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
dawg52
November 5th, 2012
2:50 pm
Not delusional here, dawgs r a loooooong shot to beat Bama. However, we’re gonna beat Tech so friggin bad they’ll fire the Physics, Chemistry, Engineering heads, as well as the whole janitorial staff…….STAY OFF OUR BLOGS you yellow-bellies!!!!!!!! CYA
rescue dog
November 5th, 2012
2:50 pm
If pundits dont put an SEC team in the Natty Champ this year, it’ll be interesting to see if the viewer ratings for the game go way down.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
the ratings for last years game were bad…believe me, America doesn’t want to see Georgia gag on national tv again…
Special K
November 5th, 2012
2:51 pm
And if I could shoot eggs out of my butt then I’m a chicken. Quit with the what if’s.
JB
November 5th, 2012
2:51 pm
Snoop………This Dawg fan regretfully agrees with you. The smack down by South Carolina on top of a pretty weak schedule and a win over a Florida team that’s not as good as advertised would hurt the Dawgs.
dale
November 5th, 2012
2:53 pm
When you’re not the most talented team in the contest, you have to try to stay in the game and steal it at the end. Bama is better, but UGA has a chance to steal it.
Chris
November 5th, 2012
2:54 pm
Everyone know that one team don’t suppose to be there they lost a game but because the NCAA want them to win this year ND got beat everyone saw it live get for real we got cheat before and I willbe looking for the same this year they don’t like UGA and we know it
GTBob
November 5th, 2012
2:54 pm
KBP, it does matter when you almost lose to a 1-9 team who lost to Western Kentucky. Combine that with getting beat by 28 against South Carolina and you have a team that looks like they could lose to pretty much anyone. They aren’t currently passing the eye test of anyone out there. They would need to completely destroy Bama to get any real credibility as a championship contender.
Ga Kool-Aid Drinkers
November 5th, 2012
2:55 pm
I see you’ve been in the Kool-Aid again !
JB
November 5th, 2012
2:57 pm
I think Bama is beatable by UGA. It would take a best game ever out of Murray. The defense can hang. Marlon Brown and Bennett gone is huge though.
Dawg4Life.
November 5th, 2012
2:57 pm
Go Dawgs!!!!!
Joey
November 5th, 2012
2:57 pm
Buckeye, ARE YOU SERIOUS? You are one dumbass to come on here talking about UGA’s schedule. Everybody, feast your eyes at THE Free Tatts U schedule and results this season.
Powerhouses such as Miami of Ohio (4-5), Cal (3-7), UAB (2-7) (they play football?), Perdue (3-6), Indiana (4-5), Ill (2-7).
Pathetic.
Under The Bleachers
November 5th, 2012
2:58 pm
We will not even discuss the comment someone made about Alabama being beatable. All teams are beatable, the good ones just get the job done and move on.
As for UGA, they have a very good team, and deserve to be where they are at. However the national media is not going to let anyone forget the total beating they took in Columbia, SC. Do not know how many times we have all heard in the last 4 weeks about how a team that got beat that bad deserves to be ranked No. 5 or even included in the BCSCG talk. Well, I can explain it, this is the SEC and we bow before no other conference. Lets look and see. The BIG 10 is the joke of the nation, without Ohio St.( Probation) their entire conference is at its weakest levels in many many years. The BIG 12 is just as bad, Oklahoma has zero run game, so stop the pass and you win, Texas is just horrible and Mack Brown should be run out on a rail( and people talk about CMR signing top 10 classes every year and still not getting it done, Mack Brown gets top 3 classes every year and should be the poster boy for UNDERACHEIVING), WV has shown their true colors, Kansas St has two weapons on offense, but the speed of the SEC defenses would reduce their offensive output by 20 points a game( which would put them somewhere in the 15 to 20 points per game area) and just about SEC team could score 30 against that weak defense of K-State. The PAC 12 is even funnier. USC was the talk of the pre-season and while they can score 50 a game against the no defense league opponents out west, those numbers would come to a screeching halt in the SEC, while they give up 50 a game. Oregon is good, very good on offense, but line them up int the SEC, where the men on defense actually hit your quarterback and tackle your running backs those hurry up plays become a great deal slower and those runs are much shorter.
