Question: Who was the best team Alabama defeated in the regular or post-season?

[selmaborntidefan]

The problem I have with the 1982 Penn State team is that it could be argued they should have perhaps had 2 losses and not played for the NC . The week before they played us that season they played Nebraska at home and got help from the officials on the final drive when the officials said Mike McCloskey caught the ball in bounds when he was clearly out of bounds. Nebraska fans would say their team got robbed. We know what that's like because we went there the following season (1983) and got robbed on the Preston Gothard catch that was ruled incomplete.

Add in the fact even their vote win was controversial - in fact, this one is quite similar to 1990 Colorado.

SMU was the sole unbeaten team (they had a tie). Georgia was unbeaten (this game is the one that later got them in trouble when Dr. Jan Kemp won her lawsuit for the ineligible players who played with grade fixing).

Granted, SMU didn’t play that tough a schedule. And it was probably both a makeup call to their 3 unbeaten non-champions AND the fact they’d beaten #1.

That doesn’t explain why Nebraska was ranked higher than SMU before the bowls, won their bowl - and dropped. A LOT of people thought Nebraska was the best team in 1982.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

i don't think richt would have ever been able to get a nc out of uga. 2012 was his shot

2002 - lost the one game that would have put him there (Florida)
2007 - lost two games (one to 6-6 SCAR) either one of which would have put him in the SECCG
2012 - lost the one game that would have put them in the BCSNCG

One of the things I think is so funny is people who rip UGA's 2021-22 schedules as if there's any such thing as an SEC/National Champion that isn't any good. I say that because these same folks think UGA was (probably) #2 in the eligible nation in 2012, but did they not look at the similarity between schedules?

2012 VS 2021 SIMILARITES
lost to Alabama in the SECCG
played the 6 teams in the SEC East (two teams better, two teams worse)
played 3-9 Auburn and 7-6 Ole Miss vs played 6-7 Auburn and 9-4 Arky (tougher in 21)
played Ga Tech (7-7 in 12, 3-9 in 21) - tougher in 12
2012 OOC - Buffalo, FAU, Ga Southern
2021 OOC - 10-3 Clemson, 9-3 UAB, Charleston Southern

In 2021, the OOC was IMMENSELY more difficult, the SEC West opponents were at least somewhat more difficult, Tech was not as tough in 21, and their SEC East opponents were - at most 10% better in 2012. Granted, in 2012 you had two 11-win SEC East teams (UF, SCAR) and a 9-win team (Vandy), so I'm willing to say it was a BIT tougher, but I think the other tougher games in 21 (9-win Arky, a better Auburn, and 10-3 Clemson) more than offset it.


Which proves a point I've said for years: you only hear about how soft someone's schedule SUPPOSEDLY was if they're in the running for the national title. "They didn't play nobody" NEVER comes up with a 10-3 team that isn't projected to win.