Is the SEC really that dominant or overrated???

[BonesKnows85]

Re: Is the SEC really that dominant or overrated???

I like to see the SEC do well and I only say "S-E-C" to build up Florida. Being of fan of the Gators I know how stressful it is week in and week out to have to play the level of competition that resides inside the conference. For example, I don't ever feel comfortable playing a road SEC game no matter what the spread is.

Generally speaking, no conference is as deep, has as many contenders, or changes like the SEC. The main thing is recruiting. You will have all 14 SEC teams in the top 35 in recruiting. Alabama, Florida, LSU, Georgia, Auburn, all recruit lights out. And South Carolina and Texas A&M are heating up too. The SEC has the best coaches and coaching staffs, biggest stadiums, and most schools are in hotbed areas for talent. On the field it's the lines on both sides of the ball, not speed. The speed and size of an SEC defensive line is where the leagues are different IMO. And the offensive lines that have to play these defenses get so much better with experience. That when they play a Notre Dame defense, they run over them. SEC defensive lines are monsters. If you don't have a great defense or once in a lifetime QB, you won't win the SEC. Also, there is always 4-6 SEC teams in the talk of "who will win the national title".

It hasn't always been like this either. The SEC has really become dominant in the BCS era. Schools that were normally dominate have slipped a little, Miami, Florida State, Oklahoma, etc.

All that being said, both Georgia and Tennessee can lose every game they play. I will never root them.

[Husker_OS]

Re: Is the SEC really that dominant or overrated???

AA and Husker aren't anywhere in this thread.

Lies.

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[BigDofBA]

Re: Is the SEC really that dominant or overrated???

The SEC is obviously the best conference. With that said, I do think it's overrated.

The SEC starts every year with about 5 teams in the top 10 that play cupcake OOC schedules so after conference play starts and they lose to each other they don't really drop at all in the polls.

You can be the best and still be overrated if that makes sense. I'm not trying to take anything away from the league but some people act like it's the NFL and all other conferences are like high school leagues.

Note: I give props to Bama and LSU since they will play teams OOC.

[BonesKnows85]

The SEC is obviously the best conference. With that said, I do think it's overrated.

The SEC starts every year with about 5 teams in the top 10 that play cupcake OOC schedules so after conference play starts and they lose to each other they don't really drop at all in the polls.

You can be the best and still be overrated if that makes sense. I'm not trying to take anything away from the league but some people act like it's the NFL and all other conferences are like high school leagues.

Note: I give props to Bama and LSU since they will play teams OOC.

Florida plays FSU every year and also play Miami his this year. It doesn't matter what the OOC conference is. When the play another conference champion from another league in the title game, they win. I'm sure you remember that 08 Oklahoma team, the highest scoring team in te history of college football. The team that Florida held to 14 points.

Florida has a pretty good OOC schedule in most years. It may not look good to you but Florida plays 10 bowl teams every year. This year Florida plays FSU, Miami, Toledo, and GA Southern who combined for 38 wins last year. Damn near four 10 win teams.

[Chrisksaint]

Using a bowl game to combat an OOC schedule argument? Lol

A good OOC schedule in most years? Is that what you call never leaving the state of FL along with games like GA state, ULL, Citadel, Jacksonville St, Bowling Green etc. over the past few years

[canesfins]

Re: Is the SEC really that dominant or overrated???

Florida plays FSU every year and also play Miami his this year. It doesn't matter what the OOC conference is. When the play another conference champion from another league in the title game, they win. I'm sure you remember that 08 Oklahoma team, the highest scoring team in te history of college football. The team that Florida held to 14 points.

Florida has a pretty good OOC schedule in most years. It may not look good to you but Florida plays 10 bowl teams every year. This year Florida plays FSU, Miami, Toledo, and GA Southern who combined for 38 wins last year. Damn near four 10 win teams.

LOL Flroida refuses to schedule Miami yearly because they have "the desire to schedule more national and not Florida teams" = Bowling Green etc.

[BigDofBA]

Re: Is the SEC really that dominant or overrated???

Florida plays FSU every year and also play Miami his this year. It doesn't matter what the OOC conference is. When the play another conference champion from another league in the title game, they win. I'm sure you remember that 08 Oklahoma team, the highest scoring team in te history of college football. The team that Florida held to 14 points.

