DKW 86 7,431 Posted January 4, 2005 Share Posted January 4, 2005 MSNBC Editorial The Tigers are the best team in the country. They made this clear all season, becoming the first team to go unbeaten in the Southeastern Conference since 1993. They handled Georgia and Louisiana State, teams picked in various corners to win the national championship. They beat Tennessee twice. They finished 13-0, beating a Frank Beamer squad that had won eight straight games. They showed their mettle with their backs to the wall.Twice, when the Hokies were headed toward the end zone, Auburn's defense would not let a touchdown happen. In the first half, Will Herring came up and popped Hokies quarterback Bryan Randall short of the goal line, pulling him back to make sure he did not cross the plane. Early in the fourth quarter, Randall tried to scramble again -- and Carlos Rogers came up from his corner position and just leveled him, sending the senior end over end until he fell at the 6-yard line. The pathetic thing is, voters (and computers) will actually hold the close victory against Auburn, because that's what they do -- penalize character. The notion that the two-touchdown favorite is supposed to emasculate the underdog -- that teams actually accrue votes for blowout wins -- is the worst measuring stick of the BCS system. Forget the arcane sportsmanship ideals, that the system encourages coaches who run up the score and play to embarrass instead of win. No, the real problem is that such a system does not gauge resilience, the attribute most becoming a champion. On the morning of Nov. 20, Auburn was tied with Oklahoma for No. 2 in the Associated Press poll -- meaning the Tigers were on track to face the top-ranked team in the nation for everything in the kitty Tuesday in Miami. When the next poll came out, the Sooners had forged ahead based on Auburn's "poor" showing against Alabama. Think about that. Auburn was down to Alabama at halftime 6-0 in a game the Tigers were supposed to dominate. The team went into the locker room with 30 minutes left in its unbeaten season, momentum and the history of a long rivalry against it. Tuberville inspired his team to eventually go ahead, hold on and win, 21-13. And this perseverance was somehow considered a bad week for the program! Forget every other injustice; there is no bigger indictment on the BCS than a team punished for a comeback victory in the Iron Bowl, one of the sport's most enduring rivalries. Don't we want to see our champions struggle? Isn't that part of the Patriots' allure in the NFL, New England's ability to find a way? Because if winning the national championship now means you just have to dominate an inferior Notre Dame or Nebraska on national television, who really is deserving? Certainly not Oklahoma or USC. "How can we not be the national champions?" Marcus McNeill, a junior tackle for the Tigers, said earlier this week. "We haven't lost to anybody." Marcus doesn't get it. The system is rigged. The BCS is corrupt. But, hey, go ahead and enjoy the Trojans and the Sooners in the Nearly National Title Game. Should be a dandy. It's almost guaranteed one of the chosen two will impress that computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texan4Auburn 1,626 Posted January 4, 2005 Share Posted January 4, 2005 Lol great article and fun to read. You could even take it a step further with a majority of the media and the discussions about how amazing OU's 7 point hold on win against aTm was and how bad our 10 point win against Tenn was. Course nevermind what happened in the Cotton Bowl lol. Our Bama game is a bad win, USC's win over UCLA is the thing that champions are made of. Pretty much we entered a beauty and popularity contest and lost, thats all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argo 8 Posted January 4, 2005 Share Posted January 4, 2005 becoming the first team to go unbeaten in the Southeastern Conference since 1993. Wasn't Tenn unbeaten in '98, or is he just talking about the first AU team to go unbeaten? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auburn85 432 Posted January 4, 2005 Share Posted January 4, 2005 Confusing, I know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tigrinum Major Posted January 4, 2005 Share Posted January 4, 2005 becoming the first team to go unbeaten in the Southeastern Conference since 1993. Wasn't Tenn unbeaten in '98, or is he just talking about the first AU team to go unbeaten? 135920[/snapback] UT was 13-0 in 1998. He must have been talking about Auburn teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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