased college football fan here (in other words, I’m a GT fan, and well…): an unbeaten Alabama v. an unbeaten Notre Dame would be the best matchup for college football going into next season, not to mention it would be ratings juggernaut.
ron
November 6th, 2012
3:23 pm
Dawgs can beat ‘Bama; K-State will not go undefeated; Southern Cal will pummel Notre Dame; Oregon will probably go undefeated until they play the Dawgs for the national title.
Believe!!! Don’t go idoling ‘Bama.
DawgNole
November 6th, 2012
3:23 pm
Beatdown!
November 6th, 2012
6:49 am
after an alabama beatdown, GA will be 10-2 and end up in a minor bowl like last year, somewhere in florida. Alabama—heading to Miami for title 3 in 4 years!!!! RTR!!!!
__________________
Even if Bama wins, the Dawgs won’t be 10-2–since they will have played 13 games. Duh. Guess you’re another one of those smart-as-a-whip Bama fans.
monty
November 6th, 2012
3:25 pm
JUst 1 thought, if LSU had upset Ala, and they would have only had 1 loss, you know good and you know what well, they would have leaped frog over some of those unbeaten teams , and espeically if they played us in the SEC champ and beat us, there would be bloody murder cried at every level if LSU couldn’t play for the NC, and the BCS would listen, all I see is a very politicized system here. Whatever!!
DawgNole
November 6th, 2012
3:26 pm
SEC Fan
November 6th, 2012
7:00 am
Is it possible for Georgia to play for the BCSCG in 2012? Yes, it is. In order for that to happen, Georgia needs Oregon, Notre Dame and Kansas State to each lose at least one game. Then they would only have to defeat Alabama in the Dome. It’s possible.
______________________
ONLY have to defeat Alabama . . . ???
Wish it were that easy.
monty
November 6th, 2012
3:27 pm
Notre Dame is the most highly over-rated team in college sports. Anyone who can’t see that has an agenda.
monty
November 6th, 2012
3:32 pm
So, being undefeated is more important than only losing 1 game(to a number 6 team) and yet defeating a number 2 ranked team and a number 1 ranked team. Sounds like a crazy system that picks winners and losers. HUm sounds alot like a certain pres.
Techster
November 6th, 2012
3:58 pm
A few words to sober up pathetic dog fans:
Louisiana State, Gamecocks, and Alabama,
Techster
November 6th, 2012
4:06 pm
My last post is lost in cyberspace.
DawgNole
November 6th, 2012
4:14 pm
John
November 6th, 2012
7:59 am
If Bama was “exposed” by LSU, what did Kentucky and Tennessee do to Georgia?
______________________
LOST!
rescue dog
November 6th, 2012
4:19 pm
what on earth make you dummies think you could easily beat ND??? they went into Norman and beat a pretty decent Oklahoma squad…they struggled against BYU, you did the same against a horrible Kentucky team…Georgia may be a member of the SEC, but it has played like an ACC team since 2001…on a neutral field, give me ND over UGA…better defense, way better coach…
Jsonic
November 6th, 2012
4:29 pm
At DawgNole,
UGA will NEVER be as relevant as Notre Dame in any way, shape or form. Don’t kid yourself. Most of your popularity comes from the jokes of how many players will get arrested by seasons end.
Two to the shoe
November 6th, 2012
4:46 pm
Any Notre Dame fan puffing out their chest needs a relaity check. You guys have been cellar dwellers and irrelevant for years. Youve had players like Quinn and Golden Tate come through there and still havent done crap. Your claim to fame this year is a win on the road against Oklahoma, GA’s is a road game against Florida. ND has a good season going but dont hold your breath on a NC game. There is still way too much football left for anyone to be claiming king of the hill yet.
rescue dog
November 6th, 2012
4:53 pm
@Two to the shoe
how is Georgia’s story any different than Notre Dame…both have had their share of irrelevance in the last decade or three….Georgia’s win over Florida was at a neutral site, nothing like a road game in Norman, Oklahoma…
DawgNole
November 6th, 2012
4:54 pm
Jsonic
November 6th, 2012
4:29 pm
At DawgNole,
UGA will NEVER be as relevant as Notre Dame in any way, shape or form. Don’t kid yourself. Most of your popularity comes from the jokes of how many players will get arrested by seasons end.
______________________
With everything on the line, you lost to UGA. That’s what’s relevant. Oh, by the way, how did your highly relevant team fare in its bowl game last season against a very average FSU squad? Care to share the results of that one with the blog?
dtyson
November 6th, 2012
5:14 pm
Why did GS choose to play Buffalo, Fla Intl, and GA Southern when they knew the had such a soft schedule? Please answers only. NO excuses or comparisons with other programs.
