I am a FSU fan (my dad pulls for Miami... go figure) from Mississippi. I'm a devout football fan (college over pro) as is required in the South. I visit a lot of college football boards especially during bowl season because it's fun. I decided to write a primer for the SEC and what ND has gotten itself into- for better or for worse- with Alabama.

 

Environment

For starters, contrary to popular belief of the SEC fans, there was a time the football world did not revolve around the South... or rather the football teams of the South. However, also contrary to popular belief, Christianity is not the religion of the South. It's football. This has not been subject to change. You still see a lot of fans of "odd" teams down here. There's a fair number of Michigan, OSU, USC, UCLA, and, of course, a lot of Notre Dame fans. They're becoming less common these days- mostly people who were growing up before the SEC became so dominant. Everyone, still has an SEC team. If you are a fan of a non-SEC team, it's pretty much a requirement that you have your SEC team. Mine is LSU. It's LSU because I went to school with a lot of people from Louisiana. I got a lot of free tickets and rides to LSU games and went down to NO a lot.

 

The bottom line is that in this region, college football is the single most important thing. I'm an adviser at a fraternity- I tell every single one of the undergrads majoring in something business related that they HAVE to pay attention to college football. I've had one business meeting in six years that did not open with a 15+ minute discussion about college football. The one meeting involved people from Oklahoma. They did not get our business. The 1970 Alabama vs. USC game has many myths surrounding it, but make no mistake about it, as soon as the Alabama fans saw a black player run all over them, they were going to have black players on their football team. Sure, in the 1970s, segregation was still important to a lot of white people in the South... it just wasn't college football level important.

 

There are only three sports recognized in the South- football, basketball, and baseball. Our athletes really only go into these sports- with football being by far the most prestigious. There are some small pockets where lacrosse is considered acceptable and much smaller pockets where soccer is considered alright. This is extremely important because our resources go to these sports. Look at the highest paid coaches in college football. Six of the top ten are SEC (or were). Ten of the top twenty were SEC coaches (or were). Also, it is important to note that the cost of living down here is a lot less than the rest of the country. We're really paying them even more than it looks like we are. We also treat our football coaches very well. I mean, sure our teachers might be underpaid, but no one will every make the mistake of saying we don't pay our coaches.

 

Finishing note: I do think this is one of the things that a lot of SEC fans (generally) and people in the South like about ND. A lot of ND fans are true college football fans. I'll be honest- I don't see this out of many other conferences or teams.

 

Recruiting

When you look at the football source beds, they've changed. The NE used to produce a lot of extremely talented college football players. So, did the Midwest. Teams in these areas could recruit most of their teams from these areas. If you do that now, you will not be competitive nationally. You have to be able to recruit from SoCal (geographically), Texas, or "Dixie" (and Florida if you don't count them). And "Dixie" is becoming more and more important. Michigan is not out recruiting Alabama in Alabama or LSU in Louisiana or either of them in Mississippi. No one is going to out recruit any SEC team in SEC territory. It's not even going to be close.

 

It has actually been interesting to see how the SEC's rise has wrecked havoc on non-SEC teams in the same regions programs. Take Southern Miss for example. Southern Miss used to have a very competitive football team. They shut out Alabama in 2000 in Birmingham. They played very competitively with Nebraska around thxe same period. Then as the SEC became more and more recognized as a great conference, it became harder and harder for them to recruit. USM's recruitment largely revolved around getting players who were high quality out of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama who weren't necessarily overlooked by the SEC programs but who weren't going to get scholarship offers. Now, those kids will be grey shirted... or walk on. Yes, many recruits down here would rather walk on with the chance to play at an SEC school than play for a non-SEC school. My FSU has been a victim of this as well. Our decline mirrors the SEC rise. So does Miami's. It is not a coincidence.

 

Additionally, you can see this emphasis on recruitment in the head coaches of the SEC. They are all excellent recruiters. There is war every year for recruits in the SEC. You can't be successful in this conference without being a stellar recruiter. X's and O's are of secondary importance. Look at Les Miles. He's a fantastic recruiter. He's good at developing talent (for the most part). He's an unbelievably bad decision maker in games. You could say similar things about Richt.

