What Burns Me Up

Okay, it's been long enough that I can take a step back and look at things clearly and concisely and rationally. I refused to get swept up in the whole \"UGA deserves a shot at the MNC\" argument, or the \"where should UGA be ranked\" argument at the time because it was just too heated. Now that I can think rationally about it, here's what I think.

What in the HELL is wrong with ESPN/USA Today and their Coaches poll?

The AP had the right idea. LSU #1, UGA #2 with 3 first-place votes, USC #3 with one first-place vote. ESPN/USA Today puts Georgia #3 behind USC. On what are you basing that?

1) Going into the bowl season, Georgia was ranked #5. USC was ranked #8. Both teams won, and convincingly. It makes sense that the higher-ranked team should go to #2, since neither team played each other.

2) In its bowl game, Georgia defeated Hawai'i. In the Rose Bowl, USC defeated Illinois. Let's break these matchups down. Georgia beat the only undefeated team left in FBS football. USC defeated a 3-loss team. Georgia defeated a conference champion (WAC). USC defeated a team that came in third in its conference. USC beat a sure-fire first-day draft pick in Rashard Mendenhall. UGA beat and sacked 8-times a sure-fire first-ROUND draft pick, Heisman trophy finalist and multiple NCAA-record holder in Colt Brennan. Based solely on paper stats, UGA beat a better team just as soundly as USC beat Illinois.

3) Both teams lost two games. USC lost to Oregon -- a legitimate Pac-10 contender this year, when Dennis Dixon was healthy -- and Stanford, a 41-POINT UNDERDOG who finished the season ineligible for a bowl. This game has been called THE BIGGEST UPSET IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL HISTORY. Georgia lost to South Carolina -- who at one point in the season was 6th in the country and finished the season bowl-eligible -- and to Tennessee, who finished the season ranked, played for the conference championship, and won its bowl game. In basketball-speak, Georgia had better losses than USC had.

4) Much has been made of the fact that Georgia did not win the SEC. USC won the Pac-10 (well, actually, they split it with Arizona State and UCLA, but won head-to-heads and so got the Rose Bowl bid). The problem with that argument is that Georgia was only kept out of the SEC championship game by Vanderbilt's inability to hold a 15-point fourth-quarter lead, and by Kentucky's inability to kick a field goal, both against Tennessee, who played TERRIBLE football down the stretch. Georgia actually tied for the Eastern Division championship (just as USC TIED - not won outright, but TIED - for the Pac-10 title).

5) Georgia flat-out had better wins than USC. Georgia defeated the defending national champion Florida Gators 42-30. Georgia defeated perennial contender Auburn 45-20. Georgia defeated \"the best offense in the world\" in Oklahoma State 35-14. USC's best wins were against Cal -- who struggled with AIR FORCE -- and #6 Arizona State, who got crushed by Texas in the Holiday Bowl. Georgia beat FIVE RANKED TEAMS in #9 Florida, #10 Hawai'i, #16 Alabama, #18 Auburn and #22 Kentucky. Alabama, Auburn and Kentucky all won their bowl games. USC also beat five ranked teams, but one of them was #16 Nebraska, who we all know finished the year unworthy of a national ranking. And they allowed Nebraska to score 31 points on them. Other teams Nebraska scored 31 on include Nevada, 6-7 Colorado (who won the game), 5-7 Kansas State (who allowed them to score 73), Kansas (who had already scored 70), Ball State (who scored 40 and lost the game by one point), and 3-9 Iowa State.

6) USC's quarterback's name is Booty. Come on!

Okay, so that last point wasn't very good. But overall, Georgia was simply better at the end of the year than USC. ESPN/USA Today's love of all things Trojan is the only justification for USC being #2 ahead of Georgia.

See, when you look at things logically, you must admit the superiority of the University of Georgia.

It's USC. ESPN has their heads so far up the Trojans' ass, they can't see the light of day.

I agree with you dapolla......one adjustment probably....Brennan is sliding down the draft list VERY quickly in his workouts etc. Won't be a 1st rounder at this point.

All excellent points, dapolla, but you forgot the main one, which it that ESPN is USC's love slave, their beeyotch's, so to speak, and will do whatever is necessary to get them into bed.

With silk sheets...

...and, of course, ROSE petals on the bed...