Greatest Athlete to never win highest Championship of their Sport

[Freak]

10 years-3 coaches. They didn't wallow around waiting for someone to get better. They made changes until they found the right guy. They didn't sit around eating popcorn and watching the band while the program burned down.

Not sure getting rid of Blake after three seasons was a real agressive move. He went 12-22 and never had a winning season. I would say Fulmer has a slight edge on him. Gibbs lasted six years and didn't do much. He never won a conference title.

 

[hatvol96]

Nah, I think more than that in 13 years. And I think we would have beaten Texas and won the Big 12 in 2001. As for Nebraska, we would have been more prepared for them had that been our only big game of the season. Not sure we could have beat that 95 team though even if they spotted us three touchdowns.

Oklahoma was actually the best team in the Big 12 in 2001. Nebraska played for the National Title that year. Colorado played in a BCS bowl. Beating Texas would have just been a start toward winning the Big 12 in 2001. The LSU team we lost to in the conference title game wouldn't have beaten any of those 4 Big 12 teams.

 

[hatvol96]

Not sure getting rid of Blake after three seasons was a real agressive move. He went 12-22 and never had a winning season. I would say Fulmer has a slight edge on him. Gibbs lasted six years and didn't do much. He never won a conference title.

Six years without a title did Gibbs in. TCHFCATUTK has gone seven with no SEC titles to show for his efforts.

 

[Freak]

The LSU team we lost to in the conference title game wouldn't have beaten any of those 4 Big 12 teams.

You are crazy. That LSU team was loaded with world beaters! :lol:

I know, we obviously looked past them. It still hurts to think about.

 

[VolInsider]

Greatest by each sport?

Football-Dan Marino
Basketball-Pete Maravich
Baseball-Ted Williams
Hockey-Marcel Dionne
Racing-Junior Johnson

 

[Freak]

Six years without a title did Gibbs in. TCHFCATUTK has gone seven woth no SEC titles to show for his efforts.

No he has gone 13 with 2. It would have been three before conference championship games were invented.

I know, coulda, woulda, shoulda.

 

[hatvol96]

You are crazy. That LSU team was loaded with world beaters! :lol:

I know, we obviously looked past them. It still hurts to think about.

Given that I'm one of TCHFCATUTK's biggest critics, this may sound strange but I don't really rip him for that one. I think we were ready to play. We controlled the first half. Turnovers beat us. It happens. Miami would have annihilated us in the Rose Bowl. The only thing that bothers me about it is people will forget how good the '01 team was because they didn't finish the deal on an SEC title.

 

[hatvol96]

Greatest by each sport?

Football-Dan Marino
Basketball-Pete Maravich
Baseball-Ted Williams
Hockey-Marcel Dionne
Racing-Junior Johnson

Maravich was good. Barkley, Malone, and Ewing were all better.

 

[Freak]

Given that I'm one of TCHFCATUTK's biggest critics, this may sound strange but I don't really rip him for that one. I think we were ready to play. We controlled the first half. Turnovers beat us. It happens. Miami would have annihilated us in the Rose Bowl. The only thing that bothers me about it is people will forget how good the '01 team was because they didn't finish the deal on an SEC title.

That 01 year was a good one. I am not willing to concede "annihilation" in that one considering we beat UF in the Swamp as double digit dogs. It would have been a tough game to win but it sure would have been nice to play for another NC, win or lose.

 

[hatvol96]

That 01 year was a good one. I am not willing to concede "annihilation" in that one considering we beat UF in the Swamp as double digit dogs. It would have been a tough game to win but it sure would have been nice to play for another NC, win or lose.

I don't think anyone was going to play that Miami team close on a neutral field.

 

[WA_Vol]

Many more? Do you remember the beatings Nebraska, the Big 12 standard bearer during the Manning years, gave UT? You certainly don't think UT has been better than OU and Texas since '99. They might have won one other, depending on which division of the Big 12 they played in.

This is the problem I have with saying the SEC is better then the Big 12, ACC, etc. Fulmer is 2-4 in bowl games the last few years which includes blowouts by KSU, Nebraska, Maryland, and Clemson. Its hard to argue how dominant the SEC is when bowl season rolls around and you get beat.

 

[Freak]

I don't think anyone was going to play that Miami team close on a neutral field.

You might be right. We just seem to do well in those no win situations. Miami would have been big favorites no doubt.

 

[hatvol96]

This is the problem I have with saying the SEC is better then the Big 12, ACC, etc. Fulmer is 2-4 in bowl games the last few years which includes blowouts by KSU, Nebraska, Maryland, and Clemson. Its hard to argue how dominant the SEC is when bowl season rolls around and you get beat.

Don't mention Fulmer's bowl record against the Big 12. You'll be accused of being negative.

 

[Freak]

This is the problem I have with saying the SEC is better then the Big 12, ACC, etc. Fulmer is 2-4 in bowl games the last few years which includes blowouts by KSU, Nebraska, Maryland, and Clemson. Its hard to argue how dominant the SEC is when bowl season rolls around and you get beat.

