SEC can no longer live off their reputation

[WraithSentinel]

There has been cracks in the SEC for several years now. Everyone has seen this coming. Now this year it has all come undone. It was still a great run by the SEC. No one stays on top forever. They will have to prove themselves again.

[ATLien_]

Sec still has the best talent hands down. Unfortunately you need quarterbacks to win football games. Sec has been down on QB'S for the last few years. I think once they get the next round of elite QB'S they'll go on another run.

Georgia has the number one pocket QB coming in next year. Things should get interesting then.

[Guest]

Sec still has the best talent hands down. Unfortunately you need quarterbacks to win football games. Sec has been down on QB'S for the last few years. I think once they get the next round of elite QB'S they'll go on another run.

Georgia has the number one pocket QB coming in next year. Things should get interesting then.

 

Still in denial, huh?

 

None of these 'elite' QB's are playing defense.  Nor are all these SEC teams facing 'elite' QB's in every loss.

 

If the talent is so superior these blowouts wouldn't happen.  What we're seeing now is the two actual bell cows (LSU/Bama) coming back to the pack.  Makes it tougher for the rest to ride the coattails.

[ATLien_]

Still in denial, huh?

None of these 'elite' QB's are playing defense. Nor are all these SEC teams facing 'elite' QB's in every loss.

If the talent is so superior these blowouts wouldn't happen. What we're seeing now is the two actual bell cows (LSU/Bama) coming back to the pack. Makes it tougher for the rest to ride the coattails.

Lol I guess the nfl is in denial too. The top rounds of the draft are littered with SEC players. I can't remember the exact number but I think the SEC has more than a 3rd of the players drafted. That's what we call disproportionate in statistics. I guess the NFL has SEC bias too they don't spend millions of dollars trying to find the best players. Whose the last SEC QB that was taken in the first 2 rounds? Hell it might be Matthew Stafford and that was back in 2007.

LSU damn near beat Notre Dame team with a QB that can barely throw a forward pass. The 6th best team in the conference almost best Wisconsin with Melvin Gordon. Ohio State played them without the sole source of their offense. That's the other thing you have to remember because the SEC fans travel they often get matched up against the 1 or 2 of another conference regardless of their position in the SEC. It usually doesn't matter, but it does if your QB keeps turning the ball over and missing wide open receivers.

It's definitely a down year for the SEC, but I believe is just a blip. I thought TCU was the best team in the country and they looked like it. It's a travesty they got shut out of the playoffs. I think TCU would have given Oregon a run for their money. Unfortunately for Ohio State Mariota won't be throwing into double coverage all night so I expect them to get the seal clubbing they deserve.

[Guest]

Eh, you're not wrong.  However, is the goal to put guys in the league and pump your chest about that, or is the goal to try to win games at the college level?

 

The whole narrative about who SEC teams get paired against is just excuse-making.  Next thing you'll be telling me is how they 'didn't wanna be there' or they 'had their sights on bigger bowls'.  You're better than that.

 

I still stand by my comment re. LSU/Bama.  Their coming back to the pack has opened folks' eyes regarding how "dominant" that league isn't.

[EazyRoc]

Other than South Carolina, how many SEC teams won bowl games ?

[ATLien_]

Look man if it makes you feel better to think the SEC is going down then you you go ahead. This will be the first year in a long time the SEC didn't win 70 percent of their bowl games even with the unbalanced matchups. Excuses facts whatever you want to call it. One year doesn't make a trend.

And most metrics would say if there's any slip it is minimal. I for one thinks it makes college football better when the other conferences step up. Think about how fun Georgia Georgia Tech will be next year. I'm all for the competitive balance shifting. It's also good to have a villain and the SEC plays that role well.

[jy23]

One year and everybody comes out he woodworks....y'all should be better than that

[Guest]

One year and everybody comes out he woodworks....y'all should be better than that

 

Nope.  It's always been that way but the conference had the two actually good teams winning so everyone else could tag along.

[jy23]

Nope. It's always been that way but the conference had the two actually good teams winning so everyone else could tag along.

How? Florida win two titles....auburn won one and could have had 2 more....are u serious?

[Guest]

How? Florida win two titles....auburn won one and could have had 2 more....are u serious?

 

Lol, ok.  How 'bout OleMiss, MissSt, KY, Vandy, SCarolina, UGA, ARK, TN, TAMU, Mizzou?  'Cause it sounds like y'all would have me believe all these teams are and have been great.

 

Actually, how 'bout UF since Meyer left?

[ATLien_]

Unbalanced matchups? What does that even mean? Because I'm looking at what the bowl odds were...

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/odds

and only Ole Miss and Texas A&M were underdogs. Every other SEC game had them as favorites.

I'm not of the opinion that the SEC is necessarily "down" or "sucks" or whatever you want to say negatively towards their performance. They likely aren't much different than they have been in the past 5 years. There's just cyclicality and randomness in college football. But the SEC, specifically the West, is such an insulated and in-bred division that it's hard to tell how good they are. The Big Ten also had this problem back in 2006 when there was a debate of whether or not Michigan and Ohio State should replay for the national championship because "aww heck man these teams are great because we say they are!" even though in 2006 the Big Ten had similar scheduling practices as the current SEC West.

The original guys point was that the SEC was overrated. My point was that a team like Auburn was probably the 6th or 7th best team from the SEC and they damn near beat Wisconsin at full strength. Wisconsin is a division champion from the big 10. The inverse equivalent would be Rutgers beating Mississippi state. No one would beat their chest about Miss state beating Rutgers but it's an upset if Wisconsin beats the 6th best team from the SEC. That in and of itself tells you the strength of the SEC. The 6th best team from any other conference wouldn't even be expected to compete with division champ from another conference let alone be favored.

I'm not talking about a Vegas odds because they are adjusting for the strength of the conference in their odds. I'm talking about raw pecking order within conferences and where teams finished. The SEC is almost always at a disadvantage from that perspective.

Edited January 2, 2015 by ATLien_

[jy23]

Lol, ok. How 'bout OleMiss, MissSt, KY, Vandy, SCarolina, UGA, ARK, TN, TAMU, Mizzou? 'Cause it sounds like y'all would have me believe all these teams are and have been great.

Actually, how 'bout UF since Meyer left?

You are SOOOOOOOOO reaching!!! Come on man, ain't nobody told u those teams are great. Give it up

[jy23]

That's some SEC math right there.

Is it not true?

[jy23]

Is TCU the best team in the Big 12? Wisconsin won their division and lost one game in conference....to OHIO STATE. If they're not the second they're the 3rd, you're trying to argue semantics when u know the mans point

[dms269]

Other than South Carolina, how many SEC teams won bowl games ?

SEC went 6-5, which is second overall.

SC, UGA, A&M, Mizzou, Tennessee, and Arkansas all won.

[Guest]

You are SOOOOOOOOO reaching!!! Come on man, ain't nobody told u those teams are great. Give it up

 

We've been told the SEC is great.  Can't talk 'SEC' and leave those teams out.

[ATLien_]

SEC went 6-5, which is second overall.

SC, UGA, A&M, Mizzou, Tennessee, and Arkansas all won.

The irony is everyone was so sure of how good the SEC west was and was the east that went and defended the honor of the conference. I'm still convinced Georgia would have beat Bama in the SEC championship. Missouri screwed that up. But hey its the SEC.

[DrReality]

The irony is everyone was so sure of how good the SEC west was and was the east that went and defended the honor of the conference. I'm still convinced Georgia would have beat Bama in the SEC championship. Missouri screwed that up. But hey its the SEC.

Couldn't agree more. Here's hoping we get the defensive studs we need for next year