Oregon should be playing bama

[basstotheface]

...my team is down south.

[king_biscuit]

Originally Posted by basstotheface

...my team is down south.

There are a lot of teams down here that don't play an SEC schedule.

[basstotheface]

And they certainly didn't. But I think most everyone out there recognizes they're a top notch, elite defense. Better than all but 1 SEC team on that side of the ball.

[king_biscuit]

Originally Posted by basstotheface

And they certainly didn't. But I think most everyone out there recognizes they're a top notch, elite defense. Better than all but 1 SEC team on that side of the ball.

Almost everyone thought Notre Dame had an elite defense, and clearly that was wrong when they had to step up and actually try to play big boy football.

[Lonesomedave]

Originally Posted by basstotheface

And they certainly didn't. But I think most everyone out there recognizes they're a top notch, elite defense. Better than all but 1 SEC team on that side of the ball.

uh...who are they?

and who did they acquire this lofty reputation by playing?

[basstotheface]

Better teams than Louisville. But that's not the point. My team is of no consequence.

But I do root for that team and not the other members of it's conference. First it was Miami, then Nebraska, next FSU, USC dominated earlier this century, now it's Bama. Someone else always comes along. The idea that real football is played a certain way and that only 3 teams can play it is so beyond arrogant.

EDIT: Where's aborgman when you need him?

[Lonesomedave]

Originally Posted by basstotheface

Better teams than Louisville. But that's not the point. My team is of no consequence.

But I do root for that team and not the other members of it's conference. First it was Miami, then Nebraska, next FSU, USC dominated earlier this century, now it's Bama. Someone else always comes along. The idea that real football is played a certain way and that only 3 teams can play it is so beyond arrogant.

EDIT: Where's aborgman when you need him?

oh, well, why didn't you say so....your team is so great that we can't even mention it's name...man, that IS great!

yeah, of course someone always comes along...but it is likely to be another SEC team unless the rest of the country plays some defense....real defense, not the kind of self-delusional defense like ND, where the stats are accumulated against a bunch of junk teams.

i heard a saying once which was like: "it aint braggin' if you can do it"

as was said...if you don't like the fact that the SEC is the best, make them not the best...c'mon.....beat us and shut us up.

[jp58]

Sigh. Right, because Oregon (who didn't even play for their conference championship) would've been a much better choice than the last undefeated team in the country...

God, I'm ready for the playoffs era to begin.

[nutdog]

Originally Posted by king_biscuit

There are a lot of teams down here that don't play an SEC schedule.

I'm not sure Bama played an SEC schedule.

They thumped a bunch of teams that finished around .500. They played two quality teams during the regular season. Got beat by one and beat the other by 4.

Beat UGA by 4 but it could have easily gone the other way. Notre Dame shouldn't have been there. The top 10 BCS before the game was a joke.

I admire what the Tide and Saban have accomplished. It's truly special. And the SEC is no doubt the best conference top to bottom. But if you nitpick the ND schedule you have to take a closer look at AL.

[Eublet]

ND wouldn't have been in the game if they were in a conference. They should be in the Big 10 by now, where they would have gotten beaten by OSU most likely. It's time for them to quit screwing around and make a commitment that will allow them to develop their team.

Still, they deserved to be there because they were undefeated. They were just completely out-gunned in this game.

A 4-team playoff this year would have been perfect. By that seeding, Oregon would have knocked off Notre Dame very easily. Florida and Alabama would have likely been a very good game, though I think Florida would have lost by 10-14 in the end just because of their very poor and one-dimensional offense. They would have been up for the game though, and would have played some defense at least.

Then you likely have Oregon-Alabama in the championship game, which everyone has wanted to see for years now. Even Oregon-Florida would have been good to watch. Either way, the big game would matter for football reasons, rather than having to deal with the media build ND up for a game that most of the country (according to polls) knew they weren't ready for.

[Pilgrim]

It's not all defense. It's balance with offense and defense. Alabama had excellent balance in last night's game - ND didn't. I think ND had an unusually bad game, but they clearly were outplayed as well.