 

Finishing Note: If there is going to be a team that can compete regularly with the SEC, ND has a strong edge over most other teams here. With TAMU going to the SEC, UT is going to have a MUCH harder time recruiting out of Texas. Lane Kiffin is doing everything he can to destroy USC. Oregon is good, but they have shown multiple times now that their offense is not competitive with a quality SEC defense. I don't see UCLA becoming a real contender again. The only team outside the SEC that I see as being able to compete year after year in recruitment is ND. Further note, I ignore most scouting sites. I've seen far too many kids come out of Mississippi high schools who have been overlooked.

 

The Game has Changed

And... it has benefited the SEC. I remember reading Sports Illustrated previewing the 1996 Fiesta Bowl. It was Nebraska vs. Florida for the championship. The graphic from SI was Nebraska players pushing steamrollers squaring off at midfield against Florida players in go-carts. Nebraska dominated the game 62-24. The reason was simple. Florida had speed, but could not match up in terms of strength or size against Nebraska. Size is really a hangover term from when size and strength were mutually inclusive terms in football. The SEC has had speed for decades. It is only recently with modern advances in sports science and training that it has had speed and strength. It has changed the game of football- the SEC was very lucky that this change played into its hands. It turns out, it is not very difficult to take a guy who's really fast with a good frame and add lots of muscle. It doesn't work in reverse. Speed cannot be developed on near the level that strength can.

 

This was huge for the SEC. They needed to make no adjustments to recruitment styles. They really only needed to make adjustments to their game to accommodate for superior athletes. Other conferences have largely had to adjust recruitment practices and areas in addition to finding ways to play with inferior personnel (with the exception of QB). The QB has been a unique position for the SEC recently. With everyone getting strong and faster, the QB position at the SEC has shifted away from the typical pocket passer. The reason is very simple- the defensive lines of the SEC have been the ones to benefit the most from this change in the game. If you go through an SEC schedule, you will face some of the best defensive lines in the country. This has become a staple of the SEC. In the draft, this position is dominated by the SEC. At opening day, there were 50 defensive lineman in the NFL from the SEC. The next closest was the ACC with just over 30. As a result, you've seen a shift to one of two types of QBs- mobile or play action.

 

Additionally, this has created an interesting shift at the running back position as well. Every SEC running back is a North-South runner. The sweep is largely a play that has disappeared. No one runs wide in the SEC. It's a waste of a down because the defenses have become so fast at every position. There are few, if any, slow developing plays in SEC offenses. Time is of the essence. Running backs are big and strong. Quickness to the point of attack is more important than speed.

 

Before anyone talks about TAMU, Manziel is an exceptional QB. He's a fantastic passer and a skilled runner. That's causing a lot of defenses problems. The overwhelming majority of his rushing yards aren't coming off designed runs. They're coming off what would be sacks for most other QBs. He's also been held in check by the two best defenses in the SEC and the entire middle of the game by Alabama (you play the whole game for a reason).

 

Finishing Note: ND's defense resembles a good SEC defense in style and construction. They really do look like an SEC team across the board to me. There's a reason for this. The SEC football style is worthy of emulation in the current environment.

 

Strength of Schedule

My area of the country has a drastically different view of strength of schedule than many other parts of the country. I've seen people posting about ND playing nine teams going to bowls. Going to a bowl game doesn't mean much to the SEC. Ole Miss and Miss State are going to bowl games. They don't get any respect in the SEC. This year, most SEC fans believe they should be 9-0 in bowl games this year. To the SEC, strength of schedule is measured entirely in terms of how many "good" teams did you beat. Good teams are defined teams who could legitimately contend for the national championship.

 

I'll translate. To the SEC fan this year, it means you had to play a top tier SEC school (or Oregon, a few fans think Oregon is really good) to have any meaningful strength of schedule. Playing the Big 10 is looked on about the same way as playing Florida Atlantic or Western Carolina. The Big 12 is viewed identically. There is virtually no respect for the Pac 10 anymore with the decline of USC and, as mentioned, respect for Oregon is mixed.

 

Playing good teams year in and year out does make you a better football team. It's virtually impossible to avoid playing someone making a run at a national title in the SEC. You can play everyone in the Big 10 this year and not play anyone who had a prayer. The same could be said for my ACC although for some unknown reason, some people thought FSU had a chance. It's only people who don't pay attention to the SEC. I love FSU, but I am a realist.

