The SEC Has Lost Its Crown

[Weezer]

As a conference, we are no longer the top of the heap. It used to be the SEC, then the rest of the college football world, but after tonight, the playing field has tilted. The best of the best won't come from our conference. It'll be the PAC12 or the B1G. The fact is, the best in the SEC this year, the mighty Bama, cannot even fall back on the tired old excuse that we beat ourselves up week in and week out. They lost to a team playing their third string QB. It was pathetic.

So what does that mean for us? Yes, we can laugh at Bama(and pray we win our own bowl game), but Butch lost one tool in his recruiting arsenal tonight. How do you sell playing in the "conference of champions" to kids in other areas of the country when you're no longer the conference of champions? How do you sell SEC dominance after a bowl season like this one? You can't. Teams like Bama, teams that compete, they'll always be able to sell that. But as a rebuilding team, we were able to sell our conference. I know some of you don't think it was much, but hey, you use what you have, and the simple truth is, it's one less tool Butch has now. That's one less foot in the door, and in the long run, we'll never know how much it may or may not hurt us. Hopefully Butch can find enough closer to home that it will not matter, but when UT was at its height, we could open practically anydoor in the country. As long as the SEC was known as THE strongest conference in the country, we could open many doors in the country because of that and our storied past. Now, we're in an average conference. We're an average team atm. Hopefully we continue to rise, but fewer doors across the country are available to us now. We have to start winning next year. A five hundred record in an average conference won't be good enough anymore. Next season, we have to make that leap to being a truly winning team, otherwise, it's very possible we backslide and watch as teams in other conferences pass us by.

Yeah, yeah, a bit melodramatic, but it's all true. Next year needs to be at least an 8 win season. We gotta progress because arguing we play in the SEC no longer holds water.

 

[MustafaRasta]

"a bit"

 

[zjcvols]

Good easier for Tennessee to win.

 

[Vol knight]

As a conference, we are no longer the top of the heap. It used to be the SEC, then the rest of the college football world, but after tonight, the playing field has tilted. The best of the best won't come from our conference. It'll be the PAC12 or the B1G. The fact is, the best in the SEC this year, the mighty Bama, cannot even fall back on the tired old excuse that we beat ourselves up week in and week out. They lost to a team playing their third string QB. It was pathetic.

So what does that mean for us? Yes, we can laugh at Bama(and pray we win our own bowl game), but Butch lost one tool in his recruiting arsenal tonight. How do you sell playing in the "conference of champions" to kids in other areas of the country when you're no longer the conference of champions? How do you sell SEC dominance after a bowl season like this one? You can't. Teams like Bama, teams that compete, they'll always be able to sell that. But as a rebuilding team, we were able to sell our conference. I know some of you don't think it was much, but hey, you use what you have, and the simple truth is, it's one less tool Butch has now. That's one less foot in the door, and in the long run, we'll never know how much it may or may not hurt us. Hopefully Butch can find enough closer to home that it will not matter, but when UT was at its height, we could open practically anydoor in the country. As long as the SEC was known as THE strongest conference in the country, we could open many doors in the country because of that and our storied past. Now, we're in an average conference. We're an average team atm. Hopefully we continue to rise, but fewer doors across the country are available to us now. We have to start winning next year. A five hundred record in an average conference won't be good enough anymore. Next season, we have to make that leap to being a truly winning team, otherwise, it's very possible we backslide and watch as teams in other conferences pass us by.

Yeah, yeah, a bit melodramatic, but it's all true. Next year needs to be at least an 8 win season. We gotta progress because arguing we play in the SEC no longer holds water.

 

[TrueOrange]

"a bit"

 

[NEO]

4 team play off basically means it doesn't matter anymore.

If you win the SEC you will be in...that simple.

All we have to worry about is us.

It will eventually go to an 8 team play off and then it will be each conference champ from the power 5 plus 3 wild cards at larges.

