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If you are a fan of college football then you no less know about the craziness that has gone on this past weekend. I guess Louisville's comeback against Rutgers should have been a harbinger of things to come.

Here is my take on some of what has happened. It is going to be a little lengthy, but please, bear with me.

First, I want to speak to a large portion of the Bulldog Nation. What I have seen on the message boards is pretty horrible. There are a lot of irrational Bulldog fans that are lashing out in such a way that only tarnishes the image of UGA. Honestly, I have felt the way that many of them have felt and expressed those views to a few people (sorry Jon), but I think I have handled myself fairly decently on the boards. As one person said, we don't need to turn ourselves into Auburn (who actually had a better complaint when they were left out of the Mythical National Championship Game).

Unfortunately, many Bulldogs feel they are entitled to a MNCG. They feel betrayed that people would consider any other team but them for the chance to play for a MNC. I have even read one person state that he would rather be in the Capital One Bowl playing Michigan than in the Sugar Bowl vs. Hawaii. I guess I shouldn't be that surprised. The Western culture fosters a sense of entitlement; individualism, materialism, humanism and democracy all come together to teach us that "I deserve it, whether I have earned it or not." Think I am wrong? What did McDonald's say a few years ago? "YOU deserve a break today". Seen a TV ad for an attorney lately? "We'll get YOU the settlement YOU DESERVE." Heck, the we are told that we are entitled to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". Now, don't get me wrong, I am not against The Constitution or the Declaration of Independence, but isn't it possible that my pursuit of happiness is in stark contrast to another person's pursuit of happiness? So how do that work out? But back to the "Dogs pursuit of happiness"...

Going into this past weekend, Georgia was ranked #4 in the BCS, ahead of LSU, OU, Kansas & Virginia Tech. They were probably headed to the Orange Bowl to play the ACC champ or possibly to the Rose Bowl to play USC. It was funny that even then, Dog fans were not satisfied with just a BCS bowl, but were clamoring about how we deserved to play Southern Cal. However, there was an outside chance that we might be able to play Ohio State for the MNC if several things happened. As it turned out, some of those things did happen- Pitt upset West Virginia and OU beat Mizzou. However, LSU beat Tennessee and VA Tech beat BC. That clouded things.

Many Dogs, myself included, got swept up in the notion that we could end up playing the Buckeyes for the MNC. That "could" soon turned into a "should" and things got ugly fast.

Soon many of the TV media began speculating on who would play in the BCS games and who would play for the MNC. This is when I started to get mad. I believe that the national media by in large handled this situation poorly. Instead of listing the handful of teams that had a chance to play and their resumes for playing in the game, many commentators took it upon themselves to say who they felt should play for the MNC and stump for them.

Exhibit A:

Honestly, I like Kirk Herbstreit. I thought he did a good job and I generally liked him being on ESPN's college football team. However, this weekend proved to be a bad one for Kirk. After messing up on the whole Les Miles to Michigan thing, Kirk continued his errant ways by contradicting himself in order to pitch an Ohio State (his alma mater) vs. LSU game for the MNC.

First, his argument against UGA, who was previously ranked right behind the Buckeyes, was that UGA didn't win their conference. This argument was true. However, nowhere in the rules does it say that a team must win their conference to play for the MNC. In fact, 2 other teams have done it in the past 6 years. Furthermore, and probably most damning was the fact that last year Kirk was pushing a Michigan-Ohio State rematch after Ohio State had just beaten Michigan to win the Big 10. So it is a bit hypocritical to say Michigan should play for the title when they didn't win their conference and then to say UGA shouldn't play for the title when the same was true for them.

Second, I heard him make arguments against Oklahoma saying that the Sooners had 2 losses to unranked teams and that their defense didn't play that good all year and if they had, they would have a claim to the MNCG. Hogwash! LSU lost at home to an 8-4 Arkansas team & a 7-5 Kentucky team in Lexington. OU lost to on the road to a 7-5 Texas Tech team & a 6-6 Colorado team. When you look at OU's record, the only teams that scored on them were the teams that beat them, their quality opponents and you possibly could make an argument about Baylor. Yes, OU struggle with Iowa State, but LSU struggled with Tulane for a half. And LSU's defense was horrible against Arkansas and Bama. Furthermore, OU just beat the #1 team in the nation. My point is this, LSU has a legitimate argument to play Ohio State, but to say that OU doesn't is not accurate, especially based on the argument that Kirk based it on- 2 losses to lesser opponents and defensive lapses.

Exhibit B:

Poor arguments gave way to personal biases as no one beat the anti-Bulldog drum louder than Granny Holtz. He was spitting, slurring and lhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifisping all he could to say that a 2-loss Georgia team that didn't win the SEC shouldn't go to the MNCG. I addressed the fact that winning your conference is not a prerequisite earlier so I am not going to push the point here again, other than to say that it is no different than a wild card team in the NFL or MLB winning playing for the World Series. Rather, I am going to say what much of the college football nation thinks; it is time for ESPN to replace Lou Holtz. The many can barely speak, he is totally irrational, completely biased and ads no real value to the show other than possibly that of a court jester, which Lee Corso can manage on his own. I cannot believe the step down they took when they got rid of Trev Alberts. To keep him on their broadcast team is a disservice to college football fans everywhere.

