SEC is the Toughest Conference in 2007

LSU is undisputed as the #1 team (despite fuzzy BCS math allowing LSU to leapfrog Georgia when Ohio State didn't have to play anyone...).  Great news is that Georgia finished the season at #2, even receiving 3 first place nods.  This makes the SEC the first league since the Big 8 in 1971 to have the top two teams in the final AP poll.

Glad to see that I was wrong in predicting that Georgia would be screwed to #4 in the final poll... BCS fuzzy math happened and Georgia did leapfrog to #2.  They deserved it, glad to see that the final polls reflect that Georgia is the hottest team this year.

And, finally, ESPN was forced to recognize what everyone else sees... the SEC was dominant again this year.  Lee Corso starts out the College Gameday post-game broadcast last night with a quip that USC has a right to be called the best team in the nation, but then David fires off that the SEC is the toughest conference and LSU is undisputed.  Surprisingly, Kirk Herbstreit *gasp* AGREES with him and says that the SEC is the toughest conference! Of course, he's not giving credit to Georgia, the whole post-show was a commentary on USC, even when he says that a +1 game would be LSU and USC.

The funniest thing to me about the ESPN post-game show was that they had to admit that the past 2 BCS champions were from the SEC and they wiped the field with Ohio State, who ESPN had, in December, declared as the best team in the land.  Florida looked their season's best in the 2006 season in the championship game against Ohio State.  LSU looked their season's best in the 2007 season against... yep, Ohio State! 

Still a lot of fawning over USC, though, but it was nice to see some SEC recognition from the College Gameday folks.

Lots of folks tried to weigh in and say that Georgia's matchup against Hawaii was "in the rules", that Georgia had no choice but to go to the Sugar Bowl.  I love this quote from Ivan Maisel at ESPN.com:

As the Trojans mopped up the Illini 49-17 in the Rose Bowl presented by Citi, the Bulldogs rudely ended the Warriors' undefeated dream season 41-10 in the Allstate Sugar Bowl. Think the Rose Bowl would like a mulligan on its selection of the Illini over the Bulldogs now?

https://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/bowls07/columns/story?columnist=maisel_ivan&id=3176882

Yep... better to have USC shine in the Rose Bowl than have some Southerners come in and play smashmouth football and take the trophy back to Athens, Georgia.

I can't wait for the 2008 season.  My prediction now:  Georgia 31, USC 28 in the Rose Bowl for the National Championship, won by a field goal in the last couple of minutes of the game.

GO DAWGS!