Thanks.
dtyson
November 6th, 2012
5:16 pm
Why did UGA choose to play Buffalo, Fla Intl and GA Southern when they knew they had a soft SEC schedule? Please provide answers only. No excuses or comparisons with other programs.
KingGator
November 6th, 2012
5:30 pm
I’ve got the answer to the Gators’ beating GA in the future. Since we seem to be able to beat everybody but UGA with Muschamp. And he is the only Gator coach since like Charley Pell to lose to GA two games in a row, I say OUTSOURCE the coaching of the FL-GA game to Coach SPURRIER each yr. We can work our schedules so that SC has the wknd off that Sat., fly him in just for that day to Jax., and announce that SPURRIER is the Gators coach just for that day and game. Muschamp will get a day off with pay
DawgNole
November 6th, 2012
5:40 pm
Spurrier’s 4-4 vs Richt since assuming the reins at SC, KingGator. Better than Muschamp, but nothing to get excited about.
Jsonic
November 6th, 2012
5:59 pm
At Dawgnole,
Keep going back to that game eh. Your right we lost it happens. Wanna go to the past huh. Yeah we lost to a better than average FSU team last year. You lost to a Michigan State team we crushed last year! (OMG a Big 10 Team :-O) Whats your excuse?
At Two to the Shoe,
I never said said that ND belonged in the NC. I said we deserve to be where we are and if we end up undefeated deserve a shot like any of the other undefeated teams.
rescue dog
November 6th, 2012
6:00 pm
Spurrier is 1-0 this season vs, GA Dawgnole, the only season that counts…if UGA had beaten SC and Spurrier, we wouldn’t be having this discussion…get mad at Richt, not ESPN…
DawgNole
November 6th, 2012
6:11 pm
Jsonic
November 6th, 2012
5:59 pm
At Dawgnole,
Keep going back to that game eh. Your right we lost it happens. Wanna go to the past huh. Yeah we lost to a better than average FSU team last year. You lost to a Michigan State team we crushed last year! (OMG a Big 10 Team :-O) Whats your excuse?
___________________
I have no excuse for the Dawgs’ loss to MSU. Do you have an excuse for ND’s loss to FSU?
You came to a blog about UGA football spewing BS about the Dawgs being irrelevant. The irony of that coming from a ND fan is obvious to most. Funny that you can’t see it.
DawgNole
November 6th, 2012
6:13 pm
rescue dog
November 6th, 2012
6:00 pm
Spurrier is 1-0 this season vs, GA Dawgnole, the only season that counts…if UGA had beaten SC and Spurrier, we wouldn’t be having this discussion…get mad at Richt, not ESPN
_____________________
And if fla had beaten UGA and Richt, we wouldn’t be having this discussion either. Who said I was mad at ESPN?
dtyson
November 6th, 2012
6:34 pm
Spurrier lost to Richt with unequal talent. When Spurrier got the talent and and was on equal footing now we see who is the better coach.
Jsonic
November 6th, 2012
6:48 pm
Totally wrong Dawgnole,
I started in on you just because you knocked the Irish the hardest. I complimented UGA earlier, you are just spewing garbage. You must be a Democrat with all your spin. No team is perfect and year in and year out undefeated teams will come and go. Notre Dame deserves to be where they are right now just as UGA does. If the Irish go all the undefeated and somehow make it to the NC and win then obviously they deserve to be #1, if they lose any games than obviously they don’t. It’s that simple. UGA doesn’t deserve to go with one loss right now. If everyone else loses a game then it’s a different story. All your garbage spewing just makes you look bad.
BTW ND wasn’t good enough to beat FSU last year just as the Dogs weren’t good enough to beat MSU.
DawgNole
November 6th, 2012
8:24 pm
Jsonic
November 6th, 2012
6:48 pm
Totally wrong Dawgnole,
I started in on you just because you knocked the Irish the hardest. I complimented UGA earlier, you are just spewing garbage.
________________________
“I started in on you . . . .”
Exactly. And when you stick you nose in a blog about another team and start berating that team and their fans while boasting about your own irrelevant bunch, you’re going to get called out. Here’s an excerpt from your very first post, which PRECEDED my first mention of ND:
“Notre Dame offense is good at best average at worst. The Defense???? UGA doesn’t want none of that.”
So don’t get on here and lie. There’s been no spin on my part; I’ve cited specific games and results, loser. Your team’s done nothing worth mentioning in years, and you’re taking shots at UGA?
Who says “UGA doesn’t want none of that” defense? I expect UGA would be delighted to get a shot at an undefeated or one-loss ND team. At this point, you just better hope you’re there in a month–instead of getting on here bragging about your team because it’s FINALLY crawled out from under its rock so far this year.
