What Could Have Been

By Brett Samuels

The national title game is all but set. All the drama has more or less been removed from the final few games of the season in college football as Notre Dame held off USC to stay undefeated and clinch a spot in the BCS National Championship Game on Jan 7.

(AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)

It is a general consensus that Notre Dame will face the winner of the SEC title game between No. 2 Alabama and No. 3 Georgia. It seemed a few weeks ago the SEC would be on the outside looking in for a spot in the national championship game.

However now the tone has changed, and as ESPN.com’s Edward Aschoff wrote of Georgia, the focus is now on the SEC championship, which is a direct path to the title game for both its participants.

“Now, the Bulldogs can devote all their attention to Atlanta, as they play in what is essentially a semifinal for the Discover BCS National Championship Game,” Aschoff said.

While Notre Dame represents one part of the championship game equation, and the SEC championship seemingly represents the other half, there are plenty of what ifs to be considered around the country.

There are many teams up for biggest disappointment of the year.

Michigan State came in with a top 15 ranking and needed a win in its final game to become bowl eligible.

Arkansas was ranked No. 10 to begin the year, but there season quickly spiraled out of control under coach John L. Smith.

Michigan, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Virginia Tech were all ranked in the top 20 of the preseason polls, and none of those teams have any chance at a BCS bowl except for Wisconsin, who reaps the benefits of Ohio State and Penn State being ineligible for the postseason.

However as CBS Sports’ Archie Manning pointed out on a pregame show Saturday, none of those teams were ranked No. 1 to start the year.

“USC has got to be the biggest disappointment,” Manning said. “They were ranked No. 1 in the country and now they have a chance to lose five games.”

Yes, the Trojans will look back on this season as one that began with optimism. Senior quarterback Matt Barkley returned with top-notch talent around him, and yet they simply didn’t have the depth or consistency to beat high quality opponents.

Outside of the Southern California area, Oregon and Kansas State will both look back on the weekend of November 17^th and wonder what went wrong. The Ducks fell to Stanford in overtime, while Baylor dismantled the Wildcats. Take away those respective losses, and both Kansas State and Oregon are still the front-runners to play each other for the BCS championship.

But as a famous person once said, “That’s why they play the games.”

And so Georgia and Alabama will play the SEC championship game. One team will win and earn the right to face Notre Dame for the crystal football. They will play that championship game, and then we will be able to say with certainty, probably for the first time this season, who the number one team in the country is,