Why Do SEC Fans Talk So Much About Their Conference?
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Good article. Thanks for the read. I think one of the reasons you don't hear as much from the Kentucky and Vanderbilt fans is because of their lack of success in football through the years, and Kentucky is definately more of a basketball school...for that matter Vanderbilt has had much more success at basketball than football. However it's changing at Miss. State. The past 2 years have given these fans something solid to cheer for, and Croom has certainly stirred up the Bulldog faithful.
But you're spot on when it comes to us "good ol' southern folke" pulling for our own. We're proud when the SEC has a successful bowl season and wins more games than the other conferences. I know every conference wants success, but in the SEC it's like a religion...we talk football 365 days a year.
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"Therefore, if you considered the SEC to be one big group of 12 brothers, you would start to understand. Think of your own siblings. You may say nasty things about your brother and have fistfights in the back yard."
this is a great parallel i think, you do a pretty good job of this in your article.
"Whether you think it's good or bad, most of the South could all be one big state as far as cultural things go. There isn't that much difference between an Arkansas fan and a Georgia fan...and we all know it."
this is however, where i disagree. the say that texas is like a whole other country. i submit the same for louisiana. i don't have a southern accent. if i drove 100 miles east, people there don't cook seafood like we do. i grew up in an area where the majority of people were catholic not baptist. i can drive up to a bar and order a to go drink and if i want to avoid drining and driving i can walk around with my drink.
a cop stopped me once when i was 16 and drinking to ask if my container was made out of glass. it wasn't. he said, "good thing, you can't have glass out here."we're a little different than the rest of the south.
good read.
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If you didn't comment about Louisiana being a different state, then I definitely was going to. Louisiana, actually, is more like two states within itself, north Louisiana and south Louisiana. The border lies somewhere between Ville Platte and Alexandria. I have always lived in south louisiana (new orleans, baton rouge, lafayette) but I have friends and family that have lived in both Louisianas and they will attest that north Louisiana is more like the rest of the South, while south louisiana is another world with the unique food, accents, french heritage and loose alcohol laws that you alluded to (you're old enough to drink if you can reach the bar).
Donald, I really enjoyed reading your article. The wedding planning and funeral arrangements are true. All of my friends and I have had our weddings during the summer or on an LSU bye week. It has been heard that women have labor induced a few days early if they feel there's a chance of delivering on game day.
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Good analogy. SC beat GA who finished number two and Kentucky beat LSU, this is a point of pride to the lower ranked teams and when GA or LSU Win's this conference that's a point of pride for them.
All my friends watch and pull for SEC teams, at bowl time.
I can't remember the year but during the great streak the Atlanta braves had going. Clemson came to Athens to play the Dawg's and the whole stadium started doing the tomahawk chop. I think most Southern football fans just have a great deal of respect for the other team and it's fans.
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GREAT ARTICLE!!!
I'm proud to be a redneck!!! -
I grew up in Florida and I understand the southern bond surrounding BBQ, Football, Beer, and southern rock. I even played in a blues jam with former Skynryd dummer Artimus Pyle. Without a doubt the SEC is the best conference in college football. No question. With all of that said, I think it is important to realize that what fans from other conferences get torqued about. It is when an SEC fan's primary team gets beat by someone out of conference and the SEC fan immediately goes to the "but we have the best conference" argument. Instead of just manning up and admitting that their team got toasted they try to deflect the discussion to a conference versus conference debate. It just gets old. If your team has a down game, a down season, or even a few down seasons in a row - just admit it and stay true to your fanhood. Don't start coming back with "oh well, if team X played in the SEC" or "I'd like to see team Y try to beat this other SEC team". Its ridiculous.
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Shawn,
Great comment. You know first hand what I mean about the "Southern" Experience. I must admit that I haven't heard all that much using the conference strength to excuse a fan's team getting beat. When my team gets beat, I'll evaluate it objectively. Arkansas lost badly in the Cotton Bowl last year after beating number 1 LSU the game before. But realistically, Nutt had just been fired/resigned and most of the staff went with him to Ole Miss. The interim coach botched everything from preparation to execution to motivation. After that, he could no longer even get a job in college football and is a position coach in the pros. It sucked but it is what it is.
