Okay, so it's a down year. But we can't beat the ACC?!? Apparently not. The SEC was 3-3 against its purportedly inferior competitor coming into Saturday, then watched Georgia and South Carolina upset by in-state rivals and Vanderbilt lose to Wake Forest. Those games and the triumph by Florida against Florida State left the SEC 4-6 against the ACC. More on this tomorrow, but how badly does this damage the reputation of the SEC?
Bowl schedule: More muddled. Everything would have been much easier had Georgia and South Carolina just won -- but they didn't, so here where are. Let's assume both Florida and Alabama make the BCS, which seems like a safe bet at this point. My best guess would still put Georgia in the Capital One Bowl, but the Orlando postseason matchup could decide to take Ole Miss. For the moment, we'll say they choose the Dawgs. That would put Ole Miss in the Cotton Bowl and probably keep South Carolina in the Outback (deserving or not). Now the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl can select Kentucky, LSU or Vanderbilt. This is where the chaos starts. Go with Vanderbilt, and you've got an angry LSU that gets kicked down to the Music City Bowl while Kentucky goes to the Liberty. Go with LSU in the Peach, and you've got an angry Music City Bowl forced to choose from a home team that won't sell hotel rooms (Vanderbilt) or a team that's been there, done that -- the last two years. Whoever gets left out in that scenario goes to the Liberty. But put Ole Miss in the Capital One Bowl and LSU in the Cotton Bowl, and then things get real interesting. Georgia and South Carolina are suddenly fighting for the Outback Bowl, with the loser hoping to go to the Peach and giving us the angry Music City Bowl. Welcome to parity. Where am I wrong?
Croom is gone. Who in the world would take the Mississippi State job? I mean, really; do you think any prominent head coach is going to answer a call from the Bulldogs? The more I think about this, the more I begin to wonder if this wasn't a bad decision by whoever made it. Croom had his issues, and the program had stalled, but now you have to start over without a clear candidate for the job.
It's a three-way tie in the Big XII South. Who should go to the championship game? Remember, it's Oklahoma, Texas AND Texas Tech. Also outside the SEC: Wouldn't Rick Neuheisel like nothing better than to keep Southern Cal from getting the Pac-10 crown? More importantly, can he? And if Southern Cal wins the Pac-10, who gets the other BCS berth: Ohio State or Boise State? Oregon State -- America hates you.
