Can the SEC continue its run in the BCS?
Happy Friday, everyone. After all the blogs and all the games and all the discussion since mid-July, it’s hard to believe that we are in the final days of the 2010 season. I was going to do Five Burning Questions to get us into the weekend but with the SEC involved in three bowl games in the next four days, I have only two questions for you this morning:
1. After an 0-3 start to bowl season, the SEC is now 3-4 after Arkansas’s loss to Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl. How will the SEC finish and can it avoid a losing bowl season?
2. The SEC has won four staight BCS National Championships. Will the run continue Monday night against Oregon in Glendale, Ariz.?
Let’s start with question No. 1: We knew the SEC East was significantly weaker than the SEC West this season but the final numbers were pretty striking. Here are the records of the SEC West teams against the East during the 2010 season:
Alabama, 2-1: (beat Florida, Tennessee; lost to South Carolina).
Arkansas, 3-0: (beat Georgia, Vandy, South Carolina).
Auburn, 4-0: (beat South Carolina twice, Kentucky, Georgia)
LSU, 3-0: (beat Vandy, Tennessee, Florida).
Ole Miss, 1-2: (lost to Vanderbilt, Tennessee; beat Kentucky).
Miss. State, 3-0: (beat Georgia, Florida, Kentucky).
So on the season the SEC West was 16-3 against the East. Four teams went undefeated and only one (Ole Miss) had a losing record.
The SEC West is 2-1 in bowls with Alabama winning the Cap One, Mississippi State winning the Gator, and Arkansas losing the Sugar. LSU plays Texas A&M tonight in the Cotton Bowl while Auburn plays Monday night in the BCS championship game. Kentucky will try to salvage something for the SEC East when it faces Pittsburgh (and interim coach Phil Bennett) on Saturday in the BBVA Compass Bowl in Birmingham. All three games look like tossups to me and the SEC needs to go 2-1 in order to finish .500 in the bowl season.
Now to the second question. We all know that the SEC has won four straight BCS national championships. When you throw in LSU’s 2003 championship and the 2004 Auburn team that went 13-0 and got shut out, the SEC has been in the national championship picture for seven of the past eight seasons. Here are some tidbits on that run you might find interesting, courtesy of the smart people from the SEC office:
**–A win by Auburn would give the SEC its fifth straight national championship, but just as significant would be the fact that Auburn would be the fourth different school to win a title in that five-year span: Florida (2006, 2008), LSU (2007), Alabama (2009).
**–Since 2006, half of the slots in the five BCS championship games (5 of 10) have been taken by SEC teams. The other five slots were taken by the Big Ten (2), the Big 12 (2), and the Pac-10 (1).
**–There have been 40 sets of BCS standings since October of 2006. In that span an SEC team has been ranked No. 1 in 18 of those 40 weeks. The rest of conferences: The Big Ten (13 weeks), Big 12 (five weeks), Pac-10 (four weeks).
**–In that same 40-week run, 11 of the 12 SEC teams have been ranked in the BCS Top 25 for at least one week. LSU leads that list with 37 weeks ranked. Vanderbilt was not ranked.
**–And finally, the SEC is 7-1 in BCS bowl games since 2006. Here is the breakdown of BCS records by conference:
SEC…………….7-1
Pac-10………..3-1
WAC…………..2-1
Big East……….2-2
Mountain West…1-1
Big Ten…………..2-5
Big 12…………….2-5
ACC………………1-3
Independents…..0-1
That’s a lot of numbers but it points out that the SEC has had an unprecedented run in the BCS since 2006. Now in that stretch it should be noted that the SEC has never faced a Pac-1o team in a BCS bowl. The SEC’s five national championships in the BCS era, which started in 1998, have come against the Big 12 (Texas and Oklahoma), the Big Ten (Ohio State twice), and the ACC (Florida State).
In fact, ESPN.com’s Pat Forde points out that since 1959, the SEC and Pac-10 have met just nine times in bowl games. The score? SEC 5, Pac-10 4.