But what I have observed as the primary use of the conference argument (besides using it when we are defending the conference's good name from verbal grenades from other teams fans) is to rebut the Boise State's and Hawaii's of the world as well as the Virginia Tech's and the Kansas's that may have better records in a given season than the top SEC team but obviously aren't as good. Kansas had an 11-1 record last year and played nobody except Missouri who they lost to. LSU was a 2 loss team that was obviously better equipped to play in the NC game. Strength of schedule (which is directly tied to conference strength) is where that is determined.
If the USC-Ohio State winner goes on to an undefeated season, they will be in the NC game. Should a 1 loss SEC team or a 1 loss West Virginia team play them. I think we know the answer. This is the arena I hear most of the conference superiority arguments aside from the more trivial such as who has the best looking girls or who has the nicest stadiums or best game-day traditions. Those are just us being proud.
There will be those that think you're on to something only because they are looking for an SEC to "admit" that we use it as cover. But given what I just mentioned in this comment, I don't really believe that.
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Here, here Shawn and well said. THANK YOU. As a Pac-10 guy I admit a slight edge to the SEC top to bottom. In head to head match-ups we actully stand tall against them. But the constant playing of the "Best Conference Card" following a loss gets really old and quite boring. Please just man-up and move on.
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"At any rate, we see ourselves as Southerners of which college football is only one of the many things we like in common. We all love barbecue. We all like beer. We love the hot women at the tailgate festivities."
I am pretty sure all of college football fans enjoy these things...Not just southern fans LOL. Sometimes the southern fans forget that there is a world outside of southern college football
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Mitch,
Someone broke up that paragraph. It was originally combined with the next one that went on to say the stuff about Southern Rock and fishing/hunting. I'm putting it back in the same paragraph now. Thanks for pointing that out.
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People in Big10, PAC10 and Big12 country love football just as much as any SEC fans, we just find other things more important in the offseason. Football is American born and an American religion, not just for southerners.
Good article, dont get me wrong - but dont rule out the rest of the country as second-tier football fans when you havent experienced gamedays there firsthand.
And Lloyd Carr would never take an OSU or Wisconsin job because hes loyal to his school - something Nick Saban knows nothing about.
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Kevin,
I think that saying that a coach who changes schools is not "loyal" is not a completely accurate description of the story. Spurrier played at and won the Heisman at Florida. He is so loyal to Duke (the school that gave him his first coaching break) that he still puts them in his coaches vote at number 25 every year as a tip of the hat and I believe he has donated there. He didn't go back to Florida after he left there (even when they gave him the option) because he knew it would be complicated and rocky if he didn't reach the level he was at before.
Nutt would retire at Arkansas if they had let him. He dreamed of being a Razorback when playing high school football in Little Rock and Lou Holtz pulled the rug out from under him after he had already enrolled to play at Arkansas. I'm not a Nutt fan but I don't think his move had anything to do with disloyalty. He would still be at UA beating Ole Miss every year instead of coaching them if things had not gone extremely south for him at Arkansas.
Saban is a mercenary I agree.
But the point of the article remains that this is just another example of how the SEC is just different in some regards than most other conferences. That doesn't make it right or wrong. I was simply explaining another piece of the conference culture...not advocating, defending, or criticizing it.
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I don't want to seem a jerk for promoting my work in the comments of someone else's, but there is a very good reason why SEC coaches and fans ceaselessly promote their conference: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/36378-secs-quest-for-a-football-playoff-is-quite-the-irony
Basically, it's to win the war of opinion. When championships are largely determined by opinion polls, it's a logical goal.
Also, Kentucky fans don't talk about football much, but if you criticize their basketball team, prepare for the Blue Mongol Horde to descend upon you.
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David,
Thanks for the visit. I went and read your article. I believe you are correct that being from the SEC is a tiebreaker among teams where records are similar. And that does lead one to conclude that the SEC's top teams are uniquely suited to win the national title (or at least get there). But I don't think this is due to any public relations strategy. SEC fans have been convinced of their superiority for decades. When Arkansas was being lobbied to join the league in 1992, the SEC school's fans were telling us how much we would benefit from being in the best college conference and how much it was going to be even better after the Arkansas and South Carolina addition. To suggest this is a new thought among the SEC fanbases due to the creation of the BCS is perhaps a bit short sighted. From your profile page, while it isn't spelled out, it appears that you graduated from college a little more recently than I did. Perhaps in this case, the perspective of a little more time following football is benefiting me.
