SEC vs Big 10

[VolinArizona]

Illinois is 2-10 overall and has an average computer ranking of 100.

Ole Miss is 4-8 overall with a computer average of 73.

Miss State is 3-9 overall with a computer average of 81.

Aren't we talking more than just 2006, though?

 

[VolinArizona]

Can people here wrap their heads around the notion that the SEC just might not be the strongest conference. Everyone cites the fact that SEC teams beat up on each other as evidence. However, how does the SEC play against quality non conference opponents?

• Arkansas lost by 36 to the PAC-10 champ.

• Alabama's best non conference opponent was Hawaii...Bama won by 8.
• Auburn faced Wazzou, Buffalo, and Tulane. Congrats on those three wins, Tommy.
• Florida beat the worst Florida State team of the past 20 years...by a single touchdown. That was the best non conference opponent Florida faced.
• UGA needed a miracle to beat a 2-10 Colorado team, the best OOC team they faced.
• UK lost by 31 to Louisville.
• LSU beat Arizona by 42. Congrats LSU!
• Ole Miss played the ACC Champ. They did keep it within 25.
• Miss. St. got blown off the field against WVU. 42-14.
• South Carolina probably did the best to represent SEC toughness. The SECE's 5th best team beat the ACCA's 4th best team.
• Of course we all know about Tennessee's game against Cal.
• Finally, Vandy lost to Michigan by 20. Apparently some on this board believe there is such a thing as a "close 20." Of course, these same believers will most likely not call our win over UGA a "close 18."

If the SEC wants to be known as the toughest conference, then they should schedule conference powerhouses and play them. The top two teams in the SEC this year, Florida and Arkansas, beat absolutely not one noteworthy non conference opponent. The top two teams in the Big Ten beat Texas and Notre Dame, respectively.

QFT

 

[allvol123]

Michigan struggled with Vandy for 3 quarters??? Just because UM did not beat Vandy by 40, does not mean they struggled with them. 10-0 at the end of the first, 13-7 at half, 20-7 at the end of three, and 27-7 final. Oh, and Vandy's only TD came on a reverse flea flicker.

quote]

I would call 13-7 at the half struggling. Not sure at what point it became 20-7 in the third. Do flee flicker TD's not count. Some kind of special rule on these?

 

[therealUT]

I would call 13-7 at the half struggling. Not sure at what point it became 20-7 in the third. Do flee flicker TD's not count. Some kind of special rule on these?

If a WR reverse flea flicker is the only way your team can get on the board and still lose by 20, then the victor in the contest is not struggling.

 

[allvol123]

If a WR reverse flea flicker is the only way your team can get on the board and still lose by 20, then the victor in the contest is not struggling.

Again, a TD is a TD. Not sure what rules you play by. 13-7 at halftime against what would be considered one of the bottom teams in the SEC playing against YOUR second best team in the country would qualify as struggling to me.

 

[therealUT]

Again, a TD is a TD. Not sure what rules you play by. 13-7 at halftime against what would be considered one of the bottom teams in the SEC playing against YOUR second best team in the country would qualify as struggling to me.

13-7 at half or 25-19 final? "Checkmate"

 

[allvol123]

13-7 at half or 25-19 final? "Checkmate"

Whatever...Never did I say UM struggled against Vandy the whole game. Also, comparing scores from common opponnents is obviously a very useless tool.

 

[Jasongivm6]

Whatever...Never did I say UM struggled against Vandy the whole game. Also, comparing scores from common opponnents is obviously a very useless tool.

It is absolutely impossible to objectively say that either team is better than the other without them playing head to head. The good thing is, you only have to be the best team for 1 game in college football. (You still couldn't objectively say that one team is better than the other. Of course, that's irrelevant.)

 

[FLG8tor]

Whatever...Never did I say UM struggled against Vandy the whole game. Also, comparing scores from common opponnents is obviously a very useless tool.

We had a large lead and Vandy made some scores late. Your reaching on your argument because your a Gator hater.

