Sports

Un-stinking-believable: LSU in the National Championship?

I woke up this morning thinking that Les Miles would likely be leaving LSU for Michigan and that an injured LSU team might very well lose the SEC championship game against Tennessee. Boy was I wrong. Les Miles announced this afternoon in no uncertain terms that he would be staying at LSU. Then LSU beat the Vols to win the SEC title game. And as if that weren’t enough, the top two teams in the nation lost, and now LSU is back in the hunt for the national championship. Un-stinking-believable.

That being said, this is a really sorry way to end the season. And I’m not talking about LSU’s sloppy victory. I’m talking about the idiotic BCS system that has once again left us hanging at the end of the season wondering who the two best teams are. LSU has an argument to make, but so do a lot of other teams. LSU’s quarterback (Matt Flynn) and leading defensive player (Glenn Dorsey) are both injured, and I think the Tigers have not been able to finish the season as well as they started it. In contrast, Georgia is white hot right now, and so is USC. Oklahoma looked really good as they decisively beat the number one team in the nation today to secure the Big 12 title.

I think all of this goes to show that we need a play-off really bad, not head coaches pleading their case on Sports Center and trying to convince poll voters why their team should be in the national championship game (as Les Miles, Mark Richt, and Pete Carroll all did this evening). National Champions should not be determined by logical argument. They should be determined by 22 guys smashing each other in the mouth for four quarters until one side ends the game with more points than the other. Unfortunately, that’s not the system we have. What a joke.

If there’s anything more un-stinking-believable than the fact that the Tigers may yet play for the national title, it’s that Division 1-A college football still doesn’t have a playoff. Hopefully that will change soon.

7 Comments

  • Don

    Denny, Congrats…… LSU looked like the team they were said to be.. They showed great pride playing with so many key guys banged up. The D this week played a great game and they[Penelli} learned to send some people this week.. As I said before Not a big LSU fan, but I hope they get in the big game. The season they had, the teams they play, they should get the shot. As a Michigan fan I take my hat off to Coach Miles for having this team ready to play. Sorry he won’t be at MU but they did not play it right.That ESPN story is a typical media sham.. Not fair to do to the school, the team and the coach. Hester is a true football hero.. Throwback type making plays on punts and all.

  • Micah

    Well, well. What a crazy night.

    I don’t think I can make a bullet-proof case for LSU or OSU in the big game, but I can’t make many great cases against them. It’s possible that Georgia, OU, and USC are all better teams, though all have less respectable losses. Probably LSU and OSU are the best teams for a championship, should the system choose them, but I still think that OU and the amazing Sam Bradford would likely prevail in a playoff.

    And has anyone recently mentioned our need for a legitimate championship system? Oh, that was everyone speaking.

    And Miles is staying a Tiger? I like that a lot, though I have a hard time believing it. Not that I don’t believe Miles, he’s a direct man. I just remember what Tricky Nick said in the recent past. By the way, I hear that Nick Saban is definitely not interested in the Michigan job.

    And cap the day off with Harvard basketball winning against Michigan and my alma mater defeating Texas Tech (and apparently sending Bobby Knight sick into the locker room), and we’ve got one more crazy weekend.

    Good thing the season is over soon. Any more of this and I might have to take up alcoholism as a stress-reliever.

  • Barry

    This has been the most bizarre season I have ever seen. How many upsets can there be in one season? Geez! I still can’t believe both WVA and Mizzou lost. As the CBS guys said, this is one “wild and wacky” season.

    We need a playoff system.

    That said, LSU should have beaten Tenn by at least 14. In the first half alone, they got inside the 15 and did not make it. And why can’t David make 3 from 30 yards at the end of the 1st half? How many points can we keep giving up? Also, being the most-penalized team in the SEC does not help.

    Barry

    PS – For any Ohio St. fans, it looks like the title game may well be a repeat of last year (they get killed by an SEC team!).

  • Micah

    Imagine these pairings playoff pairings for a fantasy NCAA football championship.

    First round byes: 1. OSU 2. LSU 3. Virginia Tech 4. Oklahoma

    First round matchups: 5. Georgia vs 12. Florida, 6. Mizzou vs 11. ASU, 7. USC vs 10. Hawaii, 8. Kansas vs 9. West Virginia

    That’s what we should be watching these next few weeks.

  • Ryan

    Denny,

    You need to thank Mr. Erik Ainge for giving you not only the SEC championship, but also a trip to the National Championship. Its a shame to see Tennessee’s defense dominate LSU into Ainge decides to “throw” it all away. I just hope the SEC dominates it Big 10 again.

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