You go on to wonder aloud why, if the SEC is so uniquely suited to winning the BCS, why they would want a playoff. I believe the reason is fairly simple. SEC teams, fanbases, athletic departments, etc. do absolutely believe that they would win a playoff and are more convinced that they win that than they win the BCS. Anything can happen in a one game scenario. Oklahoma lost to both Boise State and West Virginia in one game scenarios. I (along with millions of other college football fans) would be willing to bet that neither of those teams would have taken a best of seven (or even best of five) series. That's why the SEC wants a playoff. They feel that their teams experience the "survive and advance" type of pressure every Saturday so they're used to it.
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I know why SEC fans want a playoff - they're competitive as all get out and want their team specifically to have a shot at the title every year. You get a better shot when 4, 8, or 16 teams are playing for the title instead of 2 with the current system.
As for the boasting, I know it's been going on for a while. It intensified significantly though in the wake of the 2004 season by my estimation, but maybe it's just that now more boasters have a public voice through the Internet.
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1996 opening ceremonies for the Atlanta Olympics. 32 chromed Chevy Silverados playing on the theme of high school football in the south.
Put a lump in my Yankee throat it did.
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I've seen one article from you claiming the SEC is the best. And that was more subjective than objective. I'm tired of hearing how the SEC is so great from all you SEC guys and never seeing an article about it. All you guys do is sit there and say the numbers speak for themselves.
So this is an official challenge from me: How about writing a damn article about SEC superiority using only numbers and facts rather than just automatically assuming youre the best all the time.
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Thomas,
This article wasn't intended to compare conference superiority. It was an attempt on my part to answer a question that has been floating around on BR about why SEC fans care so much about how their conference does whereas other teams across the country don't give a rat's @ss how the conference does but only care about their particular team of choice. In fact, in a number of cases, conference rivals will root against their conference brethren in non-conference games just because they are so used to rooting against that team. The SEC (in most circumstances) all pull for each other when it comes to non-league games. And I was trying to explain why we care about those games that our particular team is not involved in. Other team's fans don't seem to care how any other league teams fare other than their own team of choice where SEC fans do. That's all I was getting at here. If you want an article comparing numbers, this was not the place.
But to answer your charge as to why I think the numbers speak for themselves is that the SEC has won 6 of the last 16 national championships including the last 2 straight and 3 of the last 5. And there was a year in that time span where Auburn was denied the opportunity to play for it when they were 13-0. In all, 5 teams figured into this mix during that span and one of those 5 teams wasn't even Georgia who ended last season as #2 and will most likely start this year as #1. There, you wanted some numbers. The SEC has more teams that are national championship contending caliber than any other conference. And aren't championships really where it's at?
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You want facts. I hope you have time because this may take a while. The two primary factors in putting together a top program are talent and coaching. If you don't agree with that statement, you may as well stop reading now.
Of the 12 SEC head coaches, 4 have coached teams to the BCS National Championsip, Fulmer(TN), Meyer(UF), Saban(ALA-won while coach of LSU), and Miles(LSU). Spurrier(USCe) won a MNC prior to the BCS era while the coach at FLA. Additionally Tubberville(AUB) coached a team to an undefeated season. There are 2 Big 12 coaches, Stoops(OK) and Brown(TX). 1 PAC 10 coach, Carroll(USCw), and 1 Big 10 coach, Tressel(OhSt) who've won BCS Championships. Bowden(FSU) won a championship either as an Independent or shortly after joining the ACC.
I did a little unsceintific study to evaluate the relative talent of some of the top teams in 2008. I used the rivals ratings for recruiting classes for the period 2004 - 2008 to include RS seniors as well as incoming Frosh. The first number in the table is the teams ranking that year. The number in ( ) is the average star rating of signed players. I made the basic assumption that attrition rates, including everyone from no show freshman to those leaving early for academic or disciplinary rasons, injury, or the draft, are equal over time. To limit the length of the list and being an SEC guy, I included only teams, which equal or exceeded the recruiting of the SECs top 6 teams.
Since all teams are limited to 85 scholarship playersl, I think the average star rating is better indicator of team talent than average annual ranking. For example in 2005 LSU ranked 22(3.69) largly because only 15 players were signed. In 2008 Ala ranked 01(3.72) after signing 32 players, of which the max of 25 could be on scholarship.
The AVG ranking is self explanitory. The PWR number includes 2005 - 2007 because the bulk of a team is made up of RS Frosh/Soph, RS Soph/Jr and RSJr/Sr players.
