“A thirst for absolute power is the natural disease of monarchy.”- Thomas Paine

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The Last College football Saturday is in the review mirror and we are now approaching the final couple of games played by the best teams in each conference.

Each and every one of the following teams represented are the beacons of the conference and have done everything necessary to earn the right to play this weekend for the Conference Championship. Teams like Alabama in the SEC, Ohio State in the Big10, and Duke in the ACC are the absolute undisputed BEST representatives of their conference as a whole.

Sure, Alabama has two losses and Duke has five, but that doesn’t mean that these teams didn’t do everything necessary to make the championship game. As I just mentioned, these are the BEST representatives of their conference.

In my opinion, the After sChool speCial League, also known as the ACC, should carry the most pride. Let’s face it, giving a 5 loss team a chance to play for the Championship is quite the heartwarming story and perfect for this magical time of year. The time of giving, the time for perpetual hope, the time to hear stories full of love and unparalleled generosity–It’s the Christmas Season, and the ACC Showrunners are clearly feeling the Christmas spirit.

Well Done, ACC.

The 7-5 Duke Blue Devils who lost to a four loss Big10 team by 30, a group of five team by 7, a 9-3 Georgia Tech by two scores, Connecticut by 3, and Virginia by nearly 20 at home is by far and away the BEST representative of this After School Special Conference.–I’ll let you work out what the acronym would be for such a league.

ASS I was saying, the following teams are the BEST teams to emerge from each conference and listed below are the matchups and times.

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES 12/5

• Kennesaw St vs Jax St C-USA Primetime
• Troy vs James Madison Sun Belt Primetime
• North Texas vs Tulane AAC Primetime
• UNLV vs Boise St Mountain West Primetime

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES 12/6

• BYU vs Texas Tech Big12 Noon
• Alabama vs Georgia SEC 2:00
• Indiana vs Ohio St Big10 6:00
• Duke vs Virginia ACC 6:00

Like the ACC, the SEC also missed a massive opportunity to showcase a team that should’ve been in the Championship game.

11-1 Texas A&M who have yet to win a conference game in which they were tested properly, miss out on the conference championship game and will simply float into the playoffs. In my opinion, this is a massive opportunity missed. It is also my opinion that it was a missed opportunity with purpose.

“What happens when the Longhorns beat A&M by double digits and then the Aggies lose to Georgia or Alabama by double digits to end the season?”

This is the question I posed last week. Even going back to October, I shared my grievance towards the SEC Showrunners who scheduled the games for the Aggies. Someone in College Station should be thanking their Christmas Star that they avoided a conference title game because the Aggies may have avoided being exposed by not playing. If the 11-1 Aggies would’ve have been in this game and lost by double digits, I was ready to kick them out of the 12 all together.

In my opinion, teams should be graded equally. On paper an 11-2 SEC team should be automatically included, but if they failed to win even one meaningful conference game, what is the reason?

No matter. Texas A&M is 11-1 with 10 of those games being against less than desirable foes. Sure, they beat Notre Dame 41-40, but that became ancient history once the Aggies avoided each good team in the SEC.

Texas A&M WINS

• UTSA
• Utah St
• 7 Loss Auburn
• 4 Loss Missouri
• 8 Loss South Carolina
  • The Aggies trailed 30-3 at the half
• Samford
• 5 Loss LSU
• 8 Loss Florida
• 7 Loss Miss St
• 10 Loss Arkansas by 3
• And Notre Dame by 1

11-1. (7-1) in the SEC against one of the easiest SEC schedules imaginable and avoiding the Conference Title game. No. Texas A&M does NOT have a playoff resume. A win in the SEC Championship game would’ve given them the test that was needed to prove themselves worthy.

Maybe this was known and maybe this was by design by the Showrunners, but I simply am not a fan of it and don’t accept it.

In short, the matchups in the SEC and ACC are a joke this week, so I’m finding the humor and keeping on moving. The committee will decide the twelve and we will move on with our day. This manufactured drama is not worth the energy, and the natural disease of thirsting for power is evident all around us.

I think the best move is to laugh.

BIG GAMES THAT MATTER:

• Yale @ Montana St 2nd round of the FCS Playoffs NOON
• South Dakota St @ Montana 2nd Round FCS Playoffs NOON

Two games that matter regionally. If I watch an oblong game this weekend, it’ll be one of these two. I’m rooting for the Grizzlies. GO GRIZ!

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Before I move on from this topic for the rest of time, here are the matchups that would’ve made more sense to a logical thinker.

SEC

• A&M vs UGA, BAMA, MISS (Any of these would’ve been must watch)

AS…I mean ACC

• UVA vs Miami, SMU, or GT
  • Miami, SMU, and GT do not have a loss to Duke and share the same conference record (6-2)
    • Not to mention GT beat Duke by two scores at Duke
    • AND the fact that they already played UVA and lost by nearly 20.

Some things just don’t make sense.

“Well, boo freaking who. We’re not running an After sChool speCial here.”

Maybe we are, Coach Penn. Maybe we are.

Enjoy this beautifully cold Tuesday.

Find the Humor and Keep on Movin’

Whit W.