SEC Myth busting

[BlueDogs]

So far, the SEC darlings are singularly unimpressive. Watching ole miss get man handled was a thing of beauty. Miss State got a beating, and LSU went down to a very average ND team. A&M and SC barely get by.

Love listening to the ESPN sycophants turn apoplectic as the self annoited take a dump.

 

[Dooley]

I agree with you. But sadly, all of this will be forgotten if Bama wins the NC.

But yes, it is nice to see all of these SEC West teams lose and lose badly.

 

[EJHarrington]

Those teams must not want to have been there. That is the only way SEC teams lose bowl games, don't you know that!?!

 

[whaler11]

Here is an interesting tidbit.

Non-Confernence wins against top 10.

ACC: 5
Rest of FBS: 2

 

[BlueDogs]

I agree with you. But sadly, all of this will be forgotten if Bama wins the NC.

But yes, it is nice to see all of these SEC West teams lose and lose badly.

Right on that call. If Bama wins, all the rest get a pass. I think the Ducks can put some hurt on them, though.

 

[UCFBfan]

Down goes another SEC West team.....Auburn loses to Wisconsin in OT. Wow.....

 

[BlueDogs]

Would love to see OSU take this game and bury the SEC.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Wow, B1G has came up B1G this year. OSU over Alabama, MSU over Baylor, Wisconsin over Auburn, RU over UNC

 

[UConnDan97]

Here is an interesting tidbit.

Non-Confernence wins against top 10.

ACC: 5
Rest of FBS: 2

Well, in fairness, it was hard for the SEC to top that mark since they made up half of the top 10 by September 7th...

http://collegefootball.ap.org/poll/2014/3

 

[John]

Well, in fairness, it was hard for the SEC to top that mark since they made up half of the top 10 by September 7th...

http://collegefootball.ap.org/poll/2014/3

they just beat each other up.

 

[UConnDan97]

they just beat each other up.

Well, not just that, but you can't consider a victory against each other as "Non-conference" victories against the top10...

 

[John]

Well, not just that, but you can't consider a victory against each other as "Non-conference" victories against the top10...

My ideal SEC conference game is where both SEC teams lose. Love those.

 

[UConnDan97]

My ideal SEC conference game is where both SEC teams lose. Love those.

It could happen, but it would involve Mark Emmert enforcing NCAA regulations against someone other than "UConn"...

 

[DarthGrumpy]

The B1G had a very good weekend and the SEC had a very poor weekend. XII did not fair well either.

I never would have predicted Ohio ST with a 3rd string QB winning it. Almost as much of a shocker was G Tech running over Miss St. LSU losing to a ND team with a questionable defense and rookie QB was also a stunner.. The only decent SEC win was Georgia over a decent Louisville team. Things could even get worse for the SEC tomorrow if ECU can surprise Florida. Go Pirates!

TCU's manhandling of Ole Miss was their best win while Baylor getting clipped by a very good Michigan St. is nothing to be shamed of. Texas getting beat-up by a .500 (pre-bowl) Arkansas team in Houston was sad while Oklahoma's humiliation at the hands of Clemson is not going to help their chances getting into the playoffs without a title game.

No matter what happens in the title game, Ohio St, looks to be dangerous next year, too, with a major log gam now at QB. Michigan St. appears to be a legitimate title threat next year. Harbaugh has a lot of catching-up to do in Ann Arbor.

Any chance that B1G has any remorse not taking Missouri? They looked good against Minnesota and they do not have GOR with the SEC. If the B1G changed course, I know a good, available state flagship in the East that is near status, offers access to NYC and Boston TV markets, a football team with potential, a men's hoop team that has as many NCAA titles since 1980 as the entire B1G has combined (excluding Maryland's ACC title), a women's basketball team is a threat to win it all every year, and a up and coming hockey team.

 

[tzznandrew]

I've long thought the SEC was a product of hype. They have good teams, and have been the best conference, but the gap isn't really that large (and this year the Pac was probably better, and maybe, it seems, the B1G). But, in scenarios where an SEC team may or may not make the title game, they invariably have gotten the benefit of the doubt, and in 1-game scenarios they've won. But, as everyone is saying, with the BCS it would have been Alabama and FSU this year, and Alabama would probably have rolled to a 4th title in 5 years.

I made an absurdly long post looking at the ways the BCS benefitted the SEC in another thread: http://the-boneyard.com/threads/is-tcu-the-national-champ.70408/#post-1182165

 

[John]

I've long thought the SEC was a product of hype. They have good teams, and have been the best conference, but the gap isn't really that large (and this year the Pac was probably better, and maybe, it seems, the B1G). But, in scenarios where an SEC team may or may not make the title game, they invariably have gotten the benefit of the doubt, and in 1-game scenarios they've won. But, as everyone is saying, with the BCS it would have been Alabama and FSU this year, and Alabama would probably have rolled to a 4th title in 5 years.

