Should Auburn Be Ranked No 2?

Published on 3-Dec-2013 by Stacey Mickles

Football - NCAA    NCAA Football Daily Opinion

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Should Auburn Be Ranked No 2?

You know, after having to endure the replay of the Iron Bowl numerous times yesterday,  I realized what annoyed me wasn't the replays.

What annoyed me was the talk that Auburn should be the No 2 team in the country.

I was annoyed because the same people who are making the argument for Auburn to be the second-best team in country obviously didn't vote them that way or encourage other media members to vote that way, either.

Look, I get that Ohio State has the long winning streak, blah, blah, blah, and a sizable segment of people think they deserve to be the No 2 team in the country. The question that keeps running through my mind, though, is this:

Are the Buckeyes really the second best team in the country?

Well, not according to Detroit Free Press columnist Drew Sharp. He's got the Buckeyes at No 8, but he's also got an agenda. Maybe he's taking strength of schedule into his consideration, but probably not. He just hates Ohio State. And people wonder why we here at The Daily Player continue to be bemused by human polls.

Still, some feel that Auburn is better than Ohio State, but because the Buckeyes have an undefeated record, they deserve to be No 2. OK, I get that.

But if you compare schedules and teams beaten, is there any question that maybe Auburn should be No 2?

The Tigers defeated the No 1 team in the country. Their lone loss was to No 6 at-the-time LSU. They outshot No 7 at-the-time Texas A&M. They'll have to defeat the No 5 team in the country -- Missouri -- if they are to become SEC Champions.

Tough road for the Tigers. It's a decent argument for the Tigers being No 2. What's Ohio State's argument? They're undefeated. That's it. And they'll have to stave off Michigan State this weekend to stay that way.

Let's give the Buckeyes credit. They've won 24 straight games, albeit in a weak conference. But still, that's impressive.

The issue I have is that we might end up in another situation like last year. The best teams in the nation won't be playing each other.

Oregon was better than Nôtre Dame in 2012, but because the Ducks had one loss, they were left out of the national championship game.

What we ended up with was an undersized, undermaned, overrated Fighting Irish squad being stomped by a quick, strong, and powerful Alabama team, which no doubt tuned out millions of viewers by halftime. It 's not pretty watching a helpless opponent get the snot beat out of it, whether or not any of its players has a make-believe girlfriend and that was its biggest story of the season. Undefeated, yes. Top 2, not a chance. And the shame was that virtually anyone who followed college football knew it.

Listen, if the media is going to vote for the two best teams in the country, then let's be sincere about that. Let's not vote for the best team in the country and the team with the best record.

It's stupid, unfair to fans, and an injustice to the the other school being left out.

In this case, it may be Auburn.