Team..2004........2005.......2006.......2007........2008.......AVG..........PWR
USCw..01(4.05)..01(3.95)..01(3.96)..02(4.22)..08(3.89)..02.6(4.01)..01.3(4.04)
LSU.....02(3.54)..22(3.69)..07(3.64)..04(3.88)..11(3.58)..09.2(3.67)..11.0(3.74)
UF.......07(3.52)..15(3.39)..02(3.89)..01(3.89)..03(3.82)..05.6(3.70)..06.0(3.72)
TX.......10(3.50)..20(3.60)..05(3.60)..05(3.79)..14(3.55)..10.8(3.61)..10.0(3.66)
OhSt....09(3.24)..12(3.50)..12(3.61)..15(3.80)..04(3.85)..10.4(3.60)..13.0(3.64)
UGA.....06(3.57)..19(3.58)..04(3.64)..09(3.48)..07(3.67)..09.0(3.59)..10.7(3.57)
Team....2004......2005........2006.......2007........2008......AVG...........PWR
FSU......03(3.59)..02(3.82)..03(3.68)..21(3.20)..09(3.33)..07.6(3.52)..08.7(3.57)
OK.......08(3.72)..03(3.63)..09(3.54)..14(3.38)..06(3.81)..08.0(3.62)..08.7(3.52)
Mich.....05(3.59)..06(3.48)..13(3.63)..12(3.40)..10(3.67)..09.2(3.55)..13.7(3.50)
Mia......04(3.36)..07(3.82)..14(3.36)..19(3.21)..05(3.33)..09.8(3.42)..13.3(3.46)
TN.......11(3.25)..04(3.63)..23(3.09)..03(3.63)..35(3.06)..15.2(3.33)..10.0(3.45)
ND.......32(2.83)..40(3.00)..08(3.46)..08(3.72)..02(3.96)..18.0(3.39)..18.7(3.39)
Team...2004........2005.......2006.......2007.......2008........AVG..........PWR
Aub......27(2.67)..13(3.19)..10(3.52)..07(3.37)..20(3.03)..15.4(3.16)..10.0(3.36)
Ala......15(2.89)..18(3.03)..11(3.61)..10(3.28)..01(3.72)..11.0(3.31)..13.0(3.31)
Neb.....27(2.83)..05(3.33)..20(3.27)..13(3.33)..30(2.96)..19.0(3.14)..12.7(3.31)
As you can see, 3 of the top 6 and 6 of the 15 teams are from the SEC, 3 are from the Big 12, 2 are from the Big 10, 2 are from the ACC, 1 is from the PAC 10, 1 Indipendent, and 0 from the Big East.
Coaching and recruiting mean nothing if there are no results to show for it. Of the first 10 BCSCGs an SEC team won 4, TN, LSUx2, and FLA. The Big 12 won 2, OK and TX. The Big 10 won 1, OhST. The PAC 10 won 1, USCw. The remaining 2 were won by Miami either while a member of the Big East or shortly after joining the ACC and FSU while an independent or shortly after joining the ACC.
The SEC is 4-0 in BCSCG. The Big 12 is 2-3. The Big 10 is 1-2, the PAC 10 is 1-1. Depending on Miami's and FSU's status at the time, either the ACC is 0-0 or 2-2. Independents are either 0-0 or 1-1. The Big East is either 0-2 or 1-2.
I could go on, but I think I've made my point.
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You want facts. I hope you have time because this may take a while. The two primary factors in putting together a top program are talent and coaching. If you don't agree with that statement, you may as well stop reading now.
Of the 12 SEC head coaches, 4 have coached teams to the BCS National Championsip, Fulmer(TN), Meyer(UF), Saban(ALA-won while coach of LSU), and Miles(LSU). Spurrier(USCe) won a MNC prior to the BCS era while the coach at FLA. Additionally Tubberville(AUB) coached a team to an undefeated season. There are 2 Big 12 coaches, Stoops(OK) and Brown(TX). 1 PAC 10 coach, Carroll(USCw), and 1 Big 10 coach, Tressel(OhSt) who've won BCS Championships. Bowden(FSU) won a championship either as an Independent or shortly after joining the ACC.
