SEC Bowl Projections
by Alex Scutchfield on Nov 28, 2011 5:52 PM EST
in College Football
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With the SEC regular season over and only the conference championship left to play, it looks like all of the intrigue is gone. I've felt for some time that there would be an All-SEC National Championship game, I just had no idea that this result would basically be set in stone before this weekend. Ironically, the one loss Alabama Crimson Tide are basically assured a spot in the title game while the undefeated LSU Tigers could theoretically play their way out of the game with a bad loss to the Georgia Bulldogs. Some people are griping about it and claiming that its the sign of a broken system. Hogwash. First of all, LSU ain't losing to Georgia. It just isn't going to happen. Secondly, playing for your conference championship is an honor, not an obligation.
Something else interesting is happening in the PAC-12, where my hapless alma mater the UCLA Bruins somehow managed to win the Southern Division and now plays the Oregon Ducks for the conference championship on Friday. To put this in perspective, know that UCLA lost to the USC Trojans 50-0 on Saturday, in a game that amounted to three hours of Lane Kiffin flipping the bird. USC actually won the South but is prohibited from playing for the championship because they are a bunch of cheaters on probation. Now UCLA is likely to miss a bowl because the extra loss to Oregon will drop them to 6-7. Yeah, in some ways that kinda sucks, but on the other hand, get over it. Line up and play the game. No one ever expected a 6-6 team to go to a conference championship just like no one expects an obvious #2 in the country to be sitting home on easy street on championship weekend without a game to play.
If Oklahoma State blows out Oklahoma, the Tide are going to be sweating it a little bit. If LSU takes care of business as I suspect it will, it won't be sweating at all. I bet if you asked the guys on Alabama, each one of them would give up where they are now to be playing Georgia next weekend. What's more, I bet the kids on LSU are more than happy to play another football game.
Line 'em up, play the game.
This week's predictions are tough because the Capital One Bowl has an interesting decision and everything else flows from there. Any one of the Arkansas Razorbacks, South Carolina Gamecocks or Georgia Bulldogs could head to Orlando. I am going with Arkansas because they have the highest BCS ranking, played by far the hardest schedule and are the best team. But that could end up cutting more than one way.
One other note, it looks like tough luck for the Music City Bowl once again. The last time Vanderbilt ended up there, it was an attendance and financial disaster. Mississippi State could bail this situation out and accept a Music City bid, but given the choice I assume it will opt for a more convenient trip to the Liberty Bowl.
National Championship
LSU v. Alabama
Capital One Bowl
Arkansas Razorbacks v. Oklahoma Sooners
Cotton Bowl
Georgia Bulldogs v. Nebraska Cornhuskers
Outback Bowl
South Carolina Gamecocks v. Michigan St. Spartans
Chick-Fil-A Bowl
Auburn Tigers v. Florida St. Seminoles
Gator Bowl
Florida Gators v. The Ohio St. Buckeyes
Liberty Bowl
Mississippi St. Bulldogs v. Houston Cougars
Music CIty Bowl
Vanderbilt Commodores v. North Carolina St. Wolfpack
BBVA Compass Bowl
No eligible team.
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This has been one of the wilder years I can remember when u consider
how the BCS championship game is likely to shake out. Think about it. The SEC could/will have 2 teams playing for the title and neither won the conference (if LSU were to somehow lose to UGA). This has to be the ultimate doomsday scenario that BCS apologists never wanted to see.
Here’s the thing, LSU and Alabama are (in my estimation and almost everyone else’s) clearly the 2 best teams in the country. The BCS’ clear intention is to make sure the 2 best teams play in the championship game (even if that hasnt always ended happening). So I have no problem with it at all. People need to get over the idea that someone has to win their conference to go to the title game. Using that logic a 7-5 UofL team would be more deserving to go to the title game over Alabama. Come on folks get real. That whole concept sounds good as a sound bite but you really have to look at this in a case by case way. You should not punish a team just because of geography.
Anyway, this has been very exciting to watch and see how this whole season shakes out. Teams keep failing right and left.
Slower Traffic Keep Right!
Yeah.
Georgia would likely wind up in the Sugar Bowl if they beat LSU, and the SEC could wind up with 3 BCS slots. Don’t think that has ever happened in the BCS’ history.
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
Correct that "would likely" to "would certainly."
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
Conference Championships Should Mean Something.
If Bama couldn’t beat LSU during the regular season, then someone else should get the opportunity to do so in a bowl game. BTW the UCLA situation isn’t the most stupid in the PAC12. That honor belongs to Stanford being ranked ahead of Oregon. That being the same Stanford that isn’t even playing in the Conference Championship because they were crushed by Oregon. At home. On a wet and torn up field. With Oregon’s best player still recovering from a serious injury.
Giving Bama a second chance is just another example of the dumbing down of America.
Oh, if only Oregon or Boise had better kickers. Oh well.
by darkandbloody@gmail.com on Nov 28, 2011 4:03 PM EST reply actions
I don't agree.
This is all about the best two teams in America, or should be. Conferences should mean something getting into the BCS, but other than that, nothing.
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
That could be an ugly set of matchups for the SEC.
National Champion from the SEC (well, duh) but after that there are no cakewalks for the SEC teams. In fact, each have a very real chance of losing in any of those games.
