First of all, I would like to back up what Double Two said earlier about Paul Finebaum. This guy has made a career of throwing lighter fluid on anything to try and sell newspapers. In 2004, he wrote a big article about how Auburn and Oklahoma were the two best teams in the nation, and how USC was a pretender out in the pac-10. Then after the bowl games, he pulls a complete 180 and writes an article praising USC as the greatest team in NCAA history. So let's not act like this article is anything other than what it is, ok?
Does he make some good points? Yes
Is Alabama's OOC pathetic? Yes
Is the SEC, from top to bottom, that much more different than any other BCS conference? I don't think so.
It can be argued on both sides, but in the end, it really comes down to which side of the fence you are sitting on as to what you think of the SEC and their OOC scheduling. What ticks most people off is the fact that most SEC schools will use the 12th game to schedule nobody U, guarantee a W, and pocket the cash. It really doesn't make sense to do it any other way, but the crticism is somehwhat deserved I guess.
But the pac-10, big east, and big 10 don't play a championship game. You have to take that into consideration before you point your finger at the SEC and Big 12. To win the SEC or big 12, you have to beat at least 3 top 10 teams, and most likely, you will have to play one of those teams twice.
So, can you really thumb your nose at SEC schools for not jumping at the chance to jump on a plane to go to Bowling Green, Toledo, or Boise St., and missing out on millions of dollars? Yeah, you can.
But flip the coin, and let's just take Auburn for an example. Yes, Auburn only real opponent in OOC is Wash. St., and yes, they play them at home. They also play LSU, Florida, and UGA. Those are 3 top 15 teams easy. If Auburn is fortunate enough to win the West, they would have to beat either UGA or Florida again. That's not very cupcake if you ask me and I doubt when it's all said and done, that there are many schools out there that will have a better resume at season's end in regards to top 10 teams on their schedule.
The SEC will always be ridiculed for its OOC scheduling, it really doesn't matter who, when, where, or why.
Would it change anything if I told you that Alabama is scheduled to take on Florida St. next year, or that Auburn has WVU slated for the next 2 years? No, there would still be criticisms...
If you look at all the top conferences, there really isn't much difference in toughness of schedule from top to bottom. There are a few exceptions in each conference, but there isn't much deviation from the SEC across the board IMO.
As long as there is college football in its current form, there will always be asinine arguments and opinions regarding the following subjects:
Strength of schedule rankings
Recruiting class rankings
Which conference is the best/worst?
BCS and poll rankings
and opinions are just like a--holes, you know the rest...