Jeff H
November 6th, 2012
8:26 pm
UGA finally gets their first quality in 3 years by beating UF and we’re talking BCS Champ game? That’s hilarious. The only reason they are going to SEC Champ game is because of their cupcake SEC schedule for second straight year. South Carolina owns them and only reason they won’t be in ATL is because they played a big boy schedule unlike the Pups. Funny how many wanted Richt gone and he finally gets a decent win and now he’s great, ha.
FUNNYGUY
November 6th, 2012
9:13 pm
Stop drinking the Koolaid ………….
Jimmy
November 6th, 2012
9:50 pm
Richt should go.
We would be number 2 and would be on track to play in the MNC if we beat SC.
His lousy coaching and motivation of the team resulted not only in a loss to SC,
but a total humiliation on national TV.
Richt’s record in big games recently speaks for itself.
Richt must go.
Jimmy
November 6th, 2012
9:52 pm
For UGA to get into the MNC now,
The teams ahead of us would have to lose two games
And we would have to beat bama.
Had we not been humiliated by SC in a game we should have at least competed in
we would not be in this position now.
Jsonic
November 6th, 2012
9:54 pm
Dawgnole
Your beginning to bore the hell out of me. YOU were slamming the Irish first with your statements. Yes I said that, which was alot nicer than anything you said spinmiester. Hopefully we will get the chance to find out if the UGA kids can avoid getting arrested during the holidays so they can play at full strength.
DawgNole
November 6th, 2012
10:17 pm
Jsonic
November 6th, 2012
9:54 pm
Dawgnole
Your beginning to bore the hell out of me. YOU were slamming the Irish first with your statements. Yes I said that, which was alot nicer than anything you said spinmiester. Hopefully we will get the chance to find out if the UGA kids can avoid getting arrested during the holidays so they can play at full strength.
_____________________
Why do you continue to lie? Do you want me now to put the time stamp from your first derogatory comments about UGA, which as I’ve clearly explained to you came BEFORE I made any mention of ND. Do you want me to post ND’s all-time record vs FSU in football? Do you want me to post your team’s sorry performances/rankings for the past many years?
If you’re bored, beat it. And in any event, stop lying!
DawgNole
November 6th, 2012
10:18 pm
Jsonic
November 6th, 2012
9:54 pm
Dawgnole
Your beginning to bore the hell out of me. YOU were slamming the Irish first with your statements. Yes I said that, which was alot nicer than anything you said spinmiester. Hopefully we will get the chance to find out if the UGA kids can avoid getting arrested during the holidays so they can play at full strength.
_____________________
Why do you continue to lie? Do you want me now to put the time stamp from your first derogatory comments about UGA, which as I’ve clearly explained to you came BEFORE I made any mention of ND. Do you want me to post ND’s all-time record vs FSU in football? Do you want me to post your team’s sorry performances/rankings for the past many years?
If you’re bored, beat it. In any event, stop lying! And learn how to spell.
Jsonic
November 6th, 2012
11:36 pm
What your neglecting to say is that I also complimented the Bulldogs in the same thread. Besides saying that the Bulldogs don’t want any of the Irish defense isn’t a putdown, merely a fact. I do seem to owe you an apology though. I was getting you confused with someone else. My bad.
We will agree to disagree.
AllDog
November 7th, 2012
5:57 am
Ga will beat alabama—mark that down. If Ga plays Notre Dame, the Dogs will beat them like a rented mule. ND barely beat a mediocre pitt team??? hello??? Ga will beat them by 13+!
DawgNole
November 7th, 2012
2:20 pm
Jsonic
November 6th, 2012
11:36 pm
What your neglecting to say is that I also complimented the Bulldogs in the same thread. Besides saying that the Bulldogs don’t want any of the Irish defense isn’t a putdown, merely a fact. I do seem to owe you an apology though. I was getting you confused with someone else. My bad.
We will agree to disagree.
_______________________
Always better to bury the hatchet than to bicker on a blog. Apology accepted.
And I’d still like to see our teams (UGA/ND) hook up in a bowl–it would be a fine matchup–but it doesn’t appear likely. At this point, I’m just hoping we can win out and face Bama in the SECCG.
Facts don't lie
November 8th, 2012
8:12 am
A few comments about UGA:
1. Four different SEC teams have won the last six BCS championships.
2. UGA was NOT one of those teams.
3. During that period, UGA did not even win an SEC championship.
4. Red panties and Damon Evans.
5. 86% of UGA football recruits would not be admitted to UGA based only on grades and SAT scores. These dummies are called “Special Admits.”
In other words, UGA has sunk into total irrelevancy both regionally and nationally.
So why is UGA still paying Mark Richt millions of dollars a year?
Vad the Impaler
November 12th, 2012
10:51 am
So many people…thinking they can settle in a blog…what will be settled on a field in a few weeks. Get cocky, make arguments, never have to be accountable for future failures… awesome.