I just watched a Ravens-49ers game that was all it was billed to be -- close, tense, compelling, entertaining.
So why shouldn't the national championship game be a rematch of LSU versus Alabama?
Understand I have no stake in all this. Couldn't care whether the Crimson Tide or Temple shows up at the Superdome to (presumably) face LSU. My point is, as laughably contrived as the BCS system is, there should at least be some effort to put the best two teams on the field.
Until somebody beats LSU (Arkansas?) or until somebody other than the Tigers knock off Bama (Auburn?), these are the teams with the best two resumes. And yet, I keep hearing this bizarre argument that the lack of scoring in their faceoff invalidates a rematch.
Huh?
Let me get this straight: A 47-45 game is compelling, but a 6-3 game isn't. When was the ability to stop an opponent from scoring any less valid a strategy than the ability to score?
An analogy: Remember when North Carolina ran the Four Corners in that prehistoric time when college basketball had no shot clock? Is someone saying the Tar Heels didn't belong in the NCAA tournament because playing keep-away with a lead wasn't valid? I'm glad the NCAA changed the rule. But that doesn't mean Dean Smith wasn't an innovator for giving his team the best chance to win.
Until there's evidence to the contrary, LSU and Alabama look like the two teams most deserving to play in a national championship game. The idea that they shouldn't be matched because (1.) they play in the same division of the same conference or (2.) they played the equivalent of a masterful pitching duel, is no reason to avoid a rematch.
-- Rick Bonnell
Friday, November 25, 2011
Why not LSU-Bama II?
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4 comments:
A "pitching duel" would imply that the defenses were responsible. But it was miserable special teams play and mediocre offense that combined to make the first matchup unwatchable.
Those offenses avg over 38 pts a game against any other team. You are talking about the 2 best defenses in the land, I think they had something to do about it.
In 2007, Les Miles said, "Unless you win your conference you should not be considered for the championship game." All of the talking heads at ESPN agreed that winning your conference was a minimum standard.
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