Pac-10 Football Is Better Than SEC Football: A Letter To My Haters

Oregon State 21, LSU 22 {SEC}

2005

Arkansas 17, USC 70 {PAC10}

LSU 35, Arizona State 31 {SEC}

2006

USC 50, Arkansas 14 {PAC10}

Washington State 14, Auburn 40 {SEC}

Arizona 3, LSU 45 {SEC}

California 18, Tennessee 35 {SEC}

2007

Tennessee 31, California 45 {PAC10}

Interesting how Mr. Fincher mentions the low-rated teams that the Pac-10 beat, but fails to mention the sub-par teams from the Pac-10 that the SEC played. 

With the exception of the 2006 California-Tennesse game, the SEC (less LSU) beat the Pac-10 one time.  And that was when Auburn beat a Washington State team who finished 6-6 and 4-5 in the Pac-10 in 2006. 

Why don't we just throw out every head-to-head matchup between the two conferences?  Because it would certainly be better for the SEC to rid themselves of all those head-to-head losses!  Yes, Mr. Fincher, it would be good to just discard all those games because the bottom line is that the Pac-10 has beat up on the SEC when they have battled head-to-head since 2002.

"The SEC Has Done Spectacular Post-Season Play"

Mr. Fincher goes on to claim, "the SEC went to nine bowl games last year and won seven including their two BCS bowls...which means they are beating quality teams from other conferences in the postseason as well."

If this claim is supposed to mean that the SEC can compete with teams out of conference, then think again.  One, the fact remains that the SEC does not schedule quality teams out of conference.  When you play a bowl game, you must play a certain team, you don't get to chicken out with who you face.  Two, playing a team in a bowl game coming off three or four weeks rest is a whole other animal than playing a game with injuries in the grind of a season.

Also, these are not necessarily quality teams that the SEC is beating.  Yes, Auburn over Clemson, Tennessee over Wisconsin, and LSU over Ohio State are all impressive wins.  But the rest of that 7-2 record?  It includes an embarassing loss to Michigan, a blowout win by Missouri, and wins over 6-7 Colorado, UCF, and roster-depleted Florida State.

To make things worse, Mr. Fincher goes on to try and justify these losses (a true SEC fan always does).  He says, "the bowl losses were by Florida to a Michigan team that was playing lights out because their seniors (Henne, Hart, etc.) had never won a bowl game, and the whole team wanted to send Lloyd Carr out with a win."  This is the same type of resistance I met when I said USC smacked the same teams LSU barely beat.  Nic Gulas told me, "Four of the games that you picked out for comparison [between USC and LSU] are rivalry games for LSU.  Arkanas battles for the Golden Boot year in and year out and Auburn-LSU is quite an intense and defensive game."

Again, what in the world makes you think that a team doesn't try as hard against non-SEC opponents?  What makes you think that just because Michigan wants to win a game that's how they won it?  Didn't Florida also want to win that game, or did they just say, "Oh, Michigan wants it more because of their seniors and their coach, so we should hand them the game"?  What makes you think those Florida seniors didn't want to go out victorious?

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