BYE BYE to the ol great powers of the SEC !!!!!! BYE BYE..... Georgia..., BYE BYE..... ALABAMA, BYE BYE .... TENNESSEE. there is a new sheriff in town and it's called TEXAS.
Welcome .....the new SEC west
- Thread starter jalovell23
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And Texas was the gifted their spot. I can't tell you how much joy I would have if the SEC would've been shut out of the last 4. I'll take solace once OSU clobbers them.
ND has more eyes on them (fans) than even Blue blood sec schools.
This made them impossible to “referee” them out of the PO.
And it was obvious early that UGA needed help but they couldn’t give it against ND
This made them impossible to “referee” them out of the PO.
And it was obvious early that UGA needed help but they couldn’t give it against ND
The whole conference love is ridiculous. Texas would be great in any conference if they have a good coach. They have always invested. They aren’t really a SEC team because this is year one.
There is value in being a big dog in a weaker conference. The teams that moved into a bigger conference that were really good in their previous conference usually do well in their new conference especially initially.
There is value in being a big dog in a weaker conference. The teams that moved into a bigger conference that were really good in their previous conference usually do well in their new conference especially initially.
A conference (The SEC) which has won 13 out of the last 18 national championships & you think that Texas or any other team is going to come in to that league and dominate. If you believe that, then I've got a statue in New York harbor that I would like to sell you. Dominate?. They didn't even win the league championship this season. Remember Georgia beat them not once but twice.
Not me. I think you meant to respond to someone else. Or perhaps you missed the question mark at the end of my post.
Nobody dominates in $EC FB, although the Bear and Nick Saban have come close at times. That is my take based on 60 years of following the sport.
It is a stupid argument. What is the point? Who cares? Look at the NFL does anyone care the NFC North is the best conference? Hell no, only in college sports do fans pound their chest about their conference dominance.
Look at who is dominating the SEC, Georgia and Alabama especially the last 10 years. It is not the conference it is specific teams that go on runs. Was the SEC really down this year or was it Georgia and Alabama being were down?
College football has been rigged since the beginning. Power ratings i.e talent will always prop up the SEC and other brands in other conferences. They will always have the most talent.
Texas will win in SEC because they have all the resources and more to always have a great roster and great coaching. The teams that make it in the playoffs from the SEC will have the weakest SOS. This year 2 of the 3 had the weakest SOS in the SEC.
Oregon is a good example they have all the resources they need. They will compete every year. It has nothing to do with how good or bad the Big Ten is or isn’t.
It's cute watching UK fans cling to the SEC like pesky dingleberries. And now they gotta cheer for Texas. Oh the humanity!
No more Saban, no more SEC dominance.
I don't know...the old Nebraska fan in me seeing how mediocre Oklahoma immediately became with the move and Lincoln Riley's almost immediate bolting when they were announced as an SEC member is sort of sobering. Since the arms race has shifted away from Indoor Practice Facilties and garish amenities in Infrastructure like Texas and Clemson locker rooms, it only makes sense that the top of the sport which enjoys the Status Quo almost by mandate will see those resources shift to money whipping the Sport's top talent. God knows Fox Sports and ESPN have already shown where they're going to put their efforts at promotion. The second a top tier talent hits the Portal--especially when that player is leaving an SEC school--it's another SEC school--or Ohio State--that ponies up.
I wasn't making the argument that the SEC is the best football conference in college football. I was just saying that Texas nor any other football program is going to walk into that conference and dominate. And you say that it's just Alabama & Georgia that's been winning the championships. During this 18 year run, Auburn, Florida & LSU have also won national championships with Florida & LSU winning 2 each.
The portal giveth, and the portal taketh.
It has shown that the total depth is now gone from the sec too. Bama/uga/lsu etc can’t keep 4-5 star players on the bench “waiting their turn” any longer. They are bailing to go somewhere and play for pay. Everyone has to “rebuild” every year.
Through the first round of bowl games the sec was 7-6. Hardly “dominating”. However it makes the abysmal acc look even worse.
