NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Close, but seven in a row for the Southeastern Conference.
That's the consensus of those I've spoken with here at the national coaches' convention. No one's giving Notre Dame much of a shot tonight against Alabama. And no, it isn't just because we're in a state that houses two SEC schools; the surveyed coaches comprise every region of the country, including the Midwest.
"I just can't see it," one BCS-level assistant coach said. "I think it'd be good for college football, lifting Notre Dame up and getting the SEC out of there [after six consecutive titles], but I really don't see it. Our staff's just amazed Notre Dame's even there."
To read Travis Haney's take on how coaches see the BCS title game, you must be an ESPN Insider.
Travis Haney
ESPN Insider• Joined ESPN as Insider's national college football writer in April 2012
• Previously wrote for The Oklahoman and The Post and Courier
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Travis HaneyTravis Haney joined ESPN in April 2012 as Insider's national college football writer. He previously covered the University of Oklahoma Sooners for The (Oklahoma City) Oklahoman for one season, and the University of South Carolina Gamecocks for The (Charleston, S.C.) Post and Courier for four. Additionally, Haney has contributed since 2003 to ESPN publications and projects, including ESPN The Magazine.
A native of Cleveland, Tenn., Haney's initial introduction to a college football cathedral was Neyland Stadium. He later graduated from the University of Tennessee, in 2003, and has spent time covering the Volunteers, the University of Georgia, Clemson University, and other schools. Safe to say, football, and football in the South, was injected into his bloodstream at a young age.
Haney is the author of three books -- Gamecock Glory and Gamecock Encore, which chronicled the South Carolina baseball team's run to the 2010 and 2011 national championships, and State of Disunion, a historical look at the Clemson-South Carolina football rivalry that he co-wrote with Larry Williams.
Haney resides in Charlotte, N.C. You can follow him on Twitter here.
