Is the SEC the best conference, hmmm...let me see. 5 straight national championships. 4 different national champions during that span. 5 different #1 teams during that span. And now, 1. LSU 2. Alabama and 3. Arkansas.
1. LSU beats Arkansas, Alabama beats Auburn - LSU plays in the SEC Championship Game and Alabama sits at #2. If LSU wins the SEC they stay at #1 and play Alabama for the BCS Title. If they lose to UGA I think they just move to #2 and still play Alabama for the BCS Title. LSU's resume is just too strong to deny them. In this scenario they will have beaten 3 top 10 teams (Oregon, Alabama, and Arkansas).
Most likely BCS Title Game........#1 LSU vs. #2 Alabama
2. LSU beats Arkansas, Alabama loses to Auburn - I imagine this is the scenario everyone who hates the SEC is hoping for. LSU plays in the SEC Championship Game, and even if they lose it I think it would be a long shot for anyone other than Okie State to jump them since Stanford won't win the PAC 12 and VT's schedule is so weak.
Most likely BCS Title Game........#1 LSU vs. #2 Oklahoma State
3. Arkansas beats LSU, Alabama loses to Auburn - Then Arkansas probably jumps to #1, LSU is #2 and Alabama is #5 or 6. Either way, it would be the head-to-head between ARK and LSU in this case and ARK goes to the SEC Championship Game. If they win the SEC and Oklahoma State beats Oklahoma then there is a slight chance they play OSU for the BCS Title....maybe 25%, otherwise I think they have a re-match with LSU. If ARK loses to UGA then it will be LSU vs. Oklahoma State or Virginia Tech or Stanford.
Most likely BCS Title Game........#1 Arkansas vs. #2 LSU
4. Arkansas beats LSU, Alabama beats Auburn - Now we're talking...chaos! The only way to keep Alabama out of the SEC Championship in this scenario is for Arkansas to remain #3 or Bama slip to #3. But those are both unlikely, you have to figure if Arkansas goes to Death Valley and wins LSU will be #3. So Alabama goes to the SEC Championship Game. If they win they will almost certainly be in the BCS Title Game as SEC Champion. The argument would rage between ARK and LSU for #2...should it be head-to-head or resume? Surely head-to-head will win out. If Alabama loses then you have to figure it would be an LSU/ARK re-match similar to scenario #3.
Most likely BCS Title Game........#1 Alabama vs. #2 Arkansas
Think about that last one for a minute. We all know the tiebraker rule - top two teams in the BCS head-to-head, but is there a logical way to sort out those teams to determine the fairest #1,2,3? This is a crazy situation, so fairness based on resume is the only way to do it I think. Right now it seems like Arkansas is the weakest of the three, but if they beat LSU that won't be the case. Here is what the resumes would look like:
Alabama: Beat #19 Penn State (possible Big Ten 'Leaders' division champs) in Happy Valley. Played Arkansas and LSU at home. Opponents from SEC East: at Florida, Vanderbilt, Tennessee.
LSU: Beat #10 Oregon (probable PAC 12 North division champs) at a neutral site and West Virginia (possible Big East champs) in Morgantown. Played Alabama on the road and Arkansas at home. Opponents from SEC East: Kentucky, Florida, at Tennessee.
Arkansas: Beat Texas A&M at a neutral site. Played Alabama and LSU on the road. Opponents from SEC East: at Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Tennessee.
If I'm looking at those 3, I have to say #1 LSU, #2 Arkansas and #3 Alabama. And in that case ARK would go to Atlanta and deservedly so having just beaten LSU in Baton Rouge. Nonetheless this gives more merit to a playoff. I've been a proponent of a 4 or 8 team playoff for years. Based on what's happened this year...motion for an 8 team playoff. All conference champions with a caveat that if you are in the Top 5 and not a conference champion you get an at-large selection...and the lowest ranked conference champions are not selected as equaled to the number of at-large selections.
There are a couple of scenarios where the BCS Title Game is made up of two SEC teams that did not even win the conference:
1. LSU and Alabama win this week, LSU loses to UGA next week but still holds onto #2. UGA is SEC Champ and goes to Sugar Bowl.
2. Arkansas and Alabama win this week, Alabama loses to UGA next week and LSU and Arkansas play for the BCS Title. UGA goes to the Sugar Bowl and Bama slips to the Capitol One Bowl.
JB
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