Posted on 01/01/2010 3:27:29 PM PST by William Tell 2
“If Alabama was adversely affected during their Utah game why can’t you say Cincy was adversely affected during the Florida game. After all, they lost their coach at the end of the season AND lost their interim coach just before the bowl game. That obviously affected their play.”
You are not comparing apples to apples...The coach leaving versus missing a chance at a national title by two plays are not the same emotional circumstances.
Cinncy’s record this year suggested that they were lucky to be undefeated...the beat Fresno State 28-20, while Boise beat Fresno 61-10...heck, even lowly Hawaii beat Fresno.
Cinncy gave up 45 points to U Conn (the second most U Conn scored all year, second to the 52 they scored against Rhode Island.
Cinncy gave up 45 points to Illionis who won only 3 games this year.
There were plenty of clues this year that Cinncy was ranked too high...undefeated does NOT always mean a team is great.
As for LSU, if you had seen my college football posts a mid seasson, you would have seen that I many times said LSU was ranked TOO HIGH...they were 107th in total offense in the country and did not deserve their ranking..I really thought Penn State would whip them be a larger margin.
I am NOT saying the SEC will win all bowl games..don’t even know for certain that Bama will win...The SEC does have some mediocre teams...LSU, Kentucky, Auburn, Vandy, Tenn, Mississpi State, etc...but OVERALL most years, it is the strongest and most competitive conference. No other conference sent 10 teams to bowls this year.
Lastly, back to Alabama / Utah last year...I PREDICTED a Utah win...not because I thought Utah better, but because over the years I have seen college teams give up after coming with in a breath of playing for the title...Sabin said after the Florida loss last year that it would be very hard to get them up for the game...he was right.
Since the BCS began in 1998 the SEC has won as many National Championships as the rest of the country combined.
The coach leaving is much more serious. It affects strategy, playcalling, preparation everything. The national championship is merely an emotional state.
I’ll go along with you and say Cincy was shouldn’t have been ranked number 3, I was shocked they were. After all, Florida had a Heisman Trophy/future Hall of Fame QB among other things.
As far as Cincy’s schedule, you omit they won against Oregon St playing away 28-18. Ore St won Stanford and Calif.
As far as SEC v Big East, UConn won 20-7 against South Carolina which won against Ole Miss, which won against LSU.
The Big East is 1-1 v SEC and 1-1 v ACC
I mean you can go on and on with these comparisons. One can easily say that the SEC is merely Florida and Alabama and a bunch of also rans.
The only two consistent conferences are MWC and MAC; one 4-0 the other 0-4.
I think Notre Dame has won almost as many national championships by itself than the entire SEC combined.
William:
I can tell you from experience that coming within a breath of playing for the title and losing a heartbreaker will have FAR more impact on a team than losing a coach. If your assertion were true, then Texas Tech should have lost last night.
Cinncy didn’t lose because the other team had a Heisman player, they lost because they weren’t nearly as good as the other team. In fact, it is rare that Heisman Trophy teams win their bowls..last one to do so in many years was USC with Leinart.
I didn’t mention Cinncy beating Oregon State because it wasn’t a big deal. Oregon State has FIVE losses in a conference that is down and is the weakest defensive conference in the BCS. Oregon State was beaten in the bowl by BYU (who was KILLED by a 6 loss Florida State team during the year). California and Stanford both lost their bowl games...the PAC-10 is down this year.
UConn beat South Carolina because UConn is better than South Carolina...SC was 76th in total offense this year..and was okay on defense...not surprise that they lost....SC had games that they played well (Ole Miss), but most of the year was a struggle for them.
Saying the SEC is only Florida and Bama and the rest are also rans is silly. Yes, Flordia is not as good as last year (lost Harvin and two great receivers to the pros), but still good enough to kill an unbeaten Cinncy..I will admit that the SEC is down just a bit this year, and in my view should have lost more bowl games this year than they have. Auburn was auditioning for the PAC-10 giving up 600 yards...Arkansas was lucky..both should have lost...the lower SEC teams are still competitive, though not great.
Most sports analysts and commentators say that the SEC is the toughest conference overall. That doesn’t mean it will always produce the national champion or win all its’ bowl games.
As for the MWC being the only “consistent” conference, I would submit that being 4-0 against 5 loss teams doesn’t prove anything...Florida (the 2nd place SEC team) killing Cinncy says more that those 4 wins.
At the end of the day, a playoff system would, for the most part, put an end to all of this...at least then you and I could sit back and, hopefully, see the best team crowned...it, perhaps, would also settle some of the “my conference is better than your conference” stuff...
No because MSU lost 14 players.
Also I said MWC and MAC being consistent. They’re both perfect one is 4-0 the other 0-4.
You’re correct Fl is a superior team to Cincy.
No doubt about it. Also SEC is probably the strongest conference now and the Big East is starting to slip.
MWC has some value though.
A playoff system wouldn’t do much. The same teams would be there. Check my previous articles about this.
A true tournament system would have all the same teams playing one another - which is impossible.
This system is just as good and I get to watch a lot of kids play for games that are important to them ( and even get to watch some good marching bands). Put them in a tournament and they aren’t nearly as excited. There is no trophy for being in the sweet sixteen.
“A playoff system wouldn’t do much. The same teams would be there”
I could not disagree more...at least with a playoff system, Notre Dame and Ohio State would not get FREE rides to the big game if they manage to only lose one game through an easy schedule...the teams that currently play conference championships are at a disadvantage, laying it all on the line on one game that can cost them a shot at the title.
Also, the TCU’s and Boise States of the world would get their shot...The BCS REALLY screwed up this year pitting these two against each other which proves NOTHING.
If the SAME teams end up in the final four, well it would just PROVE my point about conference strength...There is a way to design a good system, and it would be FAR more fair than RANKINGS...I mean, look at the idiocy of those who vote to rank these teams:
At one time this year Ole Miss was ranked 4..What were they thinking? At one time LSU was ranked 3rd...Oklahoma was #3. USC was #3. California was #6 and ended the season unranked. Florida by years’ end was ranked lower than Cinncy.
A playoff is the ONLY fair way.
I don’t think the benefits of the playoff are that impressive. Look at basketball. For 70 odd years I think there was only may 5 or 6 times a team not ranked in the top 5 made it to the championship.
The championship which is not dispositive because it all depends on the bracket anyway.
The current system allows lesser known teams and lesser programs to play for something.
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