LSU or OSU

[Mule]

Originally Posted by Overpaid Slacker

Neither team can make a stronger claim to be the "best" than a half-dozen other teams... which is what I was saying earlier --> the winner of this game is not the "Best". They're the better team in that game, but there's certainly enough other legitimate contenders for "Best", that, but for this BCS fiction, there would be none of this synthetic "infallibility" or "certainty".

If your view amounts to the winner of this game is "infallibly" and/or "certainly" the best, find another Pope to follow, I can't be your shepherd.

They do pay guys millions of dollars to comment on college football, and many of them (including those East-Coast biased ESPN bastards) lament the fact that USC didn't get a title shot, WVA had a good claim, Georgia got dissed, VaTech and Missou got owned, and the LSU-OSU "contest" will not, in any possible outcome, establish the "best" by any other than a flawed synthetic benchmark.

I like LSU and dislike OSU, but I probably still won't watch most of the game, because the outcome is meaningless to me. MAO: The winner of this game will have a legitimate claim as one of the top 5 teams in the country; no more.

JP

Just a few years ago an UNDEFEATED Auburn team couldn't get a shot at the title. If you're looking for a BCS supporter, you wont find one here. I've been in favor of a playoff. In the mean time, the Nat Champ is determined by the BCS. The winner of Monday night's game IS the Nat Champ. Period. So do you think Herbstreit, Corso & Fowler are not swinging on Pete Carrol's *****? If so, that's priceless.

[lendaddy]

I don't know any BCS supporters, the system is a joke and fan fury is getting pretty high.

[w21055]

Originally Posted by skipdup

is it true that OSU has only beaten one SEC team since WWII?

They have not won any against them in a bowl. They are 1-9-1 since 1935.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Hoping for LSU here.

[skipdup]

Originally Posted by Mule

Just a few years ago an UNDEFEATED Auburn team couldn't get a shot at the title. If you're looking for a BCS supporter, you wont find one here. I've been in favor of a playoff. In the mean time, the Nat Champ is determined by the BCS. The winner of Monday night's game IS the Nat Champ. Period. So do you think Herbstreit, Corso & Fowler are not swinging on Pete Carrol's *****? If so, that's priceless.

Auburn was unstoppable that year.

[Sonic dB]

Im thinking something like LSU 28, ohiostate 17

[Mule]

Originally Posted by skipdup

Auburn was unstoppable that year.

Surely you have failed to consider USC.

[BeyGon]

Originally Posted by nostatic

+1

+2

+4

+8

Is that Limited Slip or the stuff that makes you think you can turn the red light to green?

[skipdup]

Originally Posted by Mule

Surely you have failed to consider USC.

HAHAHA! I'd love to see those guys play a couple back-to-back SEC teams. There's a reason why the SEC has WAYYY more starters/players in the NFL (a distant #2 is the ACC - or so I heard while watching one of the games this past weekend).

[Instrument 41]

EELLLLEEESSSSSUUUUUU Baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Red Baron]

Fear The Hat!!!!!!!!!!

[Mule]

Originally Posted by skipdup

HAHAHA! I'd love to see those guys play a couple back-to-back SEC teams. There's a reason why the SEC has WAYYY more starters/players in the NFL (a distant #2 is the ACC - or so I heard while watching one of the games this past weekend).

You don't face 7 straight losers & only 3 or 4 winners all year by accident. But if you do, guess what that makes you? The greatest team ever to take the field.

[Mule]

OPINION
By Joey Johnston
MSNBC contributor
updated 11:45 p.m. CT, Sun., Dec. 2, 2007

