BATON ROUGE ? Not only did LSU beat Ohio State and USC for the national championship a week ago tonight, it took a slight lead for team of the decade status in college football. The Tigers have two national championships this decade. USC has two also, but it could soon lose one or both because of an NCAA investigation centering on former Heisman Trophy winning tailback Reggie Bush. Now don't give me the BCS argument. True, LSU is the only program in the nation with two BCS national titles, and that's worth a trip to Bourbon Street. But everyone criticizes the BCS constantly, so how can everyone then accept the BCS national championship game winner as the undisputed national champion every season? We cannot. Just because a game is agreed upon as the national championship game going into a season doesn't mean it will always leave an undisputed champion. It depends on the teams that get in that game and what else shakes out or doesn't shake out over the course of a season. In this past season, the BCS did leave us with LSU as the undisputed champion. No other team can make a solid argument that it is the national champion. No other teams other than LSU and Ohio State could make convincing enough arguments to be in the national championship game either. The USC argument, no matter how fancy, could not get past one fact. USC lost to a Stanford team that finished 4-8. Such a loss means USC could lose to just about anyone, including Tulane. Teams with such a loss do not get into national championship games and they don't get the Associated Press national title either, no matter how hot they were when they finished the season or who was hurt when they lost. LSU fought off injuries all season and never lost to a team on the level of Stanford. Smarter heads prevailed. The 2003 season was a completely different story. USC deserved its split national championship it earned by taking the AP title while LSU won the BCS. No argument can separate those two teams enough to not give each the title. That's why USC was invited to the White House that postseason along with LSU. LSU will be the only team at the White House this time. LSU fans need to soften their vehement arguments against the AP poll. It's been around decades longer than the ridiculed BCS poll and usually has done a great job making sense of a silly, non-playoff system. It should have awarded undefeated Auburn the 2004 national championship, however, to go with USC's BCS title, but it didn't. That was a great USC team, but how can it really feel like national champions when it knows an undefeated Southeastern Conference team didn't get to play for it? And there will come a season soon when LSU wins the SEC but finishes third in the BCS. Then it will win its bowl game convincingly while another poorly matched BCS title game does not produce a clear champion. Then LSU will win the AP, and suddenly everyone here will have a newfound respect for the AP. But the bottom line so far this decade has LSU No. 1. The Tigers are 82-21 since 2000 with two national titles. USC is 81-21 since 2000 with two national titles at the moment but that could soon be officially tainted. Ohio State, 81-20, is close with one national championship and two other national championship game appearances. Both were disappointing, but they got there. Oklahoma has a better record at 90-17, but its only national title was way back in 2000. It has two other national championship game appearances, but it should not have made the game against LSU after the 2003 season and got embarrassed by USC the next year. Now, how does LSU stay on top? It won't be through some Tradition Fund and the lie that is a "required donation." LSU can stay on top in the same way it got here ? with consistent No. 1 or No. 2 recruiting classes. That is the only thing LSU coach Les Miles has not done yet. He's been in the top 10, but he hasn't been close to a 1 or 2 finish yet and will not get one next month either. And there's absolutely no reason why he shouldn't be getting those types of classes. If he builds off this season, he should get one in 2009. Then LSU could look forward to its first national championship outside of New Orleans. Do they have balconies in the other BCS cities? Link To Original Article