I did a little unsceintific study to evaluate the relative talent of some of the top teams in 2008. I used the rivals ratings for recruiting classes for the period 2004 - 2008 to include RS seniors as well as incoming Frosh. The first number in the table is the teams ranking that year. The number in ( ) is the average star rating of signed players. I made the basic assumption that attrition rates, including everyone from no show freshman to those leaving early for academic or disciplinary rasons, injury, or the draft, are equal over time. To limit the length of the list and being an SEC guy, I included only teams, which equal or exceeded the recruiting of the SECs top 6 teams.
Since all teams are limited to 85 scholarship playersl, I think the average star rating is better indicator of team talent than average annual ranking. For example in 2005 LSU ranked 22(3.69) largly because only 15 players were signed. In 2008 Ala ranked 01(3.72) after signing 32 players, of which the max of 25 could be on scholarship.
The AVG ranking is self explanitory. The PWR number includes 2005 - 2007 because the bulk of a team is made up of RS Frosh/Soph, RS Soph/Jr and RSJr/Sr players.
Team..2004........2005.......2006.......2007........2008.......AVG..........PWR
USCw..01(4.05)..01(3.95)..01(3.96)..02(4.22)..08(3.89)..02.6(4.01)..01.3(4.04)
LSU.....02(3.54)..22(3.69)..07(3.64)..04(3.88)..11(3.58)..09.2(3.67)..11.0(3.74)
UF.......07(3.52)..15(3.39)..02(3.89)..01(3.89)..03(3.82)..05.6(3.70)..06.0(3.72)
TX.......10(3.50)..20(3.60)..05(3.60)..05(3.79)..14(3.55)..10.8(3.61)..10.0(3.66)
OhSt....09(3.24)..12(3.50)..12(3.61)..15(3.80)..04(3.85)..10.4(3.60)..13.0(3.64)
UGA.....06(3.57)..19(3.58)..04(3.64)..09(3.48)..07(3.67)..09.0(3.59)..10.7(3.57)
Team....2004......2005........2006.......2007........2008......AVG...........PWR
FSU......03(3.59)..02(3.82)..03(3.68)..21(3.20)..09(3.33)..07.6(3.52)..08.7(3.57)
OK.......08(3.72)..03(3.63)..09(3.54)..14(3.38)..06(3.81)..08.0(3.62)..08.7(3.52)
Mich.....05(3.59)..06(3.48)..13(3.63)..12(3.40)..10(3.67)..09.2(3.55)..13.7(3.50)
Mia......04(3.36)..07(3.82)..14(3.36)..19(3.21)..05(3.33)..09.8(3.42)..13.3(3.46)
TN.......11(3.25)..04(3.63)..23(3.09)..03(3.63)..35(3.06)..15.2(3.33)..10.0(3.45)
ND.......32(2.83)..40(3.00)..08(3.46)..08(3.72)..02(3.96)..18.0(3.39)..18.7(3.39)
Team...2004........2005.......2006.......2007.......2008........AVG..........PWR
Aub......27(2.67)..13(3.19)..10(3.52)..07(3.37)..20(3.03)..15.4(3.16)..10.0(3.36)
Ala......15(2.89)..18(3.03)..11(3.61)..10(3.28)..01(3.72)..11.0(3.31)..13.0(3.31)
Neb.....27(2.83)..05(3.33)..20(3.27)..13(3.33)..30(2.96)..19.0(3.14)..12.7(3.31)
As you can see, 3 of the top 6 and 6 of the 15 teams are from the SEC, 3 are from the Big 12, 2 are from the Big 10, 2 are from the ACC, 1 is from the PAC 10, 1 Indipendent, and 0 from the Big East.
Coaching and recruiting mean nothing if there are no results to show for it. Of the first 10 BCSCGs an SEC team won 4, TN, LSUx2, and FLA. The Big 12 won 2, OK and TX. The Big 10 won 1, OhST. The PAC 10 won 1, USCw. The remaining 2 were won by Miami either while a member of the Big East or shortly after joining the ACC and FSU while an independent or shortly after joining the ACC.
The SEC is 4-0 in BCSCG. The Big 12 is 2-3. The Big 10 is 1-2, the PAC 10 is 1-1. Depending on Miami's and FSU's status at the time, either the ACC is 0-0 or 2-2. Independents are either 0-0 or 1-1. The Big East is either 0-2 or 1-2.
I could go on, but I think I've made my point.
