While last night's Big East game between Louisville and Rutgers wasn't actually a conference title game, it played like one - for the winner of the game would in all likelihood represent the conference in a BCS game. Going into the game, neither team was ranked. This will be the start of a trend for such games this weekend, unfortunately.
Tonight, we have more quality conference title games than we have all of tomorrow. How many games are being played tonight? Two. In the MAC title game, 21st ranked Northern Illinois will take on 17th ranked Kent State. In the Pac-12, we'll see 16th ranked UCLA face 8th ranked Stanford - yes, for the second time in two weeks. How lame is that? Especially if you're Stanford, having beaten the Bruins 35-17 just a week prior?
That brings us to Saturday, where four more conference championships will be played - including:
Conference USA: Central Florida vs. Tulsa (neither team is ranked)
ACC: #16 Florida State vs. Georgia Tech (the Yellow Jackets are 6-6)
Big Ten: #12 Nebraska vs. Wisconsin (the Badgers are 7-5 and 4-4 in Big Ten play)
SEC: #2 Alabama vs. #3 Georgia
If we include the Big East game from last night, two out of the seven conference title games are void of a ranked team; another two out of seven have one ranked team (one is a rematch from earlier this year, as Nebraska beat Wisconsin); and one of the three with two ranked teams is a rematch from last week.
The two most interesting match-ups are in the SEC and the MAC. How sad is that? The MAC's title game is more intriguing than those played in the: ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12, and Big East.
Also, think about how much could go wrong this weekend. If UCLA beats Stanford to likely win a trip to the Rose Bowl, it won't be the end of the world. However, I think most unbiased people would agree that the better of the two teams wouldn't be representing the conference in the Rose Bowl. Stanford dominated UCLA last week and now has to find a way to motivate themselves once again to beat the same team the very following week. That's easier said than done, and UCLA will likely hold a motivational edge going into tonight's contest. That potential scenario is the least of my worries, though.
On paper, most people may not believe that it matters who wins between Alabama and Georgia. Whoever wins should play Notre Dame in the national title game, right? As Lee Corso would say, "Not so fast my friend!" If Alabama wins, then I don't think there will be a great deal of controversy on the Crimson Tide facing the Fighting Irish in the title game. However, I think there will a great deal more chatter going on if Georgia wins. If Kansas State beats Texas tomorrow, they, Oregon, and Florida will be fighting for a shot to play Notre Dame in the BCS title game. Georgia's loss this year was a 35-7 blowout at the hands of South Carolina. They played an extremely weak non-conference schedule and a very average conference schedule. Oregon and especially Florida will have solid arguments to make if Georgia defeats Alabama tomorrow.
The two most potentially chaos-inducing games are in the Big Ten and ACC. In the Big Ten we have Nebraska against Wisconsin. Like with the Pac-12 title game between UCLA and Stanford, these two teams have already played this year - with Nebraska coming from behind to beat the Badgers 30-27 in Lincoln. Will Wisconsin hold a bit of a motivational edge in this game, like UCLA, in wanting to prove they can beat a team who beat them earlier? If Wisconsin wins, we'll see an 8-5 and unranked Big Ten team representing the conference in the Rose Bowl. Whether the Pac-12 sent Stanford or UCLA probably wouldn't be of much relevance - they'd likely defeat the Badgers and make the Big Ten look worse than they had previously.
In the ACC, we have Florida State playing Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech is an even 6-6 on the season. If they win, we'll see a 7-6 and unranked team representing the ACC in most likely the Orange Bowl. Chances are the Jackets would lose the bowl game and further damage the conference's already waning reputation in the sport. Does Florida State have the better team? Yes. Should they win? Yes. Does that mean they will win? No. These are 18-22 year old kids playing. They fought hard against in-state rival Florida last weekend, but wound up getting trampled in the second half en route to a 37-26 loss to the Gators. It's hard to say whether or not these kids' heads will be fully in the game. Who has more to prove? An unranked team like Georgia Tech, who had to fight for their lives to become bowl eligible, and playing a top 10 team for most of the season, or a team that was ranked in the top 10 for most of the year, even had aspirations of making it to the national title game, but fell short in the end?
After this weekend, the following is possible:
Rose Bowl: #15 UCLA (10-3) vs. Wisconsin (8-5)
Orange Bowl: Georgia Tech (7-6) vs. ???
