SEC Sports

[jamielang1951]

Nickname: Fighting Tigers

Way back in the fall of 1896, coach A.W. Jeardeau's LSU football team posted a perfect 6-0-0 record, and it was in that pigskin campaign that LSU first adopted its nickname, Tigers.
'Tigers' seemed a logical choice since most collegiate teams in that year bore the names of ferocious animals, but the underlying reason why LSU chose 'Tigers' dates back to the Civil War.
During the 'War Between the States,' a battalion of Confederate soldiers comprised of New Orleans Zouaves and Donaldsonville Cannoneers distinguished themselves at the Battle of Shenandoah.
These Louisiana rebels had been known by their contemporaries as the fighting band of Louisiana Tigers. Thus when LSU football teams entered the gridiron battlefields in their fourth year of intercollegiate competition, they tagged themselves as the 'Tigers'.
It was the 1955 LSU 'fourth-quarter ball club' that helped the moniker 'Tigers' grow into the nickname, 'Fighting Tigers'.
Colors: Purple and Gold
There is some discrepancy in the origin of Royal Purple and Old Gold as LSU's official colors.
It is believed that those colors were worn for the first time by an LSU team in the spring of 1893 when the LSU baseball squad beat Tulane in the first intercollegiate contest played in any sport by Louisiana State University. Team captain E.B. Young reportedly hand-picked those colors for the LSU squad.
Later that year, the first football game was played. On November 25, 1893, football coach/chemistry professor Dr. Charles Coates and some of his players went into town to purchase ribbon to adorn their gray jerseys as they prepared to play the first LSU gridiron game.
Stores were stocking ribbons in the colors of Mardi Gras -- purple, gold and green. -- for the coming Carnival season. However, none of the green had yet arrived at Reymond's Store at the corner of Third and Main streets. Coates and quarterback Ruffin Pleasant bought up all of the purple and gold stock and made it into rosettes and badges.

[jamielang1951]

