The BCS ain’t no Sly Stallone movie. There will be a rematch tonight. Here are a few tidbits for your mental nourishment:
- You can bet on almost anything.
- Roy Kramer reflects back on what he’s wrought and pronounces himself satisfied.
- Dennis Dodd is not down with a rematch, unless it’s the result of a playoff. Ho-kay.
- The narrator of the Honey Badger video is rooting for LSU, naturally.
- And if you’re wondering where the BCS is going from here, follow the money.
For what it’s worth, I’m picking LSU to run the table tonight. You can argue about the offenses and defenses and which is better all you’d like, but the Tigers have a clear advantage on special teams and that should be the difference.
Get The Picture 
Corndogs – 21
Gumps – 13
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Yeah, that’s about right.
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“Gumps” 31–24 over the “Corndogs” (or in the case of the Honey Badger the “Hot Dogs”).
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Dodd is right about this, the only way you have a rematch is if it is earned as other contenders are given a chance to compete, and eliminated. Just wrong to not give other geographies a chance, especially to give someone a mulligan. Bama had their chance, at home.
I will also pick LSU, better record against better opponents, and a better coach. But I fear the football gods may want to punish us by allowing the always possible upset. Betting small to medium on the Cajuns.
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Right. By losing to LSU, Alabama lost their right to play for the championship to OSU, who lost to Texas Tech, or to Stanford, who lost to Oregon, or to Oregon, who lost to LSU and USC. Those other teams earned it. Wait …. what?
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So by your argument, then LSU wins because they finished the year undefeated?
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That makes the most sense, but people stopped liking the idea of awarding it based on the regular season results sometime in the ’60s.
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Basically, yes. You have always maintained the regular season is sacred. So a rematch (particularly one where Bama didn’t prove they were more worthy on the field), is the very worst way you can diss the regular season. If the regular season is your key predicator, in a game where individual and unit match-ups are the best indicator, Bama is less worthy, at this point, than Oklahoma State and Stanford who have never been matched up against LSU at all. In other words, as Kenny T notes, we don’t need to see this movie again. Like Dodd says, if they fought their way back through the others, it would make more sense. But being handed a spot after losing, when they held the high ground, they should not be the one. It makes a mockery of the regular season.
Look, I am not saying Alabama isn’t better than Stanford or Oklahoma State, they may well be. But in a system where we have basically a one game playoff where two teams are awarded their entry by voter opinion, it is disappointing to see the voters not give us a different representative to oppose LSU. We can only assume how OSU or Stanford would compare. 107 teams that have not played LSu yet, there is certainly one that is more qualified for a shot, if for no other reason than to see if a contrasting style would be more effective. You are a savvy football observer, you know that one off match-ups are not as good an indicator.
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I think this is an indicator of pollsters (ie: the old timers on the Harris Poll & coaches who are anything but impartial) bowing again to the media. And who can be surprised with what appears the rampant pandering to the 4-Letter Network. They may well broadcast our political debates in the future.
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Tigahs – 9
Bammers – 6 F/1 OT
Man I wish this would be the outcome. There’s a game I’d stay up until 1am to watch.
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That would be fantastic — but that much better would be 3-0 (also OT).
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A lot of the reasoning for a playoff goes back to the decision to have a game to decide the SEC champion. The pros and the cons can follow the same path as they were for that game. It was “the end of SEC Football as we know it” , paraphrasing some. Things worked out as they also can for a NC playoff. I would like to see the bowls open up to the most worthy opponents and let them vie for the best ones.
Here’s hoping the big boys will also take up the seating arrangement snafu for real. Long-supportive/giving alums deserve the best seat choices as delivered in a large section of the best seats. And at the best price, using that as incentive to promote more Institutional attendance at bowl games.
I’ll take Bama and the points in this one. Bama’s Special Teams D will be up for this one and I think it returns to a level playing field with that effort. I believe this also will be a different game and not follow the last game’s D emphasis on outcome. Don’t dislike either team and the last game proved nothing to me concerning the dominance of either. To me, the odds difference comes down to home team advantage for LSU, that’s all. There certainly is a better possibility of more red-neck Cajuns in attendance than red-necks from Bama. The decibel level difference didn’t appear on the Vegas betting potpourri.
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DIF, the only diff between LSU and us this year has been player depth. They got us there, but our D is better than their D ; not so Bama. But we are getting there. Recruiting is headed toward two-deep and hopefully enough where we are able to substitute in like Bama did tonight. LSU will lose more players than Bama next year, but neither will be as well off as Georgia. The Dawgs are going to be something special with a shot at the end of the season for big play.
