First and foremost, congrats to the LSU Tigers. They are a helluva team and took what Georgia did to them in the first half and threw it right back at them.
- UGA came out and played outstanding in the first half. They did everything they had to do to win the game, except catch the ball. 2 dropped passes for TD’s in the first quarter that very well may have changed the entire outcome of the game. It’s a lot different playing down 21 than it is playing down 10.
- Tyran Mathieu is really, really good.
- That said, both of his punt returns were aided by blocks in the back that went uncalled.
- And the ball never crossed the goal line on his TD.
- The game clock at the Georgia Dome SUCKS!
- These two teams will be playing again next season in the SECCG.
- Crowell needs to grow up. Seriously.
OK, now for my rant:
Why does it always seem that the higher ranked team gets the benefit of the doubt when it comes to questionable calls and penalties? There were a lot, and I mean A LOT, of missed penalties in this game, for both sides. It seems that every big play that LSU made was aided by a penalty that was thrown or UGA or that a LSU player committed that went uncalled (see Tyran Mathieu’s Punt Return TD, Chris Conley being tackled by a cornerback with the ball in the air, et al). My biggest pet peeve of all, however, is the lack of taunting/unsportsmanlike conduct penalties called on defensive players. Almost every big play by a defensive player, mainly sacks however, is met with a celebration by that defender in which they run away from the play and call attention to themselves in an effort to show up the other team. That is the definition of taunting according to the NCAA. I saw this on several occasions last night, and have seen it since I started watching college football. It is just ridiculous to me that this continues to go uncalled.
Finally, I think that Oklahoma St. should play LSU in the National Championship game. Alabama has had their opportunity to defeat LSU (at home nonetheless) and failed to do so. The BCS’s moniker is “Every game matters,” and how does the regular season matter if you are going to allow two teams, from the same division in their conference, to play a second time for a national championship, how does the regular season matter anymore? What would happen if Alabama were to beat LSU? Would they have to play a 3rd game to truly see who is the national champion? This isn’t baseball. It’s not a best 2 of 3 series. The only reason a team, who didn’t win their division, let alone their conference, should play for the national championship, is if there is a playoff.