<table class="multicol" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td align="left" valign="top"><table class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%; text-align:center"><tbody><tr><th width="115">Date</th> <th width="95">Location</th> <th width="55">Winner</th> <th width="40">Score</th> </tr> <tr style="color:#FDD023; background: #461D7C;"> <td>November 18, 1895</td> <td>Baton Rouge, LA</td> <td>LSU</td> <td>12–6</td> </tr> <tr style="color:#FDD023; background: #461D7C;"> <td>November 29, 1902</td> <td>Tuscaloosa, AL</td> <td>LSU</td> <td>11–0</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 9, 1903</td> <td>Tuscaloosa, AL</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>18–0</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>December 2, 1904</td> <td>Baton Rouge, LA</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>11–0</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 2, 1907</td> <td>Mobile, AL</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>6–4</td> </tr> <tr style="color:#FDD023; background: #461D7C;"> <td>November 25, 1909</td> <td>Birmingham, AL</td> <td>LSU</td> <td>12–6</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 15, 1919</td> <td>Baton Rouge, LA</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>23–7</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 11, 1920</td> <td>Tuscaloosa, AL</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>21–0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>October 29, 1921</td> <td>New Orleans, LA</td> <td>Tie</td> <td>7–7</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 10, 1922</td> <td>Tuscaloosa, AL</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>47–3</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 16, 1923</td> <td>Montgomery, AL</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>30–3</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>October 10, 1925</td> <td>Baton Rouge, LA</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>42–0</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>October 30, 1926</td> <td>Tuscaloosa, AL</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>24–0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>October 8, 1927</td> <td>Birmingham, AL</td> <td>Tie</td> <td>0–0</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>December 8, 1928</td> <td>Birmingham, AL</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>31–0</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 15, 1930</td> <td>Montgomery, AL</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>33–0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>September 30, 1944</td> <td>Baton Rouge, LA</td> <td>Tie</td> <td>27–27</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>October 6, 1945</td> <td>Baton Rouge, LA</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>26–7</td> </tr> <tr style="color:#FDD023; background: #461D7C;"> <td>November 9, 1946</td> <td>Baton Rouge, LA</td> <td>LSU</td> <td>31–21</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 22, 1947</td> <td>Tuscaloosa, AL</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>41–12</td> </tr> <tr style="color:#FDD023; background: #461D7C;"> <td>November 20, 1948</td> <td>Baton Rouge, LA</td> <td>LSU</td> <td>26–6</td> </tr> <tr style="color:#FDD023; background: #461D7C;"> <td>September 29, 1951</td> <td>Tuscaloosa, AL</td> <td>LSU</td> <td>13–7</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>September 27, 1952</td> <td>Baton Rouge, LA</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>21–20</td> </tr> <tr> <td>September 26, 1953</td> <td>Mobile, AL</td> <td>Tie</td> <td>7–7</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>September 25, 1954</td> <td>Baton Rouge, LA</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>12–0</td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <table class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%; text-align:center"> <tbody><tr> <th width="115">Date</th> <th width="95">Location</th> <th width="55">Winner</th> <th width="40">Score</th> </tr> <tr style="color:#FDD023; background: #461D7C;"> <td>September 28, 1957</td> <td>Baton Rouge, LA</td> <td>LSU</td> <td>28–0</td> </tr> <tr style="color:#FDD023; background: #461D7C;"> <td>September 27, 1958</td> <td>Mobile, AL</td> <td>LSU</td> <td>13–3</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 7, 1964</td> <td>Birmingham, AL</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>17–9</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 6, 1965</td> <td>Baton Rouge, LA</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>31–7</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 5, 1966</td> <td>Birmingham, AL</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>21–0</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 11, 1967</td> <td>Baton Rouge, LA</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>7–6</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 9, 1968</td> <td>Birmingham, AL</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>16–7</td> </tr> <tr style="color:#FDD023; background: #461D7C;"> <td>November 8, 1969</td> <td>Baton Rouge, LA</td> <td>LSU</td> <td>20–15</td> </tr> <tr style="color:#FDD023; background: #461D7C;"> <td>November 7, 1970</td> <td>Birmingham, AL</td> <td>LSU</td> <td>14–9</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 6, 1971</td> <td>Baton Rouge, LA</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>14–7</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 11, 1972</td> <td>Birmingham, AL</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>35–21</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 22, 1973</td> <td>Baton Rouge, LA</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>21–7</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 9, 1974</td> <td>Birmingham, AL</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>30–0</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 9, 1975</td> <td>Baton Rouge, LA</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>23–10</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 6, 1976</td> <td>Birmingham, AL</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>28–17</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 5, 1977</td> <td>Baton Rouge, LA</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>24–3</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 11, 1978</td> <td>Birmingham, AL</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>31–10</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 10, 1979</td> <td>Baton Rouge, LA</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>3–0</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 8, 1980</td> <td>Tuscaloosa, AL</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>28–7</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>September 5, 1981</td> <td>Baton Rouge, LA</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>24–7</td> </tr> <tr style="color:#FDD023; background: #461D7C;"> <td>November 6, 1982</td> <td>Birmingham, AL</td> <td>LSU</td> <td>20–10</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 5, 1983</td> <td>Baton Rouge, LA</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>32–26</td> </tr> <tr style="color:#FDD023; background: #461D7C;"> <td>November 10, 1984</td> <td>Birmingham, AL</td> <td>LSU</td> <td>16–14</td> </tr> <tr> <td>November 9, 1985</td> <td>Baton Rouge, LA</td> <td>Tie</td> <td>14–14</td> </tr> <tr style="color:#FDD023; background: #461D7C;"> <td>November 8, 1986</td> <td>Birmingham, AL</td> <td>LSU</td> <td>14–10</td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <table class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%; text-align:center"> <tbody><tr> <th width="115">Date</th> <th width="95">Location</th> <th width="55">Winner</th> <th width="40">Score</th> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 7, 1987</td> <td>Baton Rouge, LA</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>22–10</td> </tr> <tr style="color:#FDD023; background: #461D7C;"> <td>November 5, 1988</td> <td>Tuscaloosa, AL</td> <td>LSU</td> <td>19–18</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 11, 1989</td> <td>Baton Rouge, LA</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>32–16</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 10, 1990</td> <td>Tuscaloosa, AL</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>24–3</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 9, 1991</td> <td>Baton Rouge, LA</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>20–17</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 7, 1992</td> <td>Baton Rouge, LA</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>31–11</td> </tr> <tr style="color:#FDD023; background: #461D7C;"> <td>November 6, 1993</td> <td>Tuscaloosa, AL</td> <td>LSU</td> <td>17–13</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 5, 1994</td> <td>Baton Rouge, LA</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>35–17</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 4, 1995</td> <td>Tuscaloosa, AL</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>10–3</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 9, 1996</td> <td>Baton Rouge, LA</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>26–0</td> </tr> <tr style="color:#FDD023; background: #461D7C;"> <td>November 8, 1997</td> <td>Tuscaloosa, AL</td> <td>LSU</td> <td>27–0</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 7, 1998</td> <td>Baton Rouge, LA</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>22–16</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 6, 1999</td> <td>Tuscaloosa, AL</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>23–17</td> </tr> <tr style="color:#FDD023; background: #461D7C;"> <td>November 4, 2000</td> <td>Baton Rouge, LA</td> <td>LSU</td> <td>30–28</td> </tr> <tr style="color:#FDD023; background: #461D7C;"> <td>November 3, 2001</td> <td>Tuscaloosa, AL</td> <td>LSU</td> <td>30–14</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 16, 2002</td> <td>Baton Rouge, LA</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>31–0</td> </tr> <tr style="color:#FDD023; background: #461D7C;"> <td>November 15, 2003</td> <td>Tuscaloosa, AL</td> <td>LSU</td> <td>27–3</td> </tr> <tr style="color:#FDD023; background: #461D7C;"> <td>November 13, 2004</td> <td>Baton Rouge, LA</td> <td>LSU</td> <td>26–10</td> </tr> <tr style="color:#FDD023; background: #461D7C;"> <td>November 12, 2005</td> <td>Tuscaloosa, AL</td> <td>LSU</td> <td>16–13^A</td> </tr> <tr style="color:#FDD023; background: #461D7C;"> <td>November 11, 2006</td> <td>Baton Rouge, LA</td> <td>LSU</td> <td>28–14</td> </tr> <tr style="color:#FDD023; background: #461D7C;"> <td>November 3, 2007</td> <td>Tuscaloosa, AL</td> <td>LSU</td> <td>41–34</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 8, 2008</td> <td>Baton Rouge, LA</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>27–21^A</td> </tr> <tr style="background: #990000; color:white"> <td>November 7, 2009</td> <td>Tuscaloosa, AL</td> <td>Alabama</td> <td>24–15</td> </tr> <tr style="color:#FDD023; background: #461D7C;"> <td>November 6, 2010</td> <td>Baton Rouge, LA</td> <td>LSU</td> <td>24–21</td> </tr> <tr style="color:#FDD023; background: #461D7C;"> <td>November 5, 2011</td> <td>Tuscaloosa, AL</td> <td>LSU</td> <td>9–6^A</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>

