Close calls determine teams destiny

Any team that wins the SEC has to have talent, but today more than ever, you must have old lady luck on your side as well. Gone are the days where when you can count a few conference games as automatic wins. You routinely hear fans of other conferences argue that their respective conferences are just as difficult to win as the SEC. Sure the Pac 10, Big 12, or Big 10 might produce 3 or 4 very good teams each year, but what makes the SEC unique is its strength top to bottom.

Championship teams seem to have a knack for winning the close games, but when you have parity on the level the SEC did last year, the ball just has to bounce your way in a few games. To start with lets look at last year national champions. Four of Florida’s 7 SEC wins were by a margin of 7 points or less. The Gators overcame a 10 point deficit in Knoxville to win by 1, defeated Georgia by just a touchdown, won over last place Vanderbilt by 6, and blocked 2 fourth quarter field goals against South Carolina to preserve a 1 point victory.

LSU is another team that had their fair share of close games last season. They had a 7-3 loss against Auburn early, but then pulled out 3 fourth quarter victories late in the year. The Bengal Tigers pulled out a 4 point win against Tennessee in the closing seconds, outlasted an Ole Miss team with a 4-8 record to win by 3, and defeated Arkansas by 5. Surprisingly, Auburn pulled out victories against both Florida and LSU whom ended the season ranked #1 and #3 respectively, but lost by rather large margins against Georgia and Arkansas. Adding to the evidence of the parody in the SEC were Alabama and Ole Miss. Each suffered 4 conference losses by 7 points or less.

Tennessee was one of the handful of teams that was left wondering what might have been. Two 4th quarter losses at home against LSU and Florida were tantalizing close to changing the entire SEC race. The Vols led both games late in the fourth quarter, had the opportunity to stop fourth down conversions with time running out in both games, but couldn’t make the crucial stop. Consequently,that is the slim margin between good teams and great teams in the SEC. A championship team manages to win 4 or 5 games that could have been losses and they feel like a team of destiny much like UT did in 98. Meanwhile, there are that handful of teams that look back and think of what might have been had the ball only bounced their way in a few of their close losses.

The 2007 looks like it could be even more competitive than last year when the SEC had 8 teams in bowl games. The SEC east will unquestionably be the toughest division in college football. Last years bottom 3 teams, South Carolina, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt, all should have more talented teams than last season. All of these teams are more than capable of beating the best in the east or west. The SEC, especially the SEC east, may have never been as evenly matched as it appears to be this season. The big question is which way will the ball bounce in 07 for the Big Orange?