Everybody had opt outs and transfers. TV moaned about it all month. (The deeper it got in bowl season the louder they got)
It appears what the sec had left was no better or worse than the other conference teams they played.
I believe the time is here for the “anybody can beat anybody” every week now with injuries having a bigger impact than ever for the above reason. Depth.
And now it’s affecting the blue bloods.
It has shown that the total depth is now gone from the sec too. Bama/uga/lsu etc can’t keep 4-5 star players on the bench “waiting their turn” any longer. They are bailing to go somewhere and play for pay. Everyone has to “rebuild” every year.
Through the first round of bowl games the sec was 7-6. Hardly “dominating”. However it makes the abysmal acc look even worse.
Everybody had opt outs and transfers. TV moaned about it all month. (The deeper it got in bowl season the louder they got)
It appears what the sec had left was no better or worse than the other conference teams they played.
I believe the time is here for the “anybody can beat anybody” every week now with injuries having a bigger impact than ever for the above reason. Depth.
And now it’s affecting the blue bloods.
Agreed; the Portal was the one development that ESPN did not anticipate when they initiated their strategy to encourage the SEC expansion. The BIG may have been the major recipient of these “unintended consequences”, as countering with attracting Oregon. Regrettably the ACC was late to the show, responding with the leftovers.
As for UL, we are in a great position to advance inside this ACC.
As for UL, we are in a great position to advance inside this ACC.
We can celebrate the SEC not looking as great, but Clemson and SMU hurt the ACC terribly. This playoff didn't do anything to help the cause of the ACC.
We're latching on to the Big Ten and ND having success, but the Big Ten is treated just the same as all the other leagues. I mean they're winning now, but we all know when Ohio State, Michigan, and Notre Dame when they're rolling get the biggest media love in sports and have the highest ratings. ESPN is fine with those programs making the Final 4 and dominating ratings.
You can kind of tell a person's age by when they grew up watching football.
If you started getting heavy into College Football around the Petrino era and after, especially the Charlie era, then you remember SEC SEC SEC winning all the time. But if you started before that, you remember the Big Ten bias. People don't remember 2004 Auburn being undefeated out of the SEC and not making the BCS title game. People forget the time when OHio State, Michigan, and Notre Dame had all the bias. Nebraska was a powerhouse. Florida State and Miami was the biggest game of the year and the modern ACC was build on that game. The SEC star was Steve Spurrier. Then the USC, OU, and Texas years of the early 2000s.
The SEC never really had that one program that was a major draw. Like you know what I mean, a program that when they're rocking everyone is paying attention. Programs like Ohio State, USC, Texas, Michigan, & Notre Dame. The SEC programs like Georgia, Alabama, Florida, and Tennessee are all really good. The draw is that there are a bunch of really good programs and talent that makes it interesting. The league itself was the sell. Nick Saban making Bama that team every single year helped them keep that brand dominance during the years were they weren't as strong.
Remember the 2006-2007 coaching cycles? Rich Rod turned down Alabama but took Michigan. Les Miles had a national title team at LSU, but was heavily considering leaving for Michigan. Crazy to think that in this day and age, but that mindset changed ever so quickly
Right before Florida won the 2006 title, Ohio State and Michigan both played at #1 and #2. It was the defacto national title game and the clear best two teams. Florida beat OSU down in the title game. I mean the I remember the Iron Bowl just being another rivalry game and not a must watch game before Saban.
I was in school when Ok-Neb and Ok-Tx was must see FB. (1970’s)
OU claimed the 73 title and won it in 74 and 75. This was when the had players like Billy Sims and the Selman brothers.
Nebraska was ALWAYS in the hunt from 1970-2001 winning the NC in 70, 71, 94, 95 and 97
Texas had their name in the hat most years making the above list games “must see”.
I remember watching USC and John McKay “integrate” the sec in 1970, helping it become what it is today.