A little blue this century


LSU Alma Mater

Where stately oaks and broad magnolias
shade inspiring halls,
There stands our dear Old Alma Mater
who to us recalls
Fond memories that waken in our hearts
a tender glow,
And make us happy for the love
that we have learned to know.

All hail to thee our Alma Mater,
molder of mankind,
May greater glory, love unending
be forever thine.
Our worth in life will be thy worth
we pray to keep it true,
And may thy spirit live in us, forever…L-S-U.

[jamielang1951]

Stewart Mandel>COLLEGE FOOTBALL OVERTIME

Rematch hysteria aside, title game winner will be true national champ

On Jan. 9, LSU and Alabama will play for the national championship. Right now, most fans are focused on the controversy and dissatisfaction surrounding the BCS' first intra-division rematch, an awkward scenario that has sparked more indignation over college football's flawed and frustrating postseason. Expect the bellyaching to continue for the next several days.

At some point, however, perhaps the complaining will subside long enough for us to focus on an equally rare occurrence: Les Miles' team is one win away from completing the most spectacular season of the BCS era.

On Saturday, a nation already up to its ears in SEC adulation watched with incredulity as top-ranked LSU went the entire first half of its conference championship game against No. 12 Georgia without gaining a first down, falling behind 10-0. Fans in Ohio, Oklahoma, California, etc., rubbed their hands eagerly in anticipation of an 11th-hour meltdown, one almost certain to preclude the SEC rematch that ESPN and CBS had told them was already scheduled.

And then, the Tigers did what they always do. Tyrann Mathieu returned a punt 62 yards for a momentum-turning touchdown before halftime. Three plays into the second half, defensive lineman Michael Brockers forced an Aaron Murray fumble that the Honey Badger recovered. Kenny Hilliard and Michael Ford started running over Georgia's defense, Mathieu had another ridiculous punt return and before long it was a 42-10 blowout. This just eight days after LSU spotted third-ranked Arkansas a 14-0 lead only to roar back and win 41-17.

