Hawaii: A very big "what if" (AFC, NFC, playoff)

[TXboomerang]

I realize that Hawaii will probably lose to Georgia, and possibly in a blowout. I'm not naive enough to think their record makes them a better team. However, I'd like to present a VERY big "what if".

Should LSU and Ohio State play a very ugly and very close game, and Hawaii pull off the impossible by not only beating Georgia, but beat them by 10+, would Hawaii deserve a split national championship?

I think the answer is yes. They would have eliminated the one big thing that people have talked about ALL year: they haven't beaten anybody. So should they beat a team that had a reasonable claim at playing for the national title, and beat them convincingly, they would have earned the respect that their schedule had not allowed through the regular season.

Thoughts?

[truckingbronco]

No, LSU beat 6 ranked teams.

[TXboomerang]

Reality is they beat 4 ranked teams going by end of year rankings. And lost to 2 unranked teams.

[tpabes]

Probably not, just like Utah and Boise before them. My "what if" is if the Michigan schools had played them and Hawaii won, would we consider there schedule strong enough to put them in the NC. They wouldn't be much different than Ohio St. If not then it would probably be virtually impossible for a non-bcs team to ever get to the NC. Also with all the upsets this year, is strength of schedule becoming overrated? I know a BCS school looks better than a non-bcs still, but look at USC. They play Notre Dame every year, but they had Nebraska this year. When they scheduled those years ago, who would have know that those games, could have been replaced with Florida Atlantic and Central Michigan and they probably would have had a better schedule. That said the non-bcs conferences will need to show more depth than a couple teams before SOS becomes a non-factor.

[truckingbronco]

Originally Posted by tnbound2day

Reality is they beat 4 ranked teams going by end of year rankings. And lost to 2 unranked teams.

My mistake, I am still not impressed with Hawaii. They struggled to beat UW, LA Tech, and San Jose and their best win is against no. 24 Boise State.

I think things could get very ugly against Georgia.

[TXboomerang]

Originally Posted by truckingbronco

My mistake, I am still not impressed with Hawaii. They struggled to beat UW, LA Tech, and San Jose and their best win is against no. 24 Boise State.

I think things could get very ugly against Georgia.

I agree, they probably will not stay within 17 points of Georgia.

The only other possibility I see of a potential split championship is if Oklahoma destroys WVU by 21+ and LSU wins by 3 or less.

I guess I'm pulling for even more controversy to erupt. Even if it wouldn't be easy to convince the powers that be of a playoff series of 8 or more teams, a "Plus 1" type of championship seems like it should be effortless to instate and would give people less reasons to complain about the final matchup.

[truckingbronco]

Originally Posted by tnbound2day

I agree, they probably will not stay within 17 points of Georgia.

The only other possibility I see of a potential split championship is if Oklahoma destroys WVU by 21+ and LSU wins by 3 or less.

I guess I'm pulling for even more controversy to erupt. Even if it wouldn't be easy to convince the powers that be of a playoff series of 8 or more teams, a "Plus 1" type of championship seems like it should be effortless to instate and would give people less reasons to complain about the final matchup.

You're right on, I would love to see a plus-one format.

[McGowdog]

I would just like to see LSU roll the Luck-eyes and then everybody can just shut up and enjoy the games!

Waa!

What did people do before the BCS? Complain about the quality of the Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, etc.?

It is what it is. USC had their chance and blew it. Oklahoma had their chance and they blew it. Kansas had their chance and they blew it. West Virginia had their chance and they blew it. Missouri had their chance and they blew it. Florida never really had a chance. Hawai'i aint gonna get a chance even if they run the table but may make a claim for a bonafide Top Ten team if they beat Georgia.

I think that the Buckeyes' schedule is chicken-bleep, but they won early and often and lost one game so far to a pretty nice Illinois team and they backed their way back into the Title game. LSU beat Va Tech, Spurrier's team, Florida, Auburn, Bama, Tennessee, and their two losses were in overtime. So LSU hasn't lost a game in regulation thus far. That's good enough and that's that.

Just sit back and enjoy your games.

[truckingbronco]

Half the of December fun is analyzing everything to death. The Cinderella Story ends on Jan 1, 2008.

[TXboomerang]

Originally Posted by McGowdog

USC had their chance and blew it. Oklahoma had their chance and they blew it. Kansas had their chance and they blew it. West Virginia had their chance and they blew it. Missouri had their chance and they blew it.

And what do you call the game against Arkansas 2 weeks ago? I'd call that blowing it.

Really, I don't think LSU is undeserving at a shot at the national title. I just don't see them as any more deserving than Oklahoma and USC.

Could you imagine how excited fans would be right now if we were looking at LSU vs OSU and OU vs USC on a Saturday afternoon with the winners to meet for a REAL championship? I see revenues outproducing the AFC/NFC championsip/Superbowl weekends.