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
GTBob
November 19th, 2012
1:49 pm
Red Stick, you should check some more SOS rankings. Most aren’t very favorable to SEC teams.
Buckeye
November 19th, 2012
1:50 pm
fellow,
I did not coin the word delusional in reference to the dogs. That was Mandel of si.com. He said,
and I paraphrase, “(dogs) have the most delusional fan base in all of college football”.
Look it up, or have tom “Where you at” brown do it for you.
DeezNutz
November 19th, 2012
1:50 pm
GTBob please refer to my previous post when your “cupcake” arguement is eaten up by the SEC’s bowl record in the past decade. We dominate. Even the 7-9th bowl eligble teams like Ole Miss and Miss State, Vandy, etc. win their games.
Again, we don’t have to play anyone in our non-conf schedule because we whup em in the bowls. We only schedule cupcakes like Mid Tenn State during the season because they’re sure wins.
i see the teabaggers
November 19th, 2012
1:51 pm
like buckeye and kingdaddy are out in force again. fella’s i hate to break it to you but you already lost the civil war and you got your asses whupped no less.
how dumb are you two? republitard dumb.
dean
November 19th, 2012
1:51 pm
Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii gggggggghhhhhhhhhhtttttttt! Go blue! (I never did like that team named after a fat acorn)
Buckeye
November 19th, 2012
1:51 pm
GT BOB
dogs, Bama, USC, FL all get free wins in November. Kudos to the SEC! SEC! for gaming the system.
SEC the best? lmfaowmimp
November 19th, 2012
1:51 pm
HEY JEFF WHY DO OTHERS HAVE TO DO YOUR WORK FOR YOU?
the sec is a good conference that uses an unfair advantage to hold onto the top spot. of course you will never see espn complain about it.
http://oversigning.com/testing/?s=saban+miles
saban and miles have signed more players than any other program over the last 10 years via over signing. it is NO coincidence that lsu and bama are often 1 and 2 in the bcs. they are also the worst at over signing by a wide margin. the sec as a conference is the worst by far.
for instance saban averages 27.5 players every year. gt on the other hand probably signs an average of 19. so over 4 years we sign 76 players and bama signs 115. a difference of 49 players. 50% more than gt every 4 years. 115/76=150%. the quantity of players is not the only issue.
of the 115 they sign every 4 years, they cherry pick the very best 85 and drive off the remaining 30 to grades, injury, malcontent, transfer etc etc. that is why the sec always seems to pull away in the 3d and 4th quarters of games against any other top programs not in the sec… tosu oklahoma fsu UGA etc. that is why they have won 5 nc in a row. as the article points out the sec commits this foul far more than any other conference.
they don’t have ’sec’ speed. they don’t have better coaching. they have better rosters top to bottom because of the over signing / cherry picking. that is why tosu got their butt kicked in the 2nd half by both uf and lsu. tosu and the big ten do not over sign. the acc does not over sign.
sec teams like bama and lsu end up with so much talent on their roster that the difference between 1st team an 3d team is marginal as compared to other programs. richt at uga does not over sign.
that is a huge reason why uga has fallen behind lsu, bama and now sc. sc under the ol ball sack now over signs. before spurrier started oversigning the gamecocks were strugglin. now they are a top ten team.
funny how sc pulled away from clemson in the 2nd half of last years game game isnt it? usc is to clemson as bama is to uga. all 4 teams have 4-5 star talent. only 2 of those teams over sign.
in 2 weeks look for uga to hold its own against bama for a half. it will be all bama after the half. it will have nothing to do with the adjustments that saban and staff made and everything to do with bama being the fresher team… the team with more overall talent.
this is not the only result from the over signing. for example say the sec per team average is 105 players every 4 years. (probably high)
using this number means that the bama for instance cuts 20 players every 4 years in order to maintain the 85 schollie limit each year. mutliply that number by the number of teams that oversign. that is the number of players that were held out of the talent pool.
basically, the sec hordes a large number of the best players from the talent pool of southern players that gt and other programs recruit from. that is why gt cant recruit big uglies on the d and o. the sec hordes them all via over signing.
you may or may not remember but before we had the 85 scholarship rule. teams like bear bryant and bama would have 120+ plus players on the roster.
different method of cherry picking and hording players but the same end result. that is one of the reasons why coach dodd disliked bear bryant. dodd thought that player hording was immoral.
this really hurts teams like gt, vandy, acc, big 10, big east, pac10 …. tosu and yes even UGA.