 

Finishing Note: I do respect Stanford. I do think they're a three loss SEC team at worst this year. I don't fault ND for its schedule. This is basically the same schedule they've played for decades. It isn't ND's fault that the conferences that used to dominate have fallen so far. And like I said, the win over Stanford is meaningful.

 

Closing

While the SEC may be underestimating ND, to me, it definitely looks like the Irish faithful are underestimating the SEC. The SEC is good... really, really, really good. They've won 8 of the last 14 National Championships and probably would have won in 2001, 2002, and 2004 if they'd been in the game. Can they be beaten? Sure. The 2005 Georgia team is a good example of that when they lost to West Virginia. There are several other examples of SEC teams that should win bowl games that don't. Of course, there's always Utah. There's a Michigan - Florida game. However, normally, these are games with unmotivated SEC teams. You can win against a motivated SEC team. It is harder but is doable. Notre Dame will have to do something it hasn't done very well this year, it has to get touchdowns instead of settling for field goals. That's assuming they can stop the run, which I'll give ND the benefit of the doubt here even though I'm not fully confident about it.

Edited December 4, 201211 yr by StuckInSECLAND
Wording and typos- typed over a long period of time. Apologies.

not trying to take away from the SEC/bama but you forgot to mention the extreme advantage in recruiting Bama has "Over signing". Nobody really mentions over signing in SEC land or on ESPN. i really hope there is a day that when you have 18 scholarships open u can only sign 18 kids! it would be nice if everybody was on an even playing field.

not trying to take away from the SEC/bama but you forgot to mention the extreme advantage in recruiting Bama has "Over signing". Nobody really mentions over signing in SEC land or on ESPN. i really hope there is a day that when you have 18 scholarships open u can only sign 18 kids! it would be nice if everybody was on an even playing field.

 

They also kick "subpar" players off the team when they're older if they need a spot for a younger guy. There's a lot of healthy players who've left SEC teams for "medical reasons." If they leave for medical reasons, it is typically code for- we don't want you anymore but want you to keep your scholarship without penalizing us.

Great thoughts, man.

 

The ONLY thing I'll nitpick with you on your post is saying that an SEC team would have won the 2001 National Championship. NO ONE was going to beat that Miami team that steamrolled Nebraska. It's probably the greatest collection of talent in college football history.

 

If you meant the following year's OSU champ, my apologies...

That was a beautiful primer... you should blog it. Thank you.

 

I appreciate, and agree with, many of the sentiments... but here are my nits:

 

Scheduling:

I think it is easy for the SEC to say the other conferences are "weak" ... especially when they choose not to play them.

 

The middle-lower tier SEC teams were owned by the Big East this year, that's why there's always some skepticism on how good the SEC really is.

 

ND plays middle-high tier D1 teams at the start of the season, they don't work out the kinks with FCS teams as most of the SEC does... that's another reason why I think the SEC is overrated, and we can only think that because, as I said, the SEC doesn't schedule much with other power conferences.

 

IMO, I think Stanford this year would have beaten Ga, Florida, USCar, TAMU... they are tough and good. BUT, we'll never know. I give credit to Tennessee for historically scheduling quality opponents in the early-middle part of their schedule.

 

I was really hoping FSU would beat Florida this year, I think they have the talent to do it... don't know why they didn't... didn't watch the game, but I'll chalk it up to discipline and youth, which tend to go hand-in-hand.

 

Unfortunately, it's the in-state rivalry games that give a snapshot on the strength of the schedules. Rivalry games can always be deceiving though.. as weak teams play up and above their regular practice.

 

OU vs TAMU will be an interesting match-up...

 

 

Recruiting:

Interesting that high-quality players would rather walk-on or greyshirt to simply get a chance to be on the team that take a schollie elsewhere... that is religion.

 

My gripe has been on the greyshirt and oversigning practice, but if the constituency willingly buys in ... sigh, it just means that football is more important than an education (see religion).

 

I love college football because you get to see boys become men... in real-time. Also, I still subscribe to the ideal of student-athletes... that's why i love ND, and admire Stanford. I like that Bama is rising in GSR... but I would like to see college football make commitments to kids and families that they will get a full 4 years of education... and I don't get that sense from too many programs, particularly the SEC.

