I agree with the basic premise of this CFN article because the SEC rep in the BCS Title game has struck down the best that the Big Ten, Big 12 and PAC 12 has had to offer in the past 6 years running. "At the moment, the Kansas State-Oregon-Notre Dame BCS championship debate basically boils down to the same old Boise State argument, only beefed up a few notches. Of course any of the top teams could beat anyone in the SEC in a one shot chance, but could any of the top three deal with what South Carolina was handed with Georgia, at LSU and at Florida in back-to-back-to-back weeks without a blemish? Really, you're going to sit there and honestly argue that Kansas State could've been 4-0 against LSU's run of at Florida, South Carolina, at Texas A&M and Alabama? You don't really believe Notre Dame would be 12-0 with Florida's schedule that includes at Texas A&M, LSU, South Carolina, Georgia, and at Florida State, do you?" http://cfn.scout.com/2/557865.html I know if one of the three unbeatens gets in and wins the title without having to play the SEC the fans of that school will be chortling and prancing and feeling very good about themselves.....but really.... wouldn't it be just a little sweeter to win that title by defeating the SEC in the process?
Scott, I have always been in favor of a "plus one" that is essentially what we are going to have anyway with 4 teams. A plus one would have Bama in a play in game as the #4 team in the BCS and that would get it done.
Hey Dave do you think ND could be 11-1 vs the Fla Schedule, or more to the point do you think the Gators could have handled traveling coast to coast as the Irish do and had the season that they have had?
Oh and I must point out that in past discussions about undefeated B12 teams Dave has always taken the position that no Big 12 team could handle a "tough" SEC schedule. Well that Texas A&M team was built to play in the Big 12 and last year they were a .500 team in the Big 12 and now they are one of the top teams in the mighty SEC. How does that compute?
The Aggies underperformed last year ( coaching? ) but you have to give JFF some of the credit. I think A&M wins the Big 12 this year with JFF. I think ND is right on par with UF and probably could have duplicated UF's wins so far. They both have similar year end away games with tough annual rivals so we'll see who perseveres.
Uh Terry, C'mon now. This is NOT the same team, NOT the same schemes run last year, and a completely different leadership style. This A&M team would be running roughshod over the Big 12 right now. I ALMOST wish we'd stayed... BWAHAHAHAHAHA!! No, no I don't. We've been on TV EVERY game, and now have played in the second most watched football game of the entire season. Does that happen in the 12-2? No, it doesn't. Funny thing is... The SEC has for the moment been knocked out of the Title game. Who did it? We did it to ourselves. The only losses on our ledgers have come from other SEC teams...
It is a very convenient argument that a perennial mid-pack Big 12 team, in the year that it becomes an SEC team, is all of a sudden lauded as one of the nation's best teams exclusively by dint of a change in conference affiliation. Excellent, specious argument. I think Texas A&M's continued embarrassment of the rest of the vaunted SEC puts to rest that the SEC is the toughest conference in the country. If they were, A&M would be winless and crying to go back to the Big 12. With all the internal sister kissing, you have nothing except A&M's leap from mediocrity to judge the relative strength of the conference. No wonder you agree with the writer of the article, it's as ridiculous as you are Dave.
This is as big a question to most Gator fans as any and I have a lot of respect for the Gator team, honestly... 8) Dave, Notre Dame travels from Ireland, back to the States then goes coast to coast on an annual basis, playing marque teams scheduled years in advance. The Gators play in the toughest conference in the land by far... But outside of A&M this year anything west of the Mississippi and north of the Mason Dixon line has not happened since Washington was president, if you don't count bowl games. I believe that Notre Dame would be 12-0 with Florida's schedule including last weeks win by the skin of your teeth victory. They are tough, ferocious on defense and don't make mistakes, kinda sounds like the Saban lead team in Alabama doesn't. My question to you is if a team "OUTSIDE" of the SEC wins the National Championship will you be able to say that they are the best team in the land. Or will you hold that an SEC team would have beat them...?