Does UGA get to a BCS game, Nah, I doubt it, they have to beat a proven Alabama team that will be on a mission the remainder of the season and the National Media will not allow UGA to get that lucky. If I were predicting a Bowl game for UGA it would probably be somewhere in Florida if LSU runs the table as the Sugar Bowl would take LSU or A&M, The Dawgs end up in Tampa, Orlando, or Jacksonville.
B'dawg
November 5th, 2012
3:00 pm
Gtbob
You can cry if you want to, but its not your party.
BobDawg
November 5th, 2012
3:01 pm
It’s all about the SEC… It’s still a mythical NC….
Birddawg
November 5th, 2012
3:01 pm
@CrazyUGA –
I was one of those people that thinks CMR’s time has passed. And, I still feel that way. We beat FL – yes, but we are in no way on the same level as Bama (which is where I want us to be). I would not be surprised if UGA dropped one of their last 3 games (why? Because, the coaching staff is soft and they don’t keep the team sharp, focused, and motivated), but if we do win out – no way we stand a chance against Bama. AND, it’s not because of lack of talent – it’s the coaching.
DONNAN OF A NEW ERA
November 5th, 2012
3:03 pm
UGA’s path to the BCS title game……is a pipe dream for dawg fans who’ve seen five other schools win titles since 1980.
RawDawg
November 5th, 2012
3:07 pm
Why is the knock on UGA that they played a ‘weak schedule’? Has anybody looked at Bama’s schedule this season? The first and only team of consequence they play all year was LSU, and they barely made it out alive! Bama has looked great against bad teams, but against LSU they looked far from invincible. If UGA doesn’t fold like they did vs SC, the Dawgs have the talent to beat them.
Yella Britches
November 5th, 2012
3:08 pm
I will give you some if’s and But’s that are facts. If UGA had either LSU or Bama on their schedule they would have two losses and this ridiculous conversation wouldn’t be happening but they don’t because it’s a garbage schedule.
Order me a Flo’s Filet at the Outback bowl…. oh wait maybe that’s Longhorn, anyhow have fun once again looking up at the big boys wishing you were one of them….
Alphare
November 5th, 2012
3:11 pm
Sorry, wrong place.
Buckeye
November 5th, 2012
3:11 pm
Yo joey, the dogs ain’t SEC! SEC! champ calibre. And, by the way………….
It’s spelled Purdue, dumb ass.
gtt
November 5th, 2012
3:11 pm
Yella keeps misspelling the second part of his handle.
DawgFan
November 5th, 2012
3:12 pm
I love the Tech fans glee that their hated rivals may be wet dreaming of a BCS Nat Championship Game. All I can say as a great Dawg better to dream than to envy your rivals as your rivals aren’t even considering your pathetic program a threat to derail their season. Why is that? Because your program sucks. You have no talent, no devoted fan base, no recent tradition of winning anything that means anything.
At least we can dream and hope while the yellow stream of urine continues to flow drainward
Go dawgs!!
CookedDawg
November 5th, 2012
3:12 pm
Bama played and beat Michigan, a team that doesn’t stink.
Rodster
November 5th, 2012
3:13 pm
No, a one loss UGA team should not be in the NC game over undefeated K-State, Notre Dame or Oregon.
USC True To Thee
November 5th, 2012
3:14 pm
UGA’s sappy schedule will keep them out of discussion & is the only thing keeping them in the top 10. You may lose to AU as this is a rival game. No matter how bad AU is this year, the game could go either way. Same for the UGA/GT game. After Saturday’s AL/LSU game, I don’t see anyone beating AL. They are a fine orchestrated team led by a real QB. BTW, a program called SC did beat the pups and beat them bad…quite happy I will add! I would like to see KState in the top race as it is nice to see a new face at the top. Dawgs, pick a good bowl and call it a season. There are too many great teams with hard schedules ranked above you. GO COCKS!!!
Joey
November 5th, 2012
3:16 pm
ralphc: “Ducks! Irish!!”
