Wonder why SEC on top? Look at other conference finals (with video)
Can you hear SEC commissioner Mike Slive? "Yes, I am king. Are there any questions?" (AP photo)
While it’s easy to understand why any fan of a conference not named the SEC grows tired of hearing and reading about the SEC, the evolution of this year’s conference championship match-ups screams why the landscape is so lopsided.
This came home Monday when Miami announced that the football program was going to self-impose a bowl ban (hoping to beat the NCAA to the punch) and therefore would not accept a bid to the ACC championship game. This allowed Georgia Tech to back through the door as Coastal Division “champions.” The Jackets will face Florida State for the ACC title.
This isn’t meant to pick on Georgia Tech. It’s not the Jackets’ fault they have been given this opportunity, despite a relatively crummy season. But if you want to know why the SEC commands the attention it does, just look at how the ACC and other conference championship games compare.
Here are the conference title games, listed from worst to first:
• BIG EAST: There is no conference championship game because it doesn’t have enough teams (12 is the mandated minimum). Why the Big East is an automatic qualifier in the BCS order of things is beyond logic because it seems to exist only to have its remains picked over by the ACC and Big 12 for their own conference expansion. On a related note: Possible Big East champion Rutgers is considering joining the Big Ten.
• BIG 12: It was forced to cancel its conference championship game after 2010 because the defections of Nebraska (Big Ten) and Colorado (Pacific 12) left the conference with only 10 teams. In other words, the name “Big 12” is a lie! There’s also this: Kansas State, the conference’s best team and No. 1 in the BCS until Saturday, just got flattened by Baylor.
• ACC: The conference championship will match Georgia Tech against Florida State. If the Yellow Jackets lose to Georgia, they will be a 6-6 conference finalist. So much for marquee value. Coastal Division teams Miami and North Carolina are ineligible and usual power Virginia Tech has fallen apart. The Seminoles, winners of the Atlantic, have a nice record (10-1). But they get little love from computers (ranking 17th) and stand only 10th in the BCS. That’s what happens when you lose to North Carolina State and have one win over a ranked team (Clemson).
• BIG TEN: This is very ACC-like. Third-place Wisconsin (4-3, 7-4, with another possible loss this week at Penn State) will represent the “Leaders” Division in the conference championship game. Why? Because Ohio State (7-0, 11-0) and Penn State (5-2, 7-3) both are ineligible. The other finalist will be either Nebraska or Michigan, neither of whom rank among the top 13 schools in the BCS.
• PACIFIC 12: Oregon, the conference’s best team and until Saturday the No. 2 team in the BCS, may not even play for the Pac-12 title now. The Ducks lost to Stanford at home, and now need a win over Oregon State and a Stanford loss to UCLA to get into the game. The Bruins locked up the South Division with last week’s win over USC. But they’re far out of BCS title contention (17th).
• SEC: Conference teams have won six straight BCS championships and, as much as it pains the rest of the populace, there is a chance the SEC will make it seven. If Georgia beats Georgia Tech Saturday and Alabama beats Auburn, the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide will meet next week for not only the SEC championship but a pass into BCS game. Upsets by Tech and/or Auburn would change the scenario. But as of now, the SEC has by far the best conference title game and with the most on the line nationally.
So what else is new?
- By Jeff Schultz
Cyber-chatting on Atlanta sports — and can Tech pull the upset?
Busy times … earlier blogs you might’ve missed
• Falcons win — but run before somebody changes their mind
• Short takes: Ryan awful, defense great, win important
• Georgia’s new reality: From on the brink to BCS title possibility
• Upsets launch Georgia into BCS title picture (updated game column)
• Short takes: Murray wakes up the offense
• Weekend Predictions: Dogs, Jackets, Falcons and the lust triangles
• Falcons’ flaws aren’t worse than any other NFL team
• College hoop kings provide rare thrills for Atlanta
• Falcons’ startling admission: Ray Edwards was a blunder
• Will SEC get team to BCS championship (answer below) (with video)
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498 comments Add your comment
Buckeye
November 20th, 2012
11:10 am
tom brown,
Bee in your bonnet tom brown?
Buckeye
November 20th, 2012
11:14 am
tom brown,
I knew Woody Hayes. He was a friend of mine.
Who was the last SEC! SEC! coach eulogized by a President of the United States?
