In case you missed it, the SEC West’s regular season ended not with a bang, but with a whimper. Arkansas and Auburn were unable to derail the juggernauts that are LSU and Alabama as the Tigers and Tide stayed on course for their National Championship Game rematch.
You may not like the idea of giving these teams another crack at one another, particularly if you support LSU. Why should the Bayou Bengals have to play a team that they already beat on the road? The answer is two-part and simple: (1) LSU and Alabama are, unquestionably, the nation’s best two teams, and (2) The BCS is a horrible, broken system that delivers a dissatisfying outcome.
While we bemoan the obvious need for a playoff, and while our desires are brushed aside in favor of the financial windfalls that keep the BCS alive, we must settle for getting as strong a matchup as we possibly can. With due respect to the rest of the conferences, there is no other team that can compete with the best of the SEC West right now.
It’s not a pleasant thought for we who are fans of other leagues, but its unpleasantness makes it no less true.
The only program with a chance to crash the party is Oklahoma State. The Cowboys would have to win Bedlam convincingly, smashing Oklahoma so hard that the voters would be forced to elevate them above the Tide.
And that’s not going to happen.
Like it or not, the title game is going to be a true title fight between the combatants who deserve it most. If LSU wins, we will have a clear-cut champion. If Alabama evens the season series, we’ll be left with a split decision.
The bigger question is which teams will fill the other eight BCS berths.
Our week 13 numbers:
The individual rankings that contributed were:
Rank Strobl Rank Mitchell Rank Bigalke 1 LSU 1 LSU 1 LSU 2 Alabama 2 Alabama 2 Houston 3 Oklahoma State 3 Stanford 3 Alabama 4 Stanford 4 Oklahoma State 4 Virginia Tech 5 Virginia Tech 5 Virginia Tech 5 Oklahoma State 6 Boise State 6 Houston 6 Stanford 7 Houston 7 Arkansas 7 TCU 8 Wisconsin 8 Boise State 8 Boise State 9 Oregon 9 USC 9 Michigan State 10 USC 10 Oregon 10 Wisconsin Next 3 Next 3 Next 3 Arkansas Michigan State USC Oklahoma Wisconsin Oregon Kansas State Georgia Georgia
We’ll be back each week with updated rankings as part of the Tailgater series.
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*About the Composite Rankings: Composite Rankings are determined by tabulating the rankings provided by each of the three Tailgater contributors. Teams receive between 1 and 13 points for their respective positions in a given “Top 10″ or “Next 3″ list. Higher point totals equal better rankings. Ties are broken based on how the respective teams were ranked by each contributor.