Title Game: #1 Notre Dame (12-0) vs. #2 Georgia (12-1) (with 11-1 Oregon, 11-1 Kansas State, and 11-1 Florida looking on)
Yeah...when's the playoff start again? ::checks invisible watch::
Tonight, we have more quality conference title games than we have all of tomorrow. How many games are being played tonight? Two. In the MAC title game, 21st ranked Northern Illinois will take on 17th ranked Kent State. In the Pac-12, we'll see 16th ranked UCLA face 8th ranked Stanford - yes, for the second time in two weeks. How lame is that? Especially if you're Stanford, having beaten the Bruins 35-17 just a week prior?
That brings us to Saturday, where four more conference championships will be played - including:
Conference USA: Central Florida vs. Tulsa (neither team is ranked)
ACC: #16 Florida State vs. Georgia Tech (the Yellow Jackets are 6-6)
Big Ten: #12 Nebraska vs. Wisconsin (the Badgers are 7-5 and 4-4 in Big Ten play)
SEC: #2 Alabama vs. #3 Georgia
If we include the Big East game from last night, two out of the seven conference title games are void of a ranked team; another two out of seven have one ranked team (one is a rematch from earlier this year, as Nebraska beat Wisconsin); and one of the three with two ranked teams is a rematch from last week.
The two most interesting match-ups are in the SEC and the MAC. How sad is that? The MAC's title game is more intriguing than those played in the: ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12, and Big East.
Also, think about how much could go wrong this weekend. If UCLA beats Stanford to likely win a trip to the Rose Bowl, it won't be the end of the world. However, I think most unbiased people would agree that the better of the two teams wouldn't be representing the conference in the Rose Bowl. Stanford dominated UCLA last week and now has to find a way to motivate themselves once again to beat the same team the very following week. That's easier said than done, and UCLA will likely hold a motivational edge going into tonight's contest. That potential scenario is the least of my worries, though.
On paper, most people may not believe that it matters who wins between Alabama and Georgia. Whoever wins should play Notre Dame in the national title game, right? As Lee Corso would say, "Not so fast my friend!" If Alabama wins, then I don't think there will be a great deal of controversy on the Crimson Tide facing the Fighting Irish in the title game. However, I think there will a great deal more chatter going on if Georgia wins. If Kansas State beats Texas tomorrow, they, Oregon, and Florida will be fighting for a shot to play Notre Dame in the BCS title game. Georgia's loss this year was a 35-7 blowout at the hands of South Carolina. They played an extremely weak non-conference schedule and a very average conference schedule. Oregon and especially Florida will have solid arguments to make if Georgia defeats Alabama tomorrow.
The two most potentially chaos-inducing games are in the Big Ten and ACC. In the Big Ten we have Nebraska against Wisconsin. Like with the Pac-12 title game between UCLA and Stanford, these two teams have already played this year - with Nebraska coming from behind to beat the Badgers 30-27 in Lincoln. Will Wisconsin hold a bit of a motivational edge in this game, like UCLA, in wanting to prove they can beat a team who beat them earlier? If Wisconsin wins, we'll see an 8-5 and unranked Big Ten team representing the conference in the Rose Bowl. Whether the Pac-12 sent Stanford or UCLA probably wouldn't be of much relevance - they'd likely defeat the Badgers and make the Big Ten look worse than they had previously.
In the ACC, we have Florida State playing Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech is an even 6-6 on the season. If they win, we'll see a 7-6 and unranked team representing the ACC in most likely the Orange Bowl. Chances are the Jackets would lose the bowl game and further damage the conference's already waning reputation in the sport. Does Florida State have the better team? Yes. Should they win? Yes. Does that mean they will win? No. These are 18-22 year old kids playing. They fought hard against in-state rival Florida last weekend, but wound up getting trampled in the second half en route to a 37-26 loss to the Gators. It's hard to say whether or not these kids' heads will be fully in the game. Who has more to prove? An unranked team like Georgia Tech, who had to fight for their lives to become bowl eligible, and playing a top 10 team for most of the season, or a team that was ranked in the top 10 for most of the year, even had aspirations of making it to the national title game, but fell short in the end?
After this weekend, the following is possible:
Rose Bowl: #15 UCLA (10-3) vs. Wisconsin (8-5)
Orange Bowl: Georgia Tech (7-6) vs. ???
Title Game: #1 Notre Dame (12-0) vs. #2 Georgia (12-1) (with 11-1 Oregon, 11-1 Kansas State, and 11-1 Florida looking on)
Yeah...when's the playoff start again? ::checks invisible watch::
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