That should keep your google humming for the next hour or so.
Buckeye
November 20th, 2012
11:17 am
tom brown,
Learn:
http://buckeyefansonly.com/woody/woodyquotesandstories.html
Buckeye
November 20th, 2012
11:18 am
tom brown,
1969 Rose Bowl
Skeptic
November 20th, 2012
11:22 am
It say’s, “Enter your comments here”, not cut and paste the universe here
ARdawg
November 20th, 2012
11:23 am
Buckeye
No matter our final destination which at this point easily could be Miami, one thing for sure is that your team will be in C-Bus at home wishing they were as good and playing wherever Georgia is. HA HA HA
ARdawg
November 20th, 2012
11:25 am
Joey
Urban Cryer is still honeymooning in Columbus. When the hineymoon is over the health problems and exodus begins. He’s a mediocre coach when things are good, when things turn South, he’s on the highway
WDE
November 20th, 2012
11:26 am
Man if ND loses to USC this week and Bama and UGA win that would put Bama no.1 and UGA no.2 first that will drive the SEC haters round the bend then if UGA could beat Bama that would mean UGA with their “soft” schedule had managed to beat the no.1 and no.2 teams in the nation at the time we played them and that my friends will cause the trolls to swallow their tongues in outrage…it would in a word be…..wonderful !! But first beat the Bugs !! Go Dogs !
Buckeye
November 20th, 2012
11:28 am
ardog,
You are correct assuming the dogs are in Miami. Big assumption. You will be in FLA, likely Orlando or JAX again playing in the early game and perhaps against Northwestern. You may in fact beat Northwestern and that will be the dog big reward for another shoulda woulda coulda season. If that pans out, I will be laughing HA HA HA
Buckeye
November 20th, 2012
11:30 am
tom brown,
Chris Spielman. See what he’s up to mr. “never done anything” tom brown.
And I’m not talking ESPN color analyst tom brown
Buckeye
November 20th, 2012
11:31 am
wde
If Barkley were playing I’d say USC has a shot. Against a first start freshman, they have no shot.
Buckeye
November 20th, 2012
11:33 am
tom brown,
Is that 10 yet tom brown?
Buckeye
November 20th, 2012
11:40 am
tom brown
Did Lucy pull the football out from you too tom brown?
ARdawg
November 20th, 2012
11:43 am
Buckeye
But we have a season and more importantly a post season, what have your guys got? Diddly squat and probation
Buckeye
November 20th, 2012
11:59 am
ardog,
We don’t have a season? Huh?
No post-season? True. Old news. 3 hours on New Years. I’ll survive.
On the other hand, We have a currently #3 ranked NCAA Basketball team that we can enjoy into March while you can enjoy you gym dogs. HA HA HA
Buckeye
November 20th, 2012
12:03 pm
tom brown,
Ready for a little basketball research tom brown?
I’ll concede everything with “one and done” Kentucky.
Let’s go from there.
WDE
November 20th, 2012
12:04 pm
Buckeye I hold little hope of a USC victory either for that very reason….but it is a “storied rivalry” and isn’t Lane Kiffen supposed to be a football genius? Sorry I can’t stop laughing after typing that…
Reality
November 20th, 2012
12:18 pm
Ugag fans are just crazy (read stupid). There will not be two SEC teams in the BCS championship game this year.
If GA defeats AL, then GA goes and AL does not.
If AL defeats GA, then AL goes and GA does not.
It is as simple as that. There are too many other teams in line to go, even if Notre Dame loses to USC. However, no one can ever hope to tell this to an SEC fan. They are just too crazy (read stupid).
WDE
November 20th, 2012
12:24 pm
Reality are you just high or as stupid as you think everyone else is? Right now ND is 1 Bama 2 UGA 3 and UF 4…if ND loses all the SEC teams that win this week move up one, if we beat Bama and UF has beaten FSU it could certainly be a all SEC BCS game…weep troll boy weep.
kingdaddy
November 20th, 2012
12:47 pm
The SEC is the “center” of the known football universe. The rest of the conferences “revolve” around us. We rule you, we own you, we dictate to you. You are subservient to us. Subordinates, who try to immulate and copy us. We start the trends that you follow. One day, we will have an off year and some deserving team outside the SEC will win, but the SEC will rise again and again, because we are what football is about and everyone else want to be just like us, winners, not whiners…
ARdawg
November 20th, 2012
12:47 pm
Bucky
Then enjoy your Basketball. Don’t let your envy for the SEC spoil it. Or try not to. We haven’t been on cheating probation so I am not as familiar as you but it would appear you have no season. You don’t have anything to play for. One might assume kind of like taking your sister to the prom
Buckeye
November 20th, 2012
12:52 pm
tom brown,
Guess who is #6 on Staples current Power Rankings?
