November 13, 2009

Olin Buchanan
Rivals.com College Football Senior Writer

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There always are skeptics and cynics.

No matter how obvious and genuine something might appear, they're never convinced.

They once argued the world was flat. Later, they doubted the horse would be replaced as the primary means of transportation. Eventually, they questioned whether man actually did walk on the moon.

College football has its share of skeptics and cynics, too. They have their doubts that even national championships don't satisfy, as we see in this week's mailbag.

Back the the SEC

From Marty in Garden Valley, Calif.: SEC "superiority" is fake. Not one SEC team will play Boise State, even at home. Alabama got its reality check in last season's Sugar Bowl, thanks to Utah. The Mountain West was 5-0 in bowl games and 5-1 against the Pac-10. Meanwhile, the SEC continues to schedule poor teams and declare superiority.

A quick check of last week's mailbag will show that I don't accept the premise that the SEC is significantly greater than the other conferences in college football.

But I'm not stupid, either. I acknowledge that, year in and year out, the SEC is the premier conference because it has more teams that can legitimately challenge for national championships.

Calling the SEC's superiority fake doesn't make sense. There was nothing fake about SEC teams winning the past three national championships. SEC teams have won five of the 11 BCS national titles.

Nothing's "fake" about that. That really happened.

Yes, Utah beat Alabama last season, which was an enormous victory for the Mountain West Conference. But the SEC still was 6-2 in bowl games, so Alabama's upset loss did little to tarnish the conference's image.

Indeed, in last season's bowl games, SEC teams beat Big 12 champion Oklahoma, Big 12 South co-champion Texas Tech, Conference USA champion East Carolina, ACC Coastal Division co-champ Georgia Tech and ACC Atlantic Division winner Boston College.

Critics often complain that SEC teams don't play high-caliber non-conference competition. It's true that SEC teams often load up on FCS and Sun Belt teams early. But league teams also play some high-quality teams, too.

This season, SEC teams are 7-4 in non-conference games against Big Six opponents. That includes victories over Arizona State and Washington of the Pac-10, Virginia Tech and N.C. State of the ACC, West Virginia and Louisville of the Big East and Texas A&M of the Big 12.

By the way, in 2005, Georgia opened the season by blowing out Boise State 48-13.

Some overzealous SEC fans believe it's the only conference in America that plays quality football, and that is absurd. But it's equally absurd to suggest the SEC isn't the premier football conference. Just because SEC fans have difficulty giving credit where credit is due doesn't mean everyone else should, too.

Frog love

The old Rodney Dangerfield act - "I don't get no respect" - got old long before he passed away, and it's still stale.

How is TCU treated as if it doesn't belong in the top 10? The Horned Frogs are ranked fourth in every major poll this week. How is TCU treated like it's not in the top 10 when everyone is voting it in the top five?

But since you brought it up ...

Don't use a victory over Virginia as a reason TCU deserves a lofty ranking. Sure, the Frogs won in Charlottesville - but so did William & Mary. As for Clemson, it lost to Maryland, which lost to Duke and Middle Tennessee. Air Force lost to Minnesota, which lost at home to 3-6 Illinois. Even BYU, arguably TCU's most impressive victory, was blasted by Florida State 54-28. Those same Seminoles eked by Jacksonville State and have five losses.

That's not to say TCU doesn't deserve its No. 4 ranking. It does.

But based on the schedule it has played, I'd say TCU has received ample respect.

Not good enough?

I spent quite a while trying to formulate the appropriate response.

All I could come up with is that's just plain crazy.

Richard, Richard, Richard. You answered your own question. Among the myriad reasons Stoops hasn't been fired is because he has lost three national championship games in five years. That means the Sooners played in three national championship games in five years.

Even though Oklahoma is suffering through an injury-plagued season and has not yet secured bowl eligibility, Stoops remains one of the 10 best coaches in the nation. He may even belong in the top five.

Remember, Stoops took over a program in disarray in 1998. Two years later, the Sooners won a national championship. During his tenure, OU has posted 115 victories, has won six Big 12 championships and played for four national titles.

And you want this guy fired? I guarantee the general populace of Austin, Lubbock, College Station and Stillwater hopes you get your wish. They've all been hoping for years he'd leave.

Do you recall how quickly Notre Dame unloaded Tyrone Willingham five years ago in hopes of hiring Urban Meyer? If Stoops suddenly was available, several other coaching jobs across the country would conveniently come open, too.

But Stoops' job isn't in danger. Athletic director Joe Castiglione is a smart guy. He wouldn't kill the golden goose. No doubt, Oklahoma's legions of fans are demanding. But they're not delusional.

Well, most of them aren't.

Been there before

Some media types who cover college football have suggested that's a real possibility. But it's my opinion that won't happen, and I base that on precedent set in 2006.

That season, No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Michigan, both undefeated, squared off in Columbus in the regular-season finale to determine the Big Ten championship. The Buckeyes prevailed 42-39 in a classic that just might be the greatest game in that legendary series.

If there ever were an occasion for a rematch, that was it. Michigan's only loss was by three points, to the top-ranked team in the country, on the road.

Florida also had one loss, to Auburn, and had edged Tennessee and South Carolina by one point. Based purely on resumes, Michigan had a powerful case to be chosen over Florida to play Ohio State in the national championship game.

Of course, history shows that after the Gators beat Arkansas in the SEC championship game, Florida vaulted ahead of Michigan in the BCS standings. Florida then overwhelmed Ohio State for the national championship and started a streak of three consecutive national titles won by SEC teams. (And Michigan lost its bowl game, too.)

Some may say that streak is proof that an SEC rematch could - and perhaps should - be staged for the national championship. But my guess is the same voters who prevented a Big Ten rematch in '06 would do the same with the SEC in '09.

Olin Buchanan is the senior college football writer for Rivals.com. He can be reached at olin@rivals.com.
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