LSU: A charmed team? Well, yeah. You might say that.
Not every team goes 5-for-5 on fourth-down conversions (the Tigers did that against Florida). Not every team disdains a very makeable winning field-goal attempt and goes for broke to the end zone, flirting with the possibility of the clock expiring (the Tigers did that against Auburn, scoring when the clock read 0:01).
Not every team drowns out the noise from a rabid visiting stadium, rallying from a fourth-quarter deficit against its former head coach (the Tigers did that against Alabama). Not every team fights through rumors about the impending departure of its current head coach, then trots onto the field and captures a conference championship, minus its starting quarterback and largely without its premier defensive tackle (the Tigers did that against Tennessee).
Not every team has enough reputation to leap from No. 7 to No. 2 in the final Bowl Championship Series standings, jumping over three title-minded teams that did nothing to lose any ground (the Tigers did that on the final weekend of the season).
So now LSU (11-2) gets the Ohio State Buckeyes (11-1) on Jan. 7 in New Orleans for the national championship.
All things considered, that will be the easy part.
Now we fully expect Ohio State to give a better account of itself than last season’s national-championship flameout (Florida 41, Ohio State 14). Come to think of it, things can’t get worse.
Oh, Ohio State's offensive-line muscle will be a fascinating matchup against LSU’s quick, sometimes inpenetrable defensive line. You’ve got to like the way Buckeyes quarterback Todd Boeckman and running back Chris “Beanie’’ Wells became such compelling factors in Ohio State’s offense.
And the Ohio State defense? Pretty darn effective against Big Ten Conference opponents.
But this is big-boy football now.
The Buckeyes are 0-8 in bowl games against SEC teams. That’s not a coincidence. It’s not the stars aligning in a weird sort of way.
It dates back to Woody Hayes. It spans through the various eras, from Tom Cousineau to James Laurinaitis. It took out a pair of Heisman Trophy winners, Eddie George and Troy Smith.
Much was made last season of the 51-day gap between Ohio State’s defeat of Michigan until the BCS Championship Game in Glendale, Ariz.
Ohio State is now dealing with the same factor. It hasn’t played since Nov. 17. It must battle the rest. Meanwhile, the layoff will work in LSU’s favor. The beat-up Tigers, limping and exhausted at times, get a chance to heal. They will be at full strength for the first time in a long time.
Remember what that was like?
LSU 48, Virginia Tech 7.

Comparing the SEC and Big Ten is enough of a mismatch this season. Let’s take it a step further. Nobody has a more impressive non-conference victory than LSU, which dismantled the Hokies, the 11-2 ACC champions and the No. 1-ranked team by the BCS computer figures.
Let’s go another step.
Superdome?
Home-game atmosphere?
Remember the 2004 Sugar Bowl? It was the BCS championship game. LSU-Oklahoma. The Big Easy was filled with purple-and-gold. Even the Oklahoma players remarked about the omnipresent LSU fans.
Early on, the roar was defeaning. It was a huge factor.
And here’s LSU, back again in its home state, looking for another title. Any other result would not make sense.
Miles — who resisted the job overtures from his alma mater, Michigan (largely because of the distraction factor at the SEC championship game) — finally has a conference title to call his own. Some might say, “Big deal!’’ Wasn’t LSU supposed to win?
Well, yes. In the preseason, there was little doubt about that. In fact, an LSU-USC collision looked practically unavoidable.
So the fact that LSU actually became the first two-loss team to play for the BCS national championship might make you think the Tigers are underachievers. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Consider this:
LSU, two weeks after earning the first No. 1 ranking since Billy Cannon’s era, lost a 43-37 triple-overtime heartbreaker at Kentucky on Oct. 13. The Tigers simply couldn’t put away the Wildcats and big-time quarterback Andre’ Woodson. They had chances, but they were all snuffed out.
The end?
Nope.
The beginning.
Such a loss might finish some teams. Not LSU. It battled again, taking advantage of the crazy regular season, and earned back the No. 1 ranking.
Then, with a national-championship opportunity looking more like a formality, the Tigers fell again on Nov. 23. Again, incredibly, in triple overtime. Arkansas prevailed 50-48, behind the remarkable work of running back Darren McFadden. And everyone had the same question.
How could LSU rebound from this?
Then came the Miles-to-Michigan saga.
And LSU still fought through it all, beating Tennessee, capturing the SEC title, earning back its place at the head table.
That is the definition of a great team.
That is the definition of a resilient team.
By Jan. 7, quarterback Matt Flynn will be ready, working in tandem with Ryan Perrilloux, keeping Ohio State defenders guessing. By Jan. 7, Dorsey will be completely healthy, ready to create his special brand of havoc.
By Jan. 7, LSU will be ready to realize its destiny.
Let’s face it, this season has been insane.
I mean, 13 top-five teams have been defeated by unranked opponents. Before this season, you would’ve had to go back to 1996 for the No. 1 and No. 2 teams to be beaten on the same weekend. This season, the craziness happened three times.
Seemingly, nobody wanted to play for a national title. Definitely, nobody wanted to be No. 2, this season’s cursed position in the rankings.
There were moments when you could’ve pulled the rankings out of a hat.
Now we’re back to some normalcy. If there was a playoff system, I’d pick LSU to play USC, and I’d like the Tigers’ chances.
But we don’t have a playoff system. We have the extremely imperfect BCS, and a finish that doesn’t go down very smoothly.
There’s no problem with LSU getting this shot, though. The Tigers are deserving, even with two losses. Now they have a chance to put a resounding exclamation point on this season filled with question marks.
If you still have a problem with LSU, just examine its lineup. Look at the speed and skill on offense. Study that front seven, its size and mobility. Hear that Superdome roar.
Do you really want your favorite team to play these guys? Do you really think Ohio State — or anybody else — has a shot in this environment?
Exactly.
Joey Johnston writes regularly for msnbc.com and is a columnist for the Tampa (Fla.) Tribune.