A lot of change and ups and downs for a lot of teams over the years. The sec hasn’t always been top dog. Up until the early 2000’s, when bowl games really meant something to players, the sec only had a 54% winning percentage. Hardly dominating. (In fairness the acc was 48%)
But through it all, over all these years, the one constant, the one never changing fact of football, the one thing you could count on, regardless what conference was “tops”
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uk has sucked 98% of the time. 👍🤷🏻♂️🏈
OU claimed the 73 title and won it in 74 and 75. This was when the had players like Billy Sims and the Selman brothers.
Nebraska was ALWAYS in the hunt from 1970-2001 winning the NC in 70, 71, 94, 95 and 97
Texas had their name in the hat most years making the above list games “must see”.
I remember watching USC and John McKay “integrate” the sec in 1970, helping it become what it is today.
A lot of change and ups and downs for a lot of teams over the years. The sec hasn’t always been top dog. Up until the early 2000’s, when bowl games really meant something to players, the sec only had a 54% winning percentage. Hardly dominating. (In fairness the acc was 48%)
But through it all, over all these years, the one constant, the one never changing fact of football, the one thing you could count on, regardless what conference was “tops”
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uk has sucked 98% of the time. 👍🤷🏻♂️🏈
My point as a UK or Louisville fan who cares if the SEC/ACC has had more championships. I don’t care how strong the ACC is or isn’t my only concern is can Louisville win the ACC. The SEC has historically sucked in basketball does that diminish what UK have done in basketball? No, they had great teams when they won it all.
The conference talk is only used to prop up or tear down a team. The only reason you care is because you need to try explain why UK is good or bad. The truth is you don’t need it to prove either. They suck in football and are a blue blood in basketball.
Texas depends how you define dominate but I agree there are too many elite programs with NIL capital for any team to dominate like Alabama and Georgia have done the last 10 years. However they will be at the top of the league from now on.
I am kind of with Cycle on this one.
I am kind of with Cycle on this one. Not sure when all this talk about conferences began, maybe when the SEC teams started dominating the college football championship or when the discussion began about having a college football playoff, but I have always had favorite "teams" and not favorite "conferences." Outside of Louisville, my favorite team growing up was the Sooners and I hated Nebraska and Texas. Billy Sims, Marcus Dupree, Greg Pruitt, Selmon brothers, the Boz.... I dislike Duke and North Carolina as much as I do Ohio St and Michigan. Out of the Big 10, I liked Purdue, mostly because of basketball. While I dislike Alabama, Florida and LSU, I like watching Georgia. I liked UCLA over USC. And as Cycle pointed out, other conferences don't really mean anything to me if Louisville doesn't win its own conference. If U of L is not playing for an ACC championship, bowl game or NC, I couldn't really less what conference wins. Sure I have my preferences.
A lot of memories in there. And I can add a few more.
First off, I would like to address national media bias (or laziness). Many fans worry about who is ranked where in the pre-season polls. They are totally meaningless and largely consist of the same 5or 6 teams ranked in the top ten every year - Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan, Texas, USC and the most recent flavor of the day - regardless of losses to graduation or up and coming teams in their respective conferences. They were familiar names and those polled took the easy way out. I can't tell you how many times I've seen Michigan being a pre-season Top 10 team, only to struggle to be ranked by years' end.
Switzer's OU teams of the 70's were something to see. If you could. His best teams were when they were on probation and not on TV. Texas was a big deal until he turned the Wishbone loose on them. They had no answer for Joe Washington, Greg Pruiit, Billy Sims and the like.
The Thanksgiving Day game vs. Nebraska in 1970 or 71 remains one of the best games that I have ever seen. Period.
I remember Bear Bryant inviting John McKay and the Trojans to an early season game knowing full well the outcome in advance. Sam Cunningham and crew did the same thing to Bama that they had done to OSU in the previous year's Rose Bowl. That game did more to integrate the SEC than any other reason. The Bear now had cover to recruit black athletes, though it would be a few years b4 he could recruit a black QB.
