Sigh

As I write this post, the SEC Championship is still underway, but I've decided to stop watching. I can't stand to see anymore. LSU is leading 28-10, and while I am not surprised by the result of this game, I don't want to watch the gap between these two scores grow any wider.

I've been watching this game from my hotel room at the Rosen Center Hotel in Orlando, Florida. I'm in town for a SACS/COC conference. Coincidentally, on my drive down here, I stopped in Palm Coast, Florida to have lunch at the Steak n Shake, and who did I run into in the parking lot? Tom and Judy Mahoney! They were also on their way to Orlando to attend different meetings (Theirs sound like more fun). They invited me to have lunch with them (how nice!), and we had a bit of football talk.

Mr. Mahoney's prediction: He thought LSU would win, but he hoped Georgia would make a good showing against the no. 1 ranked team. I wonder what his assessment is at this point. Here's mine:

1. Georgia's defense rocked in the first half. By halftime, Georgia had gained a total of (I think) 137 yards. LSU had gained 12. LSU didn't achieve a first down until the third quarter--which is when they also achieved several touchdowns, but that's too painful to talk about. 
2. Unfortunately, Georgia's offense suffered for several reasons
   
   • Richard Samuel's foot is still so injured that he didn't even dress out for the game. 
   • Isaiah Crowell is not fully recovered, and even though he played here and there, it was obvious his ankle was not well enough for him to make a difference.
   • By the second half,  LSU was no longer surprised by Georgia's plays, and they covered Aaron Murray like syrup on pancakes, which...
   • Forced Murray to run with the ball, and he's just not prepared for that. He eventually fumbled the ball (it was just a matter of time), but at least when he did, he had both hands on the ball. 
   • Georgia's offensive players looked like they'd rubbed olive oil on their gloves. Boykin fumbled two punts. Tevarres King and Malcom Mitchell let the ball slip through their fingers a number of times. Not good. 
   • After LSU scored in the third quarter, our offense looked like they'd just given up.  Sad. Sad. 
    

So it looks like LSU is the SEC champion as well as the no. 1 ranked team. They'll go to the NCG, but who will host the Sugar Bowl?








Mr. Mahoney and I had an interesting conversation about that today at lunch. He says that his son (Tom III) says, that his grandson (TJ) says that even if Georgia wins today's game, the Dawgs will not be able to go to a major bowl game because only two SEC games can play in one of the five major bowls. Well, that doesn't sound fair to me, but it's a moot point now because Georgia's losing.


But just for kicks, I looked up the bowl game selection guidelines from the BCS website. According to those guidelines, “The champions of the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, and Southeastern conferences will have automatic berths in one of the participating bowls through the 2013 regular season.”  Not only that, but the guidelines also state that "The top two teams in the final BCS Standings will be placed in the National Championship Game ("NCG")." Those two teams are LSU and Alabama (two SEC teams.Hmm.) But "unless they qualify to play in the NCG, the champions of selected conferences are contractually committed to host selected games:

• Atlantic Coast Conference--Orange Bowl
• Big Ten Conference--Rose Bowl
• Big 12 Conference--Fiesta Bowl
• Pac-12 Conference--Rose Bowl
• Southeastern Conference--Sugar Bowl"

So if Georgia had won the SEC Championship game, the Dawgs would have been required to host the Sugar Bowl. Wouldn't that have been nice? Oh well. But now what happens with LSU? Well, the BCS guidelines address that:  If a bowl game loses its host team to a national championship, "such bowl shall select a replacement team from among the automatic-qualifying teams and the at-large teams before any other selections are made." So if my reading is correct, the Sugar Bowl can invite another qualifying team, perhaps from the SEC or another conference, to host the Sugar Bowl. I wonder what that team will be. 


According to the bowl projections of ESPN's Mark Schlabach and Brad Edwards, the Sugar Bowl will be between Michigan and Houston. Georgia, according to one sports psychic (Edwards) will play in the Capital One Bowl against Nebraska. Mark Schlabach picks the Outback Bowl for Georgia against Michigan State.


Well, they certainly know the BCS better than I do, but I think the Sugar Bowl should have an SEC team playing in it, ans since Alabama and LSU are both tied up, why  not Georgia? Just sayin'.


Whatever bowl Georgia plays in, I'll watch. I want to finish out the Georgia season. In the meantime, I have another sport to learn: basketball. Lawson's on the 7th grade team this year, so I think I should know what I'm doing when I yell, "Rebound!" 


Stay tuned...