Some chatter by the sports media talking heads got me to wondering, so I did some research.
I was wrong when I stated that a team had to win their conference to play in the BCS national championship game, thus eliminating Georgia and Kansas from contention. According to the BCS Selection Policies and Procedures, the only requirements to play in the National Championship Game (NCG) is that the two teams must be ranked first and second in the BCS rankings.
What this means is that if the unlikely scenario I posited comes true, and Missouri, West Virginia, and Virginia Tech all lose, what we’d likely see is Ohio State and Georgia playing for the BCS championship. That’s right, one team that played its last game on 11/17, and the other on 11/24, each getting to play for the national title, and only one of whom won its conference. If that scenario isn’t just one of many which continues to scream the need for a playoff system, I don’t know what would be one.
What this means is that if somehow Mizzo, WV, and VT all lose–and things are tied up between BC and VT as of this writing–and LSU prevails, the pollsters would have to give my Tigers some serious love to vault them past Georgia and Kansas to put them in the national championship game. Otherwise, the best they can hope for is the Sugar Bowl. Given how badly they played last week against Arkansas, and the way they’ve struggled all through November, that may just be the best they should get any way. Geaux Tigers!!!
Tag: football
So the Tigers really blew it on Friday. Looking ahead to the SEC championship? Thinking of playing for the national title game? Distracted by the Miles-leaving-for-Michigan chatter? Whatever it was, the LSU football team was clearly not focused on getting past Arkansas, and it led to their number-one ranking being lost again in triple overtime.
Today’s BCS poll has the Tigers in the number seven spot, which is probably about right. (I think they should be ranked ahead of Virginia Tech, a team they trounced early in the season and which has not had as tough a schedule as the Tigers, but since when has playing in the toughest conference counted for anything with the polls?) It is possible for LSU to still advance to the BCS National Championship Game, but they need a lot of help, which they probably won’t get.
1. The Tigers have to put the rest of the season behind them and take care of business against Tennessee in the SEC Championship. The same team that demolished a good Virginia Tech team in week two needs to emerge once again, because, quite frankly, we haven’t seen that team since around week two. The Tigers have a perennial problem of playing down to the level of their opponent, rather than at the consistently high level they should be playing at. This is what cost them the game against Arkansas, and could spell their doom against Tennessee.
2. Missouri has to lose to Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship. (Quite possible, as it appears that the Sooners are better now than when they beat Missouri earlier in the season.)
3. West Virginia has to lose to Pittsburgh. (The most unlikely of these scenarios.)
4. Virginia Tech has to lose to Boston College. (Will the Hokies fall twice in the same year to BC? It happened to Georgia against LSU in 2003. Unfortunately, this is probably the second least-likely outcome.)
If all of the above were to occur, LSU would theoretically be in the BCS Championship game against Ohio State. The season is over for Georgia and Kansas. Since they won’t win their conferences, they’re not allowed to play for the BCS title, despite being ranked by the BCS ahead of LSU.
What I think will actually happen is this:
1. LSU beats Tennessee in a closer-than-it-should’ve-been contest to advance to the Sugar Bowl, much to the chagrin (again) of the Sugar Bowl committee and New Orleans Board of Tourism, both of which want the influx of cash from out-of-staters, rather than fans who can drive the 60 miles between New Orleans and Baton Rouge and still sleep in their own beds.
2. Oklahoma upsets Missouri to win the Big 12.
3. Boston College rallies from behind late in the game to upset VT.
4. West Virginia trounces Pittsburgh much like what they did to Connecticut to advance to the BCS National Championship against Ohio State.
So we shall hope for the former scenario, while acknowledging the latter is far, far more likely…
Yeah? Why not?
Here’s the rub, looking at the latest AP poll and BCS rankings:
Ohio State may be unbeaten, but they haven’t exactly had a tough time in their lossless season. Of the three ranked teams they’ve played, and beaten, none of those teams have been ranked higher than 21. The Big Ten is not so big this season.