LSU, 13-0, just completed the most impressive regular season I can remember. It beat the Pac-12 (Oregon) and Big East (West Virginia) champions within the first four weeks of the season by scores of 40-27 and 47-21, respectively. In the most hyped regular-season game in years, it went to Tuscaloosa and beat No. 2 Alabama in overtime. It beat five teams that finished in the Top 25 and three that finished in the top six, and it scored 40 or more points in nine of its 13 games. It is the first team ever to achieve a perfect 1.000 score (first place votes from every voter in two polls and six computers) in the BCS standings.

The Tigers are a certifiable juggernaut -- but they are not yet national champions, and they won't be unless they beat Alabama a second time. To many, that doesn't seem fair. I've made my case for why Oklahoma State deserved a shot over Alabama, but not enough voters agreed to erase a .0086 gap. So, that's that.

The funny thing is, sports fans seem to be perfectly fine with postseason rematches in almost any other scenario -- even ones where the result renders the entire preceding season meaningless. In 2007, the New England Patriots completed the NFL's first 16-0 regular season with a win on the final weekend against the New York Giants. Five weeks later the Giants, having lost six regular-season games, upset the still-perfect Patriots and got to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. It was hailed as an all-time classic.

The difference, of course, is that the Giants weren't given another shot at the Patriots by a set of voters and computers; they earned that shot by advancing in a playoff. College football is different. It's the one sport that continually trumpets the importance of its regular season and views the postseason as more of a celebration than competition. LSU-Alabama II makes a mockery of that talking point, asking us to accept that Every Game Counts -- but that this particular one merits a do-over.

Regardless of whether the rematch was the right choice, the Tigers will face a plenty worthy adversary in New Orleans, one that was similarly dominant outside of that Nov. 5 field-goal fest, albeit against a less staggering schedule.

And contrary to what some have already espoused, LSU needs to win the game to be considered national champion. Yes, the result in New Orleans will trump the result in Tuscaloosa. And no, AP voters should not grant the Tigers a split championship if they lose close in the rematch.

"The opportunity to go play for a national championship is a completely different scenario," Miles said Sunday night. "It's the same opponent, but with the title at stake."
No team in history has ever won a national title after losing its bowl game. This won't be the first.

Here's what will actually happen. We will spend the next few days on our annual tirade about this silly system and all the possible alternatives. (Note: If my desired plus-one were in place, LSU would play Stanford in one semifinal and Alabama would face Oklahoma State in the other. How hard was that?) We'll quiet down a bit in time to enjoy Christmas and the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, and then, when the Tigers and Tide get to New Orleans, 1,000 reporters will spend a week asking the coaches and players questions they don't want to answer about the fairness of a rematch.

And then they'll play the game. We'll be reminded of just how good these teams are. The game will play out completely differently than the first one. The score will not be close to 9-6. For one, the first meeting will have taken place more than two months earlier; for another, this is football.

"If you just look at NFL games, you always play teams in the playoffs you played in the regular season, and all those game play out differently," Nick Saban said Sunday night. "There's so many good players on both sides of the ball, I think there's a lot of opportunity for the game to have a completely different flavor than the first one did."

It also has an opportunity to be one of the all-time greats. People don't want to hear that right now, especially after enduring so much buildup to the first somewhat disappointing meeting. But it's true. Either LSU will cement itself as one of the great teams the sport has seen, or Alabama will redeem itself by proving the Tigers mortal.
Either way, one team will rightfully be crowned national champion.

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[Hammer]

Well Jamie, here we go again! Some folks don't like the re-match and I can understand that. However, in my opinion, it's a great thing to happen. Two(2) good teams, two(2) good Coaches, from the number one conference.

Get it on! Roll Tide Roll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jamielang1951]

First let me clear up any confusion, as I know some of you are going where the heck did this appear from? I asked our Moderator, Sgt. Lep, to move this to here so we could share with our family members and friends, like my buddy Mark.

Also want to say "not too shabby a year for the Bronco’s" Allen, but, it’s SEC us,,,again. ; - )


I created this SEC thread back in September in Marines Only the “Hooch” so we could possibly cut up and, maybe pass a good time with a little trash talk ;- ). I am referring to the good nature, sportsmanship type trash talk. It hasn’t been a problem for us as we know and understand that Sportsmanship is another word for Honor. As such I expect anyone who responds to show the same sportsmanship you wish shown to yourself.

Other than that, please kick back and enjoy the hype and build up to our beloved college football’s final battles of the titans.

And remember the well said,,,



“It’s not bragging if you really can do it!”