It will be interesting to see if the Capital One picks the 3rd best SEC team (Arkansas) or a team that is better geographically for filling seats (Georgia/South Carolina). Arkansas would be flattered to go to the Capital One but wouldn’t mind staying closer to home for the fans – Cotton Bowl.
War is God's way of teaching Americans geography. - Ambrose Bierce
I just have to say it....
The BCS is the dumbest system for deciding a National Champion ever devised…….I actually like it better when humans decided who to put in the title game, but the system will never be good until we scrap this whole BOWL bullshit ( Capital One bowl boy that is a legacy Tostios Fiesta Bowl GTFO CORPORATE BS)and F the plus 1 crap. The tournament format is the only way to truly decide who the best team in NCAA FBS is PERIOD!
I believe you have your Cotton and Capital One tie-ins mixed up
and that Gator Bowl matchup would be kinda epic
Heel for school, Vol for life!
Bolts, Preds, Canes (childhood team, home state team, hometown team). Canes mini-STH. Southern hockey solidarity!
by Incipient_Senescence on Nov 28, 2011 7:03 PM EST reply actions
I read many of the comments on your post game write-up
You have a very tough crew on your hands who are wanting to push the discharge buttons immediately. Your responses were similar to what Glenn’s are here about Joker, though the circumstances surrounding the two are completely different. I havn’t a clue what will transpire with either, but wish to say best of luck to you.
A man is nothing more than a summation of his scars!
thanks
Heel for school, Vol for life!
Bolts, Preds, Canes (childhood team, home state team, hometown team). Canes mini-STH. Southern hockey solidarity!
by Incipient_Senescence on Nov 29, 2011 10:09 AM EST up reply actions
We will agree to disagree.
Bama proved they are not the best team by losing to LSU. Someone else should be given the opportunity to rise to the occasion.
Look we all know that UK two years ago was better than WVU except for that two hour period when the game was actually played. No one asked for the game to be replayed because when the moment came, UK failed. That is the way it has always worked and that is what happened to Bama. They weren’t ready at the moment of truth They lost and should not get another shot.
by darkandbloody@gmail.com on Nov 28, 2011 8:14 PM EST reply actions
That's not always the way it works.
There have been repeat games in FBS conference championship games. It happened in the SEC last year, though Auburn won both games. In 2001, UT beat LSU in the regular season, but LSU won the SEC championship game and went to the Sugar Bowl.
In last year’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament, UNC did not get an automatic trip to the Final Four because they had beaten UK earlier. LSU advanced to the Final Four over UK in 1986, even though UK had defeated them three times earlier in the season.
In both the basketball of FBS systems, one regular season win has not settled the issue.
by GoLightning on Nov 28, 2011 11:24 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
Exactly.
The loss in-season, particularly by an overtime field goal, proves that LSU was marginally better on that day, and nothing more.
I am absolutely thrilled at the prospect of a rematch between two teams that are clearly the best in the nation.
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
I am too except for one thing - the lack of scoring made the first game rather dull
Defensive struggles are just not my bag, I rather see a team lose 45-50 and see some excitement.
A man is nothing more than a summation of his scars!
Not to mention that Bama missed 4 FG's...
How often does that happen? I can’t remember a time when that has happened, although I am sure it has.
Slower Traffic Keep Right!
Conference Championship Games are not the issue...
To coin a phrase, what happens within a conference stays in the conference. Which is what should happen to Bama…they had their chance.
My point re WVU and UK was a poor one because I didn’t stipulate basketball has a tournament and football has bowl games, a computer and voters.
Nonetheless, the point remains valid. You would be laughed at if you had suggested that UK deserved another chance after the WVU loss. Just as the idea of giving Bama another chance should be laughed at.
I really wish you hadn’t brought up that LSU game. Terrible memories….the forward for LSU, Reddmon Redman, Redface career high points…32 or something..climbing all over everyone..I really think he should have been required to bring a saddle the way he was riding the Cats….I will have to look it up.
I think that game supports my point btw. The Cats had killed LSU three times that year (as I recall) and the tournament officials decided in their wisdom the Cats needed to go 4 for 4 before reaching the final four. Which is just another example of stupid seeding…a blind squirrel will eventually find a nut…
by darkandbloody@gmail.com on Nov 29, 2011 7:04 PM EST up reply actions
I can see we are never going to agree about this one. :-)
Well, that’s fine. Different strokes.
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
Several inaccuracies here
First, if Houston wins this Saturday, they will be in a BCS bowl (probably the Sugar), not the Liberty Bowl.
Second, the Liberty Bowl will not be hosting a C-USA team this year. The Big East agreement with the BBVA Compass Bank Bowl stipulates they are guaranteed to play an SEC team in either the BBVA or Liberty Bowl. Since the SEC won’t be sending a team to Birmingham, the Big East will send its team to face an SEC opponent in the Liberty, and the C-USA team goes to the BBVA.
Finally, if the 2008 Music City Bowl was an “attendance and financial disaster,” (source?), it wasn’t because of Vanderbilt, as you imply. Attendance at that game was 54,000, but Boston College literally brought only about 2,000-3,000 fans.
by AuricGoldfinger on Nov 30, 2011 11:25 AM EST reply actions
missed 4 FGs???
Bama did not miss 4 Field Goals, LSU blocked one! Give credit, where credit is due! 3 phases of a football game: Offense, Defense, Special Teams. If you lack severely in one the you could lose the game.
by DSports on Dec 1, 2011 12:58 AM EST via iPhone app reply actions
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