UM struggled with Vandy, and that's a majority viewpoint if you go around the college boards. If you don't want to accept that Michigan had any struggles, how about the home game against Ball frickin State?!?!? They were in danger of losing that game!

I'm tired of the meaningless argument on how good Michigan is because they only lost to OSU by 3. I guess that means Zook's Illini are the next best team behind UM because they only lost to the Poisonous Nuts by 7???

Michigan would NOT be undefeated had they been in the SEC this year. The SEC has more consistency and parody when it comes to conference competition.

 

[FLG8tor]

My reply was for "therealUT"

 

[TuskALoosa]

Any conference that is AFRAID to play a conference championship (Big 10 and Pac 10) should NOT be allowed to play in a BCS championship game. End of story.

 

[Jasongivm6]

We had a large lead and Vandy made some scores late. Your reaching on your argument because your a Gator hater.

UM struggled with Vandy, and that's a majority viewpoint if you go around the college boards. If you don't want to accept that Michigan had any struggles, how about the home game against Ball frickin State?!?!? They were in danger of losing that game!

I'm tired of the meaningless argument on how good Michigan is because they only lost to OSU by 3. I guess that means Zook's Illini are the next best team behind UM because they only lost to the Poisonous Nuts by 7???

Michigan would NOT be undefeated had they been in the SEC this year. The SEC has more consistency and parody when it comes to conference competition.

I think you meant parity.:hi:

 

[jakez4ut]

Can people here wrap their heads around the notion that the SEC just might not be the strongest conference. Everyone cites the fact that SEC teams beat up on each other as evidence. However, how does the SEC play against quality non conference opponents?

• Arkansas lost by 36 to the PAC-10 champ.

• Alabama's best non conference opponent was Hawaii...Bama won by 8.
• Auburn faced Wazzou, Buffalo, and Tulane. Congrats on those three wins, Tommy.
• Florida beat the worst Florida State team of the past 20 years...by a single touchdown. That was the best non conference opponent Florida faced.
• UGA needed a miracle to beat a 2-10 Colorado team, the best OOC team they faced.
• UK lost by 31 to Louisville.
• LSU beat Arizona by 42. Congrats LSU!
• Ole Miss played the ACC Champ. They did keep it within 25.
• Miss. St. got blown off the field against WVU. 42-14.
• South Carolina probably did the best to represent SEC toughness. The SECE's 5th best team beat the ACCA's 4th best team.
• Of course we all know about Tennessee's game against Cal.
• Finally, Vandy lost to Michigan by 20. Apparently some on this board believe there is such a thing as a "close 20." Of course, these same believers will most likely not call our win over UGA a "close 18."

If the SEC wants to be known as the toughest conference, then they should schedule conference powerhouses and play them. The top two teams in the SEC this year, Florida and Arkansas, beat absolutely not one noteworthy non conference opponent. The top two teams in the Big Ten beat Texas and Notre Dame, respectively.

Bash the ooc schedules all you want. I tend to agree with you on that particular issue.

but to me, that's not what makes this conf. the toughest league out there.

it's competition w/in the conf. that makes this league great.

consider:
of the 12 memembers, since divisional format began, 6 differen teams have won the conf.
4 differen teams have won national championships.
8 of the 12 conf. members have played in the SEC CG.
9 of the 12 conf. memebers have won at least a share of their respective divisions.

compare that to other bcs leagues:
the ACC: FSU dominated that conf. for years. only since 2000 have MD, Wake and Va tech won that league, but prior to that, FSU won each and every conf. title since they joined that league. they are the only team to win a national championship from the ACC.
the Big 10: largely dominated by OSU/Michigan. Illinois, N'Wester and PSU have one each. OSU and Michigan are the only ones to win national titles from the league.
the Big East: Miami and Va Tech. Miami the only one to win a natioanl title, and neither are even in the league anymore.
the Big 12: Neb, OK and TX. all three have won national titles.
The pac 10: probably the only other league that has similar interconference competition as the SEC over time, but since 2000, USC has dominated the league and is the only team to win a national title since 1990 when Wash. won a co championship.

