The SEC is always under the microscope from pundits around the nation who like to think they know something about college football.
College Football News posted an article recently where they asked the following question:
Should a one-loss team from the Southeastern Conference be in the BCS national championship game over two undefeated teams from other conferences?
As you can imagine the answers were varied and in some cases, surprising.
Here are some of the more notable excerpts from those responding:
Pete Fiutak, CFN: “While I believe the SEC is a bit overrated and the success by others (like the Big Ten in the Florida New Year’s Day bowls) doesn’t get played up enough, the killers on top of the conference have more than earned the benefit of ten doubts after the last four national title games.”
Matt Zemek, CFN: “If the strength of schedule is even, the non-SEC teams should be playing for the BCS title. A 1-loss SEC team should only play for the title if there are no unbeaten teams with appreciably strong bodies of work.”
Dennis Dodd, CBSSports.com: “Weeeell, that’s a bit superficial don’t you think? Start with the fact that beyond Ala and Fla, the SEC isn’t particularly strong this year.”
Kirk Herbstreit, ESPN: “You can’t assume that a champion from another conference would have an even strength of schedule. There’s not another conference that comes close to the week to week grind of the SEC.”
Verne Lundquist, CBS: “Yes, I’m okay with a one loss SEC champion losing a spot in the BCS title game to two unbeaten conference champions from other BCS conferences, or an unbeaten champion from the Mountain West or Boise State, for that matter.”
Joe Schad, ESPN: “It depends which BCS leagues boast the undefeated teams. If a team in the Big 12, Pac-10 or Big Ten goes undefeated, I can’t envision a one-loss SEC team making the national title game ahead of that team. But if an undefeated ACC or Big East team were deemed weaker than a one-loss SEC team I could see the SEC team getting in.”
The responses that stood out the most were from Fiutak and Dodd.
Fiutak claimed the SEC is “a bit overrated.” Overrated? The SEC? Never.
Dodd clearly knows nothing about college football’s best conference when he wrote that “the SEC isn’t particularly strong this year.”
The SEC is always strong. The conference as a whole may not be as strong in a given year, but the overall strength of the league is always good.
And if Dodd thinks Florida and Alabama are the only teams from the SEC worth talking about this season, he’d be dead wrong.
As for my take on the question, I agree with Verne Lundquist. I have no problem with two undefeated teams from any BCS conference, be it an automatic qualifier or not, playing for the national title.
The whole premise of the BCS is to match the two best teams for college football’s ultimate prize. If a team from a weaker conference goes undefeated – like Boise State or TCU – they deserve a shot to play for the BCS national championship.
To lock one of those teams out over a one-loss team from the SEC or one of the six power conferences only adds fuel to the fire for those who strongly oppose the BCS.
Moreover, passing over an undefeated team in favor of a one-loss team would add to the argument that the BCS violates anti-trust laws.
Politicians like Orrin Hatch and Joe Barton would love to have more ammunition against the BCS, and a one-loss team playing for the national title over an undefeated team would be a big bullet.