Florida has a pretty good OOC schedule in most years. It may not look good to you but Florida plays 10 bowl teams every year. This year Florida plays FSU, Miami, Toledo, and GA Southern who combined for 38 wins last year. Damn near four 10 win teams.

Florida has a good program but if you want to bring my Alma mater into it Florida can't compare to our OOC scheduling.

In the past decade OU has play on the road at the following places OOC:

Oregon
Alabama
Miami
Florida State
UCLA

This year OU plays at Notre Dame and we have future home and aways with Tennessee, LSU, and Ohio State.

The SEC has a great league but besides the teams I mentioned, they don't travel and play teams OOC.

When is the last time Florida played a decent OOC game that wasn't in the state of Florida? They almost have to play Florida State and don't even play Miami every year.

Again, the SEC "is" the best conference but I don't think the difference is as great as people may think.

Why doesn't Florida travel to Oregon, USC, OU, Ohio State, etc?

[Madwolf]

Re: Is the SEC really that dominant or overrated???

The gap isn't big as many think it is. I really think that Alabama has been dominant, and the rest of the SEC has been good as everyone else.

I think the SEC has been built bigger than it really is, and teams aren't punished for losing SEC games, when they should be. How is anyone else supposed to move up the polls and hope to be the NC game when we move an SEC team down max 2-3 spots for losing to another SEC team?

When a team loses in the SEC it's because the "SEC is tough," but when a team loses to another top contender in another league they tumble a lot further.

I think everyone should be treated equally more or less. A school with a better record from the ACC, Big10, Big12, and Pac12 should never be denied a NC spot over a 1 loss SEC team. If Alabama is at the top at 12-0, and there is another SEC team at #2 that is 11-1, along with many other schools that are 11-1, we shouldn't allow that #2 SEC team in if they either played Alabama, or didn't win the SEC East. You simply cannot look at a team that Alabama beat and allow a rematch for the NC game, nor reward a team for not losing in the SEC Championship game by not being there.

[Chrisksaint]

It's not that they move down a couple because its an SEC team it's because they lost to a very high ranked team in what was probably a close game.

The SEC is more then Bama, there was UGA last year, UF throughout a majority of this stretch, LSU, Auburn for a year, etc. Its a dominant league because of the vast amount of teams that are great at the top, the bottom of the SEC you could say is pretty awful.

The whole SEC getting in over other teams in title game is pretty pointless,outside of one crazy year where Bama/LSU played for the title(They were easily the 2 best teams in the country that year) there really haven't been many cases of an SEC team screwing over another team because its the SEC. Heck a very talented and deserving '04 Auburn team was kept out of the BCS title game before.

[BigDofBA]

Re: Is the SEC really that dominant or overrated???

The gap isn't big as many think it is. I really think that Alabama has been dominant, and the rest of the SEC has been good as everyone else.

I think the SEC has been built bigger than it really is, and teams aren't punished for losing SEC games, when they should be. How is anyone else supposed to move up the polls and hope to be the NC game when we move an SEC team down max 2-3 spots for losing to another SEC team?

When a team loses in the SEC it's because the "SEC is tough," but when a team loses to another top contender in another league they tumble a lot further.

I think everyone should be treated equally more or less. A school with a better record from the ACC, Big10, Big12, and Pac12 should never be denied a NC spot over a 1 loss SEC team. If Alabama is at the top at 12-0, and there is another SEC team at #2 that is 11-1, along with many other schools that are 11-1, we shouldn't allow that #2 SEC team in if they either played Alabama, or didn't win the SEC East. You simply cannot look at a team that Alabama beat and allow a rematch for the NC game, nor reward a team for not losing in the SEC Championship game by not being there.

This is exactly correct. I'm not even arguing the SEC isn't the best conference. I'm just saying it's "too" hyped.

The guy below you said SEC teams don't fall far because they lose to higher ranked teams....isn't that the whole point you and I were making?

When six SEC start the year in the top 12, they're all going to end ranked highly just because their losses will be to each other.

Louisville was never even talked about until the dominated a Florida team that was very close to playing for the national title. Same thing happened when Utah dominated Bama in the Sugar bowl a few years back.

The SEC is really good but they do have a monopoly of sorts since they all start out ranked high.

LSU had their fans full with Ole Miss because every game in the SEC is tough. Texas goes on the road and absolutely destroys Ole Miss and its "well, Ole Miss isn't a good SEC team."

There is a double standard.

