On Championships, the SEC, and Surprise Faces

Day 1 of post football aftermath and it already sucks. The morning just seemed a bit off. I'm not looking forward to Saturday like most weeks from August through January. It's real. It's gone. Another year down. Sigh...

It's a common adage that the more things change, the more they ultimately stay the same. And though last night's BCS Championship didn't feature Ohio State getting their doors blown off, it did showcase the Southeastern Conference and clearly, indisputably, and totally exhibited what I, along with some others, have thought for a while now ... that the SEC is simply head and shoulders above the rest of the college football universe.

It isn't the fact that SEC has tremendously "better" athletes than every one else. USC, Notre Dame, Oklahoma all are loaded with blue chip talent. Though I would argue that the talent is deepest across the board in the SEC. But most important is that the season in the SEC prepares you to win the big ones like no other conference. Sure, there's the Red River Shootout. USC-UCLA probably carries some weight on the west coast. I'll give you that Texas-Texas Tech was exciting. But those are momentary flashes in an otherwise fairly dull season. Oh... let's get fired up for Baylor! Yahoo!! The SEC has no Baylors. The SEC has no Washingtons. The SEC has no Big East or ACC teams. Whether it be Kentucky, Vandy, Mississippi State, or any other nontraditional football power, SEC teams play big games every week.

The argument of "The SEC is better than everyone you Yankee limpwrist" is not necessarily the argument I'm making. But I am saying that playing week in and week out against the best competition in the country, against arguably the best collection of coaches in the country, against top to bottom the best athletes in the country simply prepares you to be a champion. It steels your will. It allows you to be prepared to lead a team 76-yards down the field for the nail-in-the-coffin TD with under 4 minutes to go. The SEC may not have all the best teams, but it certainly has the best collective group of teams.

As for last night, the Gators walked out of South Beach with two things... a national championship and the freshly fallen StoopsTears of another missed opportunity. BigGameBob is playing awfully small-time when it counts, going 0-5 in his last 5 BCS games. While Stoops is looking for a tissue, hopefully to sob in, he can look toward one man as the reason why, and he can find that man in his bathroom mirror. Stoops made poor decision after poor decision last night, that allowed Florida to even have an opportunity to be close in the second half. Not kicking field goals when he should have, kicking them when he shouldn't have. It was like watching a trainwreck in super slow motion... everyone knew the outcome and no one could look away. Perhaps most important though was that through his decisions he allowed Tim Tebow the opportunity to do what he does... win.

I won't beat it to death because of the complete and thorough tongue bath Tim Tebow got last night from the FOX broadcast crew, but the guy is just a gamer of the highest order. 2 Championships, a Heisman, and strapping his team to his back time and time again and getting it done makes him one of, if not the, best college players of our generation. He may make a shitty pro QB or he may not even play substantially in the NFL, but when it comes to college football, there isn't anyone better.

Some things to note about last night's game...

• For anyone reading who makes personnel decisions at FOX Media, please fire Thom Brenneman and Charles Davis. I would rather have the noon SEC Raycom guys than these two. It ruined what should have been an otherwise most excellent showcase of college football. Say what you will about ESPN taking over the rights to the BCS, but having guys like Herbstreit, Desmond, Fowler, Nessler, or Mussberger calling this game would have been infinitely better.
• Note to all future opponents of Tim Tebow... DO NOT TALK SMACK BEFORE THE GAME. It is universally a poor decision.
• I thought there were far too many penalties and official involvement last night. Let the kids play.
  
• Percy Harvin is fast. Super fast. Like a jackrabbit on coke fast. I am assuming that young Mr. Harvin will declare for the NFL and get his ducketts, yo before every super high tension ligament in his body inevitably evaporates, but he sure was fun to watch.
• With his win last night, Urban Meyer has won his second title in 4 years at Florida. RV disagrees with me, but Meyer is a beast. It's a two-horse race for the mythical "Best Coach in America", but Meyer is certainly giving Carrol a run for his money.
• Of special note on this fantastic Friday is the fact that I had Florida #1 in our preseason poll. Not USC, not Oklahoma, not Georgia. I mean, not to toot our own horn here at OTP or anything. Of course not all of us here at OTP were pleased with this decision. Our very own RV had this to say about my selecting the Gators as our #1... "Florida 1? That's horrible dude. It's like you've never watched football before." Oh sweet merciful success.

RV... shocked

Speaking of the site, we'll be your offseason shelter for the lead up to spring games and the fall out of NFL declarations, coaching staff turnovers, and all the other goodies that happen after a season. RV will be along with some recruiting news and notes, which he is amazingly good at.

08... in the books. Welcome to the offseason.

I had to add this picture. ~RV