The SEC's superiority

[Smitty]

Clearly it's Alabama, not "The SEC" that is the superior force in college football now. We had a good run but the gap has been closed. Still the best overall but the pack has caught back up. Any benefit of the doubt for the 4th playoff team is now gone.

[msstate7]

Ohio state is gonna give bama a game tonight. It wouldn't surprise me if osu wins.

[Dawgface]

Yep. If AL and AU both lose today, the talking heads will be laughing their heads off. The West wont look so tough after all. And it wont hurt my feelings if both lose today. I hate them both.

[Maroonthirteen]

I don't know why anyone would laugh other than B10 fans. ESPN and SI and etc are the ones that missed badly in the mid season rankings. which were based on States and OMs SEC wins.

but I agree with the original point. The players in the sec put their pants on like every other player in America. it isn't the whole conference. it is the Alabama teams of the recent past that were dominate with the best players from all over the nation. this year....this bama team is good but not dominate. it will be a close game tonight but I hope OSU prevails. I hate them. I couldn't care less about Auburns game.

[DownwardDawg]

I hope the buckeyes roll.
Oh, and the SEC was very overrated this year.

[Lumpy Chucklelips]

One thing I've noticed over the past few years. When an SEC team such as ourselves or Ole Miss for two recent examples plays a bowl game as we did yesterday. TCU and Ga. Tech aren't going into those games looking at it as them vs Ole Miss or Miss. State....they look at it as them vs. the SEC. They are playing us, along with Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Georgia, Florida, etc.

Just as Ga. Tech coach said last night in interview...."Maybe we won't have to hear about the SEC for a couple of days".

[Maroonthirteen]

Gary Patterson said the same after their game. Except he used Ole Miss instead of sec. But you could hear in his voice.... the other conferences want these bowls badly. OSU will be hyped tonight.

[bluelightstar]

Doesn't help the SEC that Ole Miss and State clearly weren't ready to play in big bowl games.

[msstate7]

Wisconsin loses their coach and trail auburn 14-7 at halftime. This is the same wisconsin team that Ohio state beat 59-0.

Minn up on mizzou.

Anyone wanna remind me how dominant the sec is.

[Smitty]

Alabama is dominant. The league isn't. Doesn't mean we aren't the best top to bottom, we are. Our gauntlet is tougher than others. But its not far and away better. Also it's easier to get up playing against "The SEC" than defending, kind of like a #1 team always gets everyone's focus and best shot.

[msstate7]

Alabama is dominant

Based on what?

[Political Hack]

The SEC is 4-3, right? Winning record? Why is that making everyone say the sec isn't better than other conferences?

Two of the loses came from teams without their DC and with their DC's bags packed.

Auburn is tied with the BigTen#2, Bama is about to rape the BigTen#1, and Tennessee could easily win too. It's looking like another winning bowl record for the sec.

[Smitty]

Based on what?

Year in year out
Coaching
Recruiting
Winning by 20+ tonight
4th Natty in recent memory in a couple weeks

[msstate7]

Year in year out
Coaching
Recruiting
Winning by 20+ tonight
4th Natty in recent memory in a couple weeks

Florida state and Ohio state have been recruiting at the same level and have elite coaching too. Fsu is the defending champ. I'm not saying bama won't win, but that they aren't unbeatable. I expect a very tight game tonight

[Smitty]

Florida state and Ohio state have been recruiting at the same level and have elite coaching too. Fsu is the defending champ. I'm not saying bama won't win, but that they aren't unbeatable. I expect a very tight game tonight

Maybe for a little but Bama will pull away. The championship will be close. Tonight shouldn't.

[Smitty]

Melvin Gordon 8.3 YPC. 200+ yds
Wisconsin takes the lead

Damn just damn a decades worth of needed rep down the drain in 3 days.

[missouridawg]

An SEC bowl opponent has become the Super Bowl for other conferences.

[BLC]

I thought a buddy of mine put it very well yesterday. There is no longer a dominant conference - I think most rational thinking folks will agree. However, the SEC continues to be the most IMPORTANT conference. No conference's fans care more. No one markets like the SEC. No conference is more "invested in" - in terms of dollars and cents. That is the difference.

Another thing that has to be factored in when discussing the 7 titles in 8 years fact is that the SEC has more teams than any other conference. Given the weak OOC schedules, it was almost a mathematical certainty that one (or two) SEC teams would be undefeated (or with only one "good" loss to another SEC team), and thus make the championship game. This insured the SEC would have the opportunity to win a natty every year - and the SEC teams did great with those opportunities. Going forward, with a playoff system, the playing field will likely be more equal. I see four of the power 5 conferences being represented every year. Until they move to an 8-team playoff, the SEC will never get two teams in the four-team field (no conference will).

[Smitty]

The SEC is the DEEPEST no doubt but that just means we have a larger sum of average-good teams.

Our best usually is THE best but our 3-9 matches up with everyone else's 3-7

[whatever]

Alabama is dominant. The league isn't. Doesn't mean we aren't the best top to bottom, we are. Our gauntlet is tougher than others. But its not far and away better. Also it's easier to get up playing against "The SEC" than defending, kind of like a #1 team always gets everyone's focus and best shot.

Agree, and to me it's deeper than that, it's Nick Saban moreso than Alabama. Want to pinpoint 1 reason why the perception of the SEC by the media has become that it's closer to the NFC East than it is another college conference?

Saban is the reason the SEC is what it is today, the reason why the SEC has won 7 of the last 8 titles, the reason why the SEC makes more tv money than any other conference which allows the MSU's and Ole Miss' of the world to double or triple their athletic dept budgets in 5 years time, and the reason why recruits say "I want to play in the SEC." You didn't hear as much "conference talk" 5 or more years ago, it was more talk of individual schools.

He turned LSU into a power and helped keep them there after he left, which got the ball rolling for the league, and really elevated the league when he came to Bama. A rising tide raises all ships, and everyone in the league has had to scrap and claw to get up to Saban's level.

Spurrier deserves alot of credit too, he had just as big of an impact on the SEC in the 90's