The college scoreboard show had a distinct East Coast bias. Ivy League, ND, Syracuse and the Big Ten dominated the coverage. You had to break out the AM radio and tune into Tele-Score 84 to get info on SEC or Big 8 games. Is Sid Jenkins still around?
Somehow, I think this bias morphed its way into the SEC! SEC! SEC! chant. The national perception was they were hayseed states that still practiced Jim Crow. So what if they play good football? I think it played a part in both polls not awarding top ranking to an undefeated Bama team in 1966, despite Notre Dame having a tie with MSU on their record. There was no way the pollsters were going to give Bama the NC three years in a row with George Wallace standing in the schoolhouse door.
Someone mentioned their weariness over Michigan/OSU in the Big Ten. When you grow up in Northern KY and work in the state of Ohio, you get tired of hearing the media and co-workers run down your hayseed state. So much so that you look to their biggest nemesis. It helped immensely when Michigan hired the coach from my short-lived college day! Bye, bye State, I'm now a Michigan fan now. And have been except for the RichRod era. Go Blue!
My experience with UK football began in 1965 or so when they beat top-ranked Ole Miss. They followed it up the next week by beating the new #1 Auburn. It's been downhill ever since! The Curci years were interesting, but they went on probation for those excesses. I finally gave up on them when they hired Claiborne i/o The Pipe. They now head up the Enemies List. Go Cards!
A bit of a ramble, but please indulge an old man.
I’m really old. When I was a kid the Big 8 was the top conference, and the $EC was considered “soft”. Any time Nebraska, Oklahoma, Mizzou or anybody else would face an $EC team in a bowl or in regular season they would just crush them. My how things have changed.
I remember in the 70’s every Thanksgiving it was Oklahoma vs Nebraska. We were big Louisville fans but that was a fun game to watch. Now both of them have become irrelevant and nobody on a national level keeps up with them anymore.
Sad that it took several a$$ whippings on national TV to further the cause of integration. but they eventually got the message.
Exactly my favorite teams was Nebraska, USC and Georgia. Hell at that age didn’t even know what conferences they were in. It was never discussed. Hershel Walker, White, and Rosier all were fun to watch. The Pony Express.
The BCS era or TV explosion the SEC propaganda machine kicked in where the conference was more important than their teams. The selection process was more about predicting the winner.
The beauty of the playoff is, for the most part, it is proven on the field. Notre Dame, an independent, is playing for the title. They probably don’t make it in the BCS era.
I do understand why people lean on conferences, I know it is was a good way to evaluate a team, but it is no longer valid with the scheduling and playoffs. Look it is still going to be brand teams in the final game. They just have more resources than the majority of teams they are competing with.
Well what happened was the SEC kept winning and it happened at a unique time. People forget that the SEC bias didn't really happen until teams just kept winning. All the other conferences failed, mainly the Big Ten
1. Saban and Urban Meyer had Bama and Florida at the top of the county. It made people watch
2. Ohio State getting blown out in the 2006 and 2007 title games by SEC teams with losses added to it.
3. Texas falling devalued with Big 12. Not to mention Texas A&M, Nebraska, and Missouri leaving the league
4. USC falling made the Pac12 irrelevant, plus that league fell apart.
5. The Big Ten hit a really bad stretch as Michigan was pretty bad from 2007-2014. Penn State fell for a bit after the Sandusky scandal. Not to mention Ohio State had the Tressell scandal. The Big Ten didn't play in the national title game from the 2008-2013 seasons
6. The ACC was flat out TERRIBLE due to Bowden's slide at the end of his career & Miami becoming irrelevant. Clemson really didn't become a true national force until 2014-2015. The league had a 10-15 year run where you really didn't think about any ACC team playing for a title
7. Notre Dame would get blown out on the big stage.
And finally, the SEC just kept winning. Florida with Meyer and Tebow. Saban's dynasty. LSU winning the title with 2 losses which led to "a 2 loss SEC team could beat a conference champion!". Auburn and Cam Newton. Not to mention Georgia was right up there at times. You had top teams and the most NFL talent. The SEC delivered and every other conference was down for a 10-15 year span.