So, as we leave you and head to Glendale, Ariz., we ask: Will the SEC continue its remarkable run on Monday night?
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Barnhart and Durham: Today we preview tonight’s Cotton Bowl matchup between Texas A&M and LSU and look ahead to next Monday’s BCS championship in Arizona. Glenn Gilbeau, who covers LSU for the Gannett News Service, will join us from Dallas. Noted talk show host Paul Finebaum will join us from Arizona to talk BCS championship. We’ll also have an interview with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, who grew up in Auburn, Ala., and will be in Glendale pulling for his Tigers. Please join us at 10 a.m. www.790thezone.com
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387 comments Add your comment
Tell the truth
January 7th, 2011
1:41 pm
I’m pulling for Oregon and the FBI!!!
AtlantaTiger
January 7th, 2011
1:41 pm
Auburn should win Monday…I like Oregon too but I don’t see how they can stop Cam Newton. And for those threatening boycott of game and sponsors, GROW UP!!!!
Reservoir Dawg
January 7th, 2011
1:42 pm
DawginLex
That was funny!
BAMA dude
January 7th, 2011
1:44 pm
Oh, Bama will be fine next year. Heavy doses of Trent with Aj and/or Phillip throwing to Maze, Hanks, and youngsters TBD
Mike Bobo 17 INT
January 7th, 2011
1:44 pm
Not this time Tony my man…because this is the first time that a Pac-10 team has played a SEC team for a national title, thus the edge goes to Oregon. You SEC homies think that football is not played west of the Mississippi, but there is more talent that you think on the West Coast and the titel game will prove it.
Just look over the past 10 years Pac-10 schools vs. some of your SEC homies and how they made out. Not so well my friend.
By the way Tony, since you think CMR earned another year go ahead and extend him another 10 so we can make easy work of your Dogs.
charliecole
January 7th, 2011
1:45 pm
5 in a row coming soon.
http://www.secsportsworld.blogspot.com
Tell the truth
January 7th, 2011
1:45 pm
Bama recruitnik Did you forget FSU CRUSHING Florida 31-7???
Mike Bobo 17 INT
January 7th, 2011
1:46 pm
There is more chatter on the street about AJ Green going first in the NFL draft, which I do believe he will, but fix your own damn house and quit strutting around about your thug players going pro. The Athens program is broken, but all anyone around Athens can do is talk about their former players.
There are other programs, much smaller than Athens, who have created much great players than most D-1 schools, so just move on.
BAMA dude
January 7th, 2011
1:47 pm
Paul in RDU, I agree with you re: USC, but you can hardly count them as typical Pac-10 football. You can’t even count them as typical college football since it has been found that agents had free run of campus. When you look at what was going on out there you wonder how they ever lost a game. Actually we know, it’s because pretty-boy Carroll let the inmates run the asylum, but still…
Mike Bobo 17 INT
January 7th, 2011
1:47 pm
Cannot wait until 2011…..just another easy target…..
PTC DAWG
January 7th, 2011
1:48 pm
QUACK!!
Mike Bobo 17 INT
January 7th, 2011
1:48 pm
Ask Lattimore how he felt with FSU knocked his ass into next week, and this is the South Carolina team that dominated UGA….
“Its not like we beat a powerhouse.” S. Spurrier
Mike Bobo 17 INT
January 7th, 2011
1:52 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl-WDvCsmcM
Tell the truth
January 7th, 2011
1:53 pm
Oh yes I forgot about FSU over SC- the SEC Least winner!!!
01HAWK
January 7th, 2011
2:03 pm
I am pulling for AUBARN only because……………………Just to keep the streak alive which in turn will help other SEC teams to leapfrog other teams to get to the BCS Championship.
