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
ATL Dawg
November 19th, 2012
4:32 pm
Buckeye – Do you have a job? Go to work! How can you spend so much time trolling and making the same point 50 times??
GTBob
November 19th, 2012
4:38 pm
There is plenty of OOC from which you loud mouth complainers could beat an SEC team. The problem is, you just never do. Until you do, STFU
Lets be real. GT may never beat UGA again. If the SEC can show their dominance by having a football factory beat up on an engineering school every year then college football is a bit of a joke. How about having the good SEC teams play some quality games OOC? Maybe you could even convince Florida to leave the state of Florida for an OOC game.
Midway
November 19th, 2012
4:38 pm
Schedules
Easy
Cupcakes
GTBob
November 19th, 2012
4:40 pm
After winning it a mere three time in the previous 25 years, it’s good for southern morale.
You get a boost of southern morale from college football? That might be the weirdest thing I have ever read on here.
Buckeye
November 19th, 2012
4:45 pm
ATL,
I am evil 1%er. My money works for me.
drew
November 19th, 2012
4:46 pm
hahahahahaha
Pathetic logic by a pretty pathetic “writer”…
Buckeye
November 19th, 2012
4:46 pm
Midway,
IN NOVEMBER!
KJ
November 19th, 2012
4:55 pm
LOL @ Suckeyes fans. Most delusional fanbase in CFB. It’s like they have no memory of the last 20 years, of getting curbstomped by the SEC. Every. Single. Time.
DawginSewer
November 19th, 2012
4:57 pm
yass yasss wewss dis theses bestses. Wenes knows readses ritess, wesss livess inses sereess.
Wees iss seresrs dwagss. Ruffses Ruffs.
Buckeye
November 19th, 2012
5:00 pm
kj,
You are just another dog resting on their 3-10 v SEC ranked team since 2008 sorry ass record and claiming conference.
ARdawg
November 19th, 2012
5:00 pm
Actually, yeah. The beat down Georgia puts on your Nerds every year does bring a small degree of satisfaction. It’s getting smaller every year and become old hat. But I digress, you loudmouth complainers about every thing SEC I have but one message. Beat us or STFU. Beat us then talk, until then you have no capital
KJ
November 19th, 2012
5:03 pm
I don’t have to claim anything. Go back and look at UGA’s record against your worthless conference over the last quarter century (if you can remember anything prior to 2008). If you had any integrity and self-awareness at all, you’d STFU and slither away, but we know how that works with your retarded fanbase.
Buckeye
November 19th, 2012
5:12 pm
ardog,
There you go again. It ain’t the dogs. It hasn’t been the dogs. And, it won’t be the dogs so until the dogs win a NC in this century, STFU.
Buckeye
November 19th, 2012
5:14 pm
For those who may be unaware:
dogs are 3-10 vs ranked SEC! SEC! since 2008.
So, ar dog, until you are say, .500 over a 5 year period against ranked SEC! SEC! STFU.
GTBob
November 19th, 2012
5:16 pm
Beat us or STFU. Beat us then talk, until then you have no capital
UGA has lost to teams outside of the SEC every year since 2008. When you say us are you talking about Alabama again? Quit riding coattails.
KJ
November 19th, 2012
5:20 pm
“until you are say, .500 over a 5 year period against ranked SEC! SEC! ”
How about until you are, say, more than .000 against the SEC in the last 30 years? I guess those standards don’t apply to your own team. Again, so delusional.
DannyG
November 19th, 2012
5:21 pm
John, we hear all the bold talk by Ohio State every year and the years you are not caught cheating and happen to end up in the BCS an SEC team kicks them all the way back to your pitiful state that ironically helped put Obama back in office just in time to ruin this country. Now, you have Urban Lier, the most two faced, sneaky, dishonest, but very good coach to lead your team back to the BCS, only to have another SEC team embarrass you again. Just live with it. You sound like a little boy standing behind his big brother taunting a bully, ” if we were not on probation”. You are and that means you are nothing this year.
Buckeye
November 19th, 2012
5:23 pm
Funny comment from lagdog regarding Indiana v dogs tonight
This will end very badly for UGA. They will get slaughtered. Poor recruiting has brought this UGA program to the cellar of the SEC.
SEC! SEC!
Dirk2468
November 19th, 2012
5:23 pm
All of these haters are more the reason you hear stadiums full of people every saturday scream SEC, SEC, remember back in 2004 when Auburn got shut out of the BCS title gameand Mike Slive asked for a playoff and every conference but the ACC said NO WAY!, well pay back has been a b**ch hasn’t she for the other conferences with the SEC winning the last 6 BCS title games.
Buckeye
November 19th, 2012
5:24 pm
This will end very badly for UGA. They will get slaughtered. Poor recruiting has brought this UGA program to the cellar of the SEC.