bottom line...there is no other conf. in the country that has as many legitimate conf title contenders year in and year out. OOC schedules aside, we don't have go very far to find top flight competiton in this league. and even with that, there are teams out there that have been and are scheduling better OOC opponents. TN has always been sort of a lead in that role with recurring games against ND, UCLA etc...now add in Cal, NCSU, UNC, OK, Neb, Ore on future schedules. Bama has played OK, LSU has Va Tech, Auburn has played USC in a home and home, ARK has played USC in a home and home.

so it's not as bad as some would think. and not every OOC can be a big time opponent. and some SEC schools have standing rivalry games with OOC opponents that you can't fault them for: USC/Clemson, GA/GT, KY/L'ville, FL/FSU...we tend to look past those games, cause they are on the schedule every year. people want the WOW factor concerning an ooc game. and it just doesn't work that way. not every ooc is going to be like a bowl game. TX/OSU isn't going to happen all the time, and when those two teams schedule each other, neither were the title contenders they are today. that series wasn't scheduled in 04 on the cusp of both teams headed toward title contention.

as for the Big 10 this year.....only 5 of 11 members have records of .500 or better. the only non conf. win they have that's worth anything is OSU over TX, and TX didn't turn out to be as great as once thought..in fact, in hind sight, that game now is in the category of "should've won".

Michigan has been living off the ND win all year. but who exactly has ND beaten of note this year? nobody. they only two games they played all year...Mich and USC...they got obliterated in. Michigan's win over ND is no more significant imo than FL's win over FSU.

i just can't indict the SEC because Vandy lost to Michigan (last place in the SEC east vs. Rose bowl participant, top 3 team), and KY lost to L'ville (4th place in the East vs. Orange Bowl, top 10, Big East champ) and ARK lost to USC (Rose Bowl, top 5, Pac 10 champ) and Ole Miss lost to Wake (Orange Bowl, top 10, ACC champ) and MSU lost to WVU (worst team in the SEC vs. top 15, 10 win 2nd place in Big Eeast). Rather, i would indict the winners of those games as scheduling weak themselves (wit the excepiton of USCvs ARK that is).

just my long winded .02.

 

[jakez4ut]

Any conference that is AFRAID to play a conference championship (Big 10 and Pac 10) should NOT be allowed to play in a BCS championship game. End of story.

i'll give credit to the pac 10.......when the 12th game was added, they added a conf. game. so each team playes every team in the conf. a true round robin schedule that at least prevents the abscence of a big game in the league...unlike the big 10.

wisconsin and OSU didn't play this year....

 

[UT IE 95]

No team in the SEC I believe would have beaten OSU this year... Michigan I could see losing two.

Disagree completely. FL will beat OSU and there are at least 3 other teams that could as well. OSU's opponents this year barely had a record over .500. They beat a bunch of patsies and ABC/ESPN has you snowballed into thinking they are the 1972 Miami Dolphins.

 

[FLG8tor]

I think you meant parity.:hi:

LOL--oops!

 

[therealUT]

We had a large lead and Vandy made some scores late. Your reaching on your argument because your a Gator hater.

UM struggled with Vandy, and that's a majority viewpoint if you go around the college boards. If you don't want to accept that Michigan had any struggles, how about the home game against Ball frickin State?!?!? They were in danger of losing that game!

I'm tired of the meaningless argument on how good Michigan is because they only lost to OSU by 3. I guess that means Zook's Illini are the next best team behind UM because they only lost to the Poisonous Nuts by 7???

Michigan would NOT be undefeated had they been in the SEC this year. The SEC has more consistency and parody when it comes to conference competition.

Florida never once led by 20. Florida got up by 19 with 16 seconds left in the third. Also, Florida was winning 15-6 at halftime...I guess those 2 points make a world of difference.

The consensus in the SEC is that Michigan struggled. However, if beating teams by 20 is struggling, then that sure says something.

 

[tidwell]

Does that make Michigan the not #1 rushing defense in the country?

It shows that it was padded by playing Ball State and Central Michigan. Florida's front seven held Arkansas' running game in check.