 

If there's one thing I'd change, it's that all colleges institute the 4-year schollie rule, and that schools be penalized schollies if they have poor GSR (less than 75% or 80%). After football, they should have some education and ability to constructively contribute to society... ideally.

 

Closing:

Really looking forward to Bama-ND... it is good for all of college football when the powerhouses do well... and do it right. I admire Saban for building a disciplined football program... and I would like to see him graduate more players with meaningful educations.

Edited December 4, 201211 yr by 1qa
grammar grammar grammar

Excellent write-up. It's a measured dose of reality and I like getting perspective from outside of the ND family.

 

The SEC is severely top-heavy. But, when you have to play two of UF, UGA, LSU, and Bama every year, yea, even if you schedule 10 other FCS schools, it is going to be tough to make it through those other 2 games without a loss. I still think that a season of wars like ND had is just as impressive as a season featuring two epic battles.

 

I think tying scholarship limits to GSR is fawking brilliant, 1qa. You'd have to have some sort of accommodation for players who exit school and get drafted though wouldn't you? Or I suppose you make the NFL toe the line and eliminate the ability to draft players who haven't graduated? Doesn't seem like that would ever make it through but I like where your head's at.

They also kick "subpar" players off the team when they're older if they need a spot for a younger guy. There's a lot of healthy players who've left SEC teams for "medical reasons." If they leave for medical reasons, it is typically code for- we don't want you anymore but want you to keep your scholarship without penalizing us.

 

yeah i remember reading about an LSU commit who had no scholarship when he arrived in the fall and he committed early... SAD!

Scheduling:

I think it is easy for the SEC to say the other conferences are "weak" ... especially when they choose not to play them.

 

Well, this year was different with the addition of Mizzou and TAMU, but normally this argument doesn't hold water. Alabama did open with a beat down on Michigan that wasn't as close as the score. S. Carolina played Clemson. Florida played FSU. Georgia played Georgia Tech (not good this year, I know). The traditional rivalry games here are typically decent to good OOC scheduling. Ole Miss played Texas who is beyond their pay grade (although to be fair Ole Miss is down scholarships, 53 I think, because of Nutt still).

 

Last year, Georgia opened with Boise (and lost last year with a "bad" Georgia team). LSU opened by crushing Oregon. Alabama played and won easily over Penn State.

 

The top tier teams are scheduling good teams from other conferences- and typically playing very well.

 

The middle-lower tier SEC teams were owned by the Big East this year, that's why there's always some skepticism on how good the SEC really is.

 

Mid-tier or bottom tier? There are 14 SEC teams. Six are ranked in the top 10. Depending on how you want to do your tiers, you can easily say TAMU and S. Carolina are part of the SEC mid-tier. I think the teams you are calling mid-tier are probably more of your bottom feeders. Miss State didn't lose outside the conference. Ole Miss only lost to Texas outside the conference. Vandy only lost to Northwestern outside the conference. All the other teams had horrendous in conference records.

 

ND plays middle-high tier D1 teams at the start of the season, they don't work out the kinks with FCS teams as most of the SEC does... that's another reason why I think the SEC is overrated, and we can only think that because, as I said, the SEC doesn't schedule much with other power conferences.

 

Again, this year- although Alabama did open with Michigan. This is a non-normal year. Historically, the SEC contenders schedule big games early. It works out much better for their scheduling.

 

I was really hoping FSU would beat Florida this year, I think they have the talent to do it... don't know why they didn't... didn't watch the game, but I'll chalk it up to discipline and youth, which tend to go hand-in-hand.

 

Some people said FSU gave the game away. I knew it was going to end badly when we had "momentum" but weren't getting points from it. UF has the best defense in the SEC in my opinion.

 

Recruiting:

Interesting that high-quality players would rather walk-on or greyshirt to simply get a chance to be on the team that take a schollie elsewhere... that is religion.

 

My gripe has been on the greyshirt and oversigning practice, but if the constituency willingly buys in ... sigh, it just means that football is more important than an education (see religion).