LSU, on the other hand, plays in the toughest conference in the land, widely acknowledged as such by the sports media and honest college football coaches and fans. As Mark May said one night on College GameDay Final, “Where do NFL scouts go first? The SEC.” LSU has played twice as many ranked teams to date as OSU, with a record of 5-1 against those opponents. None of those opponents were ranked lower than 17.
Sure, LSU hasn’t been putting up the big numbers against their opponents like the Buckeyes have done, but it’s easy to pad the score and go undefeated when you’re playing a bunch of nobodies. And this nonsense about Kansas leapfrogging the Tigers should the Jayhawks go undefeated? Please. The case for Kansas being number one or two is weak. Their only win against a ranked team was in-state rival Kansas State, which clocked in on the October 6th game day at number 24. Oklahoma has a much better case, even with its one loss, at a higher ranking, since both of its wins came against teams ranked above twenty. The Big 12 as a conference isn’t its usual powerful self this season either, but based on their schedule, I’d still put the Sooners ahead of the Buckeyes–and right behind LSU.
The Tigers have definitely had the hardest road to the national championship, and unlike OSU or Oregon, will have to play one more game to get there. (Barring, that is, back-to-back stumbles against Ole Miss and Arkansas, both in the bottom half of the SEC West.) Looking at the rest of the season, it’s very likely that LSU will be facing a Top 10 opponent in Georgia for that contest, eclipsing by ranking the twelfth-ranked Wolverines OSU faces on the seventeenth.
Ever since, and including, the game against Florida, LSU has been it’s own worst opponent, not the folks on the other side of the ball. Ivan Maisel calls it. The Tigers have played sloppy and undisciplined. It cost them at Kentucky, and made for much closer games against Florida, Auburn, and Alabama. Yet the Tigers still find ways to win against teams the likes of which Ohio State has nightmares about (Florida in Glendale earlier this year), and Oregon prays they won’t have to play in the post-season.
Why is so hard for an undefeated team to emerge from the SEC? Because the conference is just that good. Witness the rankings this week: no conference has more teams in the Top 25 than the SEC. Last season, no conference played in more bowls than the SEC. Last season, no conference won more bowl games than the SEC. (No one won as many as the SEC did, either.) You want to talk strength of schedule? Start with the Southeastern Conference, because that’s where the strength not only lives, but has drilled deep to lay the foundation the rest of college football wishes its conferences were built upon. At least five members of the sports media got it right this week: they cast their number-one votes for the Fighting Tigers of LSU.
If Les Miles can, ahem, “enlighten” his team to the point that the same Tigers who dismantled number-nine Virginia Tech in the second week show up for the rest of the season, the SEC Championship, and the national title game, God help whomever their opponent is.
GEAUX TIGERS!!!
Today is a historic day in the life of our little family: the little phisch is going to his first-ever live, in-person football game. My wife’s boss is a SMU alum, and secured us tickets to tonight’s contest against Tulane, which is where my wife graduated from law school. Before the game, we’ll be at the Tulane Alumni tailgate party, where I’m sure I’ll draw some stares, since I’m in my purple LSU shirt and tan LSU cap.
So here’s the rundown: with me in my LSU regalia, we’re going to be amongst Tulane grads for eats and drinks, assuring them that, yes, we’ll be rooting for the Green Wave during the game. We’ll be sitting in the heart of the SMU side of the field, amongst Mustang grads and their families, assuring them that, yes we’ll be rooting for the ponies during the game. Effectively, we’re going to be Switzerland, my wife told me earlier.
See why I’m feeling a little schizo with regard to college football today?
I’m just hoping it’s a decent football game. I’m also interested in checking out Gerald J. Ford Stadium, which is fairly new, having had its first games played in the 2000 season.
By the way, the game is on Fox Sports Network Southwest at 7 PM CST, so if you see the lone purple-shirt guy amongst a sea of blue, red, and white, that’s probably moi.