Recruiting is headed up and heads are turning this way. Let’s get behind the Dawgs and start pushing. It can only help get to that nirvana some hope for, but it’s called “building” , not “critiqueing”. We need to look closely for recruiting victories that will affect next year’s team. We already have at least two on board. Push harder by asking what the fans can do to help during this period.
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Cojones. Seriously? Do you want Nick to have another MNC? I think not.
Good things do not come in threes
http://crooksandliars.com/tina-dupuy/rick-perrys-big-moment
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In Perry’s case something good came out of threes. He just doesn’t have the “Energy” for a successful campaign. Otherwise he would err and shut down “that thing-a-muh-doggie” , the FB Institute.
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I don’t pick for any reason except what I would bet on. Does this mean you want the “Hat” to have another? I don’t “want” Nick to win any more than any alum at LSU would, including the little old lady who blessed him out when he left.
You, AHD and I should find a way to get together with our wives. That could be an off-season show of great humor to us all, especially when my wife got through castigating my butt when anyone tells her all the crap I’ve written about a lovely Born Again who doesn’t hurt a flea.
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By the way, did anyone note that 4/6 of the last MNCs can be laid at Saban’s doorstep? The team he left for Miles won after Saban had won at LSU; now 2 Bama teams. Not a fan of Saban’s so much as how Saban has diminished Miles. Tonight, when taken in the context of the last 6 yrs was huge in that diminishment.
If the Big M makes a misstep this upcoming season, Les could get nostalgic. Depends on how a former Dawg works out.
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LSU, again.
Alabama…John Jenkins…otherwise why wait to the hour before kickoff to announce your selection.
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Katie Browne, Les Miles’ niece, selected the Lady Dawgs softball over others. A winner.
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I just think your asking too much of a team to beat the same team twice in one season. It is human nature to think if you’ve done it once you can do it again and in that process just loss a little of the edge that comes with needing to prove yourself.For the record ,I think LUS is the National champion regardless of what happens tonight but Vegas is picking the Tide ,as am I. Elephant vets ( the Tusks are loosa)-23 : LUS 13
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Has anyone ever bothered to run the numbers on rematches? Because I remember a lot of teams beating another team twice or even three times (Fuck you forever, ’99 Titans). Off the top of my head, there’s Alabama in 1999 over Florida, Auburn over South Carolina in ’10, Auburn over Tennessee in 2004, FSU over Florida in a bowl game rematch in ’94, I think (okay, it was a tie the first time, but a tie FSU “won”), and there are probably countless examples in the NFL where rematches are far more common.
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Florida kicked the shit out of FSU for a national title after FSU beat Florida. Going into that Sugar Bowl, Bobby was bitching and moaning about having to play Florida again and i think his players picked up on that bad vibe and got stomped. On the other hand, as far as I know, Les has always welcomed tonight’s rematch and is looking forward to it.
http://www.pnj.com/article/20120109/SPORTS/201090306/Tonight-s-title-fight-evokes-96-Sugar-Bowl-matchup?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cs
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I wasn’t really arguing that the loser of the first never wins. I just wonder what the numbers actually say about how supposedly hard it is to beat a team a second time. In the case of ’96 Florida-FSU, Florida was easily the more complete team. FSU just happened to play out of their minds for a game, and of course, got away with a lot of late hits.
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Vegas knows baby, Vegas always knows
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And you will never be wrong with that statement. It came down to the statisticians to call this one and the Honey Badger to drown at high Tide.
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DIF, would you just stay away from the facts. They aren’t permitted here. You have to kind of use hyperbole to the extreme and try to convince everyone else with bullshit. We don’t need no stinkin’ facts.
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Musbooger has me ready to puke already.
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TA DAAHHH!!!
Now that the horseshoe has ben extracted from LSU’s butt, we will probably face Bama next year in the SECC. If you didn’t read the betting advice given before, put your money on Bama, Georgia and FU for the MNC next year. If you missed the Bama 7/1 odds, don’t blame me.
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I wish I’d laid a big bet on Bama. I saw this coming–for once.
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Mayor, I laid out the plan, including forfeiting a paid greens fee at Hilton Head, and asked you to place $100 on each. Those odds are about to disappear and LSU will take their place. My money just got safer than next year’s bond market.
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