UGA FANS…. you have no chance in beating bama in two weeks. none.
yes the sec has the best fb conference no doubt and its not because they coach better or have sec speed. all teams have players with ’sec’ speed. they just horde more of them.
put another way….
if we held a 100 meter dash sprint for the top 100 sprinters in the country but we gave the same sprinter a 10 yard head start for each race. if he wins most of them is he the fastest man in the country?
HELL NO IS ISNT. he had an unfair advantage!
if we really want a national championship it is time for the ncaa to really crack down on over signing and level the playing field. all the bragging that sec fans do now is just so much false bravado no matter how much they say to the contrary ….
AND THEY KNOW IT.
Patched Tire On I-95 in Jacksonville
November 19th, 2012
1:52 pm
GT Bob
Presbyterian
Mddle Tenn
BYU
Wow thats a tough out of conference schedule Tech has
Buckeye
November 19th, 2012
1:53 pm
SEC! SEC! The Best,
Touche.
Can’t wait for tom “Where you at” brown’s retort.
Clowns
November 19th, 2012
1:55 pm
1/1/1993 Georgia 21 Ohio State 14
Ohio State is 2-10-1 against teams from the Southeastern Conference since 1936. They had two wins against Vandy and Kentucky in the thirties, 4-10-1 all time.
Ohio State is:
0-1 vs Georgia
0-1 vs Auburn
0-1 vs Tennessee
0-2 vs South Carolina
0-3 vs Alabama
1-1-1 vs. LSU
OSU did manage a last minute victory with ineligible players vs Arkansas.
Ohio State has only themselves to blame for NCAA probation and the fact is…..they have not beaten a team anywhere near the top 10 and have struggled to beat everyone else.
Alabama beat Michigan 41-14……..lets see how the buttnuts fare.
KBP
November 19th, 2012
1:55 pm
Non SEC fans: Why doesn’t your AD’s schedule games that will position its teams to compete for BCS championships?
I am not a Tech fan but they did not back into the ACC CG. It’s not their fault that Miami and N Carolina cheated. They won enough games to position themselves for the ACC CG regardless of circumstances they could not control, i.e. Miami’s and N Carolina’s ethics. With that said, congrats on the Coastal and I hope my Dawgs beat you like you stole something.
Go Dawgs! GATA!
Buckeye
November 19th, 2012
1:55 pm
You know what they say in the SEC! SEC!
If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying.
dean
November 19th, 2012
1:55 pm
SECthebest?
Tell it to Texas A&M. They “didn’t have a chance” either.
GTBob
November 19th, 2012
1:56 pm
Wow thats a tough out of conference schedule Tech has
I think you forgot a team but your point is still valid. We don’t play a tough team OOC either.
Alfred Jenkins
November 19th, 2012
1:56 pm
who has the SEC beaten outside of the SEC?
A: Everyone in the BCS games and bowl games
Our record playing the best from other conferences is outstanding.
Buckeye
November 19th, 2012
1:56 pm
SEC! SEC!
Home of the illustrious Fulmer Cup
kingdaddy
November 19th, 2012
1:57 pm
@Blue
Buckeye’s tattoo(”stupid”) was free…his forehead was so big, he got another free tattoo under the “stupid”one. It said “Cheating’s OK, if you don’t get caught!” He had room for a third one, but they wanted him to pay for that one…
Joey
November 19th, 2012
1:58 pm
Hey democRAT, look in the mirror and you will see the dumbass . . .
Red Stick
November 19th, 2012
1:58 pm
@GA Sandlapper, I listed the source for the SOS.
GTBob
November 19th, 2012
1:58 pm
Why doesn’t your AD’s schedule games that will position its teams to compete for BCS championships?
Because its boring and hurts the game in general. In the most important weekend of the season not a single SEC team played a quality opponent. What a shocker.
Buckeye
November 19th, 2012
1:58 pm
Long Live Johnny Football. The freshman that took down the big boy of the SEC! SEC!
Go ahead, dogs, claim Johnny Football as part of your sorry ass SEC!@ SEC! lore.
I can hear it now:
Go dogs, go Johnny!