McFadden & Jones > Pittman & Wells

 

[lawgator1]

Can people here wrap their heads around the notion that the SEC just might not be the strongest conference. Everyone cites the fact that SEC teams beat up on each other as evidence. However, how does the SEC play against quality non conference opponents?

• Arkansas lost by 36 to the PAC-10 champ.

• Alabama's best non conference opponent was Hawaii...Bama won by 8.
• Auburn faced Wazzou, Buffalo, and Tulane. Congrats on those three wins, Tommy.
• Florida beat the worst Florida State team of the past 20 years...by a single touchdown. That was the best non conference opponent Florida faced.
• UGA needed a miracle to beat a 2-10 Colorado team, the best OOC team they faced.
• UK lost by 31 to Louisville.
• LSU beat Arizona by 42. Congrats LSU!
• Ole Miss played the ACC Champ. They did keep it within 25.
• Miss. St. got blown off the field against WVU. 42-14.
• South Carolina probably did the best to represent SEC toughness. The SECE's 5th best team beat the ACCA's 4th best team.
• Of course we all know about Tennessee's game against Cal.
• Finally, Vandy lost to Michigan by 20. Apparently some on this board believe there is such a thing as a "close 20." Of course, these same believers will most likely not call our win over UGA a "close 18."

If the SEC wants to be known as the toughest conference, then they should schedule conference powerhouses and play them. The top two teams in the SEC this year, Florida and Arkansas, beat absolutely not one noteworthy non conference opponent. The top two teams in the Big Ten beat Texas and Notre Dame, respectively.

I think this is an excellent and realistic post. I do happen to believe that the SEC has the best overall athletes in the top-to-bottom school sense. That is, I believe that the best athletes at the top SEC schools compare favorably, on the whole, to the best athletes at the best schools in other conferences.

I also believe that the better athletes on the SEC's basement teams are better than their courterparts in the Big Ten and PAC-10.

This is why I believe that the SEC is so tough as a conference -- its not an individual game you can point to that kills you. Its the fact that week in and wek out, even the lower rung teams have athletes and speed and can wear you down. To me, that is the strength of the SEC.

I agree with you that it does not always translate into wins in a single game match-up. And that is why I am not claiming that every SEC team is destined to blow out its non-conference opponent in this year's bowl games.

 

[BACKDOC]

I know a guy from Iowa who is a Bama fan. I know a guy who is from Illinois, he's a Bama fan. I know a lady from Penn. she's a Bama fan. I know a lady from S Dakota; not sure where her husband is from, but their dog is named Bama. I don't understand this considering the rep. that Bama fans have. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out, and there are plenty of those around here. You see a car with an Auburn flag and it's a Lexus, and the one right behind it has a Bama flag flying and it's an old pickup truck with plastic covering the side where the window used to be.

 

[jakez4ut]

would OSU and Michigan have similar records if they played in the SEC?

i tend to believe that Michigan probably would have run in to a couple of stumbling blocks having to play games possibly at auburn, lsu, florida, tn etc...but they are no worse than a 2-3 loss team at worst in the SEC...if they get a couple of those games at home, i could see them with a similar record as to what htey have now. they are very, very good. so i'll split the difference and say that they are probably a 10-2 SEC team, similar to Auburn and LSU. (man, i would love to have seen an LSU/Mich Rose bowl).

OSU...i think there only two teams that could match the talent on that team. LSU and Florida. LSU could have a shot at them, if they played mistake free football, something they have not done with any consistency all year.

Florida gets their chance at 'em. they'll need to pick it up offensively, but i think their defense gives them a chance in any game they play, including this one.

other than that, OSU, depending on where the games would have been played, could have gone undefeated this year. they're that good too. but you never know...playing at some of the SEC venues can mess teams up sometimes...Ask LSU (@ FL) an FL (@Auburn) or Cal (@TN).

