The debate is done. The squabbles have ceased. All arguments about which conference is king of college football have now been bottled up. Over the past two seasons the SEC has flexed its collective muscle and proved to the country once and for all that it is the premier conference in the land.
So now what? What do we as litigious college football fans have left to argue about?
The Heisman trophy candidates? Nah, it’s still way too early to handicap that race. BCS format, perhaps? Been there, done that, and about sick of hearing ridiculous suggestions that will never come to fruition.
So what’s left to debate? Must we return to the issue of conference supremacy so as to quench our thirst for quarrel? Alas, I think it is inevitable.
Fortunately, I can think of one debate that hasn’t been beaten to death like so many others.
Here it goes: Can the SEC succeed in capturing its third straight National Championship?
To ponder this question, we must first separate the SEC’s contenders from its pretenders. Realistically speaking, only four teams have any chance at all to win the big one—those being Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and LSU.
Of the remaining eight teams, Auburn and South Carolina would be closest to the BCS picture, but each has big enough question marks to keep it out of the National Championship discussion.
So let’s break down each of the four contenders’ shots at making it to Miami, starting with the least likely.
Alabama
I’m putting all my money on Nick Saban’s pedigree for this pick. Back in 2000, Saban’s first year as head coach at LSU, the Tigers had a moderately successful season, winning eight games. Under year two of the Saban regime, however, LSU leaped into the national spotlight with an SEC championship game win and a subsequent Sugar Bowl victory.
I think the stage is set for the same type of turnaround in Tuscaloosa. The highly anticipated number one ranked recruiting class has finally arrived on campus with super-stud Julio Jones as the face of the future.
John Parker Wilson is all of a sudden the most seasoned quarterback in the SEC West after the departures of Brandon Cox and Matt Flynn. But does he have the winning mentality it takes (13-13 all-time as a starter) to push his team to the championship level?
What will ultimately keep Alabama out of the National Championship game is its lack of winning experience and tough schedule. Will the Tide be able to emerge unscathed after road games against Georgia and LSU, a neutral site game against Clemson, and possibly a SEC Championship game?
All signs point to no. Fortunately for Alabama fans, Nick Saban doesn’t seem to understand the meaning of the word no.
LSU
If you’re an optimistic LSU fan, you’re thinking to yourself, “Hey, we’ve won two National Championships in the past five years with an unproven quarterback each time. There’s no reason we shouldn’t do the same this year with redshirt freshman Jarrett Lee!
Plus we’ve got a veteran offensive line to protect him and a whole heap of talented running backs to lean on. Not to mention our defensive line might be better than last year’s!”
16 comments Last one added 11 months ago — Leave a Comment
Quantumt 11 months ago
Well written article. I think Auburn has a better chance of getting to NCG than Alabama.
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RkyMtnTiger 11 months ago
You must be a bama fan because I cannot think of another insane reason that you would pick Alabama as a team that can win the NC!
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Nick The Only 11 months ago
Good write up. I agree with the guy above though. Alabama will not play for the national title. LSU is probably a long shot too (only returning 13 starters). The SEC comes down to Florida-Georgia this year. The winner of that game will face an outmatched opponent from the west for the SEC title and a right to play in the BCS title game.
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Tyler Jones 11 months ago
Got to agree. It's coming down to Florida and Georgia. I still like Georgia overall though.
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James Rees 11 months ago
I agree wholeheartedly that Alabama will not play for a national title. But I do think they'll be the fourth best team in the SEC at the end of the year and that's why I included them.
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Brandon 11 months ago
If these are the top 4, then we will probably see UGA vs. Bama in Atlanta, and UGA winning in New Orleans in January. LSU won the NC last year, but they barely made it out of the SEC and they are realistically too young to pull through this year. Florida has Tebow, but I'm just not sure about this coming year, especially with UGA in the same division.
As far as Auburn goes, they will be weaker this year than they have been in a while. I don't see them making it past 7-5, and their season could end 5-7 if they don't play up to expectations. Alabama is definitely in a better position this year.
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Mosang Miles 11 months ago
Good article, although I find it hard to believe that at South Carolina will be a tougher game for Georgia than across the country at Arizona State.
