you duck fans have to remember the SEC represents the south and if you look at our traditions in the south we are for the most part very courteous. Talking smack down here will get you in deep trouble. Look at that Missouri DT last year that talked all that smack about how the SEC plays old man football!!! The next coming game Georgia showed them what old man football is all about! The rest of the season did not go well for them.
And on the subject of Oregon not being able to play in the SEC let me point a few things out to you. Its not a matter of you winning against a few SEC teams in the past years. It is the fact that we have not just 1, 2 or 3 national caliber teams in our conference we have 6-8 Nationally Ranked teams every year. So just imagine having to play 3-6 of those teams every year. Tennessee goes through that gauntlet every year and it is not easy. As a matter of fact it makes you look like a losing team if you cannot beat at least 2 of those teams. And in addition, the mediocre teams in the SEC can beat you at anytime if you are not on your toes. So take your Green Glasses off and take a look at our schedule and then tell us how well you would do honestly every week in our conference? I am sure you would do well but the injuries would mount up after a while.
I love the South. I've been everywhere from Japan to India and everywhere in between. I always extol the fine qualities of the south to my international friends. I tell them, "Visit the south! People are nice, food is great, history is rich - you'll love it!" So I'm not here to incite you guys. I'm all for the south and your courteousness
As for the titles: hell yeah, you've dominated the title competition as of late. But I have to take issue with some of the other things you said.
Let's look at math (stay with me - might be confusing). You all play 8 conference games. The rest of the country plays 9. Using our conference as an example, playing a 9 game conference schedule means our league is guaranteed 6 more losses as a whole. Most of the 4th OOC games played in the SEC are patsy home games (Alabama plays Chattanooga week 11, LSU plays Furman week 9, Georgia plays Appalachian State week 9, as examples). Those games are effectively a second bye week when your teams are most exhausted and beat up. I would love it if Oregon got to miss one more conference game and got to to play Idaho in between Stanford and UCLA. All I'm saying is that 6 more guaranteed losses is the difference between a none bowl team and a bowl team, the difference between a good season and a BCS bowl game season, the difference between a #8 ranking and a #13 ranking, and a BCS bowl game season and a BCS championship game season.
Now the other problem with the "SEC schedules would kill you" argument is that the scheduling is too variant. It's so different year to year and has all kinds of differences because the 8 game schedule means some teams luck into easy schedules and others are thrown into meat grinders.
You guys have an INSANE schedule this year. You play Oregon, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Alabama. That's ridiculous. Honestly. Oregon would be really lucky to come out of that schedule with an 11-2 record, and would likely be looking at a 10-3 or 9-4 record depending on onjuries and such. But how many teams over the last 4 years play your schedule and come out with really good record? Not many.
Conversely, let's look at Alabama. That schedule is soft as hell. They luck into missing South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia. Oregon is looking at best case 12-0 record with luck (necessary for an undefeated season) and worst case 10-2, with losses to LSU and someone unexpected. Same with aTm. With that schedule, Oregon is looking at 11-1 or 10-2.
The thing with Oregon is that it's a rhythm and timing based offense. It can be beat with time to prepare (Auburn had 1+ moth to prepare for us and LSU had 8 months). But to play a team like Oregon with 6 or less days to prepare? It's really effing hard. That's why Saban beats whatever decent team they play to open the season and whatever good team he plays in the title game, but becomes beatable when having to prepare an offense like aTm with 6 days to prepare. Fact is, offenses like Lregon, aTm, and Clemson can be stopped with preparation. But stopping them with short practice time is damn hard. So the huge gap between the last game of the year and the major bowl circuit will always favor a great defense over a great offense.
The problem with that kind of scheduling is that it isn't fair for certain teams in your conference. One year, an Ole Miss fan can feel really good about the talent on their team, see their schedule, and think, "We're fu**ed." Then at the same time, a Florida fan can feel okay about the talent on their team, see the schedule, and think, "Hell yeah! We're title bound!" It's so inconsistent. Especially now with 14 teams in your league.
I actually miss the days of the PAC-10's round robin schedule when everyone played everyone. It crowned a true champion. No lucky draws. No good-team-misses. Everyone played everyone. And it left no question as to who the best team was.
Now what the SEC has is the 1-2 most elite teams in the country. I would bet that, based on recent history, whatever SEC team is the best will likely win the title. That's how it's played out.
All in saying is that many of those 8 nationally ranked SEC teams are higher ranked because A) the league has fewer losses per year based on playing 8 conference games, and B) some of the other teams miss 90% of the best teams and cruise to inflated records.
Look, I'm all about the SEC because I'm a college football fan first and foremost. And I would never belittle the accomplishments of teams like LSU and Alabama in recent years. Just thought I'd point out a couple of things I've noticed. I know I know. I'm an ignorant fan and I don't know anything about football...excuse my ignorance
All in all, I'm a fan of the SEC (except Florida and Auburn, the crooked wanks), and I love Tennessee. I'll be rooting for you guys to win every one of your damn games. Following a loss to us, of course
I just can't wait until the day when scheduling becomes consistent across the country and the fake national title game becomes one of validity with a normal playoff system. Like every other sports league in the world. A lot more will be proven then. Good luck!!
