What We Learned -- National Championship Edition

Congrats to the LSU Tigers for winning their second BCS national title. One of us is ecstatic (probably Abram) and one of us is happy for his home state (probably Jeff). Before we hit the offseason in stride, here is what LSU's victory over Ohio State taught us:

1. The Big Ten sucks. We get the feeling that Georgia, West Virginia, or USC would have beaten this Ohio State team. LSU used more speed and a better game plan to beat an OSU team that had not really been challenged all season outside of a not-so-great Illinois team.


2. The University of Kansas got hosed. The national college football media is so unbelievably awful that we can hardly stand it. KU was the only team from a major conference with only one loss. The Jayhawks won convincingly in the Orange Bowl over a good Virginia Tech team. And yet, in the final AP poll, Kansas ranks SEVENTH! Seventh? Yes, it's trendy to say that Georgia is the "best team right now," so they're going to be 2nd. But why 2-loss USC and West Virginia should be ahead of Kansas totally befuddles us. West Virginia lost at home to a team with a losing record. USC lost at home, to a team with a losing record. And by the way--what, exactly, did USC and Georgia "prove" in their bowl games? All they proved was what everyone already knew: that their opponents didn't belong in the big dance. Who are these voters that can't even put Kansas, who should be number 2, in the top 5??


3. Give us aggressive over conservative every time. Les Miles may not be the greatest coach in the world but we respect the hell out of a guy with cajones like his. We are also wondering what, exactly, he has to do to get people off his back. It has become one of those pearls of conventional football wisdom that Miles doesn't really know what he's doing, and that he's not such a great coach. We are beginning to think that nothing Les can possibly do will change that perception, so if we were him we'd probably just stop reading the paper altogether.


4. Considering their respective resumes, these two teams probably deserved to be in New Orleans. In olden days we would have had OSU losing to USC in the Rose Bowl, LSU beating somebody in the Sugar Bowl, and a split title between USC and LSU...sound familiar? It ain't perfect, but give us the BCS over that. This talk of a "plus one" excites us both and would be a great step in the right direction.


5. With Ryan Perrilloux at the helm and another crop of big, fast, athletic players throughout the field, how can LSU not be number one to start the next year? Answer: pro-USC media bias. In their ridiculous "way too early top-5" after the game, Mark May and Lou Holtz both omitted LSU from the list entirely, instead choosing Georgia and Florida in the top 3. Call us crazy, but hasn't Georgia made it their business to be very disappointing early and finish strong, like, EVERY YEAR? The 'Dawgs are the trendy pick right now, but they have to visit Baton Rouge next year. Of course, Southern Cal is everybody's number 1. Except Rece Davis.


6. There were lots of good teams in college football this season, but no great ones. It was fun for one season, but we hope there is a return to some level of greatness from someone (Texas, you listening?) next year.
   
7. Fox's broadcast resembled the college football season. It had its moments, but in the end it was pretty mediocre. When does their contract run out?


8. They say Will Muschamp brings pressure? We love pressure.


9. Speaking of ridiculously early and obviously flawed/inaccurate top ten for 2008: 1) LSU, 2) UGA, 3) USC, 4) WVU, 5) Texas, 6) OU, 7) Ohio State, 8) KU, 9) Mizzou, 10) Va Tech