Yep, The Ohio State University
Guess who is #7 tom brown?
Yep, the dogs
HA HA HA tom brown
Buckeye
November 20th, 2012
12:54 pm
ardog,
Actually, if we go undefeated it will be the fifth time in our history. The kids on this team sure as hell had a season and they will be remembered for putting our one year nightmare to bed.
DONNAN OF A NEW ERA
November 20th, 2012
12:59 pm
“Auburn lest we forget with the one semester “student athlete” term of the much maligned and some would argue paid for Cam Newton.”
Auburn won the championship with the best offensive line in the nation. You can whine, cry and b!tch about it all you want but it won’t change anything.
Going 14-0 in the SEC something only one other team has ever done and that other team is Alabama.
SUCK ON THAT, BUCKEYE!
DONNAN OF A NEW ERA
November 20th, 2012
1:00 pm
Buckeye seems to have forgotten that his team is currently on probation.
DONNAN OF A NEW ERA
November 20th, 2012
1:01 pm
Ohio State is the school that hasn’t beaten an SEC team in a bowl game.
Ever.
DONNAN OF A NEW ERA
November 20th, 2012
1:02 pm
“Actually, if we go undefeated it will be the fifth time in our history.”
Not all that impressive.
Auburn has gone undefeated NINE times in it’s football history.
Suck on that, Buckeye.
DONNAN OF A NEW ERA
November 20th, 2012
1:03 pm
“Guess who is #6 on Staples current Power Rankings?”
Guess who can’t go to a bowl game this year?
O State.
Guess who can’t beat an SEC in bowl games?
O State.
DONNAN OF A NEW ERA
November 20th, 2012
1:03 pm
Urban Meyer. Isn’t he the guy who cried like a baby when Cam Newton won a title at Auburn?
DONNAN OF A NEW ERA
November 20th, 2012
1:06 pm
Guess what school O State has never beaten in a bowl game?
Auburn.
ARdawg
November 20th, 2012
1:07 pm
Buckeye
Then relish in it if you can with the knowledge that you didn’t have to play an SEC team to end it all for you.
The once proud and revered Big 10 is no more. Before them were the Ivy league schools. You see where they are, that’s where your headed. Irrelevant, weak conference.
Eric C.
November 20th, 2012
1:07 pm
Reality just got checked
Buckeye
November 20th, 2012
1:08 pm
donnan,
Better late then never.
This blog no longer on the front page.
You appear to be pro-Auburn. I was not maligning Auburn’s NC, I was maligning the fact that Cam spent one semester on Campus.
Also, I have no interest in Urban’s SEC! SEC! actions other than the fact that he won 2 NC’s and the dogs won the Liber….oh, sorry, they didn’t win that either.
Buckeye
November 20th, 2012
1:11 pm
ardog,
Every dog has their day. Have fun with yours.
Perhaps the B1G fine tradition is going down with the rest of Obama’s America.
DONNAN OF A NEW ERA
November 20th, 2012
1:14 pm
“You appear to be pro-Auburn. I was not maligning Auburn’s NC, I was maligning the fact that Cam spent one semester on Campus.”
You were indeed “maligning” Auburn’s title as if it was a fluke. I pointed out that going 14-0 is impossible for a team that isn’t great. Auburn’s 2010 team was the best in the country by far. Cam did spend a small amount of time at Auburn but who cares? It’s not like Cam was going to med school. Quit pretending football players are anything but football players.
“I have no interest in Urban’s SEC! SEC! actions other than the fact that he won 2 NC’s’
Urban won 2 national titles with sub-par teams. He was incapable of going undefeated at UF and never could beat Auburn. He also lost to Ole Miss.