As for Auburn in 04, while they were playing the Citadel, OU was playing Oregon OOC. That's why OU got in. Yes, the system sucks, we have already had those arguments. Even I thought Auburn got screwed but either way someone was going to get screwed.

[ghettogeeksta]

Re: Is the SEC really that dominant or overrated???

Yeah the SEC is more than Alabama, last year in the SEC Championship Georgia gave them all the could handle and probably should have won that game.

[BigDofBA]

Re: Is the SEC really that dominant or overrated???

Yeah the SEC is more than Alabama, last year in the SEC Championship Georgia gave them all the could handle and probably should have won that game.

Like LSU and Florida? Teams that lost to Clemson and Louisville in their bowl games last year?

Point being, there are teams outside of the South. The SEC is a great conference no doubt, it's just getting too much hype now.

[Chrisksaint]

Re: Is the SEC really that dominant or overrated???

There are definitely teams that have closed the gap on the SEC in the last couple of years, but it's just the depth that separates them from the rest of the conferences.

Just last year 6 teams had 10+ wins, 5 of those teams with 11 or more. So you can count on at least one or two teams the way the conference is now to be serious contenders for a title maybe more depending on talent.

[BigDofBA]

Re: Is the SEC really that dominant or overrated???

There are definitely teams that have closed the gap on the SEC in the last couple of years, but it's just the depth that separates them from the rest of the conferences.

Just last year 6 teams had 10+ wins, 5 of those teams with 11 or more. So you can count on at least one or two teams the way the conference is now to be serious contenders for a title maybe more depending on talent.

I think what separates the SEC is that it's middle of the pack teams are a litter stronger. The SEC cellar dwellers are just as bad as any other conferece. Kentucky, Ole Miss, Mizzou, etc.

You have Bama and LSU/Florida (whoever is better that year) and then you have teams like Georgia, South Carolina, and now Texas A&M who are a little better than other conferences mid-tier teams.

It's a really good conference and the best in the nation, I just don't buy into the thinking that other teams around the country couldn't compete in it.

A&M leaves the Big 12 and in year one in the SEC is a top team after getting beat up on in the Big 12 for years. Obviously A&M is a different team with Manziel but you get the point.

[trobinson97]

Re: Is the SEC really that dominant or overrated???

The gap isn't big as many think it is. I really think that Alabama has been dominant, and the rest of the SEC has been good as everyone else.

I think the SEC has been built bigger than it really is, and teams aren't punished for losing SEC games, when they should be. How is anyone else supposed to move up the polls and hope to be the NC game when we move an SEC team down max 2-3 spots for losing to another SEC team?

When a team loses in the SEC it's because the "SEC is tough," but when a team loses to another top contender in another league they tumble a lot further.

I think everyone should be treated equally more or less. A school with a better record from the ACC, Big10, Big12, and Pac12 should never be denied a NC spot over a 1 loss SEC team. If Alabama is at the top at 12-0, and there is another SEC team at #2 that is 11-1, along with many other schools that are 11-1, we shouldn't allow that #2 SEC team in if they either played Alabama, or didn't win the SEC East. You simply cannot look at a team that Alabama beat and allow a rematch for the NC game, nor reward a team for not losing in the SEC Championship game by not being there.

Have to disagree with that. Alabama hasn't won every BCS title for the past seven years. In fact, for as impressive as BAMA's current run may be in the midst of this SEC run, Florida is only one BCS title behind and has as many SEC titles (and probably would have won 3 out of 4 if NOT for BAMA). They beat both of the conference champions they played in those BCS games by double digits (shutting down arguably the best college offense of all time in the process). You think everyone else has been as good as those teams?

Say what you will about LSU's title shot in '07, they won convincingly against the B10 champion and while any discussion of it is purely hypothetical I simply have a hard time believing anyone besides BAMA would have beaten them in '11. They also have just as many SEC titles during this run as Alabama.

I just disagree with the "there's Alabama and everyone else" stuff, it's just not true. The SEC has been more than Alabama. Now if you wanna say it's been those three teams and everyone else, okay , but even auburn had their year, which although I think it's the only one that was an anomaly (no disrespect intended at all) it still counts.

EDIT: Agree with what you say about the middle of the pack conference teams BigD.

As far as A&M competing, like you say, with JFF it's a different team and for everyone who wants to trumpet that team, you have to mention Missouri as well. They were a slightly better team than A&M the year before, finished 5th in the B12 then moved to SEC and had a losing season, including 6 conference losses.