But let's take a look at what should have happened. A professional journalist would have done what is ethically correct and listed the pros & cons for each team that should have a shot at the title game. Kinda like this table that shows the resumes of each team:

Ohio State:
+ 11-1 record
+ won Big 10
+ beat 3 teams that were ranked at the time
+ beat Wisconsin team that is currently ranked #18
+ beat 3 teams with 8-4 or better records
+ only loss was to Illinois (unranked at the time, now ranked #13)
- only has 1 win against a team that finished ranked in the top 25
- schedule ranks 60th according to Jeff Sagarin

LSU
+ won SEC
+ beat 7 teams that were ranked at the time they played
+ has 5 wins against teams currently ranked in the top 25
+ didn't play a Div 1-AA tbeam
+ beat ACC champ #5 VA Tech, 48-7
+ both losses were in OT
+ schedule ranks 21st according to Jeff Sagarin.
+ beat 5 teams with 8-4 records or better
- lost 2 games
- lost to then ranked Kentucky who finished unranked
- lost to then unranked Arkansas who finished ranked #25

UGA
+ beat 4 teams that were ranked at the time they played (2 still ranked)
+ beat #9 Florida by 12 points
+ beat #22 Auburn by 25 points
+ 6-game win streak makes UGA one of the hottest teams in the nation
+ beat 4 teams with a 8-4 record or better
+ was ranked #4 going into this past week, right behind Ohio State
- lost 2 games to teams that were unranked at the time (Tennessee is now ranked #16)
- lost to Tennessee by 21 points
- didn't win SEC or SEC East

Oklahoma
+ won Big 12
+ just beat #1 Mizzou by 21 points
+ won 11 games
+ beat 3 teams ranked teams
+ beat 3 teams with 8 wins or more (Mizzou twice)
+ didn't play Div 1-AA team
+ has 2 wins of Mizzou who finished #8
- lost 2 games
- both losses to unranked teams
- 59th ranked schedule

VA Tech
+ won ACC
+ won 11 games
+ beat 3 teams ranked teams
+ beat 3 teams that won 8 games or more (BC twice)
+ won 5-in-a-row
+ both losses were to teams ranked #2 at the time
- 2 losses
- blown out by LSU, 48-7

Southern Cal
+ won Pac 10
+ beat 4 ranked teams at the time (only 2 still ranked)
+ didn't play Div 1-AA team
+ lost to then ranked #5 Oregon
+ beat #12 Arizona State by 20
+ beat 3 teams with 8 or more wins
- lost 2 games
- lost to unranked, 4-8 Stanford

Do I think that UGA is the only team that deserves a shot at the MNC? No, but I don't think LSU and Ohio State are the only teams either. All of these teams have a legitimate argument and that doesn't even include Kansas or Hawaii who some would say also should have a shot. Heck, Mizzou beat Kansas and was left out of the BCS; that stinks. OU has legitimate gripes. A 3-loss Illinois team beat out a 2-loss Arizona State team. So I know UGA fans aren't the only ones dissatisfied (or outraged). Rather than, pushing opinion as fact and encouraging a herd-mentality, let's look at things objectively.

Furthermore, looking at the system, it is important to know what the goals of that system are. Anyone who thinks that the BCS is structured to encourage the fairest way of determining who the best teams in the nation are, is misguided. The goals of the NCAA & the BCS are this:
1. Earn lots of money for themselves.
2. Protect the interests of the Rose Bowl, the Big 10 & the Pac 10.
3. Protect the interests of the Bowls.
4. Attempt to put 2 teams in a MNCG that has a reasonable argument for being the MNCs.
5. Create and foster dialogue & debate that builds interests in college football which, in turn, helps it to be more profitable.

Finally, I am grateful that Georgia Bulldogs are playing in a BCS Bowl. I am glad they have the opportunity to play in the Sugar Bowl. Looking back to October 6th, I really thought there was a chance that the Dogs would finish 5-7. To my delight and disbelief this team rolled off 6 straight victories (I believe the second longest winning streak in the nation). They whipped 3 rivals- Florida, Auburn and Ga Tech. Sure, part of me would like to see them in the MNCG because I know that those opportunities don't come along often; in fact, I think that is why I was so upset about it. It is not enough to be a good team, you have to have thing break your way and fall into place to win a MNC. Since there was a chance of that this year, I really wanted it to happen, but it didn't. So I will try to restrain myself and conduct myself with some decorum in this matter, but still cheer like hell for the Bulldogs to beat Hawaii... and leave no prisoners next year.