Interesting article on the SEC and playoffs

[Runole]

http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/story/7036120

Have to say I agree with many of the writers points

[GameTime]

the points are valid but playing a tougher OOC schedule certainly isnt necessary when 6 SEC teams end up in the top25.

[Feel Real Good]

Anyway, despite its impressive pedigree, the SEC has produced only two BCS Championship Game participants in the last eight years. By contrast, the Big 12 has sent five teams to the BCS interpretation of the final dance in that time frame.

Yet the SEC teams won both those games (as heavy underdogs) and the league has had four different schools win national championships in the last 15 years (and Florida twice) and had another go undefeated and get shut out of the title game. The Big XII only won two of the five games referenced their teams participated in. Basically when it comes to national championship level teams, the SEC doesn't produce frauds. In my limited recollection, the last time an SEC team lost in a national championship game was the 1995 season.

[Runole]

Was LSU a heavy underdog?   I know I favored them and I thought USC definitely deserved to be there over that recently thrashed Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship. 35-7 by Kansas State.

Oh and those frauds are produced by the BCS championship series which is the biggest fraud of all!!


Truthfully, IMO the writer's point is the SEC should be working towards a real playoff rather than the status quo based on their "image" of being most powerful, and appearing to get the shaft in appearing in these MNC games.  Of course this is due to their abysmal "out of conference" scheduling which leads to a most dishonest high rating in the biased polls where apparently it is just wins not whom you play!!

[Feel Real Good]

Truthfully, IMO the writer's point is the SEC should be working towards a real playoff rather than the status quo based on their "image" of being most powerful, and appearing to get the shaft in appearing in these MNC games.  Of course this is due to their abysmal "out of conference" scheduling which leads to a most dishonest high rating in the biased polls where apparently it is just wins not whom you play!!

What in the world are you talking about?

If change in college athletics is like pulling teeth, you'd want Bernie Machen to be your dentist.

Florida's president -- and dental surgeon (doctorate from St. Louis University) -- wants to move quickly when it comes to a football playoff. Machen moved the discussion to a new level recently, convincing SEC presidents to discuss a playoff at their next conference meeting in June.

When CBS SportsLine.com sat down with him before Florida's second straight basketball national championship, Machen was more than revealing. The reason he is pushing his agenda is that Fox, he said, is pushing to extend its current BCS contract beyond 2010.

 Machen sees that as an extension of a flawed system.

"Which would just kill it (a playoff)," Machen said. "I made the pitch that if you're ever going to think about it, now is the time to think about it."

The structure of the playoff is merely a "detail." It's more important for him to work on the nation's presidents to go away from the BCS. Machen has a meeting set up on the subject with an upper echelon NCAA official who he won't name. Maybe more surprising is that Machen says that Walt Harrison "is totally with me." Who is Walt Harrison? Only the chairman of the NCAA Executive Committee.

The core idea: Set up a corporation that would run the playoff -- separate from the NCAA and the BCS commissioners.

"I've gotten a lot of inquiries from the non-BCS types and a few BCS types wanting to know what the hell are you doing this for?" Machen said. "Florida is creaming it why don't you just shut up?"

http://www.sportsline.com/collegefootball/story/10105947

[Runole]

What in the world am I talking about?


The same item that you so graciously presented ala Bernie Machen.      The Sec claims that its the "greatest with the mostest" yet SOS just won't cooperate due to the incredibly weak out of conference scheduling.   Auburn despite being undefeated got shut out of a MNC by having a playoff the SEC if truly is as good as it thinks it is most surely would have at least one representative every year.  Heck they may get 2 some years if their "blather" is to be believed.

Unfortunately, the SEC shelved Machen's suggestion and it was never brought up which was why I stated  "THE SEC SHOULD BE WORKING TOWARDS A REAL PLAYOFF"   Understand?


Even with their inflated Poll rankings the SEC still is getting left out of the Big Dance!  Even going undefeated isn't enough! What is a "Diehard THE SEC IS THE GREATEST WITH THE MOSTEST" Fan to do??   Answer- get this playoff Idea going!!



Now I ask you again was LSU a HEAVY UNDERDOG??    Yes or No?

[Feel Real Good]

I presented an article quoting the president of a prominent SEC school saying how bad he wants to see a playoff. If you're going to claim the SEC doesn't want a playoff, I'd really prefer if you cited an article of your own quoting another reputable source.

As for the 2004 BCS national championship game, Oklahoma was a 6 point favorite over LSU. Here's a write up from after the game demonstrating how many people got it wrong:

NOKIA SUGAR BOWL - LSU vs. Oklahoma

Andis Kaulins called it for Oklahoma 45-21
Stewart Mandel called it for Oklahoma 28-17

The favored Sooners were pasted 21-14 by LSU finishing off a dismal performance by the Big 12 in bowl games. What was once the proud and strongest football conference in America has apparently had a reverse in football fortunes as 6 teams in the Big 12 - Oklahoma, Kansas State, Texas, Oklahoma State, Missouri and Kansas - lost in bowl games. Only the Nebraska Cornhuskers and Texas Tech managed to come out on top.

In any case, Oklahoma sure fooled us. What had been touted as one of the best teams of all time turned out to be not even one of the best teams of the year, as OU managed only 12 first downs against a tenacious LSU defense and was limited to 154 yards total rushing and passing. Heisman Trophy winner Jason White completed only 13 of 37 passes for 102 yards for no touchdowns and two interceptions - absolutely disastrous statistics - the Heisman this year clearly went to the wrong player.

http://sportpundit.blogspot.com/2004_01_01_archive.html

[ranman]

FRG,
If by the SEC, you mean the School presidents, please click on the enclosed. 

http://www.al.com/sports/birminghamnews/rmelick.ssf?/base/sports/118103135880880.xml&coll=2

[Feel Real Good]

A few good stats:

Of all the national champions since Florida State won in 1993 (remember that only the BCS champions count in our new world…sorry USC of 2003), only three finished with a loss. Take a wild stab at which league produced those three; yes, the SEC (1995 Florida, 2003 LSU, and 2006 Florida). You can understand why Auburn fans are still angry after their unbeaten team got left out in the cold in 2004. The SEC has proven time and again that when given the chance, it shines through on the highest stage.

But really, how good is the SEC?

To feed the ego a little more, the league has gone 7-1 in the BCS since 2001, with two national titles, and the lone blemish was Georgia’s 38-35 upset loss to West Virginia in the 2006 Sugar Bowl. In that same time span, the Big Ten went 4-6 (with Ohio State winning three of those), the Big 12 went 3-6, and the ACC was 0-6.

Remember, it took USC losing to UCLA and a sizable portion of the voters to go against Michigan just to get Florida in the championship game. Maybe it’s time to start weighing the strength of schedule more when it comes to the SEC, and to realize that a one-loss team here could be the equivalent of an unbeaten team from another conference. That might especially be the case this season.

http://cfn.scout.com/2/661632.html