 

I love college football because you get to see boys become men... in real-time. Also, I still subscribe to the ideal of student-athletes... that's why i love ND, and admire Stanford. I like that Bama is rising in GSR... but I would like to see college football make commitments to kids and families that they will get a full 4 years of education... and I don't get that sense from too many programs, particularly the SEC.

 

You also have to consider that this is the South. Our public school system is largely a complete and total disaster. Several of the SEC schools essentially use junior colleges to bypass academic requirements. They'll send a kid who doesn't have a high enough GPA or ACT score (SAT is not used widely in the South) to a JuCo for a semester or summer school then accept him from there. What's scary (in more ways than one) is some of the best players still can't make it to the college level because of scholastics.

 

SEC football is not about scholar athletes more often than not. SEC football is about athletes. It's really about the same as the minor leagues are for baseball. You have a lot of people who would never go to college if not for football. I'm guessing you don't watch much SEC football if you missed FSU - UF, but you should sometime. Watch the player interviews after the game. A lot of these players have no business being in college. I was trying to find a clip of a Dontae Walker postgame interview (Mississippi State running back from about 10 years ago) but couldn't.

Thanks StuckinSEC for responding...

 

Wish I could catch more games, but I'm overseas and the time difference and access is brutal. I am happy to catch youtube highlights when the VPN is working.

 

It is too bad that the academic standards are so poor in Dixie... that many can't even sniff college ball.

 

I personally feel that the colleges and universities can use the lure of playing college to raise the expectation that academics are important... it is "college" football afterall. I realize that individual schools may not want to penalize themselves, that's why I think the NCAA has to step up and tie scholarship numbers to GSR.

 

If football is a way out of a miserable circumstance, and the message is that you don't play if you don't have the grades... maybe, just maybe... it will make a difference.

 

I know I likely sound either wildly idealistic, wholly naive or high-and-mighty... but it is hard to respect schools who abuse these athletes for their financial gain and reputation... they're not serving the students... they're serving themselves...

 

SEC football is good... but is it "college" football... or a not-so-cleverly disguised semi-pro league.

 

Oh well... still looking forward to the game... and beating FSU some year (maybe in the BCS)...

Thanks StuckinSEC for responding...

 

Wish I could catch more games, but I'm overseas and the time difference and access is brutal. I am happy to catch youtube highlights when the VPN is working.

 

That's too bad. I've been blessed with a girlfriend who has allowed me to accomplish my long time dream of a football oriented man room. I have 3 50 inch and 2 25 inch TVs in a room with stadium seating for couches. I get to watch everything!

 

It is too bad that the academic standards are so poor in Dixie... that many can't even sniff college ball.

 

There is a reason we rank so poorly across the board in almost everything in the South. It starts with education. I have some friends who have been administrators at SEC schools. They all HATE the football programs and believe they're destroying the schools. I don't know if I'd go that far, but I've got no experience there.

 

I personally feel that the colleges and universities can use the lure of playing college to raise the expectation that academics are important... it is "college" football afterall. I realize that individual schools may not want to penalize themselves, that's why I think the NCAA has to step up and tie scholarship numbers to GSR.

 

They should do more. They won't do more. There's too much money in college football.

 

If football is a way out of a miserable circumstance, and the message is that you don't play if you don't have the grades... maybe, just maybe... it will make a difference.

 

I agree, although... everyone makes grades in the SEC once they're in! Funny how that works...

 

I know I likely sound either wildly idealistic, wholly naive or high-and-mighty... but it is hard to respect schools who abuse these athletes for their financial gain and reputation... they're not serving the students... they're serving themselves...

 

SEC football is good... but is it "college" football... or a not-so-cleverly disguised semi-pro league.

 

It's one of those things that is hard to explain other than "it's the South." There are a lot of people who love this about the SEC. Academic requirements are typically viewed as just ways to hold back athletes and heavily disliked.

 

That "brand" is going to be protected. You saw the two teams that were brought in to the SEC. It's not a coincidence that they expand the SEC draw nationally. They assist in recruitment for the whole SEC. There's an agreement between S. Carolina, Georgia, and Florida to block vote against any team from those states coming into the SEC. It's why you will never see Miami, FSU, Clemson, or Georgia Tech in the SEC. They don't want to dilute the talent.

