The Gators appear bound for the Sugar Bowl, and Alabama coach Nick Saban does not like it.
Florida, fourth in the BCS standings with no more games to play, is expected to jump ahead of the loser of Saturday’s SEC title game between No. 2 Alabama and No. 3 Georgia, which does not seem fair to Saban. The winner of that game will play for the national championship against No. 1 Notre Dame, while the loser would slide to the Capital One Bowl or worse.
“It’s not really a great scenario,” he said. “You play your way into the (SEC) championship game, which means you’re the best team in your division. … It doesn’t seem quite right, but it is what it is. I don’t really know what me commenting about it is going to do to change it. But I don’t feel good about it.”
Gators coach Will Muschamp, who worked under Saban at LSU and with the Miami Dolphins, fired back that if the SEC championship game is such a bad proposition, he would happily trade places.
“Well, I can switch and go to Atlanta if he doesn’t want to go to Atlanta and play (Georgia),” he responded. “Be careful what you ask for, Nick.”
Last season, the Crimson Tide won the national championship game without playing for the SEC title. Alabama finished second to LSU in the Western Division.
The drama heading into Sunday’s bowl selections extends far beyond the Saban-Muschamp squabble and the upcoming SEC championship game (4 p.m., CBS). Like it or not, UF is a virtual lock for the Sugar Bowl. Any team that finishes in the top four is assured a spot in a BCS game as long as no conference sends more than two teams. With an SEC team headed for the national championship game Jan. 7 at Sun Life Stadium, the Sugar Bowl needs a replacement from the conference.
The Gators’ opponent in that game is far less clear.
At first glance, it looks simple. Among the at-large candidates, No. 11 Oklahoma currently is in line for the other Sugar Bowl spot, which would set up a rematch of the national championship game from the end of the 2008 season.
However, three small-conference schools are angling for a spot in the BCS games and can knock out a higher-ranked team.
There are six conferences with direct tie-ins to the BCS. If a champion of a conference outside that group finishes in the top 16 and is ranked above one of the automatic qualifiers, the small-conference team is guaranteed entry.
The Big East has direct access, though none of its teams are ranked. That means if No. 17 Kent State, No. 20 Boise State or No. 21 Northern Illinois breaks into the top 16, that school earns a BCS bid.
Kent State and Northern Illinois play Friday for the MAC championship (7 p.m., ESPN2). Boise State finishes the season at unranked Nevada.
Will there be an opening in the top 16 for one of those teams? No. 13 Florida State and No. 16 UCLA have conference championship games this week. The Bruins play at No. 8 Stanford, a team that beat them 35-17 last week.
The Fiesta Bowl has first pick among at-large choices, followed by the Sugar and Orange. No. 5 Oregon would be irresistible to the Fiesta, leaving the Sugar to select the small-conference school or the Big East winner. The Orange would be forced to take the remaining team.
That means instead of facing a national power like Oklahoma, the Gators probably would draw the winner of the Big East. Louisville, Rutgers and Syracuse — all unranked – still have a shot, though it likely will be the winner of Thursday’s game between Rutgers and Louisville (7:30 p.m., ESPN).
“I just worry about the things we can control, and that’s recruiting right now,” Muschamp said. “If I’m going to have a second to watch a game or something, I’ll watch a game, but we’re going to be recruiting. That’s the most important thing that we need to do.”