[jamielang1951]

Oh yeah, my house my rules, so all other conference teams fans comments are very welcomed here on this SEC Sports thread.

[awbrown1462]

LSU does belong in the national championship and Alabama is a great team but shouldn't they have to beat LSU twice to win the title after all they lost to LSU
The SEC did not do anything wrong in all of this, this is the money hungrey BCS

[jamielang1951]

Yes Mitch, it's "into the breach once again". This is a "must play" game in my mind. I know LSU got this call, and that there wasn't enough "irrefutable evidence" to overturn the call on the field, but I'm still not comfortable with it. IMHO a do over is in order. Only way to know for sure who is the "Nation Champions". We are both winners for making it this far, but history never remembers who lost, only who was the best damn Collage football team that year, maybe in the history of the BCS championship game.



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By Brian Mazique Nov 6.

It was everything it was billed to be...unless you like TDs. A final of 9-6 in overtime was not for fans of shootouts, but if you like tough, grind-it-out football, this was the best type of game for you.
Alabama made a boatload of mistakes, and LSU made big plays. None were bigger than this athletic and timely interception from sophomore safety Eric Reid.

He leaves his assignment, flows over to Alabama tight end Michael Williams and literally steals the ball from him on the 1-yard line. This was one of two interceptions in the game—the first was from junior CB Morris Claiborne.

This was still the biggest play of the game and further highlighted the mental lapses that costs Alabama the game. The pass was thrown by WR Marquise Maze on a trick play. The ball was lofted in the air with a ridiculous amount of hang time that allowed Reid to make the spectacular play on the ball.

All the missed field goals by "long-range kicking specialist" Cade Foster, one was blocked (that one was from the foot of "short-range kicking specialist" Jeremy Shelley) and ironically caught in the air by Reid as well. There was also a very poor choice of play-calling in the overtime session.

There were just too many miscues to overcome for the home-standing Crimson Tide. They will look back at many plays as well as this fabulous interception as plays they wish they could have back.

[jamielang1951]

Once again, BCS hurts only little guys

Updated Dec 6, 2011 3:30 AM ET
Fox News


Nothing bad happened to college football Sunday. No tragedy befell the sport. Nobody died.

What happened was a system everybody knew to be flawed produced a predictably flawed result. A group of agenda-ized coaches, idiotic variations of Craig James' Harris ballots and computer programs determined that replaying a game already played was the best arbiter of who is the best team in college football.

This was always how this was going to go down. And despite a cacophony of Twitterage about LSU vs Alabame 2.0, college football is fine as a result.
Great, actually.

Because of who is playing (two SEC teams) and where they are playing (LSU's backyard of New Orleans), the BCS National Championship game will be an impossible ticket. The game is likely to be good, the first one boring only the attention-deficit-disordered among us.
Y'all will watch. And until then, we'll endlessly debate whether The States — Oklahoma and Boise — or tanford were worthier opponents, about good losses and bad ones and ultimately about the need for a playoff.

"The whole thing needs to be changed, there's no question about it,"Boise State coach Chris Petersen said. "Everybody is just very tired of the BCS. I think that's the bottom line. Everybody is frustrated. Everybody doesn't really know what to do anymore. It doesn't make sense to anybody. I don't think anybody is happy anywhere."

Nobody except bowl execs, power conferences, the same people who always win.
No, college football did not get screwed Sunday. It won the day handily.

Who got screwed Sunday were the athletes from Oklahoma State, Boise and Stanford. "The kids" has become such a trite argument that I hate invoking it for fear of diminishing my point. The theoretical kids tend to be dragged into arguments — steroids, role models, et cetera — with the effect of cheapening, not strengthening them.

I am not talking about some theoretical 10-year-old, though. I am talking about Curtis Clay
I came to know Clay while covering TCU Horned Frog football. He is what we love about college athletics — athletics in general, really — a kid who talked his parents into letting him walk on at TCU even though this meant forgoing a scholarship elsewhere and accruing almost $50,000 in debt.

A little smallish, he earned a scholarship his redshirt sophomore season by busting his butt on special teams. His greatest moment was a touchdown catch in the 2010 Fiesta Bowl. And last season, his final season at TCU, his Frogs went undefeated.

This being the BCS, a flawed system that produces flawed results, their undefeated season was viewed not as favorably as Auburn or Oregon. It was the fine work of the same agendas, James-think and Apples that deemed Oklahoma State's one-loss to be inferior to Alabama's on Sunday. And so TCU ended up at The Rose Bowl.