-lagdawg
johnny o
November 19th, 2012
5:24 pm
John if you think that Ohio State is the best team in the country then you must have voted for OBAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In other words you’re STUPID!!!!!!!!!!!
Buckeye
November 19th, 2012
5:26 pm
kj,
You are comparing apples to oranges. I have not run from the bowl record. But, you must run from you conference record. 3-10. Good batting average I guess. Let[’s look at your record vs FL in the past 20 years.It’s a joke. An in the SEC! Least Conference joke.
Buckeye
November 19th, 2012
5:28 pm
do all you dogs really think you can beat Satan with two weeks to prepare? Really?
Beast from the East
November 19th, 2012
5:32 pm
THE Ohio State University is currently on probation and ineligible for postseason play.
The Big 10 (can they count?) has exactly 2 teams in the BCS top 25 (14 and 19).
Leaders and Legends my azz!
More like Cheaters and Losers.
ARdawg
November 19th, 2012
5:32 pm
GTBobby
No coat tails here old guy. Beat us or STFU
Buckeye
0-9 Beeyotch
kingdaddy
November 19th, 2012
5:39 pm
Whaaaaaa the SEC sucs!!! Uhhhh, uhhhh, uhhh WWWWHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
Buckeye was ignored alot growing up. He had a lot of imaginary friends as a child, guess he hasn’t changed much. Still ignored, still lives in a fantasy world. Still crys like a little girl and is looking for something to replace his thumb (wink, wink)
If OSU didn’t cheat, they mght be relevant this year at least until they have to play another SEC team for another Dohio St. humiliating bowl-beat-down…Put yourself in his shoes, you’d hate the SEC too, lol…
Beast from the East
November 19th, 2012
5:40 pm
The Big 10……tattoos and pedophiles. Nuffield said.
Beast from the East
November 19th, 2012
5:41 pm
Nuffield?????
iPad spellcheck in action!
Jeff Schultz
November 19th, 2012
5:45 pm
Come on Schultzie — I’ve written several columns on the oversigning issue and I agree it’s a factor in the rise of certain schools. But it’s only A factor, not the factor. It starts with having the best coaches in the country and better players are naturally drawn to those coaches. The visibility of the programs and conference also help. That said, oversigning is a terrible thing, as I’ve written several times.
kingdaddy
November 19th, 2012
5:45 pm
Bucky
try a laxative…
Buckeye
November 19th, 2012
5:53 pm
king,
thanks. best advise all day. I’ll give you a full report!
Buckeye
November 19th, 2012
5:54 pm
beast,
The Penn State joke is not funny. At all. It could have been your son.
kingdaddy
November 19th, 2012
6:05 pm
Buckster
please keep all “cathartic moments” too yourself, lol. BTW, Dawgs up 2 going into halftime…
GTBuzz85
November 19th, 2012
6:06 pm
SEC football is King. Anyone arguing otherwise is ignorant. The rich get richer. There is much more money in stadiums, facilities, and coaching salaries. That being said… It also shows that most “fans” simply care about these things only.
Character, Integrity, Academics, etc. don’t generate the big dollars. So SEC is king of football. But they also have their Lane Kiffin, Bobby Petrino, Alabama coaches at strip clubs, # of UGA players on parole, basket weaving degrees, brawling off campus, throwing rocks at cars, … Guess that is what it takes to be the best.
For me, I am proud of the Georgia Institute of Technology and the degree that I have and the standards that we strive to attain. I want to win a NC every year like everyone else. But not at the cost of the above. Oh yeah, we have won a NC since UGA won their’s.
Beast from the East
November 19th, 2012
6:26 pm
Buckeye
November 19th, 2012
5:54 pm
beast,
The Penn State joke is not funny. At all. It could have been your son.
———————-
Wasn’t meant as a joke. Just the sad state of affairs in your ONCE proud conference.
Beast from the East
November 19th, 2012
6:31 pm
GTBuzz85,
How many ACC teams are currently on probation? How many Big 10 teams? And you want to throw stones at the SEC and say football is all WE care about? Obviously, cheating is a national problem and even more so at some conferences than others. No on in the SEC is backing into the championship game because 33% of their division is running scared from the NCAA. Hypocrite.
I-DOG
November 19th, 2012
6:33 pm
Buckeye,
Agree with you that OSU has played some very big out of conference games and understand that OSU had to cancel with Georgia because of scheduling issues. Georgia plays LSU again next year and will be playing Bama in two weeks. Was supposed to play Bama two months ago and the SEC expanded. Georgia got lucky.
OSU’s out of conference this year includes the juggernauts, Miami OHIO, Central Florida, Cal, Alabama BIRMINGHAM as well as a pretty weak Big 10 conference.
OSU plays only 2 teams # 13 and #19 in the current BCS top 20 this year. Georgia plays #2, #4, and #12 this year and it is Georgia’s weakest schedule in two decades, yet look at it compared to OSU.
