| Finally A Bride Mike DiPatri 01/08/08
Ohio State head football coach Jim Tressel’s bowl record against SEC programs is 0-9 following Monday’s BCS Championship loss to LSU. Still, every year, Ohio State is ranked at the top of every poll. Does everybody still think the Big Ten Conference is the best in college football? After all, it has Michigan and Ohio State, right? In fact, though, it’s the big two and nine others.
The past two college football seasons have gone into bowl time with Ohio State ranked number one in the nation only to lose to an SEC program in the championship game. In the 2007 game, Ohio State immediately took the lead over Florida by returning the opening kick for a touchdown. This year, they took a quick lead by scoring on the first possession then kicking a field goal before LSU could score. In each game, the SEC team followed by taking complete control of the game. It’s starting to appear that Ohio State is all fluff and no stuff.
It’s about time that we stop treating the SEC as the bridesmaid every year. How many more championships does it have to win before everyone takes them seriously? Every SEC school has a quality football program. In fact, there were five in the final AP Top 25 poll this season. However, every time the press talks about the best teams, they always overlook the SEC and hype the teams that are supposed to be good. We all know how the press can create a frenzy to create a star. It has done so with Barry Bonds, for example.
The past two seasons have demonstrated that we need to recognize that that the college football polls are subjective. It’s really impossible to say definitely which team is better than the others. Considering this, the call of some for a playoff system makes sense. In the meantime, though, we should take notice that the SEC plays a completely different type, a tougher brand of football than other conferences. That’s probably why Florida and LSU remained confident when they quickly fell behind Ohio State. Eventually, the SEC will win enough championships to be no longer a bridesmaid, but finally a bride |