I'll answer that last question in place of Dave for you Ralph: Answer 1: Answer 2: Answer 3: Answer 4:
I don't know how Notre Dame would do against that slate, but there's no one in the SEC that I fear at all. That's no disrespect, nor is it to say we wouldn't lose. I mean, we're no Louisiana-Lafayette or La-Monroe, but we'd show up with our helmets strapped on tight and hope for the best.
Scott you know that if you had been in the Big 12 this year and been having a great year that Dave would have said...oh yeah but you are playing in a no defense league...you couldn't do that in the SEC. Turns out you could.
Ralph consider this..... ND played it's toughest opponent...in a hugely hyped game at OU and won convincingly then came home flat as hell and should have lost to a very mediocre Pitt team. UF played LSU... a very improved Vandy....top 5 at the time South Carolina and then Georgia.....barely losing to the Dawgs at the end of the run. In looking at the two scenarios above what makes you think ND goes 4-0 in those consecutive UF SEC games?
I just spewed beer all over my monitor after reading this: See, this is how it works. If a team is in the SEC, they are AUTOMATICALLY a VERY TOUGH OPPONENT. It doesn't matter how crappy they are, how many warts they have, how one-dimensional they are, or if they've lost a game or not. EVERY TEAM IN THE SEC SHOULD BE RANKED #1a-#1z. Vanderbilt, the AWESOME 6-4 VANDERBILT, with wins against such storied programs as: PRESBYTERIAN 5-5 Missouri (three of those wins include SE Louisiana, UCF, Kentucky) 2-8 AUBURN (with wins over LA-Monroe and NMSU) MASSACHUSETTS 1-9 KENTUCKY (who has a more impressive win, over KENT ST.) 5-5 OLE MISS (with impressive wins over C. Arkansas, UTEP, Tulane, Auburn, Arkansas) I know bloating win totals is legend in the SEC because other than those three or four FCS games that are on the schedule are like playing the New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints week after week, but this schedule REALLY represents a "very improved" Vanderbilt? Oy vey!
So...you think playing Pitt at home is tougher than Vandy on the road? Seriously? And you just dismiss the other three SEC games of LSU, SC and Georgia that surround that Vandy game? I repeat I don't see ND going 4-0 over that stretch.
Ran across this weeks ago...thought about posting it but didn't want to start this argument...but since it's been started.... SEC Isn't So Great Hey, don't sweat it...as long as they are writing articles about why you aren't so great, you must be pretty good.
Nobody knows what ND would do in that stretch, point is that you automatically dismiss that anybody out of hand would have a chance. I think we are better than all of those 4 teams. I think our defense is as good as the Gators, probably better, and while we don't have a high flying offense we do have one and the lack of one is why the Gators didn't go 4-0 in that stretch. Now a team from a league that you automatically dismissed in the past comes into the SEC and does very well and they have a freshman QB and a brand new coach, other than that it's the same team that was just average in the B12.
Terry...Georgia played the worst team in the SEC...one of the worst in any conference in Kentucky the week before they played Florida while UF played a highly emotional game vs. SC....after having also played LSU and Vandy in the games before. If you don't think that makes one hell of a difference then you obviously think that Pitt is as good or possibly better than Notre Dame. Or is it that ND was coming off a highly charged game vs. OU and was actually flat as a pancake vs. Pitt? You can't have it both ways in this debate. If ND could damned near.. as close as it gets.... lose to Pitt at home then there is no way the Irish survive that 4 game stretch unblemished. Could ND win a huge game on a Saturday night in Baton Rouge then come home and hold off Texas A&M with JFF when they could barely hold off Pitt in a similar scenario? Come on man..... Now....on any given day......with time to recharge and prepare.... I thnk ND could play with and beat any team in the SEC. But I also think that with the same time to prepare and recharge the batteries that Nick Saban, Les Miles and yes Will Muschamp can field some pretty good teams too.
Isn't that the excuse you always use though? Gators play some really tough game, or something like that. When I used to ask you why Bowden owned Spurrier you always said ACC refs and tough SEC schedule left Spurriers teams too worn out or something like that. It's a freakin' football game, lots of teams play back to back tough games and then play somebody who has had a week off or a weak team. What will your excuse be when you lose to FSU at Tally after playing a team like Jacksonville State while FSU has to play a conference game? Shouldn't that give you a big edge?