************************
Now the Techies are Oregon and Notre Dame fans!?!?
Boy, I always heard if you live long enough, you will see everything . . .
Whiskey Breath
November 5th, 2012
3:16 pm
Nice Dream Mark, but the nation realizes Ga has a punk schedule and doesn’t appreciate it.
Couple that with, Bama ia going to kick their butt, and it is just a homer dream.
Keep telling the homers what they want to hear. I know deep down, you could care less about Richt
and the mutts. You are smart enough to know a phony just like I do.
can you imagine
November 5th, 2012
3:17 pm
The real mess we would have if Ohio State was eligibile for postseason play, they would be undefeated as well. Imagine having an undefeated Bama, OSU, KSU, OU, and ND?
UGA missed their chance this weekend with ND and Bama both on the ropes and Oregon having a chance to lose. That would have been great if all three had lost it would have been KSU and UGA at 1 and 2. Then the Dawgs would have lost to Bama in SEC championship and the Tide would play for the NC once again. This is just a no win situation for the Dawgs this year.
ARdawg
November 5th, 2012
3:18 pm
GTBob
November 5th, 2012
2:54 pm
KBP, it does matter when you almost lose to a 1-9 team who lost to Western Kentucky.
Gee GTBoob, you count “almost” losses now? The BCS doesn’t, it’s only two columns, wins and loses. Almost loss, that’d be pretty demm funny if you weren’t serious
ARdawg
November 5th, 2012
3:21 pm
The truth of the matter is, too many things would have to happen for UGA to play for a NC. We blew that with the SC loss. Contrary to what GTBoob believes we didn’t almost lose that one, we screwed the pooch. We don’t deserve to play in it as the standings are now. However, we can keep Bama from playing in it and that would be just as redeeming
Yella Britches
November 5th, 2012
3:21 pm
DawgFan-
OUTBACK BOWL, Flo’s Filet?? Pretty funny right?
“NO RECENT TRADITION OF WINNING ANYTHING”
Our last National Title was 1990, yours was 1980. HMMMMM……..Ours was just a little more “Recent” than yours. HAHAHAHAHAHA
Devil's Advocate
November 5th, 2012
3:22 pm
If GT played an ACC schedule they’d be 4-5 right now.
Jimmy Crack
November 5th, 2012
3:22 pm
Good points, Mark, but wouldn’t these other conferences salivate at a very beatable looking Georgia team being placed in the National Championship Game, as opposed to shutting out the SEC altogether? Instead of leaving an SEC team out of the NCG, they could cherry pick UGA, pit them against a super-talented Oregon team, and exorcise those SEC demons all in one game.
Of course it may not happen the way they planned!!
Straight and Narrow
November 5th, 2012
3:23 pm
The question is moot.
Georgia has no path to the BCSCG.
GTBob
November 5th, 2012
3:23 pm
Gee GTBoob, you count “almost” losses now? The BCS doesn’t
Sure it does. The final BCS polls will be determined mostly by human voters that will take UGA’s entire body of work into account. Close wins against teams that UGA should blow out doesn’t help them at all.
CDOG
November 5th, 2012
3:24 pm
THE BULLDOGS SPECIAL TEAMS ARE A BIG CONCERN GOING INTO THE STRECTH RUN PLUS THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME.I KNOW COACHES WANT TO REST PLAYERS AND GIVE BENCH PLAYERS A CHANCE TO PLAY BUT WITH GEORGIA, THAT COULD PROVE COSTLY. THE DOGS NEED TO PUT THEIR BEST TACKLERS ON SPECIAL TEAMS, THAT PROVED COSTLY AGAINST THE GOOD TEAMS. THAT GROUP THEY HAVE OUT THERE NOW COULDN”T TACKLE AN OLD MAN IN A WHEEL CHAIR.UNLESS RITCH DOES SOMETHING ABOUT IT, IT COULD GET THEM BEAT.
what of it?
November 5th, 2012
3:25 pm
i think the better question is: WOULD it play for the national championship?