Glad Bama lost....we just need to beat Iowa.

 

[joevol33]

With last and this years class, Tennessee will bring that crown back by 2016. You heard it here first!

 

[Weezer]

Hey, I admitted to it being a bit melodramatic. I'm not actually doomsaying like some would do. I just think we need to enhance our timeline. Next year needs to be a pretty good sized step imo.

 

[SuperDave]

 

[Weezer]

In all fairness though, Bama was the SEC champ. They earned it on the field. Every year when an SEC team fails to get it done, the arguement always arises that it's "unfair" because we beat each other up week in and week out throughout the season. Every year I read that arguement. Hell, I've made it myself a time or two when I felt it was justified. But how do you make that arguement when they lost to a team playing their third string qb? Their our conference champions and they made us look bad tonight. How the hell does that little midget lose to a third string qb?

 

[smokey_vols]

We battle with other SEC schools for the majority of our recruits.

 

[Hawkeyes1982]

I think you may be putting too much thought into it. You're in the SEC. Enough said. It's warm, it's got some history, tradition, exposure. It's a contender each and every year and it will always be. The country is gaining some parity that is for sure.

 

[ThreatLevelVol]

In all fairness though, Bama was the SEC champ. They earned it on the field. Every year when an SEC team fails to get it done, the arguement always arises that it's "unfair" because we beat each other up week in and week out throughout the season. Every year I read that arguement. Hell, I've made it myself a time or two when I felt it was justified. But how do you make that arguement when they lost to a team playing their third string qb? Their our conference champions and they made us look bad tonight. How the hell does that little midget lose to a third string qb?

Easy their third string QB is better than most starters.. it's called recruiting the best

 

[dduncan4163]

Are there really Vols out there that would be happy with Bama winning another NC because it makes the SEC look good? I will never root for Bama or Florida regardless of the situation.

 

[SuperDave]

 

[MustafaRasta]

.

 

[thetennlegend]

Dear god. The sec is still the top conference as a whole. Just because the best two teams are from other conferences doesn't mean the sec sucks now. Anyone who would agree the big 10 or big 12 is better is an absolute joke.

 

[TrueOrange]

I think you may be putting too much thought into it. You're in the SEC. Enough said. It's warm, it's got some history, tradition, exposure. It's a contender each and every year and it will always be. The country is gaining some parity that is for sure.

Good post.

 

[TrueOrange]

Hey, I admitted to it being a bit melodramatic. I'm not actually doomsaying like some would do. I just think we need to enhance our timeline. Next year needs to be a pretty good sized step imo.

You went well beyond a bit.

 

[governmentmule]

your over reacting,the SEC is the best conference period,I thought it was poor play calling myself,I thought Bama should have run more and throw to Cooper more often

but it is just 1 year,check out the last decade as to who is on top of the barn a crowing about the number of championships over all

 

[TOP]

Good easier for Tennessee to win.

And easier to get left out of the playoffs.

There is no chance of the SEC ever getting two teams into a 4 team playoff now.

In fact, it will be harder for the SEC to move up polls. They'll stop putting 8 SEC teams in the top 25 which in turn means we won't be playing (overrated)top 25 teams every week. Go back and look at where teams are ranked when the games are played... just about every SEC team will finish lower than their highest rank of the season.

Even though South Carolina and Georgia weren't the problem this bowl year, we can't pretend like those top 25 rankings ever met anything when you watch the season and see how good those teams really are. We were so proud of our losses to Oklahoma and Ole Miss because of their rankings(I know Okie isn't in the SEC). Are you kidding me? They suck ass. The only difference now is that the sucks ass SEC teams we play won't have a number next to their name before they go on to suck the rest of the season. We can just start half of those SEC teams outside of the top 25 where they belong.

