We’ll Know in a SEC

Folks haven’t taken this kind of shine to Louisiana State football since Halloween of 1959, the night Billy Cannon caught a fourth-quarter punt at his 11-yard line and dodged eight Mississippi Rebels en route to a famous touchdown that lifted LSU to a 7-3 victory.

Once again, all these years later, LSU may be ready to provide more cannon fodder.

As late as last week, the prospect of Tennessee-LSU was a Dixie affair--strictly a Southern dish.

Suddenly, though, tonight’s Southeastern Conference title game at the Georgia Dome has become must-see TV--a turning point, perhaps, in college football’s future.

If nothing else, America’s rubbernecking tendencies make us want to stop and look. The bowl championship series, you see, is an accident waiting to happen, and there a lot of people out there rooting for the wreck.

There could not be more diverse win-lose scenarios.

The architects of the BCS will be cheering like pom-pom girls for a Tennessee victory, plain and simple.

That would temporarily quell the controversy that erupted this week over the BCS system employed to determine the sport’s national title game participants.

The sticking point is this: Although Miami has already clinched one Rose Bowl berth, the other spot remains vacant. Tennessee, No. 2 in this week’s BCS standings, would get the other bid with a victory against LSU and, really, you’d be hard-pressed to argue against a Miami-Tennessee title game.

An LSU victory, however, will produce BCS chaos, and here’s why: Nebraska, coming off a 62-36 loss to Colorado on Nov. 23, somehow popped up to No. 3 in this week’s BCS standings, ahead of Colorado and Oregon.

According to most calculations, an LSU victory against Tennessee would send Nebraska to the Rose Bowl to play Miami, a result that would be considered unacceptable to many fans and would call into question the BCS’ legitimacy.

Or, a more remote possibility, two-loss Colorado might end up in Pasadena, over the wails of once-defeated teams.

The BCS standings were created in 1998 as a sincere effort to more equitably determine the national title game participants in a sport that has balked at a playoff system.

Before the BCS, national titles were decided by the writers’ and coaches’ polls. The major bowls tried to pair the top teams when it could be done, yet were blocked more than once because of the Rose Bowl’s contractual obligation to host Pacific 10 and Big Ten conference champions.

That problem was seemingly solved in 1998, when the Rose Bowl joined the BCS and agreed to release its teams to a national title game if either was ranked No. 1 or No. 2. The Rose Bowl then was given the opportunity to host the national title games in 2002 and 2006.

The BCS standings also were spawned in 1998, a four-pronged rating system that incorporated polls, computer rankings, strength of schedule and losses.

The BCS worked satisfactorily for two years, matching Florida State and Tennessee in 1998, then Florida State and Virginia Tech in 1999.

Last year, however, by a margin of .32 of a point, Florida State edged out Miami for the No. 2 BCS position, even though Miami had defeated Florida State on the field.

The system was tweaked last summer, yet the BCS might not be able to survive the kind of controversy that would ensue with a Tennessee defeat.

Many who believe the BCS system is unfair are hoping an LSU victory will produce enough mayhem to provoke change.

What else might happen? If Tennessee loses, and Nebraska goes on to defeat Miami in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 3, the Associated Press poll might very well crown the Colorado-Oregon winner its national champion, creating a split title.

So, does 8-3 LSU have a chance to win, to make the BCS big shots sweat bullets?

You bet.

Tennessee, at 10-1, is the better team, but that doesn’t guarantee victory.

“If we look ahead to Pasadena, we will get beat,” Tennessee defensive tackle Will Overstreet said. “If we play not to lose, we will get beat.”

Tennessee leads the series, 19-4-3, and defeated LSU earlier this season in Knoxville, 28-16. LSU, however, has won four consecutive games en route to the SEC West title and last year beat Tennessee in Baton Rouge.

“We played Tennessee earlier this season but we have come into our own since then,” LSU receiver Josh Reed said. “We are a much improved team.”

And then there is the rematch factor.

Schools that win the first game in a season are no cinch to win the second.

In 1996, Florida State defeated Florida in the regular season but was routed in a title-game rematch in the Sugar Bowl.

This year, Texas defeated Colorado, 41-7, but lost last weekend’s rematch in the Big 12 championship game.

In a crazy sport, in a crazy year, people have come to expect the unexpected.

So, that’s about it. The only things at stake tonight are a national title berth for Tennessee and, perhaps, the future of college football.

“It’s up to us now,” Tennessee quarterback Casey Clausen said. “It’s in our hands.”

Too often, that can be the scary part.

SEC CHAMPIONSHIP

LSU (8-3) vs. TENNESSEE (10-1)

5 p.m., Channel 2