Bama Dude's Worst Nightmare
January 7th, 2011
2:04 pm
So Bama Dude you want to take back your predictions for next year now that you are losing McElroy, Ingram, Dareus, and JULIO JONES!!! LoL
Bama Dude's Worst Nightmare
January 7th, 2011
2:04 pm
So Bama Dude you want to take back your predictions for next year now that you are losing McElroy, Ingram, Dareus, and JULIO JONES!!! LoL
Sir Charles
January 7th, 2011
2:06 pm
“If Cam Newton got $180,000, he’s underpaid”
Bama Dude's Worst Nightmare
January 7th, 2011
2:09 pm
To those who like to cast stones from glass houses, karma will bring you down soon enough….Stay tuned
Whiskeydawg
January 7th, 2011
2:13 pm
Old School. I support the Dawgs first and any SEC team playing outside the conference second. Go South Eastern Conference, go Tigers.
Bama Dude's Worst Nightmare
January 7th, 2011
2:16 pm
Bama Recruitnik what are you gonna do when you violate your probation and get the Death Penalty? “No football for you”…….
DC
January 7th, 2011
2:24 pm
Thats Turrrible!
CL
January 7th, 2011
2:37 pm
Nope, the SEC string ends Monday night. Fairly gets a 15-yard penalty for a late hit on the QB from behind (imagine that!) to keep a drive alive that ends with an Oregon field goal with 00:00 left. Great season otherwise. Collected a Heisman, everybody got paid, blah blah blah
7576DAWG
January 7th, 2011
2:53 pm
I wish we had Alabama’s defense and Auburns offense but I think Auburn will wear Oregon down and will pull away in the second half.
UGA Insider
January 7th, 2011
2:56 pm
Tide Rising,
Your are losing LB Shannon Brown of Adel, GA. Insiders tell me he already in Mississippi at JC.
AU Rules
January 7th, 2011
3:01 pm
Auburn will win this game easy—Oregon’s D is terrible and Cam will light it up. In fact, this game could get ugly early. Mark it down: Auburn 45 Oregon 23
TONE
January 7th, 2011
3:08 pm
the ducks have no chance its all been bought and paid for who cares if you have to give it back in four or five years the money made from the title will already be long gone to someone else’s Daddy by then.
Phil Knight
January 7th, 2011
3:09 pm
Time to see if all the product research pays off. The shoes I sent Auburn should begin desolving about mid 3rd quarter, the gloves shortly after that. OUACK!
CFU & U &U & U
January 7th, 2011
3:14 pm
When you’re a stanky fleabag, you have to brag about the other teams in your conference being good, like that really helps your team! Go out and win your own damn games, you mangey strays!
Technique
January 7th, 2011
3:16 pm
At least the dogs are #1 in thugs and arrests.
Nike Researcher
January 7th, 2011
3:17 pm
Don’t forget Mr. Knight, the perspiration activated dye should change the AU uniform color to Green during halftime.
Not so fast
January 7th, 2011
3:22 pm
Tec-hnique you forgot we are #1 in stomping mudholes in the Bugs Azzes..
Not So Fast
January 7th, 2011
3:25 pm
Hey Not so fast:
GET YOY OWN HANDLE!
Not So Fast
January 7th, 2011
3:27 pm
not YOY, YOUR
S GA AUFAN
January 7th, 2011
3:34 pm
@ CL Fieldgoals will mean nothing in this game for that matter the punting teams will have no affect either.
S GA AUFAN
January 7th, 2011
3:35 pm
@ Phil Knight we do not wear Nike “outfits” we wear Under Armor uniforms.
breamking
January 7th, 2011
3:36 pm
Bammers saying “roll ducks roll” makes me laugh almost as much as that espn advertisement for your fine university. Man the comeback in the Iron Bowl must have really stung the bammers . I really do not know what is funnier bammers buying ducks gear or the accurate description of the commercial on espn. War Eagle…
Bama Dude's Worst Nightmare
January 7th, 2011
3:48 pm
I’m with you breamking LMAO at all the Bammers on here saying go ducks. Bama Dude spends all his time bashing Cam because he’s “one-and-done”, yet this week alone Bama had THREE players leave school early to go pro. Cam coming back next year is their worst nightmare. Keep rooting for the Quackers mullets LoL
Not so fast
January 7th, 2011
3:49 pm
Mine I tell you it’s all mine !!
