Is the SEC the best conference still?

[Mike1967]

I never knew they manufactured this much acid in TN. outside of the "Roll Bama Roll" board on SBN, this is far and away the most delusional thread I have encountered. Manipulating statistics (or as they say here in Lower Alabama..."sastissics"). Cherry picking games to support your position...on any given day the teams from one conference can and will beat teams from another.

Get ready to be looking for another head coach when Oklahoma goes 8-4 this season. You're going to lose to Tennessee in Knoxville for your first loss.

 

[dd992emo]

Get ready to be looking for another head coach when Oklahoma goes 8-4 this season. You're going to lose to Tennessee in Knoxville for your first loss.

It's certainly possible, but I can't imagine any school that would be stupid enough to fire a coach with a .660 winning percentage, numerous conference titles and a national championship only to replace him with three coaches in five years..oh, wait. Some school did that? Jeez, next thing you know they'll be hiring Lane What's-His-Name. Naw, nobody is that delusional...

 

[VFL-82-JP]

Dd992emo, I don't have the SEC alone at the top this year (based on 2014 results), I've got the SEC and PAC tied as first-best conference in the nation.

But just to share with you, my scoring system has the B12 at the bottom of the Power 5 from 2014. Yep.

PAC won 67% of their bowl games ... SEC won 58% ... B10 won 55% ... ACC won only 36% ... but even they were ahead of the B12 who won only 29% (2 of 7).

SEC and PAC had 6 teams each in the final Top 25 rankings. B12 had 3. Even ACC, at 4, was more positively viewed by the poll voters (coaches and writers, both).

So it's just a bit presumptuous for a B12 fan (whom we welcome, btw, it's great having you here), a bit cheeky for you to come into a "which conference is best" thread and talk about others being delusional. I mean...what room do you have to talk, on this subject?

Said with great love and respect, of course.

 

[daj2576]

It's certainly possible, but I can't imagine any school that would be stupid enough to fire a coach with a .660 winning percentage, numerous conference titles and a national championship only to replace him with three coaches in five years..oh, wait. Some school did that? Jeez, next thing you know they'll be hiring Lane What's-His-Name. Naw, nobody is that delusional...

Yes, the coaching carousel at UT has been ugly and times have been hard. Interestingly, during that time span of terrible coaching, UT has the exact same number of national championships as Oklahoma with their "successful" coach and stability.

So, if what you are interested in is ultimate results (championships), what is the real difference between changing coaches every other year and keeping one that hasn't won a title in 15? My math says nothing, unless you count cumulative wins like the old Marlboro points: get a few thousand and you can cash them in on a beach towel or a handheld AM/FM radio.

 

[Mike1967]

It's certainly possible, but I can't imagine any school that would be stupid enough to fire a coach with a .660 winning percentage, numerous conference titles and a national championship only to replace him with three coaches in five years..oh, wait. Some school did that? Jeez, next thing you know they'll be hiring Lane What's-His-Name. Naw, nobody is that delusional...

A lot of Oklahoma fans wanted him gone after last season because of the way the season ended. I think he'll be going out the same way as Mack Brown.

 

[BudBarry]

A lot of Oklahoma fans wanted him gone after last season because of the way the season ended. I think he'll be going out the same way as Mack Brown.

Saying a "lot" of Oklahoma fans and "Most" Oklahoma fans is fine line. Wilkinson went thru a slump. Same for Switzer, than he came back to win his third NC. Funny thing about fan bases, they whine and complain about needing to replace the HC, but keep buying season tickets. Losing to TN in Knoxville wouldn't bring on Stoops being ousted as many OU fans consider TN to be a formidable opponent. Losing to the Short-Horns and Okie State...different matter.

 

[Mike1967]

Saying a "lot" of Oklahoma fans and "Most" Oklahoma fans is fine line. Wilkinson went thru a slump. Same for Switzer, than he came back to win his third NC. Funny thing about fan bases, they whine and complain about needing to replace the HC, but keep buying season tickets. Losing to TN in Knoxville wouldn't bring on Stoops being ousted as many OU fans consider TN to be a formidable opponent. Losing to the Short-Horns and Okie State...different matter.

Bud Wilkinson was fired because he lost to Texas five seasons in a row 1959-1963

 

[BudBarry]

Bud Wilkinson was fired because he lost to Texas five seasons in a row 1959-1963

Actually, he resigned. He wasn't fired (And that is from the words of the then-University President, George Cross).

 

[dd992emo]

unless you count cumulative wins like the old Marlboro points: If you get a few thousand and you can cash them in on a beach towel or a handheld AM/FM radio.

Would that be a 6-transistor or an 8-transistor radio?

 

[Mike1967]

Actually, he resigned. He wasn't fired (And that is from the words of the then-University President, George Cross).

