Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Roll Tide Roll


courtesy sports.yahoo.com

The BCS championship concluded last night and it went about how I expected it to go. 

Alabama ended any speculation that Notre Dame would be a national champion with the first drive of the night. 

After Notre Dame won the coin toss and deferred.  They decided to send their "vaunted" defense out there against Alabama's incredibly hulking offense to obviously try and send a message.

The message was received.  Only the one getting the message was Notre Dame. 

They were pushing out their chests and only had Alabama push harder.  Notre Dame had only just realized the game had started when Alabama was smashing the football down their throats. 

5 plays, 82 yards, and 2:57 off the clock.  Touchdown.  This game was basically over.  You could see it on the face of Manti Te'o.  Another 5 plays and a punt for Notre Dame and Alabama marched right back over the top of the Irish. 

10 plays, 61 yards, and 4:49 off the clock.  Touchdown.  Alabama had just went past what Notre Dame was averaging giving up for an entire game.

Notre Dame looked shell shocked.      

To take more words from Kansas' wonderful song it was like this:

"Once I rose above the noise and confusion
Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion..."


The illusion being Notre Dame's worthiness of being in this game at all.  It was a paper champion all year in  comparison to the SEC and superpower Alabama.  Notre Dame had close game after close game, to their credit, found ways to win them with senior leadership, but you can't tell me had Pitt not had a decent field goal kicker Notre Dame is never even in this game.  Sorry any-other-team-in-BCS fans.

There is a reason Alabama has won 3 of 4 BCS national championship games and Notre Dame is still looking for their first BCS win (0-4).  Alabama has established themselves as the benchmark for college football success.

This game showed real NFL talent plays SEC football and hard working, been with the program, rebuilding talent plays at Notre Dame. 

I don't care that Alabama lost a game this year to Texas A&M and Heisman winner Johnny Manziel.  I can justify that with showing they play the best teams in the country in obviously the best conference in the country the SEC.  There is a reason the SEC has won 7 straight BCS championships.

No other conference coach has felt the Gatorade on his back since Vince Young led Texas past Matt Lienart and USC.  Nick Saban is getting used to it, right. 

The SEC is just flat out better.  And we better all get used to it. 

You also give Nick Saban 45 days to come  up with a game plan and more often than not the better team will be prepared and dominate.

This game really gives credence to needing the playoff system.  It is great to know this will finally get settled on the field with semifinal games and and a true championship game.

Now I would still like to see a true playoff system with 8-16 teams in a bracket setting but you have to take baby steps with this sorry BCS system.

It just is really sad to wait that amount of time between final regular season game and the major bowl games.  It ruins the flow of the year and it causes teams to not play to their potential at times.

You have teams like Georgia, Oregon, Kansas State, Florida, Ohio State (if eligible), etc playing in a playoff system it would be out of this world.

Notre Dame is building with Brian Kelly and they will still be a thorn in all other conference teams sides as they will be in the BCS mix as long as they continue to win the majority of their games.  It will be harder though since they will be playing a majority of their non conference tilts with ACC competition.

And they haven't been burning up the college football world lately (Florida State BCS champs in 2000).

I just don't see Notre Dame or anyone else for that matter matching what Alabama and the rest of the SEC can produce on the field  at this time.  They are getting NFL caliber talent year in and year out. 

I don't like to throw around the word dynasty because it seems to be used loosely these days, but in the age of football we have today Alabama really is.


 Give credit to Alabama and what they have accomplished.  A.J. McCarron, left, is the only quarterback to go back-to-back with wins in the BCS system.  He will be trying for a three-peat next season. 

Kansas's tune states:
"I was soaring ever higher
But I flew too high..."




At this point they are soaring but I don't think they have flown to their greatest height.


 

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