During this run of SEC supremacy over college football — seven consecutive national championships, nine of 15 BCS titles overall — the conference has had two things going for it: No. 1) Tremendous strength; No. 2) Good fortune.
Funny how everybody forgets No. 2.
There is a good chance an SEC team will be left out of the BCS championship game for the first time since 2005. So, of course, torch-carrying villagers from SEC territories are reacting like George Washington was just voted off Mount Rushmore.
Welcome to the center of the selective memory universe.
In 2003, USC, despite winning its final game and holding down No. 1 in both wire service polls, was leapfrogged by SEC champion LSU in the final BCS poll and played Oklahoma in the title game. In 2006, enough voters jumped the SEC’s Florida over No. 2 Michigan just because they didn’t want to see a Michigan-Ohio State rematch (the Buckeyes won the regular-season finale 42-39).
Nobody in SEC land complained then. They celebrated when LSU and Florida went on to win titles. They mocked the relative insignificance of other conferences.
And maybe I missed it but wasn’t it just in 2011 when Alabama was granted access to the BCS finale against LSU, even though it didn’t even qualify for the conference championship game because it had already lost to that same LSU? (I guess most voters didn’t have a problem with a conference rematch that year. But that was the correct decision then. Right? I mean, right!)
When things swing the SEC's way, this is what school officials, fans and maybe a few too cozy media members say: "It's the system. We rule! Phhht."
When it appears things are going to swing against the SEC this time, this is what we hear: “It’s wrong. The system stinks. Have you seen Ohio State’s schedule?”
This is what SEC officials, fans and maybe a few too cozy media members should say instead: Nothing. In short: Shut up.
The BCS standings have two undefeated, non-SEC teams, Florida State (ACC) and Ohio State (Big Ten), at the top. The next three are from the SEC and have one loss each: Auburn, Alabama and Missouri.
Auburn and Missouri play for the SEC title this week. Both have proven to be very good teams. Auburn just beat No. 1 Alabama. Predictably, many are now proclaiming Auburn to be worthy of a No. 1 or 2 ranking, based on recent results and strength of schedule, even if FSU (vs. Duke) and Ohio State (vs. Michigan State) win their final games.
If this were next season, the SEC wouldn’t be whining because it would have at least one team in a four-team playoff. But we’re not there yet so it’s the system’s fault.
Auburn coach Gus Malzahn is low-key and unassuming and is saying little on the BCS subject. No matter, because his boss, Jay Jacobs, is a big enough blowhard for everybody. The Auburn athletic director told USA Today he finds it “impossible” to believe a one-loss SEC champion could be left out of the BCS title game, as if the conference winner should be preordained.
Here’s what the anti-Ohio State debate comes down to: The Big Ten is weak and, therefore, the Buckeyes are frauds. Ohio State’s non-conference opponents were Buffalo, San Diego State, Cal (1-11) and Florida A&M. If that schedule was put to music, it would be Yanni.
Let’s put aside for a moment that Ohio State is 24-0 in the last two seasons. Also that almost nobody likes Urban Meyer.
The problem is that Jacobs and SEC fans have selective memory. They forget how Auburn got here.
The Tigers lost to LSU by two touchdowns. They barely won two early season games over a pair of 6-6 teams: Washington State (31-24, with two late opponent drives ending at the Auburn 8 and 27) and Mississippi State (24-20 on a late touchdown). They were blessed with that deflected touchdown pass against Georgia — an improbable ending surpassed only by the 100-plus-yard return of the missed field goal against Alabama (which blew several other makeable field goals). The Tigers’ non-conference schedule: Washington State, Arkansas State, Western Carolina, Florida Atlantic.
See? We can play that game with every team.
The case for FSU: It annihilated Clemson (51-14) and Miami (41-14). The case against FSU: The ACC otherwise had a lot of weak teams and the Seminoles were served up Nevada, Bethune-Cookman, Idaho and a Florida team that just lost to Georgia Southern.
The case for Missouri: It went 7-1 in SEC play, including wins over Georgia and Texas A&M. The case against Missouri: It blew a 17-0 fourth-quarter lead to South Carolina and its non-conference games were Murray State, Toledo, Indiana and Arkansas State. (I’m sensing a trend in non-conference scheduling.)
There’s also this: Even the most ardent SEC fan would concede the conference was down this season.
Can a case be made that No. 3 Auburn is better than No. 2 Ohio State? Sure. (For what it’s worth, oddsmaker R.J. Bell said the Buckeyes would be favored by 2 1/2 points if they played). But this year and in this system, the SEC’s complaints ring hollow. The SEC champion doesn’t deserve special dispensation. And enjoy the Sugar Bowl.
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