7 Reasons the SEC Will Be Back in the National Title Game in 2015
For the first time since the Rose Bowl following the 2005 season, the SEC won't place a team in the national title game. Instead, Ohio State will take on Oregon after the Buckeyes took down Alabama 42-35 in the Allstate Sugar Bowl national semifinal.
Is that an anomaly or the start of a trend?
Ohio State has built an SEC-style monster in the Big Ten, which is widely regarded as a weaker conference top to bottom. Florida State, which won the title following the 2013 season and lost to the Ducks in the Rose Bowl national semifinal, has followed the same path to success.
Out west, Oregon has branded itself as the Pacific Coast power in a Pac-12 that is on the rise with potential powers USC, Arizona, Arizona State and UCLA.
Will the SEC get back to the title game following the 2015 season? Here are seven reasons why it could.
LSU's QB Issues Can't Linger Forever, Right?
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With the exception of one season—Zach Mettenberger's senior season in 2013—the quarterback position at LSU has been a point of frustration for head coach Les Miles ever since Matt Flynn led the Tigers to the 2007 national title. After Ryan Perrilloux was dismissed prior to 2008, Andrew Hatch, Jarrett Lee, Jordan Jefferson, Mettenberger and Anthony Jennings have had shots, with only Mettenberger shining during his final campaign.
That has to change.
Jennings completed just 48.9 percent of his passes this year, and despite that, highly touted true freshman Brandon Harris was never able to find his way to the field for significant snaps save for one start on the road against then-undefeated Auburn.
If Miles can find a quarterback who can pose a consistent downfield threat, the offense can turn around in a hurry. Running back Leonard Fournette is a bona fide superstar, there are plenty of wide receivers available to stretch the field, including Travin Dural, John Diarse and Malachi Dupre, and the defensive talent in Baton Rouge is second to none.
LSU is a quarterback away, but unfortunately for Miles and Tiger fans, that's been the story for the better part of a decade.
Alabama's Lingering Cornerback Issues Disappear
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One season could be an anomaly, but two seasons is a trend. For the last two seasons, Alabama has struggled to find consistency in its secondary, particularly one-on-one when opposing offenses try to stretch the field.
Cyrus Jones improved this year on one side and will be back for his senior season in 2015. On the other side, it's anybody's guess. Eddie Jackson and Bradley Sylve both played significant snaps in 2014 and will be joined in the competition by several others including highly touted Class of 2014 products Tony Brown and Marlon Humphrey.
Somebody needs to step up.
When Dre Kirkpatrick, Javier Arenas, Dee Milliner and others were in Tuscaloosa, the unit was widely regarded as a strength. It has evolved into a liability, which is shocking considering it's the position group that head coach Nick Saban is directly associated with.
The secret is out—to beat Alabama, you beat them deep. That has to change if Alabama wants to get back to the promised land.
The SEC 'Beast' Will Wake Up
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The SEC East was more of a punch line than a power this season.
Then bowl season happened, the division went 5-0, the West went 2-5, and suddenly, the East is "back."
Is that real, or a product of bowl game matchups and one-time victories that won't carry over through the offseason?
If it's the former, that's a good thing.
It may seem like more tough teams leads to more of a chance to cannibalization, but if the two divisions are closer in power throughout the season, it would create more options on the national scene and potentially give the SEC a more realistic shot at getting two teams in the College Football Playoff.
The SEC needs to get its reputation as the unquestioned top conference in college football back, and powers like Georgia, Florida and Tennessee returning to the national discussion is the best way to do that.
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The Big Ten's Revival Will Take Longer Than Expected
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The days of the Big Ten being a pushover are no more.
After Ohio State topped Alabama in New Orleans and Wisconsin outlasted Auburn in the Outback Bowl, the demise of the Big Ten may have been greatly exaggerated.
Whether you're of the belief that the Big Ten is back or that the SEC still reigns supreme, it's clear that the Big Ten, at the very least, is building momentum.
Ohio State is a monster, Michigan won't stay down forever with new head coach Jim Harbaugh, and Penn State is out of the shadow of NCAA sanctions and has one of the best recruiters in college football—James Franklin—leading the charge. The rest of the Big Ten is being forced to keep up with the Jones' within its own division, and a rising tide floats all boats.
The Buckeyes helped the conference earn more of the benefit of the doubt this season. If the debate for the final playoff spot becomes "SEC power" vs. "Big Ten power" next season, will the SEC get the nod? That's not a foregone conclusion anymore, and the SEC would be best served to just avoid that debate entirely.
Will Muschamp Makes All the Difference
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Auburn was on the brink of greatness in head coach Gus Malzahn's first season on the Plains in 2013 but regressed to a five-loss team in Year 2.
The reason for the slide was a defense that faltered down the stretch, and Malzahn brought in former Florida head coach Will Muschamp as his new defensive coordinator to fix the glitch.
If he can simply turn Auburn around to an adequate defense—one that forces turnovers and is good on third down—that's all Auburn needs to become a title contender again.
The offense will be fine. Malzahn is flexible with his system, the running game will be stout, stud wide receiver D'haquille "Duke" Williams is returning, and quarterback Jeremy Johnson is a much more accomplished passer than former starter Nick Marshall.
If Muschamp's magic takes hold early, Auburn will be right back in the thick of the playoff discussion and carrying that SEC banner in the second annual College Football Playoff.
Parity Will Reign Supreme
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The threat of the SEC cannibalizing itself has been a concern ever since former commissioner Roy Kramer created the conference championship game for the 1992 season, and it has become a reality.
To a point, anyway.
Only two teams during the SEC's run of seven straight national titles from 2006-2012 went undefeated (Alabama in 2009 and Auburn in 2010). The SEC got the luck from around the country during the BCS era to claw its way back into the title game more times than not and did again in the CFP era as only Florida State made it through the 2014 regular season unscathed.
The SEC will beat itself up, and now that the perception of the conference has changed a little bit following a mediocre bowl season, it's imperative for other conferences to continue to do the same.
The Big Ten is clearly on the rise, the Pac-12 is loaded with Oregon, USC, Arizona, UCLA and several other teams who can play at an elite level, and the logjam atop the Big 12 became a big deal down the stretch in 2014 as TCU and Baylor both made cases for the playoff.
The SEC set the trend in the 2000s by upping its recruiting efforts, increasing assistant coaching budgets and placing more emphasis on football than other conferences. Others have caught up, which also means the parity that has become familiar to fans of SEC schools has as well.
Chief Changes College Station
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Former LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis will take over the same role for Texas A&M, and like Will Muschamp at Auburn, the pressure in College Station will be much different than it was for Chavis at his previous stop.
Chavis doesn't have to be perfect anymore—he has to be adequate. What's more, he has plenty of pieces to work with at Texas A&M that can help him transform the Aggies from punchline to at least a competent defense that can compliment an Aggie offense that should be explosive in 2015.
Chavis won't have a mountain to climb in College Station; he has a medium-sized hill.
With defensive end Myles Garrett, linebacker Otaro Alaka, safety Armani Watts and several other young, talented players in the mix, he'll have some help to make the trek to the summit.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report, as well as a co-host of the CFB Hangover on Bleacher Report Radio (Sundays, 9-11 a.m. ET) on Sirius 93, XM 208.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
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