Not So Fast
January 7th, 2011
3:51 pm
Hey breamking:
That’s so funny sh!t. A Barner baggin on a Bammer.
gcs
January 7th, 2011
3:52 pm
* SEC East had one win on SEC West soil (Vandy at Ole Miss).
* The SEC is 6-0 in the BCS National Championship Game.
ACC (FSU) 1-2, Big XII (Okl, Nebr, Tex) 2-5, Big Ten (Ohio St) 1-2, Pac 10 (So Cal), Big East (Miami, Va Tech) 1-2.
* The last four BCS games have been won by double digits, averaging 16.75 points.
I am curious how many times one team from a conference started the season ranked #1 and a different team from the same conference finished #1.
.
Not So Fast
January 7th, 2011
3:57 pm
Hey gcs:
Check your numbers. They are wrong.
DJ
January 7th, 2011
4:02 pm
I wholeheartedly believe the SEC is the best conference, not by far. In fact, I think think the SEC is overrated this year. I know I live in the southeast but I cannot ignore the fact that the SEC is 3-4 in bowl games this season and the top SEC team had to battle from behind 8 times and several being down double-digits (which does show resilience and toughness). On the other hand, Auburn is playing against a team that is as fast as they are and have a month to continue their face-paced offense. I can assure you that the month off will hurt Auburn more than Oregon. It’s very hard to try and emulate their face-paced offense in practice for one month.
DJ
January 7th, 2011
4:05 pm
The only reason I focused on Oregon’s offense is because their terrible defense has been bad, even against average offenses. Auburn’s offense and Cam can only do so much.
DJ
January 7th, 2011
4:06 pm
I mean Auburn’s defense has been terrible.
Patrick Romano WAR DAMN EAGLE
January 7th, 2011
4:06 pm
Bama Fan #2,
You are a moron and let me just reiterate, Auburn (The University) of Alabama & Cameron Newton have not been proven to have benefited at all from the hear say & alleged pay for play by Cecil Newton. AU has not had to defend their honor to anyone.
You are probably too ignorant and blind-sided by Jealousy after this year’s Iron Bowl to get that through your pea-brain head.
I was more than happy to support Bama in last year’s championship b/c it is great for our SEC conference.
Why don’t you go cry on one of those Bamer blogs you idiot.
WAR DAMN EAGLE and Cam and Nick Fairley lead us to the promised land Mon. night in Glendale Desert…
Beast from the East
January 7th, 2011
4:08 pm
Pulling for the Barners, but it will be a close game whichever way it goes.
Patrick Romano WAR DAMN EAGLE
January 7th, 2011
4:22 pm
DJ,
See my comments to Bama Fan#2 you too are a pea brain idiot,
Any team that goes 8-0 in the SEC and goes undefeated does not have to justify their position & ranking to any moron such as yourself and Bama Fan2
13-0 is impressive and I don’t see any let down in this year’s AU Tigerz.
WAR DAMN EAGLE
PS Could not have set posted it better Bama Dude’s Worst Nightmare…
Duck’s are TIGER MEAT, TIGER MEAT…Reagle, Reagle, WAR DAMN EAGLE, kick em in the butt, Big Blue…
Bama fans, your jealousy of Cam, Nick Fairly and the entire 2010 season is hilarious, Sore losers…WDE
how2fish
January 7th, 2011
4:23 pm
Hope the War Eagles feast on some Duck…but I have to admit if they could let some air out of that gasbag Fairly it would just be a great finishing sauce. Hope Cam has the best game of his career!
BAMA dude
January 7th, 2011
4:34 pm
UGA Insider
January 7th, 2011
2:56 pm
Tide Rising,
Your are losing LB Shannon Brown of Adel, GA. Insiders tell me he already in Mississippi at JC.
That is correct, Brown didn’t qualify. No big deal, we have LBs out the wazoo.