Rivals’ Olin Buchanan mentions a weird fact today about MNC winners. Schools that win MNC’s in years ending in “8” suffer long droughts before winning another (if ever).
- 1938 – TCU wins AP title. No MNC since.
- 1948 – Michigan wins; next MNC won in 1997 (shared with Nebraska)
- 1958 – LSU; next MNC won in 2003
- 1968 – Ohio State; next MNC won in 2002
- 1978 – USC; next MNC won in 2003 (or 2004, depending on your point of view)
- 1988 – Notre Dame. Still waiting.
- 1998 – Tennessee. Nada since.
Pretty strange, hunh? Would you want Georgia to win this season if you knew the wait for the next one would be lengthy?
Get The Picture 
Yes. Bird in the hand… and all that.
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I tend to agree. Besides, it’s not like we haven’t been waiting for one for a while, anyway. 😉
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Shit, that’s weird. But yeah, I would still like to win one this year.
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I think we’re still somehow taking the brunt of the force all teams that won one in the 80s as a whole. That 8 in the tenspot chose us for its target.
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That wasn’t quite English… You get the idea, though.
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Well, we went from what ’42 to ’80. That’s a 38 year span. This season will make 28 years since we last won it all. Maybe it’s meant to be.
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I see you didn’t place University of Miami on that list or Alabama–Florida also beats the longevity record–no sour grapes just observations.
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Steve, the issue isn’t longevity in and of itself. It’s about winning the MNC in years ending in “8”. In that light, I’m not sure what the significance is of those schools you mention.
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I’m curious if similar patterns could be observed with other digits, or what the average wait time is period. MNCs are a pretty rare thing.
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Here’s a link to the complete list of MNC winners.
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What’s interesting about this list is that it has OSU, Michigan, LSU, and USC on it. All of those schools make you think of traditional powerhouses, and then you see that traditional powerhouses does not equate with MNCs. I think as Bulldogs, though, we just can’t wait to get our hands on one again so it feels like OSU and USC and the like are winning them all while we’ve been crapping our pants against inferior teams at very unfortunate times throughout the year.
All that said I’m ready for kick-off and am hoping in January we’re not saying, “Just wait until next year.”
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We as CFB should NEVER accept the current system’s silly way of honoring a team as the champion. To recognize someone as a NC when they are ceremonially awarded by some distorted system is to validate it, and reduce the outcry needed to force the powers that be to put a reasonable (4 or 8 team) playoff system in place. So, no one has ever won a NC in Division 1A football in my mind.
Until that time, the highest honor in CFB is to be the SEC Champion. It is earned on the field with all legit contenders having a chance to succeed, and politics/bias does not influence the outcome. Yes, it still involves a bit of good fortune and the winner often has good scheduling, gets a few breaks throughout the season, and usually needs their best players to be healthy for key games….but it is as level a playing field as is possible in an 11-12 game season.
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So, Sam, if the Dawgs manage to pull off the win in the BCS title game this season, you won’t celebrate? At all? 😉
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Senator, I always want what is best for the Dawgs, but while I want them to be in the final game of the season, I still would not call that a NC. It would be good for UGA to be a consensus #1, but it would by hypocritical to think that solves the bigger issue. Sure, current fans would be dancing in the streets but future fans will get screwed over by this silliness.
My goal every year is to win the SEC Championship…..that is all we can control. Anything after that is gravy and is the result of a very flawed system which will hurt you more often than help you. CFB fans should unite to apply pressure to force the NCAA, and the school presidents to give us some resolution. This is a multi-billion dollar industry and the fans are getting jerked around by Jim Delaney, some two-faced academia types, and a few stuffy guys who run around in tacky, Bowl-logoed sports jackets. This should have been resolved at least 25+ years ago when CFB really took off with TV expansion.
So to answer your question, I will be very happy if they win that season finale because we will have been SEC Champs for the third time in the last six years. I will also be proud because we will have won a bowl game over a highly regarded opponent and will be praised by people nationally (it will not be universal though….someone will feel they got screwed and have some logic on their side!) I will not have a NC tag on my car,, but will proudly proclaim our 13th SEC title tying us for 2nd on the list with TN.
I realize I am in the minority on this, but I feel strongly that we are perpetuating this hoax by accepting what we are being fed. Let’s take this issue on and make it better for CFB fans that follow us. It is doable. The power resides with the fans. Go Dawgs!!
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