As it Should Be

I know I'm about 5 days late on this, but I just couldn't miss an opportunity for an "I told you so" moment. If you've paid attention to many of my posts, you know good and well what I think of the Houston Cougars "impressive" undefeated season. The Cougars had posted a perfect 11-0 record and were ranked #6 in the BCS, a generous ranking considering their schedule. In these 11 wins, their most impressive was on the road against UCLA. UCLA? Really? I have a ton of respect for the Bruins and the history of their program but come on, they are certainly not what they once were. They finished the regular season with a 6-6 record which somehow got them into the Pac-12 championship game against Oregon even after being destroyed 50-0 to cross-town rival USC. The Bruins predictably lost the Pac-12 title game to Oregon and fell to 6-7 and had to petition to even receive a bowl game. So if you're Houston and you're hanging your hat on a 4-point victory over a team with a losing record, I don't know how in the world you could've ever been disappointed with a #6 ranking. Oh but word in Houston was their Cougars deserved a shot at the national championship. Who could argue? I mean when you play powerhouses like Georgia State, Marshall, and Tulane I guess strength of schedule is definitely on your side.

Just as I figured would be the case, the wheels completely came off the wagon last Saturday when the Cougars played the Southern Miss Golden Eagles for the Conference USA championship. The Golden Eagles were ranked #24 nationally and were the first ranked team Houston had played all season. As I expected, the Cougars couldn't get the job done even with the luxury of playing the Golden Eagles at home. Southern Miss stunned Houston, 49-28. I would love to know if anyone else saw this coming like I did. It was no surprise to me and I just don't know how anyone living outside of Houston could have been naive to think the Cougars had played a schedule that even remotely made them deserving of being in the national title conversation.