Is the SEC better top to bottom than other conf? Topic

MikeT23
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Right now there are 4 teams better than the best in the B1G.   It's entirely possible that FL or TN might be better than OSU(who I guess, by default, is the best in the B1G).   Arkansas, with Wilson, might be better.    There is a big difference and there has been for a few years.
9/17/2012 9:56 AM
colonels19
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SEC >>>>>>>>> BIG 10

Move along please...

9/17/2012 1:13 PM
cravedogg
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Not every team in the SEC is good or even average, but all of the conferences have teams that suck.  I just think if you match 1 versus 1 and down the list no other conference would beat able to win half of the games.  SEC from top to bottom would prove to be the best conference every time
9/17/2012 11:08 PM
kilabe
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Posted by tripleh595 on 9/16/2012 7:42:00 PM (view original):
moranis has only ever really argued this: The SEC isn't as good as many of you would have everyone believe.

He's right about that. Looking at the last 5 completed years of College Football, let me just point this out:

Vanderbilt, Mississippi & Kentucky were all outperformed by Arizona State over this span. An Arizona State team that went 26-31 & didn't have the boost of those great schedules that SEC teams have.

Tennessee, Mississippi State & Auburn.. Yes, Auburn won a National Championship over this time & that win is counted & probably deserves alittle extra credit, so keep that in mind.. However, TCU could be argued to have outperformed all 3 of those teams. If we look at Auburn's National Title as an 1 great moment out of 5 tries & then we see that TCU has went to a couple BCS Bowl games in that span & won a Rose Bowl, then you see why TCU has actually been more consistent & done more than Auburn. Auburn missed a bowl game completely in 2008 & performed significantly worse than TCU did that year. 

Yes, you could nitpick this or that out of this arguement.. But, really? If you want to argue that MAYBE Kentucky is on the same level of an Arizona State squad that's had a losing record over the last 5 years, well then.. That's pathetic for the GREAT SEC anyway. If you want to argue that you're allowed a losing season in the SEC & that the 1 National Title instantly makes Auburn better than TCU over the last 5 years, then that just makes moranis even more right about the point he's been trying to hammer through here. Because TCU, considering 5 years instead of just 1.. has performed consistently & at a higher level than Auburn through most of that period.







Give my Mississippi State Bulldogs some love man!

We do have a historical record of sub .500, but we've played B1G teams in bowl games in the past 5 years and have done ok......

We did beat the stuffing out of Michigan in the Gator Bowl in 2010/2011 season. 52-14

In 2010, MS State was in 6th place in the SEC with a 4-4 conference record and an 8-4 overall record. Michigan was 7-5 with a 3-5 conference record and 7th in the B1G (5th if you count the vacated OSU & PSU games, but I'm not going to).

So middle of the road SEC team (most call MS State an SEC celler dweller) against a middle of the road Michigan team (most consider Michigan Elite), and we buried them 52-12 and shut down their vaunted QB allowing only 88 rushing yards but did give up 254 passing yards. But did not allow Michigan to score after they posted 14 points in the 1st quarter. MS State dumped 42 unanswered points.

This was not coincidentally Michigans WORST bowl loss ever...... ever.

So cut my Bulldogs some slack, we're hit or miss most years but when we are on, we're on.

And yes, TCU is a good team with a great tradition of winning and consecutive bowl games, but over the last 5 years, how many of their 8 conference games each season were against a team not named BYU or Boise ST. It's not like they played the same caliber opponents in conference play like Alabama, LSU, USC, Georgia, Arkansas (pre-motorcycle wreck) and even Ole Miss hasn't always been bad, in 2009 they beat #21 Oklahoma St in the Cotton Bowl. 

So you are essentially making the comparison that a #1 or #2 Mountain West team is competitive with the SEC because it could, possibly, maybe beat a bottom ranked SEC team.  
9/25/2012 5:42 PM
cravedogg
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right now we know the SEC is looking damn good

Alabama, LSU, Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina are probably better than any B1G teams.

Miss St is playing damn good football.

9/25/2012 8:42 PM
tripleh595
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kilabe,

Mississippi State can prove to be very capable at times, there's no doubt about that.

But, no. I'm not saying that TCU has been only good enough to beat the Vandys & Kentuckys. I'm saying that on at least a couple of years out of the last 5, they would've had a 40% chance at taking down the top dog in the SEC, if they were on their schedule.

I'm not going to say: "If TCU played in the SEC".. They haven't. Everyone is well aware of the reasons why a team like TCU wouldn't do as well over the course of an entire season in the SEC. I'm trying to point things out that people are not aware of.

What many may not be aware of is that Georgia, Arkansas & South Carolina hold a 10-24 record over the last 5 years vs. Alabama, LSU & Florida. Some of those wins came over those teams when they weren't even really elite. But, even with that.. That's like a 4-8 season if we turned that into a 12 game season. In other words, compared to Alabama, LSU & Florida: Georgia, Arkansas & South Carolina aren't even worthy of a bowl game over the last 5 years.

