Give credit to Verne Lundquist. Nobody ever will accuse him of spouting the company line.
“Yes, absolutely there’s a SEC fatigue,” Lundquist said.
Now keep in mind Lundquist makes a living calling SEC games for CBS. Outside of the SEC region, most of the rest of the country is tired of seeing Alabama, LSU, Florida, Auburn, and more Alabama dominate college football. As an Illinois alum, whose school just went 0-8 in the Big Ten, I wouldn’t mind seeing the Illini dominate anyone, even at the Division III level.
After Alabama’s loss to Texas A&M, it looked for a minute that we might be saved from seeing a SEC team go for a seventh straight national title in the BCS title game. But then Kansas State and Oregon lost within a few minutes of each other.
Voila, the winner of Saturday’s SEC title game between Alabama and Georgia earns a spot in the national championship game. And either team will be favorite over Notre Dame.
Lundquist and Gary Danielson will be at their posts for Saturday’s game. During a conference call this week, the subject of SEC fatigue came up. Lundquist showed his head isn’t buried in the SEC sand.
“The level of excellence displayed by the SEC is to be admired,” Lundquist said. “But I’m not so much of a participant in the telecasts of the SEC as to not understand the desire for many people to have a little variety, to have something different. I do understand the feelings from many parts of the country. Let’s have some raspberry after all of the vanilla.”
At least the country will be spared from watching an all-SEC finale, as was the case last year between Alabama and LSU. The presence of Notre Dame will give the game a much different feel.
“The Notre Dame story is the best thing that can happen for college football,” Danielson said. “It’s great for our sport.”
The championship game, though, could present another dilemma for Notre Dame haters. Rooting against the Irish means rooting for the SEC to win another title.
As for the SEC, Danielson also is objective. He questions how strong the league is from top to bottom.
“There’s a large disparity in the conference,” Danielson said. “The top teams are 30-0 against the bottom teams. That raises some questions about the validity of the SEC and just how powerful they are.
“However, I think the ACC will want to vote for them after last weekend. Until somebody beats them, everyone should shut up.”
Check back later for Danielson’s thoughts on the Heisman race and a frank assessment of SEC coaching vacancies.