There was some bias, but as a fan from that era I remember the SEC just taking care of business. They passed the eye test most of the time. They won the big games on the big stages more often than not.
When Texas fell off, it hurt the Big 12 as a whole became devalued as it wasn't must see TV. Not to mention losing quality programs like A&M, Missouri, and Nebraska
When USC fell off, the Pac 12 as a whole lost a lot of national interest. Then when Chip Kelly left and Oregon had their decline, the entire league didn't matter.
The Big Ten pretty much felt like the Ohio State invitational that would never win, until finally OSU winning the 2014 title and Harbaugh/Franklin bringing their programs back finally made them feel relevant, but they still had a terrible division in the west.
The ACC never had the trio of FSU, Miami, & Clemson all good at the same time. FSU falling off made the league boring. Miami being average took a lot away. Clemson's run really kept our league credible combined with Jameis Winston.
The SEC always had a few really good teams and a lot of talented players. There was some bias in ranking and giving them a little too much credit, but they were proving it and being strong while the other conferences just fell apart.
At 75, I go back to "the old days" often with HS, College and Professional sports. Hard to believe all of the changes, but for the most part I still love HS and College despite the evolution. Professional, not so much.
These Bowl Games have become rather meaningless, with so many kids sitting out, so I am not going to judge Clemson and SMU performances as critical as some. UL Coaches are talking privately (if not publicly) about how encouraged they are about next season.
These Bowl Games have become rather meaningless, with so many kids sitting out, so I am not going to judge Clemson and SMU performances as critical as some. UL Coaches are talking privately (if not publicly) about how encouraged they are about next season.
My point is if Georgia, Alabama, LSU, Florida or Auburn are good/great being in the SEC isn’t the reason they are good. They are good/great because that year they had a really good/great team. That doesn’t mean the rest of the league was dominant. It doesn’t mean anything really. I would put that Louisville team, especially with Bush healthy, in the title game. Doesn’t mean the Big East was good or bad just Louisville had dudes.
That is why each P4 conference should get equal AQ in whatever the new playoff becomes. Settle it on the field.
That is why each P4 conference should get equal AQ in whatever the new playoff becomes. Settle it on the field.
I do see it like that, but I also understood their arguments a little more when Cincy made the playoff.
Cincy in 2021 was a great team and could compete with anyone. Forever they can beat their chest that they made the Final Four of the playoff and we didn't. They beat Notre Dame on the road that year and earned that spot. But I do get to thinking, could that 2016 Louisville team have easily won the 2021 AAC? Or what if Cincy had been in the Big Ten East that year and had Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, and Penn State on their schedule like Indiana had to deal with every season? Now they still would've been great, like an 8-4 season or 9-3 against a schedule like that means they are a really good team.
It's not that being in the SEC just makes you a great team. But I do see the point of that they have more of those teams capable of beating a really good team on any given week. Like WVU and Rutgers for us in 2006, the bottom type teams like Missouri, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Mississippi State are never title contenders. They would've never won our ACC division with Clemson/FSU, but you could say that on given years where they were 8-9 win teams in the SEC and could've won the ACC Coastal, old Big East, or AAC.
IT's not that all their teams are elite and could all win any conference on any given year, they usually only have 2-3 that are elite and could contend for a title like most top leagues, but their undercard of teams are a bit more talent. Doesn't mean a program like Vanderbilt wouldn't be the same as like Wake Forest or BC in the ACC, it just means that there isn't a week off.
I think where they get carried away, and mainly we only think of Kentucky fans(but they aren't real SEC football lol) but it's when a team like Florida is 6-6 or 7-5 and they go "FLOOORRRRRIDA WOULD BE UNDEFEATED IN THE ACC ITS NOT FAIR!!!" and no that's not true. Maybe they'd be slightly better not having as many tough games, but they would still drop a few games and not contend for the title.