 

[Jasongivm6]

Bash the ooc schedules all you want. I tend to agree with you on that particular issue.

but to me, that's not what makes this conf. the toughest league out there.

it's competition w/in the conf. that makes this league great.

consider:
of the 12 memembers, since divisional format began, 6 differen teams have won the conf.
4 differen teams have won national championships.
8 of the 12 conf. members have played in the SEC CG.
9 of the 12 conf. memebers have won at least a share of their respective divisions.

compare that to other bcs leagues:
the ACC: FSU dominated that conf. for years. only since 2000 have MD, Wake and Va tech won that league, but prior to that, FSU won each and every conf. title since they joined that league. they are the only team to win a national championship from the ACC.
the Big 10: largely dominated by OSU/Michigan. Illinois, N'Wester and PSU have one each. OSU and Michigan are the only ones to win national titles from the league.
the Big East: Miami and Va Tech. Miami the only one to win a natioanl title, and neither are even in the league anymore.
the Big 12: Neb, OK and TX. all three have won national titles.
The pac 10: probably the only other league that has similar interconference competition as the SEC over time, but since 2000, USC has dominated the league and is the only team to win a national title since 1990 when Wash. won a co championship.

bottom line...there is no other conf. in the country that has as many legitimate conf title contenders year in and year out. OOC schedules aside, we don't have go very far to find top flight competiton in this league. and even with that, there are teams out there that have been and are scheduling better OOC opponents. TN has always been sort of a lead in that role with recurring games against ND, UCLA etc...now add in Cal, NCSU, UNC, OK, Neb, Ore on future schedules. Bama has played OK, LSU has Va Tech, Auburn has played USC in a home and home, ARK has played USC in a home and home.

so it's not as bad as some would think. and not every OOC can be a big time opponent. and some SEC schools have standing rivalry games with OOC opponents that you can't fault them for: USC/Clemson, GA/GT, KY/L'ville, FL/FSU...we tend to look past those games, cause they are on the schedule every year. people want the WOW factor concerning an ooc game. and it just doesn't work that way. not every ooc is going to be like a bowl game. TX/OSU isn't going to happen all the time, and when those two teams schedule each other, neither were the title contenders they are today. that series wasn't scheduled in 04 on the cusp of both teams headed toward title contention.

as for the Big 10 this year.....only 5 of 11 members have records of .500 or better. the only non conf. win they have that's worth anything is OSU over TX, and TX didn't turn out to be as great as once thought..in fact, in hind sight, that game now is in the category of "should've won".

Michigan has been living off the ND win all year. but who exactly has ND beaten of note this year? nobody. they only two games they played all year...Mich and USC...they got obliterated in. Michigan's win over ND is no more significant imo than FL's win over FSU.

i just can't indict the SEC because Vandy lost to Michigan (last place in the SEC east vs. Rose bowl participant, top 3 team), and KY lost to L'ville (4th place in the East vs. Orange Bowl, top 10, Big East champ) and ARK lost to USC (Rose Bowl, top 5, Pac 10 champ) and Ole Miss lost to Wake (Orange Bowl, top 10, ACC champ) and MSU lost to WVU (worst team in the SEC vs. top 15, 10 win 2nd place in Big Eeast). Rather, i would indict the winners of those games as scheduling weak themselves (wit the excepiton of USCvs ARK that is).

just my long winded .02.

Michigan and OSU aren't the only 2 schools from the Big 10 with a National Championship.

 

[jakez4ut]

Michigan and OSU aren't the only 2 schools from the Big 10 with a National Championship.

since the SEC went to the divisonal format, they are. which is the time line i'm referring to above.

 

[allvol123]

Michigan and OSU aren't the only 2 schools from the Big 10 with a National Championship.

In the past 15 years, who else from the Big 10 has one?

 

[VOLracerx]

Disagree completely. FL will beat OSU and there are at least 3 other teams that could as well. OSU's opponents this year barely had a record over .500. They beat a bunch of patsies and ABC/ESPN has you snowballed into thinking they are the 1972 Miami Dolphins.

I read a quote by and anonymous AP voter

"OSU is the weakest #1 team in 25 years, they had all summer to prep for Texas and 11 weeks to get ready for Michigan, who else have they beaten?"