(This is Part one in a two-part series where Mike and I debate whether or not Notre Dame deserves to play in the National Championship Game.)
In roughly six weeks, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will take the field to play for the National Championship. This will occur despite the fact that Notre Dame is not one of the five best college football teams in the country. There are many reasons why the Irish shouldn't be playing for the title but they boil down to the same reason: the BCS playoff system does not yet exist. I know there is a four-team playoff coming in the near future but that doesn't change the fact that poor, innocent teams will be screwed over yet again in favor of independents with deceptively unimpressive resumes.
Notre Dame backers point to two centreal reasons why the Irish deserve this shot at the championship. They remind us that the Irish are the only bowl- eligible undefeated team (Luckily for us viewers, undefeated Ohio St. is ineligible which will allow a much more worthy SEC team to play for the National Championship) and that the Irish have defeated nine bowl-eligible teams this year. This is meant to tell us Notre Dame has played a very tough schedule and fought through it to go undefeated. However, upon further review, this fact seems a little less impressive. And, since there is no playoff system, an impressive resume is the only way to earn a spot in the National Championship. So which teams in the top five really deserve a shot at the title?
Yes, the Fighting Irish defeated nine bowl eligible teams. That and a nickel will get a cup of coffee from 1947. Who are these stellar, God-like bowl-eligible teams that Notre Dame somehow slayed? Well, the Irish destroyed Navy week one. Navy promptly went on to face a slew of high-school and so small you never heard of the school teams for the rest of the season and still only finished 7-4. They then defeated Purdue who finished 6-6 (3-5 in the below-average Big Ten) and nearly lost to Marshall. The Irish then went on to eek out victories over vastly over-rated Michigan and Michigan St. teams. Week six, the Irish dominated a Miami team that would be bowl eligible if it weren't for self-imposed sanctions.
Next was a genuinely impressive win over a very good Stanford team, albeit in overtime. They then defeated BYU by a slim three points. This BYU team, by the grace of God, finished 7-5 and is bowl eligible. Their wins include Washington St., Weber St., Hawaii, Utah St., Georgia Tech, Idaho and New Mexico St. The Irish then went on to beat Oklahoma handily, 30-13. This Sooners team finished 9-2 but managed to win only one non-overtime game against a top-25 opponent. In other words, they didn't prove anything. The Irish then barely survived in a triple-overtime game against Pittsburgh and came on late to defeat lowly Boston College. After demolishing Wake Forest, the Irish barely held on to defeat a USC team that had lost three of its last four games and was starting a red-shirt freshman at quarterback.
So let's recap those nine victories over "bowl-eligible" teams: one team that actually isn't even eligible due to sanctions (and doesn't have all that impressive of a resume anyway), one 7-4 independent who also lost to Troy, three average to below-average Big Ten teams (none of whom are one of the top-three teams in the Big Ten), a BYU team and their aforementioned accomplishments, an under-tested Oklahoma team, a banged-up and reeling USC team and an overtime win over Stanford.
To me, this resume seems rather unimpressive. And, since there is no playoff system, an impressive resume is the only way to earn a spot in the National Championship. So which teams in the top five really deserve a shot at the title?
Honorable Mention: Texas A+M- The Aggies impressed in their first season in the SEC and Heisman favorite Johnny Manizel was stellar in defeating Alabama. But two loss teams don't make National Championships in non-completely insane seasons (2007).
5. Kansas St.- They nearly went undefeated and Colin Klein is among the best dual-threat Quarterbacks in the nation. In fact, they'd likely be taking on Notre Dame for the title if it weren't for a four-touchdown beatdown at the hands of an unranked Baylor team. Kansas St.'s best win came against Oklahoma week four. The Wildcats defeated West Virginia, Texas Tech and Oklahoma St. in consecutive weeks by a combined score of 154-68. They trampled nearly every they came across and scored 50+ points in five games. But they failed to finish the season undefeated and didn't beat anyone who finished in the top 10.