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You want facts. I hope you have time because this may take a while. The two primary factors in putting together a top program are talent and coaching. If you don't agree with that statement, you may as well stop reading now.
Of the 12 SEC head coaches, 4 have coached teams to the BCS National Championsip, Fulmer(TN), Meyer(UF), Saban(ALA-won while coach of LSU), and Miles(LSU). Spurrier(USCe) won a MNC prior to the BCS era while the coach at FLA. Additionally Tubberville(AUB) coached a team to an undefeated season. There are 2 Big 12 coaches, Stoops(OK) and Brown(TX). 1 PAC 10 coach, Carroll(USCw), and 1 Big 10 coach, Tressel(OhSt) who've won BCS Championships. Bowden(FSU) won a championship either as an Independent or shortly after joining the ACC.
I did a little unsceintific study to evaluate the relative talent of some of the top teams in 2008. I used the rivals ratings for recruiting classes for the period 2004 - 2008 to include RS seniors as well as incoming Frosh. The first number in the table is the teams ranking that year. The number in ( ) is the average star rating of signed players. I made the basic assumption that attrition rates, including everyone from no show freshman to those leaving early for academic or disciplinary rasons, injury, or the draft, are equal over time. To limit the length of the list and being an SEC guy, I included only teams, which equal or exceeded the recruiting of the SECs top 6 teams.
Since all teams are limited to 85 scholarship playersl, I think the average star rating is better indicator of team talent than average annual ranking. For example in 2005 LSU ranked 22(3.69) largly because only 15 players were signed. In 2008 Ala ranked 01(3.72) after signing 32 players, of which the max of 25 could be on scholarship.
The AVG ranking is self explanitory. The PWR number includes 2005 - 2007 because the bulk of a team is made up of RS Frosh/Soph, RS Soph/Jr and RSJr/Sr players.
Team..2004........2005.......2006.......2007........2008.......AVG..........PWR
USCw..01(4.05)..01(3.95)..01(3.96)..02(4.22)..08(3.89)..02.6(4.01)..01.3(4.04)
LSU.....02(3.54)..22(3.69)..07(3.64)..04(3.88)..11(3.58)..09.2(3.67)..11.0(3.74)
UF.......07(3.52)..15(3.39)..02(3.89)..01(3.89)..03(3.82)..05.6(3.70)..06.0(3.72)
TX.......10(3.50)..20(3.60)..05(3.60)..05(3.79)..14(3.55)..10.8(3.61)..10.0(3.66)
OhSt....09(3.24)..12(3.50)..12(3.61)..15(3.80)..04(3.85)..10.4(3.60)..13.0(3.64)
UGA.....06(3.57)..19(3.58)..04(3.64)..09(3.48)..07(3.67)..09.0(3.59)..10.7(3.57)
Team....2004......2005........2006.......2007........2008......AVG...........PWR
FSU......03(3.59)..02(3.82)..03(3.68)..21(3.20)..09(3.33)..07.6(3.52)..08.7(3.57)
OK.......08(3.72)..03(3.63)..09(3.54)..14(3.38)..06(3.81)..08.0(3.62)..08.7(3.52)
Mich.....05(3.59)..06(3.48)..13(3.63)..12(3.40)..10(3.67)..09.2(3.55)..13.7(3.50)
Mia......04(3.36)..07(3.82)..14(3.36)..19(3.21)..05(3.33)..09.8(3.42)..13.3(3.46)
TN.......11(3.25)..04(3.63)..23(3.09)..03(3.63)..35(3.06)..15.2(3.33)..10.0(3.45)
ND.......32(2.83)..40(3.00)..08(3.46)..08(3.72)..02(3.96)..18.0(3.39)..18.7(3.39)
Team...2004........2005.......2006.......2007.......2008........AVG..........PWR
Aub......27(2.67)..13(3.19)..10(3.52)..07(3.37)..20(3.03)..15.4(3.16)..10.0(3.36)
Ala......15(2.89)..18(3.03)..11(3.61)..10(3.28)..01(3.72)..11.0(3.31)..13.0(3.31)
Neb.....27(2.83)..05(3.33)..20(3.27)..13(3.33)..30(2.96)..19.0(3.14)..12.7(3.31)
As you can see, 3 of the top 6 and 6 of the 15 teams are from the SEC, 3 are from the Big 12, 2 are from the Big 10, 2 are from the ACC, 1 is from the PAC 10, 1 Indipendent, and 0 from the Big East.
