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GEORGIA IN THE BCS TITLE GAME!
Interesting statement. Or, maybe not. It depends on which side of the stadium you sit. But before you click away from this page just here me out.
Why not Georgia? Let's think about it. Too many people are consumed around two teams to believe the best one could emerge from the supreme conference come Saturday night. Georgia is coming into the SEC Championship Game on a 10-game winning streak. Aaron Murray is a top 5 quarterback and arguably the best in the SEC. They have the no. 5 defense in the country and two blowout wins over two ranked teams (at the time they played them). If Georgia puts a helmet on LSU and wins this game, they've shown the best and hottest team in the country is not LSU or Alabama but rather the Bulldogs.
An 11-game win streak, an SEC Title, and a marquee win late in the season over what some experts are calling the greatest college football team ever? I know, I know...this is only scenario playing. Georgia has zero chance to make it into this game because they lost to two ranked teams in early September with records of 10-1 and 10-2, respectively. However, if you look at their body of work over the last 11 games, the perception of Georgia being the no. 1 team in the country is more a reality than any one-loss Stanford, Oklahoma State, or Alabama team. Stanford lost to Oregon, who lost to LSU by more than 10 points. Oklahoma State lost late in the year to Iowa State as soon as they were in the driver's seat for a BCS Title berth. And finally, Alabama: an 11-win team with no division or conference title and a home loss to LSU. Those teams wouldn't have the body of work over the final three months that Georgia has.
Again, I'm not on a rampage to include Georgia in the national title game if they are able to beat LSU. Two losses do not include you in the discussion and I understand the regular season is the college football playoffs. But I think I am saying if the Dawgs are victorious and LSU or Alabama make it into the Big Game, I will once again gripe about the whole BCS format - since it's something I do every December. A Georgia win means a playoff needs to exist in college football because it's about finding the best team in the country - not who has the style points, the quality wins, the victories at critical times, the most NFL prospects, and the constant pandering from the four-letter network.
Granted, it's a tall task to ask of Georgia come Saturday afternoon. LSU runs two-deep on defense and they have enough playmakers to wear us down late in the second half. But I think the country is blind to Georgia's overall capabilities. They have a running game, a great quarterback with plenty of receivers, the biggest offensive line in the country, and they too run two-deep at most defensive positions. It's not unthinkable and Richt plays his best football when he is the underdog.
Like every other team in the country, Georgia has no control over the BCS Title because unfortunately only part of what determines it is played on the field. They do have a chance to "control the controllables" and that is an SEC Title. Win on Saturday and you've done something just as big as any mythical national champion they crown in January. You've won the SEC and over the past decade that has meant being a national champion! A win won't get you into the second game of New Orleans but it would be fun to put another stain on the BCS and crash a hard drive along the way.
Why not Georgia? Let's think about it. Too many people are consumed around two teams to believe the best one could emerge from the supreme conference come Saturday night. Georgia is coming into the SEC Championship Game on a 10-game winning streak. Aaron Murray is a top 5 quarterback and arguably the best in the SEC. They have the no. 5 defense in the country and two blowout wins over two ranked teams (at the time they played them). If Georgia puts a helmet on LSU and wins this game, they've shown the best and hottest team in the country is not LSU or Alabama but rather the Bulldogs.
An 11-game win streak, an SEC Title, and a marquee win late in the season over what some experts are calling the greatest college football team ever? I know, I know...this is only scenario playing. Georgia has zero chance to make it into this game because they lost to two ranked teams in early September with records of 10-1 and 10-2, respectively. However, if you look at their body of work over the last 11 games, the perception of Georgia being the no. 1 team in the country is more a reality than any one-loss Stanford, Oklahoma State, or Alabama team. Stanford lost to Oregon, who lost to LSU by more than 10 points. Oklahoma State lost late in the year to Iowa State as soon as they were in the driver's seat for a BCS Title berth. And finally, Alabama: an 11-win team with no division or conference title and a home loss to LSU. Those teams wouldn't have the body of work over the final three months that Georgia has.
Again, I'm not on a rampage to include Georgia in the national title game if they are able to beat LSU. Two losses do not include you in the discussion and I understand the regular season is the college football playoffs. But I think I am saying if the Dawgs are victorious and LSU or Alabama make it into the Big Game, I will once again gripe about the whole BCS format - since it's something I do every December. A Georgia win means a playoff needs to exist in college football because it's about finding the best team in the country - not who has the style points, the quality wins, the victories at critical times, the most NFL prospects, and the constant pandering from the four-letter network.
Granted, it's a tall task to ask of Georgia come Saturday afternoon. LSU runs two-deep on defense and they have enough playmakers to wear us down late in the second half. But I think the country is blind to Georgia's overall capabilities. They have a running game, a great quarterback with plenty of receivers, the biggest offensive line in the country, and they too run two-deep at most defensive positions. It's not unthinkable and Richt plays his best football when he is the underdog.
Like every other team in the country, Georgia has no control over the BCS Title because unfortunately only part of what determines it is played on the field. They do have a chance to "control the controllables" and that is an SEC Title. Win on Saturday and you've done something just as big as any mythical national champion they crown in January. You've won the SEC and over the past decade that has meant being a national champion! A win won't get you into the second game of New Orleans but it would be fun to put another stain on the BCS and crash a hard drive along the way.