Johnny Manziel and Kevin Sumlin ought to remember that when somebody is nice enough to invite you to their party, you shouldn't go to their house breaking all the crystals and throwing furniture into the pool.
That, essentially is what Texas A&M just did to Alabama in particular and the SEC in general. The Aggies' upset victory at Bryant-Denny Stadium put their new conference perilously close to missing out on the BCS title game for the first time in seven years.
In tomorrow's BCS standings, there will not be an SEC team occupying either the No. 1 or No. 2 position - the first time that's the case since the initial standings of the 2010 season, when Auburn was fourth, trailing Oklahoma, Oregon and Boise State. Of course, the Tigers did go on and beat the Ducks for the BCS title that season.
The SEC might not make it back this season, as all of its members have at least one loss, whereas there are still three undefeated teams from other conferences (not counting bowl-ineligible Ohio State).
Alabama's loss means now it needs help - and maybe a lot - to get back into the BCS title picture. If Kansas State and Oregon win their combined remaining five games, then the SEC is out.
Then there's the matter of Notre Dame.
The Fighting Irish are decidedly the third wheel at the moment and there does not appear to be a path for them to get to the BCS title game absent a loss by either Oregon or Kansas State. For now, though, they'll hang on as a solid No. 3, in front of a sextet of SEC teams.
Projected BCS standings:
1. Kansas State, 2. Oregon, 3. Notre Dame, 4. Alabama, 5. Georgia, 6. Florida, 7. LSU, 8. South Carolina, 9. Texas A&M, 10. Florida State, 11. Clemson, 12. Oklahoma, 13. Stanford, 14. Nebraska, 15. Texas.
(FULL ARTICLE @ SB NATION)
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6 comments:
None of the SEC teams have looked DOMINANT like Alabama and LSU both did last year. The Oregon offense has looked unstoppable, Notre Dame officially has the #1 scoring defense in the nation, and Optimus Klien looks like the best player in the nation this year - in the mold of Cam Newton or Tim Tebow in years past. Maybe the SEC teams aren't the upper-upper echelon this year. They still have a lot of very good teams, but not one of the best three teams in the nation is in the SEC this year.
Nothing wrong with occasionally having an off year for ELITE teams. They still have yet best top to bottom conference in he league.
FSU has 1 loss by 1-point on the road to a 6-4 team, and they keep getting jumped by 2-loss SEC teams who beat other teams that have inflated rankings. When will this madness end???
Shouldn't the aggies be # 1 because they beat the #1 team
Common sense
Let's face it, an Oregon-KSU game is not NEARLY as marketable a matchup as:
1) Oregon vs. Alabama (Pac-12 David vs. SEC Goliath)
2) Notre Dame vs. Anyone (their fan base is huge and even their legion of haters will tune in to watch them fail)
3) Oregon vs. Anyone (the Ducks are currently America's Team, their informal base base nationwide is huge, Nike has a big advertising budget and Nike U. sells a tons of merchandise)
What is your opinion on the unconventional consipiracy theorist wisdom being whispered about around this time every year?
Namely, that the BCS Powers That Be will make sure the officiating crews know that their year-end bonuses just might be a little more generous this year if one of those two matchups were to occur?
I ask this as a UO alum and Duck fan who was there through the "Ducks really suck again this year" 80's, the "wow, we made a bowl game again!" 90s to the current day of "WHAT?! We only made the Rose Bowl?!".
So I've seen the machinations of the College Bowl System from the inside out, from perspective of perennial loser to Pac-12 Dynasty.
My opinion has not changed, namely that the Golden Rule applies. "He who has the gold, makes the rules".
Guru, what is your opinion, on the whole "the refs guide the outcome of the BCS standings to appease the moneymen while making it look kinda sorta legit"?
Guru,
RE: The "Let's face it, an Oregon-KSU game" post
I apologize for the repeat posts. Please remove all but one.
At first the captcha was repeatedly not accepting my input and I saw it did catch some of my later ones without me realizing it.
I am sorry for cluttering up the page. Please remove all but one post. I am still interested in your opinion on the matter.
@anonymous - No worries, I deleted the extraneous posts.
That conspiracy theory has been around, particularly about the SEC, where its best team almost always escapes with a win. But that obviously didn't happen with Alabama and looks like the SEC might be shut out.
I don't personally believe there is a conspiracy other than typical "confirmation bias" of human beings, i.e. I think these guys are good and therefore they should get the benefit of the doubt.
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