The Ville comes in @ #14....
http://floridastate.247sports.com/Bolt/FSU-a-top-10-team-in-Lindys-preseason-poll-45449479
http://floridastate.247sports.com/Bolt/FSU-a-top-10-team-in-Lindys-preseason-poll-45449479
Lindy's College Football Top 15....
- Thread starter The Public Enemy
- Start date
Lordy, that pretty much makes the Atlantic Division of the ACC the toughest in America.
Interesting take by you and Senore2006. But, it is off season so let me pose a question to you both (and others).
Premise: The premise of my question is you both reacted to the SEC West and ACC Atlantic having three teams in the top 14. Fair enough. In truth I think it is possible that all seven teams in the SEC West will be in someone's pre-season top 25. But, forget that for now. Let's say all agree that UL, FSU and Clemson along with Alabama, Ole Miss, and LSU are in everyone's top 14. Let's also assume for now that no other team in either division is in anyone's top 40.
Question: Let's suppose based on the premise that such is the case. Let us also suppose that the Southwestern Eastern Division of the Big 63.5 Conference has seven teams. Let's suppose that all of those teams are generally in everyone's top 35 ranked variously from 15th to 33rd. In your view, which would be the tougher division? (And as a matter of full disclosure, I don't have an answer myself. I am not really sure from which perspective I would answer it if I could.)
Myself...just pointing out that both divisions have by many accounts 3 of the Top 15 teams heading into the 2016 season...the ACC Atlantic with Clemson, FSU & Louisville...the SEC West with Alabama, LSU & Ole Miss...not really going to get into the rest of the hypotheticals but will just say IMO The SEC West from schools 4 through 7 is deeper and better...it is what it is...both divisions appear to be tough at the top
Other than Alabama and LSU. MOST of the SEC West will once again be OVER-RATED...I look for Arkansas to be at least the Third best team in the SEC West this year!!!
Auburn, Ole Miss and Texas A&M were WAY Over-Rated last year, and they'll get Love they DON'T Deserve again this year...So will Mississippi State!!!
The ACC Atlantic of Clemson, FSU and Louisville are NOT a bad Threesome...And IMHO, match up well with the SEC West Threesome of Alabama, Arkansas, LSU.
I think N.C. State as #4 in the ACC Atlantic is on par with either Auburn, Ole Miss or Mississippi State...It's the other three teams in the ACC Atlantic that bring down the strength of the Division, and give the SEC West a CLEAR Advantage for Best Division in College Football!!!
IMPO, Ole Miss and Texas A&M will be Dumpster Fires this year...While Auburn and Mississippi State will be 7-8 win type teams!!!
There's a thread on the National Board discussing how you would rank the divisions of the P-5 Conferences, and Most agree the SEC West is Tops while the ACC Atlantic and BIG East are getting the Most Love for second place.
Just my Two Cents!!!
Maybe I'm reading your statement wrong, but didn't PE state that the SEC west is stronger?
I did....lol....the other College Football Division that will be up there is the B1G East.
I have to confess to my own limitations in arguments such as this. I actually revel in the fact that my interest is generally confined to UofL. Parsing the SEC - or the B1G or the PAC - in comparative terms sounds similar to visiting a dentist, a chore which, I am more than happy to say, will never gain happen in my lifetime.
My love for football was always poisoned by the fact that I actually played about 5 concussions worth of the sport, a broken arm, broken nose, fingers and foot - factors which I would never have imagined could have resulted in the enthusiasm I feel for Louisville football. I was far better at other sports, although each high school football year I played for - Owensboro Senior High - was #1 in Kentucky at one point during my sophomore and junior seasons. (I quit my senior year, lol, which blew my coaches' minds).
But I have one athletic attitude which has survived - each week is a different season. You play the games in front of you. If you win all of them, you should be champion.
The SEC sickens me for various reasons - they are actually objective and numerous. The one glory I have achieved in life is my lack of pride about football in the South. It's a broken system, full of cheating and ethical compromise in an institution guaranteed to cement these very values in this modern world. If you aint cheating down there, as they say, you aint trying..
My love for football was always poisoned by the fact that I actually played about 5 concussions worth of the sport, a broken arm, broken nose, fingers and foot - factors which I would never have imagined could have resulted in the enthusiasm I feel for Louisville football. I was far better at other sports, although each high school football year I played for - Owensboro Senior High - was #1 in Kentucky at one point during my sophomore and junior seasons. (I quit my senior year, lol, which blew my coaches' minds).
But I have one athletic attitude which has survived - each week is a different season. You play the games in front of you. If you win all of them, you should be champion.
The SEC sickens me for various reasons - they are actually objective and numerous. The one glory I have achieved in life is my lack of pride about football in the South. It's a broken system, full of cheating and ethical compromise in an institution guaranteed to cement these very values in this modern world. If you aint cheating down there, as they say, you aint trying..
He did. As he noted below your post. My only point is his and the OP made me think: what makes a division "tough" or even "good"? Is it three teams at the top? Or is it tougher if all the teams are about equal and all pretty good. I am not sure which is the answer.
Gotcha...myself it is overall...what makes the SEC West the toughest is the bottom 4...Mississippi State, Arkansas, Texas A&M and Auburn would be near the top of a division like the SEC East, B1G West or ACC Coastal
Agreed. But, ironically, the closer the teams are, the less likely any of them makes the playoff (even if expanded). In theory, everyone in the SEC west could go 9-3 (5-3 in conference). That won't happen, but it is possible. In that scenario, even if they are the best seven teams in the country, none of them get to play for a title.
I'm surprised that no one mentioned that the ACC Atlantic division has been bolstered by the addition of the wizarding world of Harry Potter...
That's true but on the other hand, those teams can take a loss and it won't dent their chances of making the 4 team play-off . In other leagues, 1 loss knocks you out of the running.
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Such a scenario has never existed. If it has, point us to the year and the league. I don't think it ever has happened before. And, I don't think it ever will happen. So it's a rather pointless thing to consider.
What if something that has never happened and never will happen ends up happening.
No sale.
Came pretty close to that the last two years in the SEC West. Arkansas was slow to come on in 2014 and Auburn and LSU imploded last year. (One early the other late.) This year, on paper at least, it looks like it may be another round robin again. Everyone in the division has QB questions except Arkansas. Each obviously has to play three road games in the division. Against the East, Alabama has to go to Tennessee, Auburn has to go to Georgia, LSU goes to Florida and Texas A&M has to go to South Carolina. Arkansas, Ole Miss and Mississippi State have it easier with trips to Missouri, Vanderbilt and Kentucky respectively. Every team in the division could be better than last year and have it not show in their record.
Does a 2 loss Alabama or LSU get in? I think we will find out this year.
An interesting thinkpiece would be just which of the nine (9) P5 "divisions" is WEAKEST at their bottom! ACC Atlantic might get some votes there with Wake, BC and Syracuse.
The ACC Atlantic may be the most "bi-polar" division.
No it didn't. The bottom teams in the west were certainly respectable, and competitive. But the entire SEC West was not equal, or close to being equal.
Last year I would say it was a close competition for that title between the Atlantic and the SEC East. The bottom four in the SEC E had a combined 6 conference wins compared to 7 by Florida alone and 5 each by UT and UGA.