Coaching and recruiting mean nothing if there are no results to show for it. Of the first 10 BCSCGs an SEC team won 4, TN, LSUx2, and FLA. The Big 12 won 2, OK and TX. The Big 10 won 1, OhST. The PAC 10 won 1, USCw. The remaining 2 were won by Miami either while a member of the Big East or shortly after joining the ACC and FSU while an independent or shortly after joining the ACC.
The SEC is 4-0 in BCSCG. The Big 12 is 2-3. The Big 10 is 1-2, the PAC 10 is 1-1. Depending on Miami's and FSU's status at the time, either the ACC is 0-0 or 2-2. Independents are either 0-0 or 1-1. The Big East is either 0-2 or 1-2.
I could go on, but I think I've made my point.
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And about the article, keep thinking whatever you want about why you guys always talk about your conference. But everyone knows it bc no team is single-handedly good. LSU has been good since 2003, before that they sucked. No team is traditional powers...they ebb and flow
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Great read.
Just to beat a dead horse, my cousin in Arkansas planned her wedding on October 25 this fall- the day Houston Nutt comes back to Fayetteville. Needless to say, that wedding has been rescheduled.
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"There are stories every year about how weddings and funerals are planned around games. And when a wedding (and sometimes a funeral) takes place in mixed company (that is to say attended by fans of more than one school), it's not uncommon to hear the yells and chants of those schools being called out at the wedding. It's crazy but it's true.
I was at one wedding between an Arkansas alumnus and an Auburn alumnus when competing "War Eagle" chants and "Hog Calls" were happening. We laugh, shake our collective heads, and murmur to ourselves..."only in the South.""I dont know about the rest of the country but in the Pac 10 where Oregon and Oregon State are less than a half hour apart, USC and UCLA are essentially in the same city, and Cal and Stanford are just across the bay there are plenty of mixed company events.
"Speaking of one big family, here's something else you don't see much in other conferences. In fact, one might think of it as nearly "incestuous." Tommy Tuberville was the Ole Miss coach before he became the Auburn coach. Nick Saban was the LSU coach before becoming the Bama coach. Steve Spurrier was the Florida coach before taking the South Carolina job. Houston Nutt was the Arkansas coach before he became the Ole Miss coach.There aren't any other conferences whose fan bases could so quickly accept as their own someone who used to coach a rival or another conference school. Imagine if Lloyd Carr took the head coaching job at Wisconsin or Ohio State. It would never happen."
Again lets look at the Pac 10 where Dennis Erickson has coached at Washington State, Oregon State and Arizona State.
Willingham has been at Stanford and Washington.
Neuheisel at Washington and now UCLA.
Rich Brooks was a Beaver player and DC before coaching at Oregon
and there are plenty of other coordinators i could list like Tedford, Koetter, Chow who have all jumped around too.
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About the Author Donald Fincher (analyst)
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There has been a lot of off-season chatter about strength of conferences and whether the SEC is really so much better than the rest. That is not where I'm going here, as I believe that the numbers speak for themselves on that point.
A bigger question is why do SEC fans tend to think as much about their conference as they do about their individual teams?
First of all, let me put an end to what has been advanced by a few that it's the lesser teams riding the coattails of the power teams. That is patently not true. In fact, the opposite would be more true.
You rarely hear fans from Kentucky, Mississippi State, or Vanderbilt make any noise at all. It doesn't make a difference if it's about their team or the conference, they just don't engage much. There is a reason for that.
Instead, you hear the power teams (Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, LSU, etc.) being among the most vocal that the conference is supreme. These teams (some more than others) have plenty of accomplishments and don't need to ride any coattails.
In fact, if this coattail theory were true, you would think that these teams would not want others trying to lay claim to any of their hard work. So obviously, that's not it.
So what is it? Well, I'm here to tell you that it's a cultural thing—a "Southern thang," if you will. Here's what I mean.
At any rate, we see ourselves as Southerners of which college football is only one of the many things we like in common. We all love barbecue. We all like beer. We love the hot women at the tailgate festivities. Many of us grew up listening to the likes of Lynyrd Skynyrd, .38 Special, and other "Southern Rock" bands. Many of us (though certainly not all) like to fish and/or hunt. You could think of most of us as a big family.
Therefore, if you considered the SEC to be one big group of 12 brothers, you would start to understand. Thi