Groundhogday
November 19th, 2012
6:43 pm
A good read for everyone.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/stewart_mandel/11/18/alabama-georgia-florida-sec-bcs/index.html
It highlights the SEC strategy of playing no one, and watching their stock rise throughout the season.
___________________________________________________
Thanks for the link GTBob, but I guess my reading comprehension is a little different from yours.
From the article:
“There were 106 FBS vs. FCS matchups in 2012, so save the sanctimony. The SEC schools simply chose to play their games a couple months later than everyone else, and look how well that strategy paid off.”
“Shouldn’t have played that Tennessee Tech game so early, Oregon.
Put in Timeout by Ken Suguira,Filtered by Mark Bradley, Banned by Bill King, Chip Towers & only slightly loved by Jeff Schultz.
November 19th, 2012
6:44 pm
dWag fans…..Bobo & MURRAY are 3-9 against top 25 teams but somehow those 2 are going to almost double that win total in 2 games to win the BCS MNC? HAHAHAH………………….Bet the HOUSE……..Take it to the BANK………….or is it more like WAIT TIL NEXT YEAR again?
ShowMeYurTD's
November 19th, 2012
6:50 pm
Go Dawgs! Buckeye….Urban “ran” from the SEC because he and tebow had a bad break-up. Very sad, tell all book coming soon.
D man
November 19th, 2012
7:03 pm
Tide will ROLL the DAWGS and I’m a GA fan. We don’t play good against top ranked teams. We looked terrible against Florida and I fear we will be embarrassed against Bama… Aren’t we like 2 & 11 against top ten teams dating back 13 games or so?
Labyrinth
November 19th, 2012
7:17 pm
GTBob @ 12:51 p.m: you should reread the article. Contrary to your comprehension, it highlights how EVERYONE schedules cupcakes, but several in the SEC this year scheduled them late in the season when so many championship candidates are beating each other up (e.g. Oregon-Stanford, KState-Baylor, et al.)
Buzz 2011
November 19th, 2012
7:39 pm
Shultz, doesn’t it just ” gall” you and Bradley that GT is playing
in the ACC championship? It will be more galling when we dump Thuga,,
kral
November 19th, 2012
7:40 pm
ole buck took a few minutes to check hoe I oy schedule this year..done forgot the exacts…50’s almost 60’s moment..think it was around 52-77..before mish…25 games below .500 …talk about cupcake schedule..hey and some of your wins were close..ask that powerhouse INDY..WHO just smoked our little bb team by 13..
kral
November 19th, 2012
7:55 pm
it could happen 2011..but if it doesn’t and somehow we beat bammer..would you please pray that ND gives you what you want a UGA loss in the NC..because it will sure make your life miserable
kral
November 19th, 2012
8:07 pm
you know kid in time-out proud of you..been there myself..my blogging has matured..because I guess..quit letting the beer and idiots like you get to me..dang I may need follow -up counseling..oh well..if the miracles occur..timed-out …see yah..and you can wallow in it if they do not..you know who wallows and I do not me ARK .razorbacks
bwell
November 19th, 2012
8:17 pm
enough said ………….SEC RULE go dawgs!
Steve
November 19th, 2012
8:32 pm
UGA vs. Tech in Athens, Tech can’t sell it’s allotment of tickets. UGA vs. Tech in Atlanta, half of the stadium is red. Gotta love it. Worst fans in college football. What really makes me laugh is how every year, they come on these blogs acting like they own UGA and keep saying how they are going to win. Then, when they lose, out come the excuses! Enjoy ending up 6-8 after your little bowl game that will be attended by maybe 10,000 people. Love the jealousy Tech has over UGA.
GTBuzz85
November 19th, 2012
8:32 pm
Beast from the East,
I specifically didn’t address NCAA violations and probations. That is way too big of a topic and is not conference specific.
My point is when Money gets too big then it takes precedence in your decision making. Major college athletic budgets (of which much of the SEC is the largest) are “to big to fail”. That is why you see character and integrity get pushed aside if money is at stake. Examples… Petrino hired mid-season without following long time, professional protocols with the NFL. Auburn interviewing a new coach when they haven’t fired the one that they have. Lane Kiffin messing up UT for one year then jumping to USC for more money and no punishments for his deeds. USC showed no integrity hiring Kiffin knowing of the NCAA violations and what it would do to UT. Not saying SEC is alone in this. But they are the biggest football (thus money) conference and are guilty.
BTW… When you say something that evokes name calling, then you always know that you hit a nerve of truth. Always gets the angriest reactions.
ARdawg
November 19th, 2012
8:49 pm
GTBuzz
C’mon guy. It’s always about the money and it’s no different at GT. There was a good piece on 60 Minutes last night about it. Actually was very informing. Football is an investment at most universities and has become an an arms race. The problem with GT’s program is, to date it’s a bad investment. If you GTfans will quit holding your nose when approaching your program things might start to improve. Just a thought