Busting a myth: SEC is not so special

Finally, a person with some sense.

I would be interested to see similar statistical comparisons with other conferences.

Your 6-9 stat against regular season ranked opponents in meaningless without considering whether the SEC teams were ranked at the time. If they weren't, then they were supposed to lose that game and they weren't overrated, yet you're trying to argue that they are.

Bowl games are supposed to be fairly event match-ups, so the 12-8 record in bowl games against ranked opponents is quite impressive. Consider that Notre Dame is 0-6 in bowl games against ANY opponent during the same time frame. Now there is a real example of being overrated.

Your fundamental flaw is that you take half of a conference, not even the best half at any given time (especially Alabama on probation), and look at their record against the best in the country AT THAT TIME. Even with this huge analytical flaw, the SEC still holds its own.

While I agree that on a national level the SEC is average, I find the games between SEC teams and the atmosphere of said games to be the most enjoyable in all football.

This is an off year for the SEC and for my beloved Gators; but after 3 straight national titles I'm not going to complain. It is no secret who the top programs are in the country. Just follow the money. Ohio State, Florida, Texas, USC, UCLA rank at the top.

What the SEC has going for it is passion. They fill very large football stadiums every week.

Cunningham must be a Cane fan!

I am a canes fan and I will admit top to bottom the SEC is the toughest conference every year. The Big Ten is over rated every year. Look at the blow out of Ohio State last year by an SEC team. We almost did not see that because the MEDIA wanted a rematch of Ohio State and Michigan. This year again the Big Ten is over rated. Ohio State number one? They play one or two big games every year and thats it they don't even have a conference championship game. Michigan losing to Appalachian State and now they are again ranked in the top 25. PAC 10 is over rated also. Preseason number 1 USC? Where are they now? SEC by far the toughest conference top to bottom.

Not_so_fast_my_friend wrote:

I would be interested to see similar statistical comparisons with other conferences.
Your 6-9 stat against regular season ranked opponents in meaningless without considering whether the SEC teams were ranked at the time. If they weren't, then they were supposed to lose that game and they weren't overrated, yet you're trying to argue that they are.
Bowl games are supposed to be fairly event match-ups, so the 12-8 record in bowl games against ranked opponents is quite impressive. Consider that Notre Dame is 0-6 in bowl games against ANY opponent during the same time frame. Now there is a real example of being overrated.
Your fundamental flaw is that you take half of a conference, not even the best half at any given time (especially Alabama on probation), and look at their record against the best in the country AT THAT TIME. Even with this huge analytical flaw, the SEC still holds its own.

Could not have said it better myself!

TJC wrote:

This is an off year for the SEC and for my beloved Gators; but after 3 straight national titles I'm not going to complain. It is no secret who the top programs are in the country. Just follow the money. Ohio State, Florida, Texas, USC, UCLA rank at the top.
What the SEC has going for it is passion. They fill very large football stadiums every week.

Something these fairweather Canes fans can't seem to accomplish.

Everyone knows the SEC is king, always has been, and always will be.

When it is bowl season, Cunningham will be hiding in the closet holding his wallet in fear and eating humble pie filled with his bold words. He won't put money where his big mouth is right now because he knows the losses SEC teams have now are the vast majority from SEC teams. When his ACC doormats, Big 10 and everyone else are paired up with the SEC, he knows the SEC will win 90 percent of those games. That's dominance.

The SEC is overrated in football year after year and this was very apparent in the final polls two years ago.

For example; Wisconsin beat Auburn in a bowl game. Wisconsin end the year with a better record than Auburn, but ended up being ranked lower than Auburn in the final AP and Coaches.

And for the SEC fans when it comes to the Big Ten and the Big East. In Bowls games last year against the SEC the Big 10 was 2 and 1. The Big East went undefeat in bowl games last year.

SEC is the best and I don't care what anyone says. I am Lumpy and I know everything. Lumpy is the best just like the SEC. Lumpy 4-ever.

Dad says the sec is overated and Eli and I agree. His friend Lumpy knocked himself out cold with a broomstick and now makes incoherent arguments. His other friend Mike B. is another silly billy. Eli knows more than him.

A single sorry season for SEC football is not cause to dismiss years and years of outstanding performance by this conference. I am so tired of the major sports media shortchanging the SEC. Every conference cannot keep the same win record going. You have a new bunch of kids every year showing up. This isn't professional sports. Lighten up and be real. Overall, taken over its history, the SEC can stand against any other conference in the Nation.

Let me ask what other conference will finish out the year with probably 11 bowl eligible teams out of 12. This year it looks like even the bottom feeders Mississippi State and Vanderbilt will be bowl eligible. And Let's not forget that Both Florida and LSU were not favored in their championship games and they both dominated their oponents. The SEC doesn't always get love though, remember that Auburn had a perfect season and didn't play in a national championship. And the article says that the teams never play anybody important but that is incorrect. Florida plays FSU every year and that included the years when they were good, Georgia always plays a game against a sometimes very good Georgia tech, South Carolina always plays Clemson. Every team in the SEC tries to play at least one pretty good oponent every year.

This article will certainly get alot of attention I'm sure from all the non-SEC's. I think this is a debate similar to the BCS in general. If you take the SEC as a whole, it certainly appears to be the toughest conference in the country top to bottom. Does that mean that there aren't teams in other conferences that can beat any team in the SEC in a given year? Absolutely not. I don't think that anyone can argue that especially the last 2-3-4 years that the SEC eats itself up. To make it through the conference undefeated is a very difficult task unlike most all the conferences in the country. I'm a gator and belong to the SEC. I'd like to think I can still look at all the conferences objectively and still believe the SEC is the strongest conference in the country. Like all of college football, that may change in time as well.

WRONG

You're missing the point. The SEC is so tough because of how seriously the fans take the teams. The south lives and dies with college football. NFL is second in line to it.
SEC teams take the games seriously and play each other as if they are in the BCS championship. For example, look at Georgia last week sending the whole team out to celebrate.
You only see that in 80's and 90's Miami football and in the SEC.

Cunningham try to write an article with some support and facts! Look into the past two decades of college football. The SEC is without a doubt the strongest conference in the country. This is a crazy year for college football with the top ten rotating in and out of the the college polls. Just watch the National Championship game this year. It will be a SEC team holding up the trophy again!!!!