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.
With players later declared ineligible...
leave it to Arkansas to screw up the SEC’s perfect record against OSU.
Not what I am talking about. I was referring to when Oregon played Auburn in the title game a couple of years ago.
Good offensive linemen don’t grow on trees, on most teams there is a huge drop-off in quality between first and second string interior linemen.
That terrible field ruined that game, IMHO.
We are also talking about many seasons where Big 10 teams are ranked high all season until they get smacked in bowl games.
I’m a huge fan of pouring it onto a team in the first quarter. Take away hope as quickly as possible. Let them hang with you into the 3rd quarter and you’ve put adenalyn into their system.
That’s why #61 Tennessee beat #12 South Carolina this year.
Should have stayed in the Southwest Conference.
That's why #61 Tennessee beat #12 South Carolina this year.
I would call it a drop-off in experience. Saban doesn’t recruit junkyard at Alabama and waste a scholarship. JMHO. Sure, someone’s going to win the starting job, but freshmen and sophomore linemen can’t be chopped liver. They’re the future gaining experience.
“With players later declared ineligible...”
For exchanging mementos for tattoos. Wasn’t that a pathetic plateful of knucklehead. Wasn’t even recruiting violations or agents paying players.
Davis deserves it, but I’ve been in geology class. If it caused a pause, I’d clap for the intramural badminton champ.
Here’s what’s gonna happen. OSU will play FSU, and just as with ND last year, they’ll get destroyed..
The SEC has an all-time winning bowl record against the Big 10 - something close to 60%.
And OSU's bowl record against the SEC is 0-10.
I had little use for Pete Carroll and the USC Trojans except embarrassing SEC teams in OOC games. They had a nice little run going there about 8-10 years ago.
Thanks.
Doesn't matter. A non-AQ team ranked in the top 12 (or 16 if it finishes ahead of an AQ team) is guaranteed a BCS game. If NIU is undefeated, should it be in the national title game?
Any game which results in an Oregon loss cannot be characterized as "ruined" in any way, shape, or form!
“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.”
Why? A drop from #1 to #4 is significant for a team that has hung out in 1st place most of the year.
All of these top tier teams are good and deserving of respect.
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