Dman374
Georgia Tech Fan
- Messages
- 56
The middle of the SEC is stronger than I think you'd like to admit. Stack it up, even if you don't agree with my list from Fanduel odds to win their conference, you're not taking any team in the ACC to win the SEC. I could argue even make the SEC championship. Out of the BIG10 next year, I agree with Vegas, but only Ohio State and maybe, key word, maybe Oregon. No BIG12 team would stand a chance, and I could go pretty far down the SEC list and transplant into the BIG12, and have probably the odds favorite to win that conference.I'd say the same thing about the SEC. They're garbage at the bottom, mediocre in the middle, and pretty strong on top. When the SEC starts playing a real OOC schedule, then we can start comparing conferences.
I'll stacked them up top to bottom, but this comment was regarding fan engagement for butts in seats and eyes on TV. With the exception of Vandy, the SEC teams finishing at the bottom have a more active fan base than the majority of teams in any other conference. Pick any lower end SEC team on this list, and even if you don't think they'd win on the field, look at fan support, resources, recruiting, those middle and even lower end SEC teams are much better equipped than the other conference counterparts. We live in the south, college football is king. Unlike the great state of Georgia, the majority of those SEC schools are located in states that have no professional sports teams. So there's a little more die hard fan that's naturally built in when you're the only game in town. What does that equate to? Other than Vandy, you could argue there are no take the check take the loss teams. There are quite a few in the other three conferences.
I also want to hit the OOC schedule argument that I really hate. I'm going to preference, the SEC isn't perfect, and I'm excited to see FSU take down LSU, but I also know in my head that's our best team beating up their 4th or 5th best team. Love to see Miami beat A&M and one of their higher ranked teams falls to a lower ranked team in another conference, but more often than not, that's not what ends up happening. I hope Miami wipes the floor with Florida this year, but for adding context, a "bad" Florida team is under a six point spread against Miami to start the season. If I took this same list and did third best odds SEC team vs the 13th best odds ACC team, that spread would be heavy double digits. That's really my biggest argument when people start talking OOC games, is are you really comparing apples to apples where these teams are? I agree years ago when it was just Bama really in the national championship game on where your heads at with the SEC being over rated, but in 2024 it just is what is it.
The ACC let it get that way, and my earlier comment about laughing at the idea of the ACC poaching a team from the BIG10 or SEC was to show my frustration with the ACC today. What's going to happen in the next round of realignment are teams will leave the ACC, and the ACC will backfill those with whatever is the best group of 5 teams left. The BIG12 will surpass the ACC as the third best, and if they actually have a power house program emerge they'll market the heck out of themselves to get a higher media rights deal when it comes up before any of the other conferences. There will be too many teams left that can't find homes in the ACC for it to suffer the same fate as the PAC12, but it'll end up sitting between the BIG12 and the American.
I think if Tech gets rolling like it looks like we're starting to, I could see winning the ACC, even with all of the current teams still here if that somehow happens in a few years. I don't see that in the SEC, but I could see if the stars align in the BIG10. Yes, the BIG10 did great on the media rights deal, good on them, but if the teams in the ACC that are supposed to be good, actually were good, I could argue the ACC is better than the BIG10. The gap between Iowa and Georgia Tech is a lot smaller than the gap between Tennessee and Georgia Tech.
My only other hot take, is if Tech somehow finds a new dance partner in the next round of realignment, I wouldn't be surprised if the ACC snags Georgia State. If, key word, if Dell McGee makes that a winning program that is a no brainer for the ACC.
SEC | BIG10 | ACC | BIG12 |
Mutts | Ohio State | Florida State | Kansas State |
Texas | Oregon | Clemson | Utah |
Ole Piss | Penn State | Miami | Kansas |
Bama | Michigan | Louisville | Arizona |
LSU | USC | NC State | Texas Tech |
Tenn | Iowa | Virginia Tech | Iowa State |
Missouri | Washington | SMU | Oklahoma State |
TAMU | Nebraska | North Carolina | UCF |
Oklahoma | Wisconsin | Syracuse | TCU |
Auburn | Maryland | California | West Virginia |
Kentucky | UCLA | Georgia Tech | Colorado |
South Carolina | Illinois | Pitt | Baylor |
Florida | Northwestern | Duke | Cincinnati |
Arkansas | Mich State | Boston College | Arizona State |
Miss St. | Minnesota | Virginia | Houston |
Vandy | Purdue then Indiana | Wake Forest then Stanford | BYU |