Fans have already argued that SEC is overrated and the media is bias. Now with the outcome matching the perception, the SEC won't be viewed is highly, teams won't be ranked as highly and thus wins won't propel as much and we'll drop farther in the polls with losses. When Georgia plays Ole Miss now, the loser won't drop a few spots in the top 25. They'll fall out of the top 25 and if they're not in the top 25, we can just assume they'll drop behind 15-20 other teams sitting outside the top 25.

If people don't think having fewer top 25 teams in the future and the SEC not being considered the best will make a difference, you're fooling yourself. When half your schedule is consistently made up of imaginary top 25 teams to propel you after wins and barely drop you after losses... the entire conference will feel the effects when poll voters stop ranking every SEC team in the top 25 to start the season.Next timw Alabama loses to Ole Miss or Ole Miss loses to Miss St, they'll rise and fall in the polls accordingly. Long gone are the days where everyone in the SEC is in the top 25 and thus every win/loss is to a top 25 opponent which meant barely dropping in the polls because you lost to a "quality opponent" while always making big jumps in the polls for beating a "quality opponent".

 

[TOP]

That got repetitive real quick. You can just read the last paragraph of the post above to sum up how the SEC is going to be hit in the polls due to the perception of the conference. The SEC has lived off the cannibal effect for far too long and it's over. Due to our inflated status, we were able to be like every other conference who beats each other up but the difference being that we were credited for thanks to media bias and the perception that we're better than everyone else. We don't have to worry about anyone perceiving the SEC as the best anymore. And we don't have to worry about 8 teams starting in the top 25. Hell, Florida started out 27th in AP votes with Miss St. at 36th. Even Vandy received votes for crying out loud. Those days of SEC preseason rankings are over and losses will be weighted more heavily while wins are weighted less heavily due to the conference not being considered the best unanimously.

 

[Coug]

As a conference, we are no longer the top of the heap. It used to be the SEC, then the rest of the college football world, but after tonight, the playing field has tilted. The best of the best won't come from our conference. It'll be the PAC12 or the B1G. The fact is, the best in the SEC this year, the mighty Bama, cannot even fall back on the tired old excuse that we beat ourselves up week in and week out. They lost to a team playing their third string QB. It was pathetic.

So what does that mean for us? Yes, we can laugh at Bama(and pray we win our own bowl game), but Butch lost one tool in his recruiting arsenal tonight. How do you sell playing in the "conference of champions" to kids in other areas of the country when you're no longer the conference of champions? How do you sell SEC dominance after a bowl season like this one? You can't. Teams like Bama, teams that compete, they'll always be able to sell that. But as a rebuilding team, we were able to sell our conference. I know some of you don't think it was much, but hey, you use what you have, and the simple truth is, it's one less tool Butch has now. That's one less foot in the door, and in the long run, we'll never know how much it may or may not hurt us. Hopefully Butch can find enough closer to home that it will not matter, but when UT was at its height, we could open practically anydoor in the country. As long as the SEC was known as THE strongest conference in the country, we could open many doors in the country because of that and our storied past. Now, we're in an average conference. We're an average team atm. Hopefully we continue to rise, but fewer doors across the country are available to us now. We have to start winning next year. A five hundred record in an average conference won't be good enough anymore. Next season, we have to make that leap to being a truly winning team, otherwise, it's very possible we backslide and watch as teams in other conferences pass us by.

Yeah, yeah, a bit melodramatic, but it's all true. Next year needs to be at least an 8 win season. We gotta progress because arguing we play in the SEC no longer holds water.

Weezer! Seriously?! Please tell me you actually weren't rooting for bama just because they were the only SEC team in the playoffs?!

The conference doesn't matter at the end of the day to me. The only thing that matters is that Tennessee wins. I get no solace out of some other SEC team winning the trophy at the end of the year.

 

[computergeekvol]

Don't care how a BAMA loss effects us or the SEC. I'm glad they lost.

 

[butchna]

Lot of words when "Bama lost...what's for breakfast?" would have sufficed.