The Dallas Stars have gone on the offensive, and hockey season hasn’t even started yet. As part of a new ticket sales campaign, several billboards have gone up around the Dallas metroplex, poking fun at the other three major sports, all represented in the metro area. The jab at baseball is a little weak, if you ask me, and the obvious NBA poke is time- and scandal-sensitive.
My favorite of the billboards, however, is the funniest and the most enduring. Taking a shot at the NFL, it reads:
Take that, Cowboy fans.
Tom’s thoughts on the National Anthem mirror my own.
The missus can regale you with many a tale of Super Bowl, college bowl, NASCAR, baseball, hockey, and other sports viewing wherein I severely critique the anthem singing because they fail in one of the ways Tom speaks of.
Look, we know you’re a good singer. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been chosen in the first place. And if it’s a major sporting event, we know you’re a great singer.
(Or you’re just the flavor of the month, since we all know popularity doesn’t necessarily reflect impressive skill.)
(We do know that, right?)
Well, the Rex Grossman Chicago fans have grown to fear and Colts fans have grown to love was the Rex Grossman that showed up for the Super Bowl™. And the Colts’ defense Colts fans hoped would show up did. Take away that the opening kickoff run back, and you have a blowout, ladies and gentlemen.
Had some fun geeking out on the technology used to show the American Professional Football National Championship™. (See NFL? Two can play the trademark game. Disclaimer: I graciously allow the use of this trademark by any and all persons in the United States and abroad except the National Football League™.)
Our church, like many others, decided to have a Party Which Shall Not Be Named™ to view the American Professional Football National Championship™ game. The kicker was this: said game would start whilst many members, notably the myriad teenagers who would be the prime audience for viewing of said game, were still in attendance of the 5 PM worship service. So, technology to the rescue.
Enter a church member’s TiVo, slaved to his Slingbox. This same fellow’s ThinkPad, with the appropriate Slingbox interface software, resides in the Dungeon, where the above-referenced game was going to be shown. The ThinkPad is hooked up to the Dungeon’s projector unit, resized to a viewing area of 55 inches to comply with NFL regulations. Voila! Kickoff for us was at 6:15 PM CST, and we didn’t have to endure Prince at halftime. (Much to the displeasure of some of the yoots in attendance; it was about a 50-50 split in the vote.)
It was a lot of fun listening to the cheers and jeers of the crowd for the commercials. For instance, the commercial featuring K-Fraud, er, Kevin Federline, was roundly jeered, until the end, when K-Fraud, er, Mr. Federline, is shown working as a fast food fry guy. The jeers quickly turned to cheers. Such is the opinion of most yoots, it would seem, of the former Mr. Britney Spears. (And sorry, Toyota, I can maybe buy that your new Tundra can haul that big load up that steep of a grade from a dead stop, but there’s no freaking way I’m buying it not sliding down the other side when the brakes are applied, anti-lock or not. Your commercial met with wide disapproval from our polled viewers.) Budweiser didn’t get any props from our yoots; apparently they don’t care how “old school” Jay-Z is, August Busch IV, you don’t show up Don Shula.
As a copyright holder myself, I wholeheartedly agree with Brent: the NFL was perfectly within their right to enforce their trademark against the church in Indiana. They just look like royal jerks for doing so.
The 55-inch restriction is a joke; if I had 300 of my closest friends over to my home where they, at no charge whatsoever, could consume beverages and food I purchased and cooked while they watched the Super Bowl™ on my 60-inch plasma (yeah, I wish), what’s the difference between that and the viewing at Fall Creek Baptist Church? (Trademark infringement and the church’s proposition to raise money for a mission trip aside.) That’s still 297 (or however you want to divvy up the households) Nielsen ratings the NFL and CBS aren’t going to get because these people are at my house, where the two are only getting a Nielsen rating of one. (And this is one they’re not even getting, because to have your home counted in the Nielsens, you have to sign your life away to get a little Big Brother Nielsen box.)
