On Sunday night the final BCS standings were released and as everyone assumed would happen LSU was 1 and Alabama was 2. My question to you is why was this the outcome that everyone assumed would come to fruition? Is it because Alabama is one of college footballs 4 or 5 “golden” programs from yesteryear and today? Is it because Oklahoma State doesn’t play much more than ole defense and runs its high-octane offense in the notoriously offensive heavy big 12? Or is it the reason that I think it is that Alabama and LSU both come from the perceived best conference in college football the SEC?
Regardless of the answers to these questions one thing is obvious: Oklahoma State got screwed out of a chance to play for the national championship of January 9th in New Orleans. Instead of turning this into a rant and rave about the inadequacies of the BCS I’m going to state the case for why Oklahoma State deserves a shot at knocking off undefeated LSU.
First things first lets debunk the myth that most voters tend to hold onto when filling out their ballots, which is that the SEC is worlds better than the Big 12. According to the final BCS standings, I’m going to use the final BCS standings when talking about Oklahoma State and Alabama’s opponent’s ranks, the SEC parked 6 teams in the top 25 while the Big 12 placed 5 teams in the top 25 (7 if you count next year’s arrivals TCU and West Virginia). Out of the 6 SEC teams in the BCS top 25 Alabama went 2-1, If you include their showdown with Penn State in week 2 the Tide went 3-1 overall, against their opponents (somehow Auburn managed to wrap up the 25th spot in the final BCS standings even after a 42-14 drubbing in the Iron Bowl). Oklahoma State went 4-0 against their 4 BCS final 25 opponents and 5-0 if you include their week 4 matchup with Texas A&M who at the time was a top 10 team. Edge: Oklahoma State.
Second reason I think O.K. State got jobbed: Alabama had the weekend off due to not qualifying for their championship game while Oklahoma State had to play another game against a top ranked opponent. This past Saturday, Championship Saturday across the country, Alabama was sitting home watching LSU tussle with Georgia and the Battle of Bedlam between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. In those two games, LSU shook off a slow start and beat down #13 Georgia 42-10 to claim the SEC crown while Oklahoma State did them one better and shellacked #10 and preseason title favorite Oklahoma 44-10. Funny that by sitting home and watching the #1 and #3 ranked teams in the Nation play for and win their conference titles Alabama managed to hold onto their #2 ranking ahead of Big 12 champion Oklahoma State Cowboys. Oklahoma State played a top 10 opponent and made an example of them whooping up on their hated rival the Sooner Schooner’s like it was going out of style. They earned that number 2 spot in the polls behind LSU. Edge: Oklahoma State.
The final reason I think that the O.K. Corral got a raw deal is the most obvious one: Alabama had it’s chance to knock off #1 LSU and secure it’s right to play for the national championship down the road and failed, AT HOME NO LESS! Nice try Alabama you took your best shot and fell just short in OT, 9-6. It’s time for someone else to take a shot at the undisputed #1 LSU. I’m not arguing the idea that Alabama might be the second best team in the nation I’m arguing the point that Oklahoma State did enough during the regular season to earn a chance to challenge LSU for it’s crown. Alabama got their shot during the regular season at home in Tuscaloosa and they tripped up now I want to see if the Big 12 has presented a champion worthy of being crowned national champion. If Alabama beats LSU on January 9th why does that make them national champion? It actually would put the season series at 1-1 with LSU winning one on the road in a hostile environment and Alabama winning one on at a neutral site (though it’s going to be more like a road game since they are playing in the heart of the Bayou Bengals home turf). Sounds like we would need a tiebreaking 3rd game to decide our national champion. I’ve already seen Alabama try to take out LSU I want to see the high flying offense of Oklahoma State led by gunslinger QB Brandon Weeden and all world WR Justin Blackmon, who according to many draft analysis is better than current Cowboys #1 WR Dez Bryant, which says a lot about his talents. I know that Oklahoma State has 1 loss themselves and it came at the hands of a subpar Iowa State team but that game was on the road in a hostile conference environment. Do I think they should’ve lost? No but they beat more quality opponents than Alabama and deserve their first shot at LSU before Alabama deserves a second turn at the buffet line.
There you have it folks that’s why I’m firmly in the camp of seeing Oklahoma State vs. LSU in the Superdome on January 9th as opposed to a rematch of two SEC West powerhouses. I think Oklahoma State got screwed and if you have a compelling argument as to why I should be subjected to seeing a game that I watched play out in LSU’s favor just a month earlier I’d love to engage in a debate with you. For the last time I’ll say for good measure that I’m not saying Oklahoma State is a better team than Alabama I just believe that a rematch of a regular season conference game we’ve already seen isn’t the best national championship matchup in the 2012 BCS National Championship. If you’re a fan of dominant defense than Alabama/LSU is the matchup for you but if you want to see the best defense in the nation try to slow down the most explosive offense in the nation than you’re in the same time zone as me wishing that Oklahoma State had been given the chance to try and pass against the staunch LSU defense. Finally I’d like to commend Mike Gundy on a great job of leading the Oklahoma State Cowboys into a position to be in the national championship debate and not letting himself go down in history as the, “I’m a man!” guy. If you don’t know what I’m talking about take a look at the video linked above and enjoy.
I’ll say it one more time but don’t forget to tune to see LSU take on Alabama January 9th, 2012 in the Mercedes Superdome in New Orleans if you’re a college football fan. It’s going to be a defensive battle. Until we cross paths again…
Geoff Jablonski
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