It was a bribe. It was just good enough to stymie complaints of them getting screwed out of a chance at a championship.

And when we talked Monday, a year later, he talked again of how amazing that Rose Bowl experience had been and how he really can not complain. He feels for Oklahoma State, Boise State and Stanford, all one-loss teams, because not getting a chance is the worst kind of torture.
"It's funny,'' Clay said. "I was just talking to my dad a couple of days ago and I told him, 'I still believe that TCU team could have beaten anybody in nation on any given day. Oregon, Auburn, anybody.

"I'm not saying we should be national champions. What I am saying is if we had gotten in that situation, we would have won."
It is only now, a year later, as Clay is substitute teaching in preparation for fulfilling his dream of becoming a high-school teacher and football coach, that he wonders how he'd explain what happened to one of his players. How do you preach that, if you work hard enough, anything is possible, when the BCS disproves it.

"Hopefully when I get to the point, I'll be able to come up with a little better answer before then," Clay said.
"I'm a firm believer in 'work hard enough and believe in yourself and good things happen,' in athletics and everything you do. But life is not always fair. Yes, we were undefeated. But the way the system is set up didn't allow for that, and life is not fair. With anything, you may do everything in your power, all the right things and still come up short."

When Clay is being honest, the inability to play for a championship goes against everything sports supposedly represent. Games are decided between the lines, not by what a broadcaster somewhere thinks. And all of the arguments for replaying 'Bama-LSU are about what people think might happen.

Oklahoma State is all offense. Boise State does not play anybody.
Losing to Iowa State is worse than losing to LSU. How can you lose to TCU and expect to go?
We think Alabama is better. We think the SEC is better.

To determine a champion based on what we think might happen is anti-sport. It is more like life. Like Clay said, life is not fair, politics trumps all and life is too often a beauty contest and not a true measure of talent.

What he would tell Oklahoma State players and the Boise ones who undoubtedly already know is, it feels OK right now. It will be harder in a year, especially for the seniors. Because for them, there can be no making it right. And it is impossible to answer why the very things sports were supposed to stand for were scrubbed in favor of what makes money by the BCS.
No, nothing bad happened to college football Sunday — unless, of course, you count a sport letting down the very people who allow it to thrive a bad thing.

[SgtThrasher]

The Crimson Tide left 19 points on the field in game one and lost in OT.LSU didn't do anything against our defense that won the game.Bama will win the next game and their 14 th national Championship. Semper Fi, Bro and Roll Tide Roll !

[jamielang1951]

I do feel you should win your conference to go to the big show. You did have your shot.

[boomer56328]

I wish OSU would of gotten into the game, and as a Sooner fan that hurts to say. Alabama is probably is the 2nd best team in the country, but as I see it, they had their chance to beat LSU already. With the system as it is now everyone says that every game counts. Well apparently the 1st time didn't count and they are doing it again. I have no problem with a rematch, but if there was a playoff, Alabama would of had to earn the rematch. As it stands now, they are just one of several one loss teams and we are bickering over whose loss is worse. It doesn't matter, they all lost one game and all have an equal claim to being in the title game. The team I feel has the least argument is Alabama because they already had their shot at LSU. The SEC I think definately gets more of a benefit of the doubt when it comes to ranking their teams. I guess the've earned it though with winning the last 5 titles. It's just frustrating because i've already seen this game. Just my thoughts.

This just makes it clear how bad we need a playoff. What ideas does everyone have for a playoff. I always thought the 8 team playoff would be best. Take the 6 conference champions from the BCS conferences and then add 2 at large teams. Any schools from outside a BCS conference get an at large bid before one from inside a BCS conference if ranked high enough. This is because if a BCS conference team wants in, it's easy. WIN YOUR CONFERENCE.

[jamielang1951]

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Welcome to our Home away from Home, the Louisiana THUNDER-Dome!

We Will Rock You Long Time!

[awbrown1462]

I do feel you should win your conference to go to the big show. You did have your shot.

I agree that is why i do not think my team Boise belongs in this game at all they lost to TCU and did not win their conference. just like Alabama but Okalhoma state did. So I think it should have been Okalhoma State and LSU with LSU winning but heck this is just what I think

[Popsicle]

Agree the SEC is the best conference in college football and this year it's hard to argue against the rematch of LSU and Alabama.

Question: If the game is close but Alabama beats LSU, do you declare Alabama the National Champion or are they co-champions because they both have one loss to eachother?