Buckeye
November 20th, 2012
1:15 pm
tom brown,
I’ll give you the last word
Or, in your case, pages
Buckeye
November 20th, 2012
1:17 pm
Donnan,
No fluke. I watched Cam come back vs. Bama and SC in the Dome.
I’m also pleased Cam in on the NFC South – means 2 division wins for the Falcons.
I would like to see Fairly’s transcripts (and his rap sheet). I’m sure that would be entertaining.
Buckeye
November 20th, 2012
1:18 pm
donnan,
I’m tired and you were late to the party.
peace out girl scout
DONNAN OF A NEW ERA
November 20th, 2012
1:21 pm
“I watched Cam come back vs. Bama and SC in the Dome.”
Auburn was never down in the Dome. Auburn destroyed USC from start to finish.
“I’m also pleased Cam in on the NFC South”
Cam does not have an offense or defense. If Carolina’s defense was better, they’d have easily beaten the Falcons, Bears and Bucs.
“means 2 division wins for the Falcons.”
Which means a first round loss for a fourth straight year.
“I would like to see Fairly’s transcripts ”
Why are you a racist?
DONNAN OF A NEW ERA
November 20th, 2012
1:22 pm
“I’m tired and you were late to the party.”
I’m sure you are tired since I beat down every single piece of crap you threw out on this blog.
“peace out girl scout”
Whatever you say, troglodyte.
Real Dawgs Fan
November 20th, 2012
1:26 pm
NFL teams consistently say that the SEC gets players ready for the next level. Before last year, other conf. had a chance, but couldn’t beat SEC teams. More people tune in to watch SEC games on TV. So
why wouldn’t we be considered the best?
Yes, if UGA does happen to win it all, other schools would continue to rub 7 straight in the face of others. Yes other schools would pull for UGA over ND.
GO DAWGS!!! GATA
Put in Timeout by Ken Suguira,Filtered by Mark Bradley, Banned by Bill King, Chip Towers & only slightly loved by Jeff Schultz.
November 20th, 2012
2:07 pm
Real Dawgs Fan
November 20th, 2012
1:26 pm
NFL teams consistently say that the SEC gets players ready for the next level.
====================================
Then Why are the 2nd most players taken from the ACC if the ACC is so bad? Could it be the ACC players are actually SMART & Good football players?
DawgNole
November 20th, 2012
2:14 pm
Thomas Brown
November 19th, 2012
11:39 pm
6-5 Georgie tek loses 50-9 to UGA Saturday at our house
6-6 Georgie tek then loses to 10-2 Florida State
_____________________
So you’re predicting FSU will lose to fla (which they must to be 10-2 when they play Tech)? How does that synch with your near season-long insistence that the gators will suffer “four or five losses in 2012″?
As always, your contradictory ramblings make little if any sense–much like Buckeye’s, except that his are obviously more concise. He’s close to your equal in ignorance, but much less boring.
DawgNole
November 20th, 2012
4:21 pm
Put in Timeout . . .
November 20th, 2012
9:47 am
Chip Towers
November 20th, 2012
9:35 am
Thomas Brown has been blacklisted for posting under multiple names and posting false and inflammatory comments. He was also posting as “Voice of Reason” and several other handles.
================================
Thomas Brown……just use the 1 name per Blog. Don’t use 3 names on the same blog it is that easy.
___________________
You changed what Towers actually posted–from “Tomas Broun” to “Thomas Brown.” Frankly, that should be a bannable offense. You’re fortunate that Schultz is fairly liberal with his blog policies.
Put in Timeout by Ken Suguira,Filtered by Mark Bradley, Banned by Bill King, Chip Towers & only slightly loved by Jeff Schultz.
November 20th, 2012
5:15 pm
DawgNole i thought he misspelled it……It isn’t like JEFF has never had a typing error. LOL
Put in Timeout by Ken Suguira,Filtered by Mark Bradley, Banned by Bill King, Chip Towers & only slightly loved by Jeff Schultz.
November 20th, 2012
5:16 pm
Or Chip Towers either.
pat Way
November 20th, 2012
8:17 pm
Hey Buckeye ND ll you other OSU fans wait til Urban screws you like he did Fl, Utah and everyone else he has coached as far as being the best team not hardly. several games should have lost they would not even beat FL or Carolina heck vandy would even beat them
pat Way
November 20th, 2012
8:19 pm
If Ohio State had been made to sit those criminal players they would have lost