4. Oregon: If for nothing else, the Ducks deserve a shot at the title simply for having the most dynamic offense in college football history. They put up a mind boggling 51 points per game while only giving up 22 per contest. They didn't just beat the best Pac-12 teams, they embarassed them. They shut out Arizona 49-0, demolished Washington 52-21, put up 62 on a USC team with Matt Barkley and BCS hopes and finished the season by doubling up Oregon St. 48-24 in the Civil War. Marcus Mariota threw for 30 touchdowns but the Ducks also ran for an astounding 47 touchdowns. On top of that, the Ducks had seven defensive/special teams touchdowns. This was all in a 12 game season, mind you. However, the Duck's Earth-shaking offense failed in the season's biggest game as they fell to Stanford, 17-14 in overtime.
3. Georgia: The Bulldogs flew under the radar for most of the year but started to garner style points by the end of the season. At first glance the Bulldogs don't apear to have played the toughest schedule. But they took care of business all year against under-rated SEC teams. They dominated a very good Vanderbilt team 48-3 before defeating Tennessee and Ole Miss. The Dogs also defeated Florida, who was second in the nation at that time, 17-9. If the Dogs are somehow able to defeat Alabama in the SEC Championship, they should have their shot at taking on the next team in the rankings for a National Championship.
2. Florida: Believe it or not, the Florida Gators had the toughest schedule in the nation this season. The Gators went 4-1 against the top 13 teams in the country this year. Yes, they defeated Texas A+M, LSU, Florida St. and dominated South Carolina 44-11. In fact, the Gators never gave up more than 20 points in any of their SEC games including a 17-9 loss to Georgia. This is the second best defense in the country (Alabama); it held Tyler Bray and Johnny Football to their worst games all season and didn't allow more than one touchdown in five of it's eight SEC games. The Gators finished off the season strong with an impressive come-from-behind victory against Florida St. When Georgia or Alabama loses next week, Florida will be the one of two one-loss SEC teams and will thus have one of the two most impressive resumes in the country. That is, if they don't already.
1. Alabama: Save for that misstep against Texas A+M, Bama has had one of the most impressive seasons in quite a while. The Crimson Tide allowed only 9.3 points per game while scoring 39 per game. WITH AN SEC SCHEDULE. The team posted four shutouts on the season and two seven-point games. Unlike the Irish, Alabama completely and totally dominated Michigan in the opener, 41-14. They beat Arkansas by a very un-SEC like 52-point margin. They then faced solid Ole Miss, Missouri and Tennessee teams in consecutive weeks and easily disposed of them by a combined score of 119-37. Next the Crimson Tide took on a Mississippi St. team that was 7-0 and would finish 8-4. They won going away, 38-7 (If you're scoring at home, that's four consecutive SEC blowouts). Then, in the game of the year, Alabama eked out a victory over the always-tough LSU Tigers. In Week 10, the Crimson Tide fell to Texas A+M. They did so in A.J. McCarron's worst career game which happened to take place while facing Heisman favorite Johnny Manziel. Alabama closed out the regular season with twin, 49-0 shutouts against Auburn and Western Carolina. If they defeat Georgia, Alabama would cap one of the most impressive seasons of all time. Save for the loss, the Tide would have averaged giving up 7.4 points per game while scoring over 40. If they are able to defeat the Bulldogs, they will take on the Irish in all likelihood. It's difficult to see Notre Dame putting up any kind of fight against these guys. Which is why I believe Florida should be able to play the winner of the SEC Championship for this year's National Championship.
Now, none of this is Notre Dame's fault of course. This will be the one of the final years without a playoff system and thus one of the final years where we will have to speculate who is better than who in a field of teams that haven't played each other. The way the current system works, it's nearly impossible to guarantee a tough schedule unless you play in the SEC. After years of complaints about the schedule being too easy, Notre Dame did their best to put together a difficult season. However Michigan, USC and Oklahoma disappointed which really isn't Notre Dame's fault. However, when it was all said and done, Notre Dame had only one really convincing win (30-13 over Oklahoma) and one outright win over a for sure top-20 team. This is the fault of the BCS and not the Irish. There are a few things the Irish could do to improve their chances in the future. Perhaps they should schedule a few SEC games or maybe they could join a conference. There's a lot of money to be lost on T.V. deals but there's a competitive advantage to be gained.
At its core, the National Championship game is about putting the two best teams in the country against each other. This year, like so many others, those teams should come from the Southeastern Conference.
Couldnt agree more if I tried.
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