 

Edit: Adding link about LSU's and alcohol. I think it shows or hints at the theme that education is of secondary importance in the SEC.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203471004577141180847382556.html

Edited December 4, 201211 yr by StuckInSECLAND

It is easy to sit back and say the other conferences suck when you don't play them. Anyone can lose to anyone. If the SEC played outside the SEC, you would see alot more SEC teams with losses. I think Stanford could have beaten over half of the SEC teams out there.

Stuck in SEC,

 

I agree with many of the points you said. Very good write up.

 

Here is one point of contention that I have with the SEC:

 

1. People have mentioned they rarely play top schools from other conferences. However, even though I agree with this, I will take it a step further. They rarely play tough teams out of conference in cold/bad weather. The SEC seems to always play in the south and in warm weather! I think there would be a much more level playing field if they had to go North and into the cold. Also, almost all of the big bowl games are in warm weather as well so they never have to worry about it. I would give the SEC much more credit if they ventured north of the mason Dixon line every once in a while in Nov!

...

Scheduling:

I think it is easy for the SEC to say the other conferences are "weak" ... especially when they choose not to play them.

...

 

Ding Ding Ding ... we have a winner!

Stuck in SEC,

 

I agree with many of the points you said. Very good write up.

 

Here is one point of contention that I have with the SEC:

 

1. People have mentioned they rarely play top schools from other conferences. However, even though I agree with this, I will take it a step further. They rarely play tough teams out of conference in cold/bad weather. The SEC seems to always play in the south and in warm weather! I think there would be a much more level playing field if they had to go North and into the cold. Also, almost all of the big bowl games are in warm weather as well so they never have to worry about it. I would give the SEC much more credit if they ventured north of the mason Dixon line every once in a while in Nov!

 

I believe the SEC and PAC 10 are the only conferences with winning records against other BCS conferences since 1998. A lot of the SEC top tier has opened with "quality" OOC opponents. Alabama played early against #8 Michigan (neutral) this year, #23 Penn State last year (away), #18 Penn State the year before that, #7 VaTech the year before that, #9 Clemson the year before that. Florida has played against FSU since forever and that's typically considered a strong out of conference game that varies year to year. They don't schedule tough out of conference games early because of this. Georgia played #5 Boise last year early, #9 Oklahoma State two years before that (away), and two years before that Oklahoma State again. They always end with Georgia Tech which is sometimes a decent opponent. S. Carolina always ends with Clemson which is normally a good out of conference game. Last year, LSU opened with #3 Oregon (neutral) and played #16 West Virginia early and away. Two years ago they opened with #18 N. Carolina (neutral) and played #22 West Virginia early.

 

You can say they don't play anyone or they host when they rarely play outside the conference. It's just not true. This year was an odd year as the addition of Mizzou and TAMU changed up the schedule for many teams.

 

Ohio State played no ranked teams out of conference.

Michigan played Alabama and Notre Dame (who is about as close as you can get to being a Big 10 team without being in the conference).

Nebraska played no out of conference ranked teams.

Wisconsin played no ranked out of conference teams.

 

Kansas State played no ranked out of conference teams.

Oklahoma played Notre Dame.

Texas played no ranked out of conference teams.

Oklahoma State played no out of conference ranked teams.

You can say they don't play anyone or they host when they rarely play outside the conference. It's just not true. This year was an odd year as the addition of Mizzou and TAMU changed up the schedule for many teams.

 

Ohio State played no ranked teams out of conference.

Michigan played Alabama and Notre Dame (who is about as close as you can get to being a Big 10 team without being in the conference).

Nebraska played no out of conference ranked teams.

Wisconsin played no ranked out of conference teams.

 

Kansas State played no ranked out of conference teams.

Oklahoma played Notre Dame.

Texas played no ranked out of conference teams.

Oklahoma State played no out of conference ranked teams.

 

WTF dude?? You are just throwing a bunch of crap at the wall to see if any sticks.

 

In other posts you argued Michigan is crap now you use them to justify Bama's "difficult" schedule??

How the F do call ND as close as you can get to B1G??? All the analysts are saying they are the closest thing to SEC without being in the conference.

Nebraska played UCLA...you know....the Pac-12 South champ!!

Wisconsin played Oregon State.

