A lot of people are arguing that the ugly nature of the loss means it wasn't just a loss and portends more (maybe many more) dark days ahead. I'm not sure that squares with my sense that teams occasionally get blown out without it meaning they stink. Some examples just from last year:
#3 Ole Miss loses 38-10 on the road to #25 Florida (25-0 at halftime).....Ole Miss finishes with 10 wins
#8 Georgia loses 38-10 to #13 Alabama (and Georgia also lost 27-3 to Florida)....Georgia finishes with 10 wins
#13 Northwestern loses 38-10 on the road to #18 Michigan (and Northwestern lost also 40-10 to Iowa in another matchup of ranked teams)....Northwestern finishes with 10 wins
#17 Mississippi State loses 31-6 to #2 Alabama....Mississippi State finishes with 9 wins
I think if I looked at other years I'd find a lot more examples. Only point is that sometimes teams lay eggs and/or run into a buzzsaw against a really good team without that meaning that they won't win a lot of games.
#3 Ole Miss loses 38-10 on the road to #25 Florida (25-0 at halftime).....Ole Miss finishes with 10 wins
#8 Georgia loses 38-10 to #13 Alabama (and Georgia also lost 27-3 to Florida)....Georgia finishes with 10 wins
#13 Northwestern loses 38-10 on the road to #18 Michigan (and Northwestern lost also 40-10 to Iowa in another matchup of ranked teams)....Northwestern finishes with 10 wins
#17 Mississippi State loses 31-6 to #2 Alabama....Mississippi State finishes with 9 wins
I think if I looked at other years I'd find a lot more examples. Only point is that sometimes teams lay eggs and/or run into a buzzsaw against a really good team without that meaning that they won't win a lot of games.
