TCU is currently #4 in the nation, and probably has a slim to none chance to be crowned the best team in the nation. They have 3 immensely quality wins this year against Clemson, a top 20 team with a leading Heisman trophy candidate, BYU, a top 20 team, and Utah, another top 20 team that beat an Alabama team last year in a BCS bowlgame that returned many of its players and is back at the top of college football. Not only does TCU have quality wins, it will wins its conference easily and has only been challenged once this year. TCU has a top 4 total offense as well as a top 4 total defense this year.
TCU has performed mightily and admirably this year,and honestly there is not much more they could have done this year. They have been exceptionally consistent and impressive all year with a solid schedule. However, The University of Florida (UF), The University of Alabama (Bama), and the University of Texas (UT) are very far ahead of TCU and will remain there for some puzzling reason.
UT has won all of their games this year, but has been unimpressive often and has played one team that is currently in the top 25. So, UT has this going for it...A lofty preseason ranking, unimpressive wins, and an average schedule. BCS Championship game here they come! Sportynation, please look at UT's schedule right now and tell me where the quality opponents are.
Next we have Bama from the perennially media darling South Easter Conference (SEC). Bama has two wins over teams that are currently in the top 25, LSU and Va Tech. And, has been impressive at times and merely ok at other times particularly with it's QB play and offensive lulls . One of those "ok" times was against an average rebuilding team, University of Tennessee (UTK). Bama had to have a last second easy field goal block and also help from the referees (that also refereed a controversial UF game that will be later discussed) to pull a win at home against this average UTK team. The win was a win, but the way it went down was lucky and unfulfilling.
UF has played well and should be commended for there 0 loss season thus far and a return to the SEC championship game. However, qualitatively this season has not been impressive. UF has one win against a team that is currently in the top 25 and that win was ugly, unimpressive, and against merely a "pretty good" team, LSU. UF has controversial wins against Arkansas and to an extent against Mississippi State both of which are not considered good teams and probably are bad teams. These wins were so controversial and highly contested that the referring crew was suspended shortly after the game. There is a common belief by most outside of the SEC, that the SEC and it's officials are trying its best to keep UF undefeated as well as Alabama.
Sportynation, just the other day a national commentator declared that he thinks and would vote a one loss SEC team over TCU, Boise State, or Cincinnati. Not only is this unreasonable, but it is shocking, unfair, arrogant, and elitist.
This blog post is not intended to tell you definitively who the best team in the nation, but rather it is intended to get you all out of the easy common thought that we have to always reward the incumbent or the teams that were successful last year or the year before. There is more parity in college football. Teams are recruiting better (Tomlinson, arguably the NFL player of the decade went to TCU as an fyi), nutrition is better, coaching is better, and more and more people are playing football. Teams change. Conferences change. It is entirely possible that the Big 12 can be down this year as well as the SEC. College Basketball is inundated with surprising teams and sooner rather than later a #1 seed in college basketball will lose to a #16 against all odds. And, that team will probably not win the national championship. So we shouldn't vote off of what we think will happen in a hypothetical matchup, but we should vote off of what is fair. We should give teams the opportunity to play for a championship if they are deserving. No one thought that Boise State would beat a good Oklahoma team. No one thought that the talented Bama team of last year would lose to Utah. No one! And, it happened.
We no longer should make excuses for the power conference teams. Alabama lost last year because they didn't want to win the BCS bowl game. If UF were to lose a regular season a rationalization would be made. If TCU were lose a game a undeniable acceptance and I told you so would be ever present. And, those are the unfortunate facts!
This is my Minority Report.
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