Yella Britches
November 5th, 2012
3:25 pm
DawgFan-
I almost forgot our last conference Title was 2009, your’s was 2005…
Again, more “Recent” don’t you think???? HAHAHAHAHAHA
Right On Time
November 5th, 2012
3:28 pm
Folks: It was obvious that wasn’t GTBob. If you read his posts, as I do, without
without an agenda, you would appreciate them. Very sharp. I always look forward to
his answers to others posts.
Yella B and whiskey….. not so much.
BTW, the article is a moot point. No way Dawgs beat bammers. I will be rooting for Oregon in
MNCG.
Joey
November 5th, 2012
3:29 pm
Sorry buckeye, didn’t know you were a little old librarian, who likes to correct spelling on a football blog.
And you are the dumbass, for incessantly yapping like a chihuahua about a conference (SEC) that has OWNED your cheating, lying, on NCAA Probation, football program.
KBP
November 5th, 2012
3:32 pm
GT Bob, ok here is what we know. With “almost losses” to Ky and TN, we are ranked 5th in the BCS. If “almost losses” are as important as you seem to think they are, then why are we ranked 5th?
Here we go again...
November 5th, 2012
3:33 pm
Even if UGA beats Bama they will not go period. They got crushed by USC(not just beaten). There is no way that 3 of the 4 teams in front of them lose. They will not jump one of them and dont blame Bama(last year’s BCS). Its because you were beat into submission on the National stage. Funny the same fans that are bashing Bama’s schedule are saying if UGA beats them they deserve to be in…basically arguing with themselves. Its Karma since the SEC gave them a 2 year pass on Bama, LSU and Arky.
RiffRaff
November 5th, 2012
3:33 pm
Kansas State will choke against Texas on Dec. 1. Oregon will lay an egg against Stanford. Look for USC to upset Notre Dame on Nov. 24. Bama will roll over UGA ( I know, it sucks! ) in the SECCG. Dawgs just make too many mistakes in big games.
Stay off the Kool Aid
November 5th, 2012
3:36 pm
UGA lost to South Carolina BIG TIME.
MarineDog
November 5th, 2012
3:37 pm
Ga. wouldn’t be the highest ranked 1 loss team if the pollsters didn’t think that they should be that high. Anything can happened between now and the end of the season. We have a lot of BAMA fans that thought that they were unbeatable prior to the LSU game. Although Bama did manage to win; I’m sure that Saban didn’t and don’t have those same sentiments. Any team can be beaten on any given day. You don’t have to be a better team than your opponent; you just have to be better on that particular day. That seems to be the sentiment with the pollsters having UF ranked just behind Ga.
As the article stated, it’s very rare that you have more than 2 unbeaten teams from major conferences at the end of the year. There’s a lot of football left to play and every team within the top 6 still has a better chance than what some are giving them.
Not saying that there’s going to be a massive shakeup by the end of the season, but history has shown that to be the case.
JB
November 5th, 2012
3:37 pm
Rumors are running wild on the Kentucky boards, mostly wishful thinking names, but one caught my eye in the wish list discussion ……Todd Grantham………And why hasn’t Mark Bradley said anything? Those are his peeps.
Buford Pusser
November 5th, 2012
3:37 pm
No way UGA gets into the MNC game – not going to happen. Best guess is the Capital 1. Pretty good year though in spite of the injuries.
Very, very funny about the North Avenue Trade School (Joke by Coke) remarks! Old Man Boobs is driving them down into the ground and even the AD saw that and skipped town to one of their major rivals. Now that is some funny stuff. But hey, Georgia Yech will come out on top this year against UGA. They will….absolutely…yes, they will. Uh-huh.
Go Dawgs
November 5th, 2012
3:38 pm
Back to your bedroom Buckeye… you’re still on probation brah
Dogs#1
November 5th, 2012
3:38 pm
Georgia could beat notre dame, oregon or k state and they should jump ahead. those teams play in week conferences and shouldn’t be ahead of the dogs. the dogs will beat alabama in the sec champ game—book it.
JB
November 5th, 2012
3:40 pm
Who is this Whiskey Breath punk?