I’m not sure why the NFL chose this year to flex its muscle as it did against Fall Creek Baptist Church. I’m sure the NFL has been aware of churches and other non-profit institutions holding Parties Which Shall Not Be Named™ in the past. The American Professional Football National Championship™ has been around for too long, and Super Bowl™ Sunday (is that a trademarked phrase, too, NFL?) has become so ingrained in the American consciousness that I would be quite surprised if no one in the NFL hierarchy was aware of this practice. Again, they just look like royal jerks this go-around.
I, for one, had an enjoyable Super Bowl™ viewing this evening, even if we were limited to 55 inches when we could have gone to 72 or more. It was fun seeing and hearing the reactions of the teenagers, and watching my little phisch tear around the Dungeon while hocked up on watered-down–intentionally so–orange soda and cookies. I didn’t have to endure an obnoxious and overly lavish half-time show featuring a has-been artist. I got to hang out and joke around with Brent, and to a lesser degree, Nathan and Steve. I ate way too much pizza and way too many cookies.
I got to see Tony Dungy get the Super Bowl shot he deserved, and he led his team to victory. I’m happy that Peyton Manning will not become the next Dan Marino. I was glad former LSU Tiger Joseph Addai had a solid game, even if the rookie didn’t score a touchdown. No matter who’s playing, I’m looking forward to the Party Which Shall Not Be Named™ next year.
An observation I’ve made repeatedly to my spouse is that given the temperaments and egos of the engines of the Sodor Railway, I believe Sir Topham Hatt is experienced enough to manage a NBA or NFL team.
I’d really hoped that Bill Parcells would stick around for another year as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, if for no other reason than to eliminate it as a topic of conversation and media salivation.
It’s not like this town isn’t hosting the NHL All-Star Game tomorrow night, or has a playoff-bound hockey team or anything…
Congratulations to the Florida Gators, who have secured their second national championship in 100 years of playing football. The Gators not only answered the question of the sports punditry–whether the Florida defense could slow down Troy Smith and the Buckeye offense–they trampled on it, threw it around, and crushed it in to the earth of the stadium in Glendale. Much like they did to Heisman Trophy winner Smith.
I’m sure the manhandling of Ohio State by Florida comes as a surprise to those who spend little time paying attention to SEC football, which, judging from the press coverage of the last month, leading right up to the kickoff, includes pretty much every sports writer and television personality in the country. These are the same pundits who seem fixated on the Big Ten, an independent team continually in the national mind only because of a TV broadcast deal, and a former-glory team from a mediocre West Coast conference. Perhaps now that two SEC teams have soundly trounced the aforementioned independent team and the season-long number-one Big Ten team, they will sit up and take notice of the powerhouse that is the Southeastern Conference. (Somehow, though, I doubt it.)
Lest, dear reader, you think I speak too quickly with this post’s pronouncement of the SEC being the best conference in the land, allow me to recap the post-season bowl records for you:
* The Big Ten, from whence the former number-one Ohio State Buckeyes hail, finished a woeful 2-5 in bowl play.
* The Big 12 finished only one game better at 3-5.
* The pathetically mediocre Pac-10 finished at a pathetically mediocre .500, going 3-3.
* The “up and coming” ACC, which was supposed to become a powerhouse conference after the uniting of Florida State, Miami, and Virginia Tech under the same banner, also finished even, at 4-4.
* You may point to the Big East’s 5-0 record in bowl play as something worthy of note, until you compare the fact that the bowls in which the Big East played were of little consequence, with the exception of the Orange Bowl, which I am sure will be the lowest-rated of the BCS bowls because it featured a pair of teams pretty much no one cared about, nationally speaking.
What you should take from this then, dear reader–other than the fact that there are way too many bowl games now–is that the SEC finishes 6-3, and is home of the national champion for two of the past four years. The SEC earned more bowl spots than any other conference, and won more bowl games than any other conference. Yet I’ll wager you there won’t be more than one SEC team in the pre-season Top 5 for the 2007 season, given the fixations the sports media and coaches are afflicted with.
The 2006 college football season is now at an end, and I already await the 2007 season’s start in August. The SEC will be leading the way. Sports pundits, please pay attention.