"Auburn has played six ranked teams," the meme goes, "Who has Oregon played? Nobody."
But Oregon beat Tennessee, an SEC bowl team, on their home field. They beat them more decisively than anyone in the SEC did.
"Tennessee's the worst team in the SEC this year. You beat them early in the year before they jelled."
Got to admire SEC fans. They are champions of circular reasoning. If you pointed out that the Vols beat Kentucky, which took the Auburn to the last minute of play, or played LSU to a standstill, they'd have an answer for that also, something like, "Comparin' scores don't mean nothin'. Y'all aren't prepared for the size and speed of the ESS EEE SEE."
Oregon fans wind up making the same argument that TCU and Boise fans make, that the Ducks beat everybody on their schedule, a schedule that included #4 Stanford, one of the most physical teams in the country, and USC in the Coliseum, one of the nation's fastest and most talented squads. The Tigers are good, very good in fact, and deserving of their number one ranking, but there are plenty of fast, physical athletes in the PAC-10. Oregon won challenging matchups all season.
In truth, the Ducks dominated a down conference. But part of the reason the conference was down was the presence of two dominant teams. Hard to look good when Oregon and Stanford go a combined 17-1 in the league. That means everyone else starts 0-2. Then factor in those out of conference games against Nebraska, TCU, Wisconsin, Iowa, Syracuse, Boise State, and Nevada, and the league doesn't look as bad. Arizona, USC, and Cal could hang in the SEC East.
Actually we'll never know, partly because the SEC rarely ventures outside their home stadiums in non-league play. But the Ducks will take a shot at Auburn on January 10th, and they open next year with LSU on a neutral field.
By then we'll all have a much clearer idea of whether Oregon can compete with the fast, physical SEC.
Play-off would fix this. SEC scheduling non-patsies would fix this. Of course, a couple of good sharp raps to the back of the nearest Auburn fan's head would also fix this. But right now, the best way to fix it is to beat the ever-lovin' snot out of their Rent-a-QB on the largest stage in college football. That'll fix some things, alright.
ReplyDeleteCuriously, the Vol fans were some of the most gracious and respectful I'd ever met, with a tradition every bit as rich and storied. They were equally passionate for their school and their team, but they visited and commented with a cordial, intelligent, competitive spirit rather than belligerence right out of Deliverance.
ReplyDeleteThey were a pleasure to meet, and it heartened me to see that their team made progress through the season and made a bowl. I expect good things from UT in the coming years, and welcome the return visit.
The "Rent-a-QB"--Matt Daddy nailed it with that one. That's priceless, and well-deserved. There's no plausible deniability here. The money was too much. Newton and Auburn will be vacating the SEC title and the Heisman within 24 months. Here's hoping he leaves Glendale with a new laptop from Best Buy and a souvenir watch, and nothing else.
Thanks for the visit,
Dale
"Auburn has played six ranked teams," the meme goes, "Who has Oregon played? Nobody."
ReplyDeleteYou could not have said it better. Gritz fed boys always dominate those raised on Tofu....