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Ryan Staab 11 months ago
Whoever wins Florida-Georgia will pretty much be the National Champion. All you have to do is hope Ohio State is your opponent and the crystal football is yours.
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Darnell Burton 11 months ago
Change your damn profile picture already - we know you have nude pictures of Mike Hart on that computer of yours, so how bout you just make one of them your profile picture and get it over with? Buckeye fan my ass.
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Ryan Staab 11 months ago
So if I'm don't go around posting "OHIO STATE IS THE GREATEST FOOTBALL TEAM EVER AND WILL BEAT ALL YOUR ASSES AND GO 14-0 IN 2008 BECAUSE THEY'RE SO GOOD THEY'LL WIN 2 GAMES THEY DON'T EVEN PLAY" that means I'm no longer allowed to be a Buckeye fan?
Good to know you have the ability to determine who is worthy and who isn't of being a fan of the Buckeyes.
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Darnell Burton 11 months ago
No, you don't go around posting "OSU IS THE GREATEST EVER".
YOU go around posting "OSU is not good enough to win more than 10 games", and "OSU has no shot against an SEC team" on every article that has anything remotely to do with Ohio State. Jesus Christ man, give your "favorite team" a chance to do at least do something good. At least consider leaving open the tiniest possibility that this team might actually win eleven.
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Ryan Staab 11 months ago
Yeah there's a possiblity the Buckeyes could win eleven or go 12-0 and win the championship, but based on what I've seen Ohio State do the last two seasons and the squad they have this year, I don't see any reason to be impressed with them compared to the teams USC, Florida, UGA and others have this year.
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Kris Green 11 months ago
You are the most pessimistic OSU "fan" I've ever seen. Why must you add to the OSU bashing? I have never seen you defend OSU. Not once. If you truly are an OSU fan you wouldn't feel the need to make all these bashers feel they are right with every post. If you are an OSU fan, then stop the bashing!
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marti038 11 months ago
Bama fan & grad here. We probably won't be playing for a NC. The WLOCP will pretty much be the national championship game. No need to wait for January 1, November 1 is the day. Put it down.
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Timothy Croley 11 months ago
I'll take Bama as the fourth best in the SEC right now. Just give it to me. But next season, that's when Bama stops hoping and starts making its national championship threat again!
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Mark Rupert 11 months ago
Good points. It comes down to UGA or FLA, GA has the better team top to bottom, FLA has the easier schedule, If GA doesnt loose one they are supposed to win going into the FLA game it will be GA.
If GA and FLA schedules were the same then the odds would tilt to GA, as it is, I think GA and FLA have equal chance's.
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Jim Rees 11 months ago
great article . PERFECT way to spend a 90 degree summer night. LSU will start slowly with an untried, untested quarterback. However, with a great offensive line and a great defensive line, early opponents will have difficulty scoring or stopping the Tigers. One of these also-ran quarterbacks will discover the pure joy of handing the ball off to a stable of illusive, powerful running backs with the occassional 8 seconds to throw a 50-yard bomb to 3 very impressive veteran receivers, i.e. Byrd, Tolliver, and the high school all American whose name I forget.
Assuming our Harvard transfer is smart enough to not make mistakes, the Tigers will be a scary team by mid-season. In the SEC championship game, they will pound Florida to win a nail-biter and proceed to the Orange BOwl. Awaiting them will be Ohio State and the rest will be history.
Jimbo says get your SEC championship tickets now.
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z wiz 11 months ago
good lord, who rights this stuff??
How in the world can anyone include alabama in a article about the four SEC teams capable of winning the National Championship???
Last time I looked alabama could not win their state championship. In their last 5 games alabama lost to ULM and Mississippi State among others. The writer somehow seems to have forgotten how terrible alabama was and how they completely collapsed losing to teams with a fraction of the talent they had, and now they are going to win the national title????
I guess alabama fans write these silly articles to make themselves feel better and to try and make that irrelevant team of theirs relevant. fail. bama fans have got to be the most delusional people on the planet.
write another article called "Teams in the SEC that might win 7 games" and you can talk about alabama all you want and still have your credibility.
Sincerely,
Z
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