Over the last 5 years, Georgia has been the 4th best SEC team over that time: They only have 2 wins vs. double digit winners over that span. Who were those 2 wins against? Georgia Tech in 2009 & Hawaii in 2007. Last year ALONE, Michigan State, who is just 5th best in the Big 10 won 3 games vs. double digit winners.. the final one coming over Georgia in the Outback Bowl! That speaks volumes about the gap between the 3 elite teams in the SEC over the last 5 years & the rest... & that's just what they are.. the rest. Crown Alabama, LSU & Florida.. they deserve it. The rest of the SEC isn't nearly as deserving of the praise, though & there's no way to say otherwise. The SEC is the best conference because their best are THE best. But, their "the rest" isn't really as clearly better than everyone else's "the rest" as many may think.
9/26/2012 2:38 AM
MikeT23
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Didn't Auburn win a Natty in the last 5 years?

And what kind of "analysis" says "Against the top 3 teams in the nation, they'd be 4-8 over a 12 game season"?
9/26/2012 8:05 AM
tripleh595
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That's just to show the gap between the best in the SEC to the next tier. It's not as close as people might think.

Alabama, LSU & Florida = 6 stars out of 6..
Georgia, Arkansas, South Carolina = 4 stars out of 6.
Everyone else = Who cares after that?

& yes, Auburn's National Title was great.. But, what else have they done other than 2010? Auburn lost at least 4 games in 4 of the last 5 years, that's hardly a bragging point. Yes, they play in the SEC vs. "the best".. But, as I've already pointed out.. I don't think every team in the SEC is elite. Also, even if you take away the losses to the elite teams, they still lost at least 3 games 4 of the last 5 years. So, Auburn, even with the National Title.. haven't consistently even been on the level of Georgia, Arkansas & South Carolina.. much less the elite of the SEC. 
9/26/2012 2:07 PM
MikeT23
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I don't think anyone has claimed that every team in the SEC is elite.     But the SEC is deep.    I'm not sold on Florida this season just yet but, how many teams, if they played 10 times on a neutral field, would have a winning record against Alabama, LSU, Georgia or South Carolina?  Not too many and here's why.   They have relentless defenses.  That's not to say they shut everyone out but they stay after you play after play after play, week after week after week.   SEC teams face that every week.  It beats you down. 
9/26/2012 2:17 PM
tripleh595
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All of that is fair enough to say.

Georgia hasn't beaten too many teams to brag about in a while, though. South Carolina is only that good when they can beat Georgia &/or Florida.

SEC defense is what makes them better. I think this year, Florida's defense is a prime example of that relentlessness. They struggled mightily with Texas A&M early, but they stayed with it & kept attacking & eventually won the war. Florida's D isn't as good as Alabama this year, but they do personify the SEC on defense. 

I think right about now, Missouri is regretting talking smack about "Old Man Football".. But, I think the SEC will end up being better with Missouri in the conference in the long run. Missouri's defense is already a tenacious one & they all have something to prove. Missouri's offensive scheme adds some flair to a sort of dull SEC on offense. I hope they don't change that style & stick with it, because I want to see the other SEC teams have to deal with an offensive scheme like Mizzou every year. Hopefully over time, Mizzou will become more & more speedy & dangerous & become a mixture of Oregon & Boise State in the SEC. 
9/26/2012 5:50 PM
MikeT23
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I watched the SC/Mizzou game.   Franklin looked like he gave up in the 2nd half.   If they want to stick with that offense, they'll need bigger, better, deeper O-lines.   I didn't see all of GA/MIzzou but I wouldn't be surprised if the same thing happened in that game as GA pulled away in the 2nd half.
9/26/2012 7:48 PM
cydrych
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South Carolina has been on the rise for a while now.  They beat Alabama in 2010 (the year between their national championships) before Cam Newton beat them.  Their defense is ridiculously good.  They are a lot closer to Bama and LSU than you think.

I think adding Missouri and Texas A&M was a good thing.  They bring new things to the league and they will eventually play defense and learn to recruit for it.
9/27/2012 10:37 AM
MikeT23
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Garcia held them back.   Not because he didn't have talent but because he was good at making bad decisions.     If Spurrier had better options, he'd have treated him like he treated his QBs in Florida.   Shaw isn't nearly the thrower that Garcia was(despite his 20 for 21 effort last week) but he's a smart kid.    The LSU/SC match-up will be primetime viewing. 

9/27/2012 10:48 AM
moranis
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What the hell is wrong with LSU?  Barely beating Auburn and now only up 17-9 in the 3rd quarter against TOWSON.  I mean seriously, I expected LSU to be right there with Alabama as one of the premier teams in the country, but they clearly aren't playing that way at the moment.
9/29/2012 9:34 PM (edited)
tripleh595
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Both LSU & South Carolina played one half of football. You can do that against competition like Towson & Kentucky, but if this kind of play continues: It won't work so well for them as the season rolls on.

9/30/2012 12:10 AM
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