The outcome of the BCS "National Championship" game is in the history books and the outcome was fairly easy to predict. Even though the game was a blowout it was not even as close as the score.
If anyone watched Notre Dame this season, any at all, they should have come to the conclusion that, while the Irish may have been top ten, they certainly were not anywhere close to being the number one team in the land. That was certainly proven last evening down Miami way.
All in all there would have been quite a number of match ups that would have been much better. Alabama being in the game is perhaps a given, but I would have made a case for a rematch with the Aggies or a meeting with Oregon. Either would have been better than that tripe we were served on a platter.....
If we were just to go on w/l records alone; this season could have easily been a Notre Dame vs Ohio State match up (were the Buckeyes not under sanction). That would have been a joke but could certainly have been the case. Thankfully we at least got to see one team in the game that deserved to be there instead of two marginally top 10 teams masquerading as "national championship" material.
Looking to next season it is not inconceivable that the Tide will be there again. Not inconceivable at all. They will be challenged by Georgia, Texas A&M and Oregon likely. Some dark horses will be in the mix including Oklahoma, LSU, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Florida, and Florida State. Perhaps Kansas State, Louisville, Clemson, Texas, or South Carolina may be in play. We may even see a few real long shots making a move with a Baylor, Boise State, UCLA, TCU, Ole Miss (yes them), Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech (well probably not), or Stanford type team in the mix. We will see.
There were some bright spots, with some teams having a surprisingly good season. No one, (including me), had any inkling that Texas Agriculture would have had such a good first season in the SEC. Sumlin (like Art Briles), just seems to be blessed with great college QB's behind center. It took a few games to work out the bugs, but at the end of the season it is quite possible that the Aggies were the best of the best.
No one would have figured that a MAC squad would make a BCS game. NIU may or may not have deserved to be there, but that had a very good season none the less. More than one MAC team should not be taken lightly by anyone.
Who would have thought that San Jose State would have such a stellar season? No one. Utah State also was very good, but that was perhaps predicatable. For the last couple of years they have been a team that might have been able to surprise some top 10 teams on a good day.
What about Vanderbilt? One of the best seasons in history in Nashville. The Commodores probably won't make a play for the SEC Championship, but if they keep up the good work, they can certainly end the season in a major bowl. I would not rule out the Cotton if they stay on track here. If they were in the ACC or Big East they would have at least challenged for the conference crown and a BCS appearance. They don't play in the ACC or Big East though....
A few others come to mind. Kent State had a commendable year as did Louisiana Tech, Arkansas State, ULL, and San Diego State. Even Duke and Rice had good seasons as far as such things go.
Conversely there were some major "disappointments." USC, this season, is perhaps one of the biggest flops in the history of the game. From a team that was ranked number one and two by most major polls and publications to one that ended up finishing with a Sun Bowl loss to a Georgia Tech squad that should not have even been "bowl eligible." Pretty sad. It is not that the team is without talent. They are loaded with it. Has to be the coaching staff. Kiffin is not a qualified HC at the major college (or any) level probably, but to be somewhat fair, Pete Carroll, who took his unscrupulous act to the NFL, is not without some blame for the shambles that the Trojan program has become.
West Virginia showed such promise at the beginning of the season and many folks (myself included) thought that they make make some noise and find themselves in another BCS game. Not to happen. This team imploded and ended up looking like they could do nothing right. They may be a good team next season but there is some major work ahead......
Some believed that the University of Arkansas would make some noise, but they turned out to be less than average. Frankly, I thought it easy to predict that they would have a below par season. The Petrino fiasco left them in shambles and John L Smith was probably not the man to turn things around. He had personal issues and likely could not give his full attention to the team. The Hogs made a pretty good hire with Bielema but I fear that his brand of football may become outmoded for all but a few schools. That would be another "we will see" perhaps..........
LSU is a bit of a disappointment also. Some folk thought that they were ready to challenge the Tide in the SEC but, having watched numerous games, I knew that was borderline ridicoulous. The same (and more) can be said for Florida. This year they were very very lucky to have the w/l record they finished the season with. Very lucky indeed. The Gators were just not a very good football team.
Perhaps you forgot about Southern Mississippi? In one season the Golden Eagles went from the best in CUSA to a winless season. Now that is ridiculous.
All in all it was a pretty fun season and I ended with year with a fairly decent 121-63 w/l record and more importantly, had a lot of fun with it.
I guess it is time to try to get interested in the NFL playoffs and then begin to pay some attention to college basketball. "March Madness" is one tournament that the NCAA actually does the right way.
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