SEC Extra Points with Barrett Sallee: Bowl Season Critical to Fixing SEC's Image
When the SEC's bowl lineup was announced Sunday afternoon, one thing became abundantly clear—the SEC is walking into an image trap.
The conference has gone two straight years without a win in a major bowl, and based on the 10 postseason matchups this season, the conference has a lot to lose and only one thing to gain.
Its image back.
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Alabama is a 10-point favorite in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic national semifinal over Michigan State, according to OddsShark.com. A semifinal win over a Big Ten team that is as close to a mirror image of the Tide would go a long way toward avenging last season's disappointing semifinal loss to Ohio State.
"I know our players are excited about the opportunity that they have to play a very, very good Michigan State team that has had good wins this year over Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, Iowa," Alabama head coach Nick Saban said.
They better take advantage, because that Spartan record will certainly be brought up if they top Alabama.
There's already plenty of chatter—including from the SEC Network's own Paul Finebaum (via The SEC Logo)—that the Big Ten is a better conference than the SEC this year:
If its best team gets handled by Alabama the way Las Vegas thinks it will, that will go a long way toward repairing the SEC's image that its hold on conference power is slipping or has slipped away.
It isn't the only thing that needs to happen, though.
There are three other bowls that feature SEC vs. Big Ten matchups—the Outback (Tennessee vs. Northwestern), TaxSlayer (Georgia vs. Penn State) and Citrus (Florida vs. Michigan); two that pit the SEC vs. ACC—Belk (Mississippi State vs. N.C. State) and Music City (Texas A&M vs. Louisville); and three that match the SEC vs. Big 12—Sugar (Ole Miss vs. Oklahoma State), Liberty (Arkansas vs. Kansas State) and Texas (LSU vs. Texas Tech).
Of those Power Five matchups, only Florida is the underdog (+4) against Michigan.
The public thinks the SEC should dominate bowl season. In a sport in which perception matters, the SEC better hold serve. Otherwise, the perception of conference superiority—which already has slipped away according to some, including Finebaum—will be a distant memory.
All-SEC Snubs
The regular season is in the books, which means we are firmly entrenched in awards season.
That means it's time for the conference's coaches to hand out honors and choose the All-SEC team.
There weren't many surprises. Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott reeled in first-team honors at quarterback, with Alabama's Derrick Henry and LSU's Leonard Fournette joining him at running back. Two Florida Gators defensive backs—Vernon Hargreaves III and Jalen Tabor—appeared on the first team, which undoubtedly will be used this offseason in the PR battle to become "DBU."
Who were the biggest snubs?
Where the heck is Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen?
The senior signal-caller for the Razorbacks was beaten out by Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly on the second team. Nothing against Kelly, because he led the conference in passing this year (311.7 yards per game) and tossed 27 touchdowns passes. But he also threw 12 interceptions—third-most in conference—which should matter.
Meanwhile, all Allen did was transform Arkansas' more traditional offense into a balanced power. He averaged 260.4 yards per game through the air, tossed a conference-best 29 touchdowns and averaged 9.1 yards per attempt.
Where's the love?
Elsewhere, it was a bit shocking not to see Tennessee linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin on the second team.
Trying to fit all of the SEC's talented linebackers into two teams is a bit of a challenge, but Reeves-Maybin notched 99 tackles, 13 for loss, had five sacks and forced two fumbles. I like Leonard Floyd for Georgia, but he wasn't even the best linebacker on his own team. Jordan Jenkins and Jake Ganus were.
Reeves-Maybin was reliable, wasn't a liability in coverage, was always near the football and was a big reason why the Vols finished with the SEC's best third-down defense (27.68 percent).
Les Miles Drama Gone, but Not Forgotten
LSU head coach Les Miles won the battle of wills with athletic director Joe Alleva after the regular season wrapped up, but the circumstances surrounding his near-departure won't be forgotten very easily.
Thanks to the Freedom of Information Act, emails related to LSU's quest to fire Miles were released to local outlets, including the Baton Rouge Advocate. They detail the discussion in the weeks leading up to the regular-season finale against Texas A&M, including an email from Alleva sent the day of the game against the Aggies detailing his plan to announce Miles would be retained in the postgame press conference regardless of outcome.
First of all, why can't administrators use private email addresses?
It's widely known that all communication on public servers will eventually get out, so can they not use private email addresses, burner phones or face-to-face meetings?
Or, if you're a conspiracy theorist, did they communicate via public email knowing that it would eventually get out in order to keep the pressure on Miles to make the changes the program needs?
Either way, Miles is on the "tarmac hot seat" in 2016. As in, if things go south early and the offense looks lost, the possibility exists that Miles could be let go on an airport tarmac like Lane Kiffin at USC in 2013, shortly after a road loss.
Whether offensive coordinator Cam Cameron is given a new contract after his three-year deal expires in the next couple of months, or Miles looks elsewhere for a leader of the offense, this is just the calm before the storm in Baton Rouge. The inevitable quarterback battle this offseason, the need to be more balanced and the drama that nearly cost Miles his job in November 2015 will be simmering as a subplot for the next nine months.
Smart's Biggest Challenge
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart is double-dipping over the next month and a half, serving as Georgia's head coach while also preparing No. 2 Alabama for its matchup with No. 3 Michigan State in the national semifinal.
On Sunday, Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban specified exactly how Smart's calendar would work.
"Kirby is going to do what he does over there for the next week or 10 days," Saban said. "And when we come back and start practice, he's going to come back and do what he does here. I know the professional integrity that Kirby has and the commitment that he has to our players as well as his new job. And I feel very comfortable that he'll be able to manage that."
That's actually not as difficult as it seems.
Smart will "moonlight" with Alabama over the next week while recruiting for Georgia and working on his new staff, and then "moonlight" with Georgia when the recruiting dead period hits while preparing the Crimson Tide for a title run.
Even though Smart and Saban are recruiting the same players for different schools, the dead period should eliminate most conflicts of interest in that department.
Staff, however, could get tricky.
Reports have already surfaced that Smart could bring Alabama strength and conditioning coach Scott Cochran with him to Athens. If he's the only staff member Smart poaches, that won't create much of a problem. But what if there are more?
Smart has to walk the fine line of doing what's right for Georgia and what's right for Alabama, and there's at least a small chance that those lines intersect inside the coaching offices in Tuscaloosa.
Biggest Bang for Athletic Department Bucks
The annual USA Today database detailing assistant coaching salaries was released this week, and one thing stood out way more than others—Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze has that program rolling.
Of all of the 13 public SEC institutions (Vanderbilt is private and doesn't report figures), Ole Miss spent just $3,091,000 on assistant coaches during the 2015 season—the second-smallest figure in the conference.
Only one of Ole Miss' staff members makes over $500,000 per year—defensive coordinator Dave Wommack ($725,000). Contrast that with LSU, which has three staff members making over $500,000 per year and two—offensive coordinator Cam Cameron and defensive coordinator Kevin Steele—who make more than $1,000,000.
Despite the small budget, Ole Miss posted a 9-3 regular-season record, earned its second straight New Year's Six bowl appearance and could finish in the Top 10 if it beats Oklahoma State in the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1.
Not bad, coach Freeze.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Statistics are courtesy of cfbstats.com.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
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