The year was 2007. The team was the University of Georgia Bulldogs.
That year the Bulldogs, led by Matthew Stafford, Thomas Brown and a host of others, would have a finish to remember in Athens. They beat a Florida team ranked 9th in the nation (that year Georgia would beat 5 top-25 teams) and finished with a regular season record of (10-2). This was important, mind you, because heading into the final weekend Georgia had a chance to play for the National Championship because the two teams ahead of them lost and they should have been the beneficiary’s of a trip to the title game only to have it snatched away by what was, at the time, a very convincing argument.
Georgia had neither a division or league championship to their credit.
For all their work they had a couple slips against Tennessee and South Carolina that cost them a trip to Atlanta. So they went to the Sugar Bowl with an at-large bid and made mince meat of Colt Brennan (remember him?) and the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.
Fast forward to 2011 and there is speculation that, win or lose, LSU will be in the BCS championship game. That is fair because they won the SEC west and should they come up short in the SEC title game they proved to be the best team in the country by beating Arkansas, Alabama, Oregon, and West Virginia. What is most surprising is their prospective opponent.
Alabama.
Now you will get no argument from me that LSU and Alabama are the two best in the nation. However, I find that this ridiculous double standard can’t go unnoticed and it would be wise not to allow Alabama in the title game over a conference champion such as Oregon, Oklahoma State or even Virginia Tech . If the argument was good in 2008 then it is just as valid in 2011. No matter how good Saban’s bunch is, they don’t deserve to play for a national championship without proving it in the regular season and taking care of all their business in league play. If you don’t agree with that logic I would take it up with coach Mark Richt. He and his squad were the recipients of what will soon be blatant hypocrisy.