Obviously the Peach Bowl's were disappointing and our kids/coaches did not want to be there. It should not have happened though.

You can't just pick out Tennessee's bowl record when comparing the SEC to other conferences.

 

[hatvol96]

You might be right. We just seem to do well in those no win situations. Miami would have been big favorites no doubt.

I do think UT would have played them as tough as anyone. It's just my opinion that the 'Canes were too good for anyone that year.

 

[hatvol96]

Obviously the Peach Bowl's were disappointing and our kids/coaches did not want to be there. It should not have happened though.

You can't just pick out Tennessee's bowl record when comparing the SEC to other conferences.

The 1-3 record against the Big 12 is telling if you are going to say he would have won a handful of titles in that conference.

 

[Freak]

Actually, I don't think the SEC being the toughest conference is up for discussion. I think it's pretty widely accepted for the most part.

 

[Freak]

The 1-3 record against the Big 12 is telling if you are going to say he would have won a handful of titles in that conference.

Not really.

 

[hatvol96]

Not really.

To win conference championships, you have to beat the best teams. The fact Arkansas is better than Baylor makes the SEC stronger top to bottom, but it means very little as to which conference is tougher to win.

 

[Freak]

To win conference championships, you have to beat the best teams. The fact Arkansas is better than Baylor makes the SEC stronger top to bottom, but it means very little as to which conference is tougher to win.

I think beating one or two good teams in a conference is easier than having to beat 5 or 6.


As for Bowl games, Fulmer is 3-1 against the Big 10 in bowl games but I don't claim we would have won 5 Big 10 Championships. A lot can happen in bowl games and I don't think it's necesarily representive of what happens during a season.

 

[Freak]

I don't even remember what we are talking about.

 

[hatvol96]

So are you arguing that the Big12 is better than the SEC?

I think beating one or two good teams in a conference is easier than having to beat 5 or 6.
As for Bowl games, Fulmer is 3-1 against the Big 10 in bowl games but I don't claim we would have one 5 Big 10 Championships. A lot can happen in bowl games and I don't think it's necesarily representive of what happens during a season.

This is an interesting exercise.Let's break the two conferences down, trying to make reasonable comparisons. I think the SEC is better top to bottom, but let's see if that bears out. Over the last five years, the two best teams in the Big 12 have been Texas and Oklahoma. In the SEC, I guess it would be Georgia and LSU. I think that's advantage Big 12, but it's close. Vanderbilt and Baylor are both terrible. We'll remove them from the discussion. Kentucky and Kansas have both been lousy, we'll call that a push. So, the question becomes have Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Florida, Tennessee and South Carolina been better over the last 5 years than Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas State, Missouri and Iowa State. I think so, but the difference across the board is fairly small.

 

[milohimself]

I think that the Big XII is stronger at the very top, the SEC takes the cake with decent to very good teams, and both are equally bad at the bottom.

There's also a few different ways to look at it. Which conference is tougher to win? I'd say the Big XII by a bit. The SEC usually requires that you have two big conference wins. But the teams at the top of the SEC usually get beat, meaning that it's usually very possible to make the SEC title game with a 7-1 or even 6-2 record depending on which division we're talking about. The Big XII, by comparison, would be tougher to win. If you're in the Big XII South, winning would probably entail beating Texas and/or Oklahoma, imo a tougher task than going through the SEC. The north is obviously a lot easier, but you will be facing a very, very good team from the South most every year.

You could also ask, which conference makes it harder to get to a bowl game? IMO the SEC is the second-easiest BCS coference in which to make a bowl game because of the bottom half. But, the same could probably be said of the Big XII, although probably not quite as bad.

But, in the grand scheme of things I still give the tougher conference title to the SEC. The SEC is just too loaded down with teams that, while not usually national title contenders, are very very good teams. The Big XII just has Texas, Oklahoma and your occasional Colorado or Texas A&M.

 

[Freak]

This is an interesting exercise.Let's break the two conferences down, trying to make reasonable comparisons. I think the SEC is better top to bottom, but let's see if that bears out. Over the last five years, the two best teams in the Big 12 have been Texas and Oklahoma. In the SEC, I guess it would be Georgia and LSU. I think that's advantage Big 12, but it's close. Vanderbilt and Baylor are both terrible. We'll remove them from the discussion. Kentucky and Kansas have both been lousy, we'll call that a push. So, the question becomes have Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Florida, Tennessee and South Carolina been better over the last 5 years than Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas State, Missouri and Iowa State. I think so, but the difference across the board is fairly small.

Fair comparison.

 

[hatvol96]

Fair comparison.

OU and Texas the last five years have been a lot like UT and Florida were in the mid to late '90s. People haven't realized how good Texas has been because they couldn't beat the Sooners. They finally beat them and they're National Champs. I've heard that story somewhere before. Think it was around 1998.