Whether you are a believer in the BCS system or not – it is the plan in place for NCAA football for the foreseeable future and what it is telling fans this week is: The SEC West is the elite division. Some people have a problem accepting such an idea.
In the Tulsa, Oklahoma area, high school football fans have for years known that it is possible to have two powerhouses in the same geographic region. The Jenks and Union programs have dominated 6-A football for years, and 2011 marks the first time in almost forever that the two won’t play each other for the title. In recent history, the western half of Oklahoma is shut out of title play. For that matter, all but the Tulsa suburbs are usually knocked out by the end of the playoffs.
Jenks and Union will face in an earlier round, eliminating one or the other. That happens frequently in the SEC, as well.
There are some doubters looking dubiously at the LSU, Alabama, and Arkansas trio. Others hate the idea of a possible rematch of earlier games to settle a national championship.
Here is a fact. In the one, two, three of the BCS top teams – number one is unbeaten and numbers two and three have lost only to one and two. Arguably (because anything at all can be argued), the best three teams are at the top.
That does not mean they are unbeatable. LSU will face Arkansas and one of the two will be knocked down. For this week, anyway, these three appear to be the teams with the best shot at the title.
Oklahoma State fans will argue that – since any team can be upset on any given day, a sentiment that is difficult to deny – they may still have the best team in college football. The Cowboys are currently fourth, and poised to make a move if the stars align, the tides shift, the gravitational forces collide, and a large dose of good luck is applied. OSU has already had its lick of back luck, one mixed with tragedy.
The Oklahoma Sooners would have benefited the most from Oregon’s loss over the weekend, and all they had to do was defeat Baylor, a team that has (had) never faced OU on a football field and walked away with a W. They did that on Saturday.
For Sooner fans, it was another tough loss to swallow, but in truth, the team that lost to Baylor is not the same team that started the season. For that matter, it isn’t the same team that was a preseason favorite to win it all. Trying to overcome the death of a key player before the season even began was one thing, enduring the loss of the feature running back and NCAA record-holding receiver was another.
As for the SEC and the one, two, three: it won’t last long. With the introduction of overtime to eliminate football games that end regulation play with a tie-score, either Arkansas or LSU will head home in a happy mood.
But even with an LSU loss, there is no reasonable certainty that they won’t still be in the title game.
That, after all, is the nature of the BCS.