[Overpaid Slacker]

The winner is not the "national champion" in any real sense -- it's a synthetic contrivance that I don't buy, and AP Poll writers can still vote for whomever they want -- they don't need to crown the BCS bowl winner their champion. I'd take the AP Poll over any non-playoff scenario, specifically to the exclusion of the "Coaches Poll", which is a farce (and handed the split-title to Nebraska out of an instinct to fellate outgoing coach Switzer when he retired).

I don't claim to be encyclopedic on college football, but just today, in the last hour, listening to ESPN Radio, Colin Cowherd made essentially the same point I made -- that the OSU/LSU winner will be the best in that game, and a very good team, but in no actual sense, the "Champion". He's of the opinion that either USC or Georgia would beat either team.

Mel Kiper this morning (ESPN College Football Guru) said he'd take USC over OSU, without reservation.

Hey, it's just some guy's opinion -- but it is a guy who's paid beaucoup ducats to opine specifically on college football; and Cowherd, who may not be the most likeable guy in the world, but he's no bullshyt.

When we get to a playoff scheme (and we will...) B(C)S Champions will be looked at as though there's an asterisk. I actually pine for the old AP days...

JP

[Red Baron]

Originally Posted by Overpaid Slacker

The winner is not the "national champion" in any real sense -- it's a synthetic contrivance that I don't buy, and AP Poll writers can still vote for whomever they want -- they don't need to crown the BCS bowl winner their champion. I'd take the AP Poll over any non-playoff scenario, specifically to the exclusion of the "Coaches Poll", which is a farce (and handed the split-title to Nebraska out of an instinct to fellate outgoing coach Switzer when he retired).

I don't claim to be encyclopedic on college football, but just today, in the last hour, listening to ESPN Radio, Colin Cowherd made essentially the same point I made -- that the OSU/LSU winner will be the best in that game, and a very good team, but in no actual sense, the "Champion". He's of the opinion that either USC or Georgia would beat either team.

Mel Kiper this morning (ESPN College Football Guru) said he'd take USC over OSU, without reservation.

Hey, it's just some guy's opinion -- but it is a guy who's paid beaucoup ducats to opine specifically on college football; and Cowherd, who may not be the most likeable guy in the world, but he's no bullshyt.

When we get to a playoff scheme (and we will...) B(C)S Champions will be looked at as though there's an asterisk. I actually pine for the old AP days...

JP

The AP was/is the biggest joke in the history of NCAA Football. You're entitled to your opinion, however I prefer the BCS over the AP crap a million fold. Having guys that never had one leg in a jock-strap picking who they think is best makes the BCS look like a perfect system.

This debate could go on forever until a playoff system is developed and there is a ton of debate on how that should be done also.

[Overpaid Slacker]

No, the Coaches' Poll is the biggest joke in the history of NCAA Football. Having coaches (or, more likely Athletic Directors) choose who is the best? Like maybe their opponent next week should be #1; or maybe their rival should be underrated (see: "John Cooper" ranking Michigan #3 after Michigan beat OSU; and the only coach to rank Michigan that low; which resulted in a split title)

I assume you have the same opinion of how College Basketball is ranked by professional sportswriters and observers -- it's a farce, right?

JP

[lendaddy]

Originally Posted by Overpaid Slacker

No, the Coaches' Poll is the biggest joke in the history of NCAA Football.

JP

Absolutely correct, most of them are filled out by interns and assistants(not a joke). If a head coach actually spent any time considering this or watching the games they should be fired for wasting their time.

[skipdup]

If "professional sportswriters and observers" were really that good, they'd have no time to do "rankings". They'd be too busy spending their winnings.

[lendaddy]

Originally Posted by skipdup

If "professional sportswriters and observers" were really that good, they'd have no time to do "rankings". They'd be too busy spending their winnings.

Knowing which team is better is much different than knowing what a final score will be. Remove spreads and luck and yes they would all be very rich.

[Red Baron]

Originally Posted by Overpaid Slacker

I assume you have the same opinion of how College Basketball is ranked by professional sportswriters and observers -- it's a farce, right?

JP

You're putting apples in with the oranges. That "poll" ONLY seeds them into a tourny, not an automatic "Crowning" as Champions.

Plus basketball sucks