I’m not saying Alabama didn’t deserve to be in the playoffs, I’m not saying the SEC wasn’t the best conference for the previous eight seasons, and I’m definitely not saying ESPN spiked the punch to turn it into the SEC Kool-Aid. I’m simply saying that the SEC clearly wasn’t the best conference THIS year.
Let’s start with the last 8 years when the SEC became the Justin Bieber of college football that everyone loved to hate. There is nothing better in the sporting world than to be hated: being hated is the equivalent to success. In the early 2000s people hated USC, in the late 2000s it was Florida, then the SEC, and FSU for the past two years. Jameis Winston’s antics aren’t that unlike those of Johnny Manziel’s, so why does Winston have this air of disdain that seems to follow him wherever he goes? Simple. He won. He won a lot. And that is the same reason every college football fan outside of the SEC hates the SEC – they win a lot. You can’t argue that the SEC wasn’t the best conference in the country the past 8 years. Well, you could try, but you would be wrong*. 4 teams from the SEC have won a national championship since 2006. All 4 made multiple national title game appearances, Florida won two national titles, and Alabama won three. Alabama and Florida claim more BCS titles between the two of them than the next two closest conferences combined – the Big Twelve (Oklahoma and Texas each have one) and the ACC (both FSU) have two apiece. It’s not like the SEC played against themselves in the National Title game either (well most of the time they didn’t), they played the teams everyone thought was the best or second best in the country year after year, and year after year the SEC won.
To the joy of many, this year the SEC will be watching National Title game from the comfort of their couches tonight. It’s the first time in almost a decade the SEC hasn’t had a representative playing for college football’s crowning achievement. When you stop and look at how the SEC faired during bowl season even the most diehard SEC fanatics, from Alabama fans in their houndstooth underwear to Georgia fans deep frying in their doublewides, have to stop and ask themselves how good the SEC REALLY was this year.
At one point in the season the SEC West was in the conversation for being the greatest division ever in college football history, but though the West managed to send every team from the division to a bowl game they finished a combined 2-5 in the postseason. Their only two wins came from Texas A&M and Arkansas, the bottom two teams in the division playing in lower tier games. A controversial call that went against LSU may have kicked off what was a bad 48 hours for the West as the division’s top programs failed to pick up a victory. Mississippi never led against Georgia Tech and Auburn’s kicker bounced a field goal off the right upright in overtime against Wisconsin. In the playoffs, Alabama was a heavy favorite against Ohio State but despite and early 14 point lead by the Tide, Urban Meyer’s Buckeyes hung up a 42 spot to win the game, tied for the second most points ever allowed up by a Nick Saban coached Bama team. Oh, and one the teams OSU beat out to get into football final four? TCU, who laid a 42-3 shellacking on Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl, setting a record for the most lopsided outcome in the game’s history. For those of you playing the home game, the only team Alabama lost to during the regular season? Hotty Toddy (whatever that means).
The SEC East faired significantly better in their bowl games, finishing 5-0. But as a whole, however, the opponents the SEC beat in bowl games were pretty soft. The opposing losing teams were very mediocre in their own conferences going a combined 32-27 in conference play and went 1-16 against teams currently in the College Football Playoff Rankings Top 25 (West Virginia’s upset of Baylor the only win). Miami (FL) and Minnesota had the best conference records, each going 5-3 in the ACC and the Big “Ten” (14 teams? Come on guys, you’re a college conference, you should be able to count without using your fingers by now).
I’m not going to tell you who IS the best conference this year. An argument could be made both for the PAC 12 and the Big “12” (YOU GUYS ARE KILLING ME WITH THIS COUNTING CRAP). I would also say this the most balanced we’ve seen the SEC or any conference for that matter for a long time. Both schools in Mississippi competed at levels we haven’t seen before, Tennessee started to make a resurgence, and UF certainly hopes to climb back to prominence. So although this year wasn’t the best from the SEC, if the conference continues to recruit as it does and collectively progresses, well… you know how it goes.
Good luck to Oregon and OSU tonight and as always GO GATORS.
*Poll is from fall 2012, Alabama went on to win the National Title.
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