This season typifies why I think the SEC is such a tough conference. It's not that we have 1-2 good teams each year, it's the teams below the best one's each season that on any given day beat the top teams in the conference and how we beat each other up over the course of the season. Mississippi State loses badly to LSU, who loses to Kentucky who loses by over two td's to Miss State. Florida wipes out Tennessee who wipes out Georgia who beats Florida, scoring 42 points against the Gators. Of course it's one of the reasons I love our conference, there is never a gimmee.
Ditto Bill.....We believe the same thing about the Big 10 and the Pac 10 this year surely could say the same....there simply are no easy W's. In my opinion, I think it speaks to the degree of parity across the entirety of college football. Look at the Appy States over the Stripeheads, USF over Auburn, UConn over USF, FSU over Bama, hell even Miami beat FSU(!) :wink:, Cal over UT, UCLA over Cal, and ND over UCLA!!!! On any given day on any given week.....the amount of focus and discipline to avoid a misstep in this day and age of college football is extraordinary.
The same thing applies to the Big XII... er, well sort of. We all SUCK, so it's really tough to win week to week!
Gator Bill, I think what the SEC's edge is this year is it depth. If I compare your conference with the B10, the things that jumps out at me is the the number of quality teams in the SEC versus the B10 this year. Clearly, OSU is outstanding. But, after that, there is a major drop off. The problem with the SEC is that it is hard to tell if you are a conference populated with many very good but not great teams or whether the SEC is so competitive this year that it becomes imposible for anyone to seperate itself from the pack.
I think UF, Auburn, SC, Ky, Ga and Tenn are probably capable of competing with all teams in the Big Ten and perhaps even catching OSU off guard if the Buckeyes had to play away games vs. those teams say a week after going to Penn State. And therein lies the key to what I am saying. It is very tough to run the gauntlet in the SEC week after week. Injuries mount and the gas tank goes empty when you have to really bring it or face defeat week after week.
Anbody have a realistic view on how Ohio State might fare if they followed a trip to Happy Valley...the Bucks "big" test which they passed mightily....with a couple of "off" games at SouCar in Columbia and maybe the following week against an also ran like Auburn? They could catch a break like LSU did after the Fla game and go to Ky.
Scott< Just saying that the SEC week in and week out will catch you if you are unable to bring it. Look at Arkansas right now. How would OSU do at Arky the week after Wisconsin and the week before Michigan. The point is I think there is more pitfalls in the SEC than the Big Ten. Now with that said OSU has negotiated it's few pitfalls this season very well and I predict OSU will surprise LSU for the national title if LSU can skip it's fortuitous way into the NC game. OSU will be so fired up that LSU will not get it done vs the Bucks. Look at what motivation can do for a team. Yesterday Florida played with a chip on it's shoulder not seen this year except for Glendale in Jan. I couldn't believe how focused and motivated the Gators were. Vandy never had a chance.
ha ha <r><QUOTE><s> </e></QUOTE> As a Pac10 fan who has long been told that multiple loss teams are a sign of mediocrity, you have to excuse me for not drinking the Kool-Aid on this one.<br/> <br/> I think Georgia is a good young team. Capable of beating you, or having it handed to them..mostly because of their youth. Florida's defense is bleeding folks and their offense is good, but vulnerable at points. UT was beaten soundly by Cal who is struggling to finish 4th in the Pac10. There is your race for the SEC East.<br/> <br/> The SEC West? You have LSU who blasted their first two opponents and have struggled to win every week since. Implosions by Auburn, Alabama and Florida have kept this from being a 4 loss team. Auburn, beaten at home by South Florida and Mississippi State. Alabama, still a year away from being a very good team..<br/> <br/> And Arkansas? L oh L. Their stupid gimmick offense seems to grab headlines in the SEC but the Trojans and Gators showed what a real defense does to that thing in the past.<br/> <br/> I just don't buy it. Im not saying the SEC is bad. Im saying that, like the rest of college football, there is a lot of parity and few teams pulling away to show their superiority.</r>
:roll: Who knows Scott.....perhaps to suggest that we'd follow it up with a week off against Wisky at home.....where they've beaten us three times in succession not to mention finishing up each of the last two years with wins over SEC foes in bowl games.....last year SEC runner up Arkansas and the year before SEC-annointed juggernaut Auburn. There is some symmetry to our efforts -v- PSU and Wisky and their relation to the SEC. Our record -v- PSU and Wisky in the last two years is 3-0. That also happens to be the same record PSU and Wisky's -v- the SEC over the same time period which is 3-0. However we know of course that PSU and/or Wisky couldn't compete in the SEC, so we can only speculate...... It's a decidedly good thing to be in a position where the critics are making excuses as to why you are undefeated...... :wink: I'll take it. I much prefer it to the alternative.