Alfred Jenkins
November 19th, 2012
1:58 pm
Case in point.
The SEC # 5 plays the ACC # 2 in the peach bowl.
And usually wears them out.
There is no comparison between the two conferences.
Still not convinced. Watch any NFL game.
Half the players will be from the SEC.
Think thats just an accident ?
WDE
November 19th, 2012
1:59 pm
Buckeye bitter much? The SEC didn’t make the Buckeyes cheat the SEC didn’t turn them in or bitch slap them with sanctions, we just bitch slap them in bowl games…cry me a river ! You can talk tough this year as they is NO way you will have to back it up…dismissed!
America spoke
November 19th, 2012
1:59 pm
Haters gonna hate! I hated the 49ers of the ’80s! Lots of America hated the Braves during their 14-straight division winning years! Lots of America hate the current Yankees!
Part of hating is envy, pure and simple!
Buckeye
November 19th, 2012
1:59 pm
alfred,
Sparty mean anything to the dogs?
Buckeye
November 19th, 2012
2:00 pm
wde,
We will be higher ranked in the AP than the dogs in the end.
Alfred Jenkins
November 19th, 2012
2:01 pm
Go ahead, dogs, claim Johnny Football as part of your sorry ass SEC!@ SEC! lore
Man somebody really really needs a life.
Sucks to be you dude.
WDE
November 19th, 2012
2:01 pm
“as there is no way you will have to back it up”
jeremy wallace
November 19th, 2012
2:02 pm
@ Suckeye… to answer your question about an SEC fan chanting SEC!SEC!..I spent my last night of a wonderful vacation in a hotel room in Hawaii without taking my last chance for a while to enjoy that beautiful part of america just so I could watch my very least favorite SEC team(the Gayturds) punch the BIG 10 in the mouth.That of course would have been against…drum roll please…the Suckeyes!
Patched Tire On I-95 in Jacksonville
November 19th, 2012
2:02 pm
Buckeye
SEC the best
Yea I think so
Since 1980 the SEC has won 11 National Titles
The Big 10 is more laughable than the ACC
Since 1980
Have won national titles for a total of 5 if you include Miami its 10
What has the Big 10 done since 1980 hot shot
Buckeye
November 19th, 2012
2:02 pm
kingdaddy,
Free tats or weapons charges. Your call.
hey kingdaddy
November 19th, 2012
2:02 pm
when are uga thugs like crowell gonna stop riding to atlanta to rob gt students so that they can buy tats?
when you gonna fix that urine smell in your stadium? maybe your proud of it.
” Michael Adams, UGA President:
There was urination, there was defecation, there were 70 tons of trash. Buildings like the Law School or the library, we’ve had to close because when we left them open the destruction was too significant.
Augusta Chronicle – (UGA) has to close the library on game days because … “people were peeing in the stacks, vomiting in the stairwell and getting into fights in the lobby that the people who worked (there) got fed up with all the abuse.”
it is no wonder that the town of st simons has banned uga tailgaters during the uga fla game. down right shameful. never heard of a buckeye having that problem or a jacket.
using the word class around an uga fan is an oxymoron.
Resident Georgia Fan
November 19th, 2012
2:03 pm
@ Buckeye John … yeah right just like the Buckeyes do every time they play the SEC: Lose! And usually lose big.
Alfred Jenkins
November 19th, 2012
2:03 pm
Sparty mean anything to the dogs?
The exception to the rule.
I think thats the first time we have ever lost to a Big Ten team in a bowl game.
I know we have worn Ohio State out many times.
A blind squirrel finds an acorn every now and then.
Either way your not worth my time.
Have fun with your trolling.
JB
November 19th, 2012
2:03 pm
Easy schedules? Anyone check the big 10. Granted, the SEC is a little off this year, but some years when you have LSU & Bama ( as usual) and GA,Fla,AU,Tenn,ArK all clicking,,,,,,,,,,you goobers come get you some of this…..
ClinchCountyDawg
November 19th, 2012
2:03 pm
Buckeye
Sounds like you have your cute wittle sweater vest in a wad. You have to admit that the Dawgs are siiting in a good position.
DeezNutz
November 19th, 2012
2:03 pm
@Dean
Johnny Football is the player that you thought you had when you put you whole program on Denard Robinson’s shoulders.
kingdaddy
November 19th, 2012
2:05 pm
Congrats to Tech. If you beat FSU, will you still be a “cupcake”???
