With the last two conference champions going on to win the national title, and projections of a legendary "speed" advantage that will continue to pay dividends to conference members for generations to come, the conventional wisdom has at least one SEC team playing for a crystal trophy in January.
But just as the nation's financial markets are working their way through turbulence caused by overvalued real estate, there are reasons to wonder whether the football properties in the SEC are experiencing a serious asset bubble of their own.
Not even halfway through the season, eight of the 12 SEC teams have already made an appearance in the Associated Press' top 25. Only Mississippi, Mississippi St., Arkansas, and Kentucky have yet to be ranked.
The pollsters' irrational exuberance has already led both Tennessee and South Carolina to default on their top 25 mortgages. The Vols (now 1-3) got dumped in week one by UCLA (now also 1-3.) South Carolina's brief appearance in the poll came to a crashing halt when it ran into the Pit Yorkies of Vanderbilt.
And that was just the first two weeks of the season. On the momentum of beating South Carolina, Vandy has inched its way up to No. 21 in the present poll. With their last winning season coming shortly after President Reagan's first, the question of foreclosure on the Pit Yorkies is probably a matter of "when" rather than "if."
But no matter, the pollsters have more easy credit to lend. Kentucky is still unbeaten and knocking on the door. Ole Miss, at 3-2, has a fresh Gator hide hanging on the wall. In a conference where fortunes are made and lost in an eyeblink, they're both just one upset away from the spotlight.
If they pull it off, that would make them the ninth and 10th SEC teams to crack the top 25 this season.
Yet prices at the top of this market are soft. Last week, three of the top five teams were from the SEC. The two highest—No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Florida—were severely exposed as something well short of championship-ready teams. No. 5 LSU even had some headaches in the first half against Mississippi State.
Defenders of SEC supremacy will doubtless suggest that this just proves how tough the conference really is. But Tennessee's collapse against UCLA isn't the only evidence of trouble in non-conference games.
Before beating No. 4 Florida, Ole Miss lost to Wake Forest, which lost to Navy.
Alabama, now the No. 2 team in the nation, allowed four sacks, put up just 172 yards and scored only a single offensive touchdown against Tulane during week two—a game 'Bama won 20-6. Alabama's defense, now considered world beaters, gave up 318 yards to the Tulane offense that day.
2 comments Last one added 9 months ago — Leave a Comment
Roy LaFaver 9 months ago
Well, Ken, I gotta say you write well, but you are a bit jaded. The SEC hasn't lost anything. They still have the best players in the nation, overall. They still have a bunch of awesome football teams.
You forgot to include Fulmer in the list with national championship rings. And Georgia wasn't even picked to win the eastern division in the SEC coaches' pre-season poll.
Georgia got surprised. Saban brought a plan they weren't ready for, and when that happens things can look worse than they are. Florida, ditto. I doubt any team in the Big Ten, including Penn State, could handle Florida in a best of three series, but I see the same stuff you see, so it's just my opinion. As far as Alabama being the best in the SEC, I doubt it. My pick would be Florida or LSU. Time will tell. Bama got an easy draw for the SEC East matchups this year, so they well could win the west. They might outscore LSU, but by the time they play, the Tiger defense will have firmed up, and they have the best talent in the conference on that side of the ball. We will see. For the championship game, I think Florida will take the East. Right now, I would pick Alabama in the West because LSU has three tough matchups with East division teams. They got a lot of work to do.
But you see the situation here? The SEC is always interesting, national championship or not. The BCS is not near as interesting as the SEC. The SEC championship, and how things will play out to reach that is the most intriguing story in college football (in my opinion). All the rest is just icing.
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Ken Braun 9 months ago
Don't get me wrong: Lake Woebegone means every team is above average, not that the conference is below average. My intent was not to run down the SEC but to point out that the parity in that neighborhood could create a situation where no team dominates enough to rise far enough in the rankings to threaten for the national title game late in the year.
I see and ACC train wreck coming, in other words, but for different reasons.
I think the SEC was probably the best conference in the nation for a couple of years, but that this isn't true anymore. The drop-off, from terrific to just good, is played out in the ability of Bama to rise so far so fast. Really, they were pretty good last year as well -- most of their defeats being close games.
Yes, you're right, add Fulmer to the list of championship winners. And if you want to look at why the SEC might often have an advantage over the other conferences, then look no further than that. College football is about coaching and no conference is as loaded as the SEC with coaching talent. Not even close.
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