The regular season is over and the SEC has shown once again why it is by far the best conference in college football. With Florida’s convincing victory over Florida State in Tallahassee, it put the Gators in the position to possibly play in the national championship if Notre Dame would’ve fell to USC. While the Irish played dream killer to the Gators BCS title hopes Saturday night, the SEC will have Georgia or Alabama playing Notre Dame for the whole enchilada on January 7th.
Here’s the thing, they’re are several deserving teams that could be in Georgia or Alabama’s place. The farce about the way the BCS is set up is it’s not how you lose, it’s when you lose. Take Oregon for instance, they lost to Stanford late in the year. No one would argue that Stanford is not a quality opponent, yet Oregon gets shut out of the BCS title game with one loss. Florida loses to Georgia, no one would argue that the Bulldogs aren’t a quality opponent. Alabama loses to Texas A&M, at home. I’d be willing to give this a pass. The loss that stops me in my tracks is Georgia losing badly to South Carolina in October. The Gamecocks aren’t a bad team, but are they four touchdowns better than Georgia? That’s the kind of loss that if it happens in November, that team is out of the title hunt. But, due to that loss happening in October, Georgia could regroup and get more wins under it’s belt and re-emerge as a contender. Even Kansas State is getting the shaft, with losing to Baylor late in the year. It’s not a fair process, and I’m happy that the format will be changing, but too late for this year.
So, which of the one loss teams deserves to be in the BCS Championship? Oregon (lost to Stanford), Alabama (lost to Texas A&M), Florida (lost to Georgia) or Kansas State (Lost to Baylor)? The funny part is all these teams would be able to beat Notre Dame.
BMOC: Theo Riddick, RB Notre Dame
Riddick and the running game dominated the USC defensive line last Saturday for 222 yards with 146 yards by Riddick alone. It’s been a successful year for Riddick, who was asked by Coach Kelly to convert from wide receiver back to running back at the start of the season. Riddick along with Cierre Wood and George Atkinson III made the Irish offense tick this season, and gave QB Everett Golson the weapons he needed to open up the passing game by making the opposing defense respect the run. Look for Riddick to be featured in the BCS Championship against either Georgia or Alabama.
They gave WHO a Conference Championship Bid? Georgia Tech
With Miami denying themselves a postseason, the ACC needed an understudy to fill in for their conference championship game. Enter the Yellow Jackets from Georgia Tech. Fresh off a 42-10 defeat from their in-state rival, the Georgia Bulldogs, the Ramblin’ Wreck will play for a BCS bowl bid against Florida State this weekend. Keep in mind that Georgia Tech is 6-6. One of those six losses came against Middle Tennessee by three touchdowns. If Georgia Tech happens to win, they could play MAC Champion Kent State in a BCS Bowl game. Welcome to bizarro world folks.
Project Runway NCAA: Texas A&M Aggies
There’s an old saying that you should always dress for success. The Aggies have done just that in 2012 with their move to the SEC and their Heisman favorite Johnny Manziel leading the Aggies back to prominence. Their new white uniforms are especially sharp, with brown stripes down the sleeves and white helmets with the capitol “T” and a smaller “A&M” on them. This has been a very successful season in Aggieland, and with Johnny Football coming back in 2013, a national title might not be out of the question.
Small School, Big Time Numbers: Zach Zenner, RB, South Dakota State
The football program at South Dakota State mascot is the Jackrabbit. Their running back, Zach Zenner, sure ran like one in the FCS playoffs against Eastern Illinois last Saturday. Zenner ran for a school-record 295 yards and three touchdowns in South Dakota State’s 58-10 win. The Jackrabbits will now square off against North Dakota State in the Fargodome this weekend. You can have the Iron Bowl, Army-Navy, and other college football rivalries, but a battle of the Dakota’s rivals them all in mutual hatred.
Thursday Night Social: Louisville at Rutgers, 8pm, ESPN
The Big East is at stake on Thursday night as Louisville travels to Big Ten bound Rutgers. Louisville was shocked by UConn last week, while Rutgers took the loss against Pittsburgh. If Rutgers wins, they will have the automatic BCS bid. If Louisville wins, it will be a three-way tie between Louisville, Rutgers, and Syracuse for the Big East title. Louisville’s star QB Teddy Bridgewater broke his wrist last week, but will be playing Thursday night. Louisville does hold all the tie-breakers within the division, so this is a de-facto championship game. Huge stakes for a Thursday game.
Josh Adams is a contributor to FBSchedules.com and Stadium Journey. Follow him @Joshthescribe.