Kansas State played a Miami team that finished ahead of Georgia Tech in the ACC.

 

Mizzou & TAMU didn't do anything to the SEC out of conference shcedules because the SEC still plays 8 conference games. However, the BIG 12 schedule did change because they went to 9 conference games with WVU & TCU joining. This is why WVU had to cancel their game with FSU this year and FSU scheduled Savanah State in their place.

 

You came into this board with some knowledge but you are quickly turning into the typical ignorant SEC IS BEST ALL OTHERS GET PWNED!!!111!!!! fanboi.

Well, the SEC is the best conference right?

 

But, it can be beat, right?

In other posts you argued Michigan is crap now you use them to justify Bama's "difficult" schedule??

 

I didn't say they were difficult. I said ranked opponents. Michigan is crap. They're also better than any top tier Big 12 team's out of conference opponent outside of OU.

 

How the F do call ND as close as you can get to B1G??? All the analysts are saying they are the closest thing to SEC without being in the conference.

 

You misinterpreted. You already play three Big 10 teams a year. You fit geographically.

 

Nebraska played UCLA...you know....the Pac-12 South champ!!

 

What's their rank?

 

Wisconsin played Oregon State.

 

Typically, you use the rank of the team when the game is played, which is what I was doing. I'll give you that one if you want.

 

Kansas State played a Miami team that finished ahead of Georgia Tech in the ACC.

 

Rank?

 

Mizzou & TAMU didn't do anything to the SEC out of conference shcedules because the SEC still plays 8 conference games. However, the BIG 12 schedule did change because they went to 9 conference games with WVU & TCU joining. This is why WVU had to cancel their game with FSU this year and FSU scheduled Savanah State in their place.

 

You came into this board with some knowledge but you are quickly turning into the typical ignorant SEC IS BEST ALL OTHERS GET PWNED!!!111!!!! fanboi.

 

The additions did cause scheduling problems because they weren't finalized for so long. How many teams did the Big 12 have last year? 10. How many teams did they have this year? 10. I would say that their scheduling has probably been messed up since they lost Colorado and Nebraska. The SEC expanded to 14. The Big 12 is a disaster due to Texas's selfishness with the Longhorn Network.

 

The SEC is the best conference, but I do not believe all others get owned. The Big 12 gets owned. The Big 10 is not competitive vs. the SEC. The PAC 10 top tier has infrequently been tested against the SEC and USC never got its shot against the SEC. I don't make the mistake of conflating conference and team. Every year there are teams that could compete in the SEC outside the SEC. No year recently could a conference compete with the SEC. The whole landscape of college football might be different if USC could beat Stanford when it matters. USC might have been able to either slow or stop entirely the SEC momentum. That didn't happen and the world will never know. A Notre Dame win here helps every non-SEC conference. I disagree with a lot of the LSU fans that a Notre Dame win helps them. The longer the SEC wins, the worse it gets for pretty much everyone else.

Well, the SEC is the best conference right?

 

But, it can be beat, right?

 

Yes, and they need to be beat. Notre Dame carries the hope of all non-SEC conferences. Just like... no one did last year, and Oregon did the year before.

 

It is ridiculous that we had an SEC vs. SEC championship game last year. That's a farce. We all know it. It happened because the SEC can legitimately claim it has been so good recently. It was the most boring Bowl game selection I've seen in forever, and it steals the chance of some team who could be better than they've gotten credit for. In 2006, UF was almost out for a OSU-Michigan rematch. The SEC was up in arms about that.

Stuck in SEC,

 

Also, almost all of the big bowl games are in warm weather as well so they never have to worry about it. I would give the SEC much more credit if they ventured north of the mason Dixon line every once in a while in Nov!

try mid october.................

Hey SEC, nice write up........Why is it that no SEC school will play north of maryland after the first week of october??

 

Obvious reason is obvious, and they don't have too or have any rivalry games that draw them that way.

 

I'm not familiar with many teams playing long distance out of conference games that late in the season. Notre Dame is very unusual in its scheduling for a program of with its history. It's probably due to not being in a conference.

National Championship aside, I really want to kick Alabama's ass sofa king bad so that this SEC is unbeatable b.s. can be rolled up and smoked once and for all...