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Unlike Notre Dame, the top team in the SEC will play in a conference championship game. This season, that game will likely match up two teams among the top five in the country. The same was true last year, where two of the top teams in the country (LSU and Arkansas) couldn't even play in the SEC championship game because they were in the same SEC division as Alabama.

There ain't no "powderpuffs" in a schedule like that.

I would agree that there should be more non-traditional out of conference games for the SEC.....I noted that the last time Florida played a regular season non-conference game out of state (meaning not against FSU or Miami) was in 1992!

My idea is to reserve two weekends and have a random drawing of teams from different conferences that will play each other in the following season, based on their previous years’ ranking.....Say if you ended in the Top 32, you would then play two non-conference games the following year against randomly drawn teams that also finished in the Top 32, one at home, the other would be on the road.

Let me get this straight...

Alabama is somehow gaming the system by chosing not to play ‘powder puff’ teams at the beginning of the season, but rather matching up against a #8 non-conference opponent for their opening game?

And somehow the timing of now playing an unranked non-conf opponent affects the ‘voting’...whilst we are really looking at a ranking weighted heavily with a computer score?

I hope you can understand the strategy of teams like Alabama. They think they can win the big games....so, they schedule Big Games early! Those early victories are what boosts them in the computer score so early. The ease of late season victories over the ‘poweder puffs’ is not helpful to them...it erodes their strength of schedule. But, it offers them some rest and recovery time, before their rivalry game vs Auburn...and post season play if they are so lucky.

Alabama has beat 2 to ten teams this year. If they want to win all the marbles, they will likely have to get past 2 more...their path to a championship will have taken them through 4 top ten wins.

Some programs take decades to accumulate 4 top ten wins. Kansas State, for example would have to accumulate all of its wins from 2003-2012, in order to add up 4 top ten wins. And every one of those was in conference...they rarely venture out and play ‘non powder puff’ non-conf opponents.

I’m an Alabama fan...and I know we don’t completely control our own destiny...because we have a loss. Right now, everybody but Notre Dame fans should have a similar attitude - no bellyaching or complaints about rankings. If you want to control your destiny, just win. Otherwise, just watch.