Corey, I have a similar view....with each passing week, LSU's struggles with good but not super clubs in combination with the accumulated OOC losses and their implications tells us a story clearly inconsistent with a dominant team and/or conference. SEC is a fine conference, no question, but it sure looks more and more that the PAC 10 is the class of college football.
Buck <r>Hell I dont know if I'd go that far. I'm not sure anyone can really lay claim to that this year. I guess the bowls will tell us something this year and we won't know much till then.<br/> <br/> Last year UF's triumph over OSU somehow wounded up 'proving' that the SEC was the best conference in the land and 'established' that the Big10 was not as good as the SEC. However, following that retarded logic leads you to ignore that Penn State beat Tennessee and Wisconsin beat Arkansas. Auburn struggled with Nebraska. They had some nice wins over some ACC teams but I just didn't see how that one win proved anything other than Florida was better than Ohio State that night.<br/> <br/> Its fun to talk about this stuff. If I keep this up long enough, I'll forget all about ND's woes... <E></E></r>
That was probably a bit of a stretch and I should have qualified it a bit....I guess I was just blinded by their non-conf wins over the SEC! :wink:
I am not sure if the SEC has any really top notch teams this year. I think we do have a lot of good teams that are knocking each other off. LSU seems to pull it out their rear every week one way or the other, except Kentucky of course. I think LSU could lose another game in the SEC Championship game if they aren't careful. I would probably have to give the nod this year to the PAC 10.
In the SEC, Time Tebow is the #10 rusher and #1 QB in pass efficinecy rating. In "passing" he's ranked #4, based upon attempts per game. Interestingly, he's #2 behind Woodson in total passing yards by 203 yards, but he's attempted 114 fewer passes. Rank Player Pos Cl Gm Patt Pcomp Int CompPct PYds YdsAtt YdsCmp TDs CmpGm 1 Andre Woodson, Kentucky QB SR 9 337 215 7 63.80 2431 7.21 11.31 28 23.89 2 Erik Ainge, Tennessee QB SR 9 323 211 5 65.33 2138 6.62 10.13 15 23.44 3 John Parker Wilson, Alabama QB JR 9 339 187 6 55.16 2110 6.22 11.28 14 20.78 4 Tim Tebow, Florida QB SO 9 223 151 4 67.71 2228 9.99 14.75 21 16.78
With all due respect to my B10 buddies, this year I would really like to see LSU vs Oregon for the BCS Championship. At least around here there has been a feeling that unless USC is good nobody thinks there is a good PAC10 team. Well this year Oregon seems to be the best PAC10 team, I'd like to see them play the best SEC team and since that seems to be LSU at this point that's the game I'd like to see.
Don't disagree but I can't see the BCS picking a 1-loss LSU over an undefeated OSU, especially since the BCS "previously pimped" the Big-10 by skipping Michigan for the 2007 game!! 8)
Having said consistently over the past few years that I believe the SEC is the country's strongest conference top to bottom, I agree with the above statement. What I find interesting in this topic is that no one seems to believe the B12 is for real. That's why I am waiting until the end of the regular season to preliminarily determine for myself which conference may be this year's "best". My final determination will come after the bowl season. One thing I know is that I'm not quite ready to annoint the Pac10 as the best conference based solely on the fact that I haven't yet seen a difference from past years regarding the absence of strong defenses.
I see what appears to be a strong Oregon team, ASU, Cal, and USC who I still think can play with anybody. Those are all good squads..... That said, there ain't no way that the Buckeyes are going to get jumped by a one loss team. Any one loss team, esp one that fell to KY. It just ain't gonna happen. The Bucks control their own destiny and just need to keep taking care of business as they have all season like a very, very few others.
I would agree it is not possible for OSU to lose the top spot short of losing a game. That's the way it should be IMHO. I'm just saying I'd like to see LSU/Oregon if they both win out, but that would require Mich beating OSU which could happen.