DixieDawg
November 19th, 2012
2:06 pm
Buckeye,
Concerning sec glory, yes & no. Yes in 2002 (win over FSU in sugar bowl) & No in 2005 (Loss to West VA in sugar bowl)
I-DOG
November 19th, 2012
2:06 pm
Angry Clemson fan:
Who has Georgia beaten that gives them the right to play for the national title? Well, if they do make it to the title game, it will mean that they beat #2 Alabama. It would mean that they beat 2 seperate teams that were ranked # 2 at the time they played them. No other team in the entire country would have two wins against top 5 teams.
If Georgia beats tech and Bama and gets in, they certainly got lucky with OR losing and Ohio State being on probation, but just about every team can say that when they get in the nat. title game. Notre Dame was certainly luck to be Pitts. in 3 OT’s and really Pitt just collapsed in the 4th quarter. Bama was luck to get the Mulligan and play for the title despite not even playing in the conference championship last year. Georgia would deserve it as much as anyone if they beat Bama
USMC
November 19th, 2012
2:06 pm
JEFF!
You hit the BULLS EYE! I love it when I hear people criticize and put down the SEC without taking into consideration the state of ALL of the other conferences.
Is the SEC perfect??? Of course NOT!
DO I, as Georgia Bulldog fan, get a little tired of the SEC “hype”??? Absolutely.
But I am so impressed that you are able to break it all down for the Folks and point out the OBVIOUS…. The SEC has something pretty special going on here.
SCHULTZ, Thanks for the article and I apologize for ribbing you as a WEST Hollywood Liberal.
Go Dawgs!
(all we can ask for is a CHANCE… And that, folks, is all we have!)
Buckeye
November 19th, 2012
2:07 pm
patched,
Pick a team or a conference. If you’re a dog, you pick conference. If you pick a team the dogs are down list. Losers pick conference. Winners pick team.
Buckeye
November 19th, 2012
2:07 pm
dogs:
There was urination, there was defecation, there were 70 tons of trash. Buildings like the Law School or the library, we’ve had to close because when we left them open the destruction was too significant.
Reality
November 19th, 2012
2:09 pm
Give me a break. Your analysis is very much exactly how the SEC fans argue.
All you do is evaluate the results of the top couple of teams. What about the REST of the conference?
Any conference strength needs to include ALL teams in the conference and not just the top. If you use this to analyze, the SEC really is no better or worse than most of the other conferences.
America spoke
November 19th, 2012
2:09 pm
Beam me up, Scotty! No signs of intelligent life here!
Go Dawgs! Our team! Our time! No regrets! Commit to the “G!”
WDE
November 19th, 2012
2:09 pm
Buckeye if you are its because you don’t play in either a championship game or a bowl and that’s because you cheat and are unworthy.
Rick James
November 19th, 2012
2:10 pm
@GTBob
Sorry, but what else prompted this blog in which you felt to rant about how terrible everyone is except the SEC? It just happens to come out the same day that Miami bailed out and you take a couple of unneeded shots at Tech. It just doesn’t seem like you are very happy about the news today. Just my opinion
—————————————————————————————————————————–
Bob everybody else is terrible except the SEC and that’s just most people’s opinon.What was Jeff suppose to do lead a parade down Peachtree because got an early Christmas present from Miami? Or maybe you thought he should write something about about much Tech deserved to play for the ACC championship..There’s a reason tickets to the game can bought for 6 bucks and SEC championship tickets start at 300.Which one do you think will sell out?
Buckeye
November 19th, 2012
2:10 pm
My good friend Clinch,
Good position, yes. Tough odds, yes. I think GT will make you pucker into the 2nd half and no one will help Murray overcome Murray being Murray in a big game. Past is prologue.
Is the DQ still open?
kingdaddy
November 19th, 2012
2:10 pm
SSI
Is that you???
Alfred Jenkins
November 19th, 2012
2:10 pm
Pick a team or a conference. If you’re a dog, you pick conference. If you pick a team the dogs are down list. Losers pick conference. Winners pick team.
Im not sure that qualifies as English.
Not only are you just a troll your a dumb one at that.
Sucks to be you LOL.