I made an absurdly long post looking at the ways the BCS benefitted the SEC in another thread: http://the-boneyard.com/threads/is-tcu-the-national-champ.70408/#post-1182165

They basically have one very very good team each season, and a few ok teams, and then some dregs. The problem is that the very very good team of the year gets knob-slobbered in the media, plays a weak OOC schedule, then plays these so-called power conference programs.

 

[Jimdish255]

Most of the SEC schools have made football a priority and have been willing to devote the resources necessary to bring in talent. They also schedule to win games playing most of their OOC schedules at home and saving a nice exhibition game for late in the season as a break before the last conference and bowl games. Generally they're at the top but a good coach at the P5 level can still take a team up to that level as we've seen. Looking at the money recently spent at Baylor, Washington, Oregon and many other non-SEC schools, that tide may be changing.

 

[Marty Jackson]

I've long thought the SEC was a product of hype. They have good teams, and have been the best conference, but the gap isn't really that large (and this year the Pac was probably better, and maybe, it seems, the B1G). But, in scenarios where an SEC team may or may not make the title game, they invariably have gotten the benefit of the doubt, and in 1-game scenarios they've won. But, as everyone is saying, with the BCS it would have been Alabama and FSU this year, and Alabama would probably have rolled to a 4th title in 5 years.

I made an absurdly long post looking at the ways the BCS benefitted the SEC in another thread: http://the-boneyard.com/threads/is-tcu-the-national-champ.70408/#post-1182165

The SEC is one of the strongest conferences. But what separated them from the other leagues was perception based on the media shills willing to push the notion that the SEC was just better. That works when NC's are based on polls and intangible measurements (recruiting, tradition, fanbase, etc). But with a playoff, the NC is decided on the field.

I think this shows that every P5 conference has at least one team that could beat any team from another conference on any given day.

 

[Marty Jackson]

I think the myth of the SEC greatness over any other conference is dead.
Even more ironic is that prior to the bowl season, most experts were saying the BIG was down this year and the SEC had something like 7-8 teams in the Top 5 at one point.

With no SEC in the final, I'm curious if the media and the SEC shills still bring the SEC into the conversation and what the viewership will be like compared to other NC games. Will those SEC fans watch with no horse in the race?

 

[SubbaBub]

The SEC is the best conference. However, that doesn't mean that the 3rd best team is a top 5 team nor is the 4th best team a top 10 team. That is the mistake the pollsters and the media make every single year. A three loss fourth place SEC team is just that, a fourth place three loss team that might be a two loss third place team in another league.

The other lesson from this season is while every game counts and should be the measure for determining who makes the playoff, being the best team in October doesn't mean you are the best team come December regardless of your record.

 

[coachcap]

I wonder what the Nielsen ratings will be for the National Championship Game in the Deep South with no irons in the fire. Will the draw of football keep those sets tuned in, or will the denizens find something else to do in their spare time?

 

[Dogged]

I wonder what the Nielsen ratings will be for the National Championship Game in the Deep South with no irons in the fire. Will the draw of football keep those sets tuned in, or will the denizens find something else to do in their spare time?

Coach, there's nothing else to do down there. They'll be watching.

 

[mets1090]

What's comical about all of this is that the so called gauntlet that Alabama ran through in order to vault to number 1 was apparently just a bunch of wins over OK/solid P5 teams. But Baylor and TCU get left out because they didn't play a conference championship game? Talk about a fair process all you want, it still got the more traditional powers in when all year it seemed like TCU had their foot in the door.

 

[RedStickHusky]

Talk about a fair process all you want, it still got the more traditional powers in when all year it seemed like TCU had their foot in the door.

When the final committee selections were made OSU had 12 FBS wins, FSU had 12 and TCU had 10. Are you going to reward the team that scheduled light? I don't want selection to go back to being a beauty contest, it should be based on body of work. With no ccg, the b12 teams probably need to drop their FCS games to have a chance.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

TCU and Baylor had very similar schedules with TCU having a slightly stronger non-conference slate, with both teams crushing a similar opponent in SMU. Baylor beat TCU in Waco in OT. Baylor lost at West Virginia by 14 while TCU beat West Virginia away by 1. They took care of the rest of the XII in similar fashion. In my opinion, Baylor gets the edge due to the head to had win pre-bowl. In the Bowls, I think what happened is that TCU overwhelmed an over-ranked SEC team (nearly the entire SEC looks to be over ranked this season) while Baylor got edged by a under-ranked (Top 5) team in Michigan St.

Overall regarding the playoffs, I still not see TCU or Baylor getting in. Before the Bowls, no one was keeping out the defending NCAA champs, current ACC champs, and undefeated Florida St team. Alabama and Oregon looked to be the best two teams and both won their conference championships. Ohio St looked to bet he weakest of the 4, especially with a loss to V Tech and down to a 3rd string QB; but, they did win the B1G title and the B1G was clearly undervalued this season. The playoff got it right this year. For a XII team to make the playoffs without a championship game, it will need to run the table. And when a Texas team has 1 loss and is left out, the XII is dead, even if the playoffs expand to 8 teams by then.