Thanks for the info i'd always heard he was fired. OU would have been a lot better off from 1964-1965 with Bud than with his replacement Gomer Jones.

 

[ncvol17]

IMO the PAC 12 is now pretty good as well. Lots of excellent to good teams plus Colorado. [ anything to them having colors like Vandy?] BUT for my $$$$ my conference has always and will always be SEC.

 

[BudBarry]

Thanks for the info i'd always heard he was fired. OU would have been a lot better off from 1964-1965 with Bud than with his replacement Gomer Jones.

No doubt that he had lost his "luster" at the time he resigned. According to his son, Wilkinson and Kennedy had become really great friends and when Kennedy was assasinated, Wilkinson wasn't sure if the OU-NEB game was still on and really wasn't in the mood to play it. The Kennedy family told him that Kennedy would have wanted them to play, so they did. At the end of the season when the Orange Bowl was pretty much out, the team declined a Bluebonnet Bowl invite and that ended the last season for Wilkinson. Not long after, he went to the University President, Cross and submitted his resignation saying he just couldn't continue prepping each season and each week like he used to.

 

[VFL1953]

I'm going to ignore stats, records, etc. for the moment, because while important, they do not tell the whole story. I'm a lifelong resident of the Southeast (Knoxville and North Georgia) that currently lives in Oregon. People outside of the Southeast do not understand the passion that we have for football. They like it just fine, some of them even understand it, but it is one of many diversions for most them. It just isn't as important as it is in the Southeast. The rich traditions are unparallelled anywhere else in the country. So no matter what the records and statistics, or who won this year's title game, the SEC is still the greatest conference in football. And we will still whip their ass more often than not. Sorry if I sound like a poster boy for the SEC. Maybe I am.

 

[FiremedicVOL127]

AbsoFREAKINloutely.…

 

[Volosaurus rex]

I'm going to ignore stats, records, etc. for the moment, because while important, they do not tell the whole story. I'm a lifelong resident of the Southeast (Knoxville and North Georgia) that currently lives in Oregon. People outside of the Southeast do not understand the passion that we have for football. They like it just fine, some of them even understand it, but it is one of many diversions for most them. It just isn't as important as it is in the Southeast. The rich traditions are unparallelled anywhere else in the country. So no matter what the records and statistics, or who won this year's title game, the SEC is still the greatest conference in football. And we will still whip their ass more often than not. Sorry if I sound like a poster boy for the SEC. Maybe I am.

Marino Casem, who coached football at historically black universities for almost thirty years, once made an observation that superbly encapsulates your sentiments: "On the East Coast, football is a cultural experience. In the Midwest, it's a form of cannibalism. On the West Coast, it's a tourist attraction. And in the South, football is a religion, and Saturday is the holy day" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marino_Casem).

 

[TrueOrange]

I wonder if Nebraska will be going back to the Big 12 sometime in the future? There are rumors that they're thinking about it.

ESPN's Jake Trotter: Nebraska Should Move Back To The Big 12 Conference - Corn Nation

Not even remotely.

Plus one ESPN analyst throwing an idea out there doesn't really make it rumors. Not to mention, the Nebraska writer's article continues by going into breaking the idea down and why it wouldn't make any sense.

 

[TrueOrange]

Man, Mike, I'd love if they did. Nebraska in the B10 feels as wrong as, say, Notre Dame in the SEC. Just doesn't fit.

But it would take a lot to get them back. Some real distrust there.

There would have to be quite the bridges burned at much higher levels.

 

[TrueOrange]

If Nebraska does go back to the Big 12 I bet Notre Dame takes their place in the Big 10.

That wouldn't happen.

Besides the contract Notre Dame currently has with the ACC, the Big 10's requirement in past talks was that Notre Dame give up (or split the money from) its TV contract with NBC.

They showed the last time talks broke down that it wasn't something Notre Dame was willing to do.

 

[ntxVOL]

No way Nebraska goes back to the big 12.

More likely the big 12 doesn't last long enough to renew its TV deal.

 

[TrueOrange]

No way Nebraska goes back to the big 12.

More likely the big 12 doesn't last long enough to renew its TV deal.

That would still be until around 2024-2025.

The only way something like that would really happen, though, would be if both Texas and Oklahoma (actually, really just Texas alone) decided to go elsewhere.

 

[ntxVOL]

That would still be until around 2024-2025.

The only way something like that would really happen, though, would be if both Texas and Oklahoma (actually, really just Texas alone) decided to go elsewhere.

OU's president Boren is not happy with the current state of the conference and has been pretty vocal about it. He would likely jump at the chance to join another conference with or without Tx.

TX is in a much more difficult position politically. Hard to say if they could shed the baggage of the other in state schools or not. They also suffer from some sort of control issues. Would not surprise me to see them stick with the big 12 just so they can continue to impose their will on the conference. They certainly don't care about having a level playing field for sure.