[Lonesomedave]

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

It's not all defense. It's balance with offense and defense. Alabama had excellent balance in last night's game - ND didn't. I think ND had an unusually bad game, but they clearly were outplayed as well.

obviously, i can't argue with your points, you make some good ones....BUT, i submit:

while it may be about balance to have an a** whoopin" like last night...Alabama could have won the game with its defense if the offense had been mediocre.

correct me if i am wrong, because i don't exactly remember, but Notre Dame didn't even score until the 4th quarter. and by then it did not matter. i am sure if the game had been on the line, Alabama would have stopped them then.

i still say, defense is what wins championships... and Nick Saban obviously agrees with me, because that's who he coaches at practice.

if the other side simply cannot score, you can have the worst offense in college football and still not lose a game.

defense, defense, defense...the SEC has it...other conferences do not...end of story.

[GregC]

Originally Posted by basstotheface

And they certainly didn't. But I think most everyone out there recognizes they're a top notch, elite defense. Better than all but 1 SEC team on that side of the ball.

Not so fast, my friend. http://espn.go.com/ncf/recap?id=323290052
"They controlled the line of scrimmage up front," Fisher said. "They have a very good team. They did a great job."

Florida, not known for its offense, rushed for 244 of its 394 yards against the nation's top-ranked defense, which has benefited from a comparatively weak schedule.

[GregC]

Originally Posted by Lonesomedave

obviously, i can't argue with your points, you make some good ones....BUT, i submit:

while it may be about balance to have an a** whoopin" like last night...Alabama could have won the game with its defense if the offense had been mediocre.

correct me if i am wrong, because i don't exactly remember, but Notre Dame didn't even score until the 4th quarter. and by then it did not matter. i am sure if the game had been on the line, Alabama would have stopped them then.

i still say, defense is what wins championships... and Nick Saban obviously agrees with me, because that's who he coaches at practice.

if the other side simply cannot score, you can have the worst offense in college football and still not lose a game.

defense, defense, defense...the SEC has it...other conferences do not...end of story.

I would state it differently than either of the above. What SEC teams have had during this title run is an unwatched mix of power and speed; their opponents in the BCS title games have failed to keep up with them in one department or both.

06: Ohio State had power, but the Gators made them look like they were running in mud uphill. And yes, I have to mention again that they held the Buckeyes to 82 yards of offense. 8-2.

07: LSU's speed was too much for Ohio State, too.

08: Oklahoma came in with some of the best offensive stats of all time (better than Oregon's the past couple years, I believe), but the Gators had somewhat more power and speed.

09: Bama just outpowered Texas.

10: Auburn had too much power for a crazy-fast Oregon team.

12: Bama had much more speed and power.

[Lonesomedave]

Greg:

obviously i can't disagree with your basic point either...but it doesn't take away from my point.

what you are in effect saying is.....the SEC team during this run was so much better on both sides of the ball, had so much better athletes (power & speed), that the results were almost a foregone conclusion...in hindsight, they WERE a foregone conclusion.

what's the closest thing to a real game of the bunch?....the Oregon-Auburn game you alluded to. and how did Auburn win? by running up and down the field, with the great Cam Newton?

they did not. They won it on defense, holding the vaunted, unstoppable Ducks to 20 odd points.

so, yes, when you are that much better than the opposition, you have a real advantage. it can make you lose sight of the basic truth that defense wins games for the big boys, but when the chips are down....DEFENSE always comes to play, night after night, OFFENSE can come and go, sometimes there sometimes not.

[Eublet]

Originally Posted by Lonesomedave

what's the closest thing to a real game of the bunch?....the Oregon-Auburn game you alluded to. and how did Auburn win? by running up and down the field, with the great Cam Newton?

And the only reason that was even a close game was because Oregon really had a good offense, and Auburn had an average to slightly-poor defense (by any SEC standards...SEC teams moved the ball and racked up big numbers against Auburn all year), yet they still held Oregon to an average number of yards. That was an Oregon team that was piling up HUGE numbers against their defensively-weak competitors all season, yet they found themselves struggling to move the ball and score touchdowns against the SEC's best.

The proof of the pudding is in the tasting, and there has been a lot of pudding the last 7 years..

[basstotheface]

Originally Posted by Lonesomedave

c'mon.....beat us and shut us up.

You're not US. That's my whole point. Vandy fans can not talk smack about football.

[Riverrunsred]

Originally Posted by basstotheface

You're not US. That's my whole point. Vandy fans can not talk smack about football.

Sure they can, they beat a team that the guys from Tally couldn't.

[basstotheface]

FSU finished 12-2 with a BCS bowl win and conference championship and ended the year ranked 8th (2 spots above UF, but who's counting).

[Riverrunsred]

Yet still lost to UF....and NCSU.....but whos counting?