Well my friends, the regular season is complete and the resumes of our beloved (and hated) conferences await only the bowl games. There is no more helium to pump into the SEC for the moment, as time and time again they prove to be a fraud. This weekend was no exception. Despite pulling in the very best of the recruiting classes (according to the subscription hungry geeks) year after year, employing the very best coaches money can buy, receiving beyond delusional support from the media, and putting more butts in the seats (from those who buy into the fraud), the best the SEC can do in the end is identify as below average in the PWR 5 landscape. Consider the individual cases of Ole Miss and GT. The Rebel Bears enjoyed weekly rankings in the top 20 and took forever to drop out, even after the losses continued to mount. They finished 5-7 and looked ridiculous along the way, with the only exception being a drubbing of the Bulldogs which served as "evidence" of their true strength. Even a loss (albeit a close one) to the Tide served as proof of excellence. The Jackets, on the other hand, finished 8-4 and never once sniffed the top 25. Bear in mind, I am not making the argument that we should have either. In truth, GT has a chance to wiggle back in with a bowl victory, I imagine. At that point we will have earned it. Such is life in the two conferences. Even losses in the SEC are viewed as prestigious as the great assumption of "dominance" continues. ACC schools must defeat the presumption of mediocrity before even being considered worthy of displacing one of the media darlings. The "post regular season" resumes are below. I'll let you all decide who has the better conference.Next up is rivalry week. It should be interesting to see how it plays out. The Special Ed Follks had a lot of out of conference games against whipping boys this week, so here are the updates and current results heading into the busiest out of conference part of the season.
vs NON PWR 5: SEC 21-5, ACC 16-5
vs FCS: SEC 11-0, ACC 12-1
vs POWER 5 (+ND): SEC 5-5, ACC 9-7
HEAD to HEAD: ACC 3 wins, SEC 2 wins
It is interesting to note that the ACC now has played 6 more games out of conference against POWER 5 teams than the mighty SEC, who prefer non PWR 5 opponents it seems.
We really don't know how good Bama is. Their signature wins were over some very average teams.
Over the last 3 years, the ACC is 15-12 against the SEC, and 10-2 on Rivalry Week.
That, my friends, is a trend...
The center of power has started to shift away from the SEC and is spread out amongst more teams now. It's all about head coaches. While SEC schools made some mediocre to bad hires (Butch Jones at UT, Kevin Sumlin at TX A&M, Derek Mason Vandy, etc.) and some coaches lost steam and got fired for no good reason other than not being Nick Saban (Richt at UGA, Miles at LSU).
ACC has 8 teams that have won at least 8 games this year, and 11 teams are bowl eligible. That's a first for the ACC. It also coincides with the influx of new coaches the last few years (Fuentez, Richt, Narduzzi, Fedora, etc.)
Big Ten got Meyer and Harbaugh...two of the top 5 coaches in CFB. They also added James Franklin who's taking PSU to the B1G championship game, Wisconsin was able to hire Paul Chryst away from Pitt.
Massive payouts for media rights have somewhat leveled the playing field among the P5 programs. If you make a good hire at HC, you have a chance. If you don't, you set your program back 5-10 years. You have Texas and Oregon, who are among the most well funded programs in the nation, having a hard time finding their footing. 10 years ago, Texas's immense wealth alone would have given them an easy 8 wins alone. Not anymore.
Here are some SEC miseries to enjoy.
You're a Gator fan. You are going to play Bama for the league championship and probably end up in a pretty good bowl. But you really don't give a shiny rat's arse. You lost to the hated Seminoles. Nothing else matters.
You're an Ole Miss fan. You started the season very highly ranked and barely lost to Bama, a loss which served to further point to your elite status. But in the end you finish 5-7, with not even close losses to Vandy and your state rival. Ug. What happened?
You're a Gamecock fan. You've lost three in a row to your state rival, and the gap seems to be getting wider all the time. You get to watch while your in state rival goes to the final four and is constantly in the news, forever being reminded of their greatness and your mediocrity. Meanwhile, to make matters even worse, you have figured out that your new head coach is clueless.
You're a Tennessee fan. You're coasting along after a pretty good season, looking forward to a nice bowl matchup You have only the annual exhibition match with lowly Vanderbilt. And they beat you. By ten points. Oh the humanity!
I saw that on ESPN this morning. In fact we're 4-4 against the mighty SEC West. Considering the teams, I call that a win. Has the SEC lost it's luster? Other than Bama, who is "REALLY" that good? Sorry, I see us matching up well against most SEC schools. I hope to see Clemson get another crack at Bama. I think they can beat them. Bama struggles against the pass. They are beasts on the DL, so running is hard. I think they have yet to be tested, to be honest. LSU gave them a run. Auburn was no match. Florida was an inept offense. I see them limiting Bama on scores, but won't be able to score. So, yeah.... I'll be a Clemson fan, this bowl season. Go Tigers!! If they beat Bama, that only makes the ACC look that much better.Over the last 3 years, the ACC is 15-12 against the SEC, and 10-2 on Rivalry Week.
That, my friends, is a trend...
Moral of the story is our glass is more than half full. Yes we have some deficiencies but we have one hell of a lot to be thankful full. We could be any of these teams that don't have the constraints we have. Hell there in the mighty SEC! Favorite quote by someone I can't remember- the hardest math to master is that math that allows you to count your blessings (or something like that)Here are some SEC miseries to enjoy.
You're a Gator fan. You are going to play Bama for the league championship and probably end up in a pretty good bowl. But you really don't give a shiny rat's arse. You lost to the hated Seminoles. Nothing else matters.
You're an Ole Miss fan. You started the season very highly ranked and barely lost to Bama, a loss which served to further point to your elite status. But in the end you finish 5-7, with not even close losses to Vandy and your state rival. Ug. What happened?
You're a Gamecock fan. You've lost three in a row to your state rival, and the gap seems to be getting wider all the time. You get to watch while your in state rival goes to the final four and is constantly in the news, forever being reminded of their greatness and your mediocrity. Meanwhile, to make matters even worse, you have figured out that your new head coach is clueless.
You're a Tennessee fan. You're coasting along after a pretty good season, looking forward to a nice bowl matchup You have only the annual exhibition match with lowly Vanderbilt. And they beat you. By ten points. Oh the humanity!