Watching Auburn and Oklahoma, it is clear to me that the "odd man out" in this year's Orange Bowl should definitely be Oklahoma - if it comes to that.

USC was the odd man out last year. They won't do that to them 2 years in a roll.

Sigh . . . if only posting on this site would make Ole Miss a winner . . .

Please, someone--anyone--help my Gators!

What? You need some Gator-aide?

Mark, I'm obviously biased, but I agree. Oklahoma's defense is, um, not good.

I think OU is going to get dropped in the human polls. The writers in particular are going to remember that Oklahoma didn't deserve to play in the Sugar Bowl last year after getting drilled by K-State (after all, that was the whole reason why the BCS formula was changed afterwards), and I think OU is going to pay for that this year. Not really fair to the current team, but it's inherently an unfair, subjective system.

Give me playoffs, or give me... um, less subjective rankings!

Will,I'm a Tennessee fan, but I hope you're right and Auburn gets in to the championship game. As one who sat in Neyland Stadium suffering through one of the "beat-downs" I definitely think they deserve to be there. Problem isn't with the writers, it's the coaches' poll!

I'm a member of the Bulldog nation, but I too hope that Auburn gets the bid. They deserve it and I always support the SEC overall in the bowl games.

Thanks, Amelia. I've had an amazing number of (non-Auburn) SEC fans come up to me and tell me how much they were enjoying watching AU this year. This is a really special season, and it obviously shows.

Congrats on the Auburn victory. I am a Bulldog grad and avid fan, also in Atlanta (much of the time anyway). You'll have to forgive my fellow Bulldogs for being a bit over-excited and "myopic"every season. Like all truly loyal fans, we just want to witness some goodtimes and big wins first hand, especially after being mediocre for so long. The AJC sales during football season prove it. However, it appears that this is your year for glory. So, if those Paperclips from Oklahoma get the nod over Auburn for the big dance, it won't just be Auburn fans crying foul. Afterall, if we must lose, we'd like to repeat last year in claiming, "Hey, at least we lost to the National Champs."

Will

I congratulate your Tigers on thier victory. I hope that they surpass Oklahoma in the polls- primarily so my Trojans can make it three in a row and add an undisputed title to Mr. Carroll's resume.

I don't really have any qualms over Auburn staking a claim to play in the Orange Bowl, despite their weak schedule.

But why is everyone giving USC a free pass? Twice, they've had to overcome double-digit deficits to Stanford and Oregon State, who are both unranked and have combined .500 record. Say what you will about the Sooners defense giving up 35 points in back to back games against Oklahoma State and Texas A&M, but at least those teams were ranked.

No matter how this turns out, rest assured the system will be 'tweaked' to make computer polls irrelevant. Which means that, um, we'll be in the same place we were in 1997 when we were complaing about the 'human element' of the polls.

Oklahoma is probably the most overrated of the bunch. They're only #2 because they started there, and have only played one top-flight team all year. Hopefully the football gods will correct the gaffe that let them play for the title last year after losing their own conference...

The BCS system actually isn't that bad. What needs improvement is the way polls are done. There should be no official pre-season polls, or really any until like week three or when conference play begins. Inertia plays way too big a role in polling, and we've all heard the stories about how coach's polls are sent in by some assistant AD, or how media polls are filled out by beat reporters who watch maybe one or two games a week.

Make the official polls come out after the week 3 games, then start the BCS the next week. Then you won't see any obvious mistakes (like Ohio State starting the year #6), and good teams playing in dog conferences (Oklahoma) will get less of an inertial boost.

Of course, there's about no chance of that ever happening, but since we'll never see a playoff either, I can always hope.

As a proud member of the Bulldawg Nation, let me make one comment about Saturday's UGA - AU game. Damn! Just Damn! The Dawgs have had some serious question marks this and Auburn exposed every weakness we had. 2003 was a woodshed game between the hedges and 2004 was a woodshed game down on the Plains. I felt like I was watching last years LSU team play. If the BCS leaves AU out of the title game this year, it will only expose a seriously flawed ranking system.
Two things before I post this comment:
1. F*ck Florida
2. If anyone finds Reggie Brown's head still bouncing around, please send it COD to Athens

I haven't seen dad (AU, BSEE, 1960) this excited since Pat Sullivan won the Heisman.

Raw Eagle!

Auburn and USC have a Date With Destiny. It'll be a great national championship. Just make sure your team stays unbeaten, m'kay?

Does ESPN read (plagarize) Vodkapundit? From today's "Daily Quickie" on espn.com...

Blame the inertia-addicted morons (voters) who didn't put Auburn at No. 1 in the first place and continue to credit USC and Oklahoma for being preseason 1-2.

Yeah baby...advantage: Mike M and Vodkapundit!

As much as USC is benefitting from their shafting last year, Auburn is still paying for their overhype from the beginning of last year. Not fair, but that's how these things work.

But even if they get to the Orange Bowl, USC (firing on all cylinders after starting slow) is still going to cream them. Then the season is going to end with SC #1, OK (easy winners in the Fiesta over some second-tier team) #2, Cal (over Michigan in the Rose) #3, Auburn #4. OK is definitely going to lose Jason White after the season; barring any major personnel losses from USC or Cal (particularly Tedford), they start the 2005 season ranked 1 and 2. That should officially kill the idea of East Coast bias.

How's that for putting the cart before the horse?