Posted on 12/02/2013 8:34:12 AM PST by xzins
With one week to go before the BCS rankings leave us forever, an undefeated Big Ten power missing out on the national championship is somehow an actual worry. Meanwhile, Florida State's sitting pretty. Full standings below.
It doesn't matter that Ohio State went 12-0 last year. It doesn't matter that an unbeaten Auburn was shut out of the BCS National Championship in 2004. It doesn't matter that Ohio State has lost two national title games against SEC teams in recent years. It doesn't matter that the SEC has won seven straight championships.
Or at least it shouldn't.
What will matter, however, is whether the BCS polls and computers rank Ohio State or Auburn No. 2 next week, assuming the Buckeyes and (burnt orange and navy blue) Tigers win their respective conferences. We'd thought we were just about done with the season's series of debates over which team should rank No. 2 and which should rank No. 3, but we've only just now arrived at the biggest one yet.
For now, the updated BCS standings after Week 14's wild weekend:
A win by either the Spartans or the other Tigers would render all this moot (except for Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs suddenly becoming a huge Mizzou* fan, we trust).
* Though Missouri would have a better case for No. 2 than Auburn would, if you ask me, since the (black and gold) Tigers have spent most of the year smashing fools by exorbitant margins. But nobody's asking me. Mizzou's probably too far back to jump that far, barring insanity.
If our new Nos. 2 and 3 win their conferences, the polls would be where Florida State finds its Pasadena opponent. While many voters would fall back on the SEC's presumed strength of schedule and difficulty (and most strength of schedule numbers do rate Auburn's as tougher so far), others would sympathize with a 13-0 BCS conference champion that was ineligible last year. At the moment, the Buckeyes hold that advantage, and would any voters who were unconvinced by an Auburn win over Alabama really be swayed by one over Missouri?
The difference could be Urban Meyer, who's successfully stumped his team into a BCS National Championship before -- and that was an SEC team at the expense of a Big Ten team. But do voters still think of Meyer as they did then? Whether Meyer's national profile has changed since '06 due to various controversies would actually matter. Like, actually help determine the season's champion. That's insane and ridiculous, but it's the system.
We don't know whether Auburn or Ohio State would win the right to go play FSU if the two played on a neutral field. We don't have a playoff yet, not for 12 more months. We do know the Buckeyes have won all but two of their games by multiple scores, while Auburn's won by a single score six times (including the two luckiest, most improbable winning plays of the year). Auburn's also lost a game by 14 points. Gus Malzahn and Nick Marshall have led an immaculate rebuild, but let's not let that loss be a footnote.
So it begins. One more week. The only vital contributions to the debate going forward will be those made by the players on the field in the Big Ten and SEC championship games.
I think it’s funny that the SEC fans think their conference is so great, but apparently it’s easy enough that two teams which went a combined 2-14 in conference play last year were able to make it through the conference with only one loss apiece this year.
The Buckeyes did manage to beat Wisconsin this year. Whoa.
OSU loses in a big way whether they play FSU, Alabama, Mizzou or Auburn.....provided they can even get by Sparty. It's interesting that their only real competition for the year will come at the end of the year.
Yeah, I'd like to see how those southern and western teams would fare in Ann Arbor on January 1.
There is nothing to debate. If OSU wins they will play for the national title. The SEC was and still is way overrated this year. They should try going 2 years undefeated then they can have a point.
What’s Florida State’s SOS rank? Auburn lost to a 3 loss LSU team that lost to a 4 loss Georgia team that had toruble against North Texas State and needed 2 OT’s to beat GA Tech?
And what was Alabama’s signature win this year? Virginia Tech?
A great catch AND run....
It’s not like Auburn didn’t play their cupcakes:
#110 Arkansas State
#217 W Carolina
#80 Florida Atl
#83 Arkansas
#63 Tennessee
5 Games with an average ranked opponent of: 110.
I guess it is Aubrun’s revenge for that Alabama fan that killed all those trees on Auburn’s campus that they toilet paper after wins.
If Florida State as of today was to be the number 1 team in the BCS ratings, they would have had the weakest schedule of any no. 1’s in BCS history.
“According to the Sagarin strength of schedule ratings, Auburn’s schedule rates as the 26th-best in Division I, while Missouri’s is 41st, Ohio State’s 61st and Florida State’s 66th.”
And neither should have Alabama...
That’s why they play the game. It will be a tough game for them no doubt. I think their offense is up to the challenge but their defense is suspect.
But then again FSU playing Duke make have them let their guard down and party too hard during the bowl week.
Easy solution: we don’t need a BCS game, the SEC Championship game should determine the National Champion. That way we can turn our attention to basketball sooner.
The SEC has won the BCS Championship 7 years in a row. Until some other conference can demonstrate some parity with the SEC, which none has recently, the SEC should have the right to defend its supremacy with a one-loss team.
Then play a better none conference schedule, and traveling out past the Mississippi River for a change. Look at what happened to Tennessee against Oregon this year.
Faked right and then went left, which was more than the slow linemen could handle. He had one hand placed on him, and he shrugged that off without losing speed. He had to tiptoe a few steps near the sideline and then it was an easy run to the goal line surrounded by what, 5 or 6 blockers?
I’m surprised Saban had such a slow defense on the field. That was his mistake, not kicking the field goal.
One loss excludes you when there are 2 other qualified teams that are undefeated...
If OSU gets in the title game, FSU will skin them alive.
Says you? Urban Meyer has won 2 BCS title games, so he knows how to prepare a team for the big stage. Plus, this game will be played in Pasadena, California, not south Florida. Buckeye nation will turn out in force for the game.
OSU didn’t lose to any 3 loss teams (Aubrun losing to LSU) that lost to 4 loss teams (LSU losing to Georgia)...get over it.
BTW: Alabama only dropping to #4 is a crock. A loss in the last week of the season deserves a lot steeper drop than that.
Should be behind Missouri for sure...
If Alabama played in the Big10 they’d have 2 or 3 losses on their schedule. See I can do that too.
True, they wouldn’t be able to handle the colder weather.
I have no problem with Alabama dropping only to #4. Sagarin dropped them only to #2.
The truth is that this was not a bad loss. It was against an excellent team, and it was barely a loss by any stretch of the imagination.
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