Kentucky Coach Rich Brooks was on ESPN First Take this morning and was asked for thoughts on the BCS rankings and being "still a few spots behind LSU" by Jay Crawford. Brooks responded "usually if you beat somebody, you ought to be moving ahead of them." Brooks went on to praise LSU as an elite team, but I think Brooks' lack of perspective is astonishing.
LSU is ranked 4th in the BCS standings. Kentucky is 7th. Nestled in between, at number 6, is Steve Spurrier's South Carolina team. Sure, Kentucky beat LSU at home. But, 9 days before that, Kentucky lost at South Carolina. South Carolina lost at LSU two weeks before that. I'd be willing to listen to a case for Kentucky not being ranked third among that trio, but I'm not going to make one. Kentucky's win came in OT. While it was a great win for the Wildcats (and one-loss teams all across the nation), it was the least decisive win in the round-robin we are discussing. Additionally, Kentucky's other key wins this year are the classic game against Louisville and against Arkansas, which is winless in the SEC (0-3) this season. South Carolina gets the nod over Kentucky for the Gamecocks' win over Georgia. LSU has wins over Virginia Tech and Florida to propel them to the top of the group, even after the loss in Lexington.
I will agree with Brooks that the current BCS rankings don't really matter much ... it's what they look like at the end of the season. In their last five games, Kentucky plays Florida, Mississippi State and Tennessee at home and travels to Vanderbilt and Georgia for games. Georgia, Tennessee and, especially, Florida are highly-regarded teams. MSU, other than being steam-rolled by LSU, has been competitive and Vandy almost knocked off Georgia. If Kentucky can win out and USC loses to Vandy, Tennessee, Arkansas, Florida or Clemson (tough games), they will win the SEC East. A win against the SEC West champ would propel them into the national title picture.
Right now, Kentucky has one huge win and a couple good ones. 7th in the nation seems about right.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment