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Mark Heim | mheim@al.com
(ADMIN NOTE--Before you jump on Lane here, notice the orginal article was writing for the Auburn section of SECCountry.com.)
Florida Atlantic coach was cheering for Tide, but questions winning national title without earning a conference championship.
It's never too early for predictions on the upcoming college football season.
Florida Atlantic coach Lane Kiffin certainly doesn't have a problem with giving his thoughts.
When it comes to the SEC West, the former Alabama offensive coordinator thinks the Crimson Tide's biggest rival will also be its toughest opponent.
Kiffin talked to SEC Country about that and the idea of a team winning a national title without being crowned a conference champion.
"You'd have to look at Auburn first, because they just won it last year," Kiffin said about which team will compete with Alabama. "This is the crazy world that we're living in that we have a national champion that didn't win their conference, they didn't win their division. Think about that. All these arguments about the top 4 or it should be eight teams, UCF, all these things. I'm glad it happened, because I'm glad Alabama won the championship.
"But if you really think about it, how does that make sense? You don't win your conference, you don't win your division, and you can get in and win the national championship. So, before, in the old days, the (SEC) champion would go to the Sugar Bowl and the Pac-12 (champion) would play the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl. You wouldn't be in one of those games."
Of course, the idea of not winning the conference but earning a national title isn't a new idea.
Alabama lost to LSU 9-6 in overtime during the 2011 season. The two teams met for the BCS Championship Game, and the Tide won 21-0 in the Louisiana Superdome.
However, in the 2011 scenario, the conference champion made the playoff.
With that said, the way in which teams make the postseason always will be debated when it comes to college athletics.
Let the debate continue.
Mark Heim | mheim@al.com
Lane Kiffin questions Alabama winning title but not SEC, says Auburn is Tide's big threat in West
Florida Atlantic coach was cheering for Tide, but questions winning national title without earning a conference championship.
It's never too early for predictions on the upcoming college football season.
Florida Atlantic coach Lane Kiffin certainly doesn't have a problem with giving his thoughts.
When it comes to the SEC West, the former Alabama offensive coordinator thinks the Crimson Tide's biggest rival will also be its toughest opponent.
Kiffin talked to SEC Country about that and the idea of a team winning a national title without being crowned a conference champion.
"You'd have to look at Auburn first, because they just won it last year," Kiffin said about which team will compete with Alabama. "This is the crazy world that we're living in that we have a national champion that didn't win their conference, they didn't win their division. Think about that. All these arguments about the top 4 or it should be eight teams, UCF, all these things. I'm glad it happened, because I'm glad Alabama won the championship.
"But if you really think about it, how does that make sense? You don't win your conference, you don't win your division, and you can get in and win the national championship. So, before, in the old days, the (SEC) champion would go to the Sugar Bowl and the Pac-12 (champion) would play the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl. You wouldn't be in one of those games."
Of course, the idea of not winning the conference but earning a national title isn't a new idea.
Alabama lost to LSU 9-6 in overtime during the 2011 season. The two teams met for the BCS Championship Game, and the Tide won 21-0 in the Louisiana Superdome.
However, in the 2011 scenario, the conference champion made the playoff.
With that said, the way in which teams make the postseason always will be debated when it comes to college athletics.
Let the debate continue.
Mark Heim | mheim@al.com
Lane Kiffin questions Alabama winning title but not SEC, says Auburn is Tide's big threat in West
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