SEC superiority is dead

#108
#108
DeansRedHalo said:
The conference got by for too long on just flat out being bigger, faster, and stronger than everyone else.

Now, things have changed. We can't just out-athlete teams anymore. Hell, even FCS schools have incredible athletes at the skill positions now.

We're still recruiting game manager QBs to run our vanilla, LOS offensive schemes.

Every team (including us) is convinced that to beat Saban we have to hire a Saban disciple. People have been doing that with Belichick assistants for years and how many of them had success?

Still trying to beat Bama at its own game, meanwhile the rest of the country has figured out that's not how you beat them.
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What has the rest of the country figured out? I'm not seeing it. The #1 team in the country had 188 yards last night.
 
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#111
#111
TDawg said:
Kelly Bryant is no Deshaun Watson .. he was the best player Bama had last night .. lol
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You're right but he also had linemen in his face all night and he was throwing to receivers who couldn't get any separation. Cain caught some short passes but couldn't manage anything after the catch or of any length at all down the field.
 
#112
#112
Firebirdparts said:
SEC superiority apparently restored
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Not really. The SEC has been very top heavy going on 4 years now. The "the SEC isn't the best conference, they just happen to have one of the best teams each year" narrative that haters have run with since about 2006 wasn't true for a long time but it was true in 2015 and 2016. This year, there is a little more depth (Georgia and Auburn had great years in addition to Alabama).

The true glory years of the conference were from about 2007 - 2012, with the 2011 - 2012 period in particular being totally dominant.
 
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#113
#113
With both teams playing for the national championship being from the SEC, it's hard for you guys to make the argument that the SEC isn't what it used to be. I know FLA and TN have been down for quite some time, but that doesn't mean the SEC is down. Bama beat the #1 ranked team in the country to earn a spot, and GA beat a good OK team to earn a spot. A lot of conferences are shaking their heads in envy. They would love to be in the position the SEC is in. I expect TN and FLA to rebuild and become relevant again in a few years. I think the conference is pretty solid compared to others. IMHO.
 
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#114
#114
BowlBrother85 said:
You're right but he also had linemen in his face all night and he was throwing to receivers who couldn't get any separation. Cain caught some short passes but couldn't manage anything after the catch or of any length at all down the field.
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He had people in his face A LOT this year as their OL is not that great .. but Bryant has potential but those who thought once the ACC schedule was over that he was just going to be something awesome were kidding themselves. Maybe the next couple of years he turns into something but with Hunter Johnson and T-Law waiting, he has to step up big
 
#115
#115
It sure gets tiring listening to the same drivel about the hopeless lack of SEC dominance. The SEC has already reloaded at the most important area and that's the coaching tree. The continuing influx of talent coming into the league guarantees continued success on a very high level. All these bandwagon fans can't get past a 5 minutes snapshot of the league without proclaiming the present to be the everlasting future.

I just went through over a month of the national media and chicken little Bama fans proclaiming that Alabama would never play another football game this year any better than that crapfest egg we laid against the barners. Not an ounce of homage paid to the plaster job we put on the head of most of the teams we played this season.

It is, therefore it must always be. Can you say prisoners of the moment?
 
#116
#116
TUSKtimes said:
It sure gets tiring listening to the same drivel about the hopeless lack of SEC dominance. The SEC has already reloaded at the most important area and that's the coaching tree. The continuing influx of talent coming into the league guarantees continued success on a very high level. All these bandwagon fans can't get past a 5 minutes snapshot of the league without proclaiming the present to be the everlasting future.

I just went through over a month of the national media and chicken little Bama fans proclaiming that Alabama would never play another football game this year any better than that crapfest egg we laid against the barners. Not an ounce of homage paid to the plaster job we put on the head of most of the teams we played this season.

It is, therefore it must always be. Can you say prisoners of the moment?
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If I am being honest, it doesn't help the conference as a whole to see teams like UT, UF and to a lesser degree LSU, doing so poorly so props to them for making changes to get better (LSU not withstanding, still got an Ogre with the Oscar the Grouch voice as HC but they weren't terrible this year, just not great at all).

Those who think the conference superiority is dead apparently didn't notice that 50% of the CFP teams were SEC and now both of them have moved to the Natty game. It not only showed there is more than just one team in the conference that can win, it justifies both being in the CFP by beating two top seeded teams to get to the title game.
 
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#117
#117
TUSKtimes said:
It sure gets tiring listening to the same drivel about the hopeless lack of SEC dominance. The SEC has already reloaded at the most important area and that's the coaching tree. The continuing influx of talent coming into the league guarantees continued success on a very high level. All these bandwagon fans can't get past a 5 minutes snapshot of the league without proclaiming the present to be the everlasting future.

I just went through over a month of the national media and chicken little Bama fans proclaiming that Alabama would never play another football game this year any better than that crapfest egg we laid against the barners. Not an ounce of homage paid to the plaster job we put on the head of most of the teams we played this season.

It is, therefore it must always be. Can you say prisoners of the moment?
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That's very true. Some mediocre to bad coaches left the conference this year (Butch, McElwain, Sumlin, Bielema) and appear to be replaced with better candidates (Mullen and Jimbo in particular since they are proven coaches). The conference got rid of some of the gym teachers this year.

How the Big 10 really improved their lot over the last 2-3 years is simply because of coaching. Dantonio had been there for a while, then Urban came along, but what really rounded out the conference was getting Harbaugh and Franklin. Harbaugh is quickly drifting towards "highly overrated" territory but he's still much better than Hoke even though their records through 3 years are pretty similar. Wisconsin is always a solid program, Pat Fitzgerald is a solid coach at a place like Northwestern, and Ferentz, although overrated, is a pillar of stability and never fields awful teams.
 
#118
#118
GAVol said:
I've always thought bowl games were an awful measuring stick. Between the long layoff, the different motivations etc, you just never know who is going to show up.
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This. And you also need to factor coaching changes and the opponents.... Kentucky played a 9-3 Northwestern and lost by 1. Every SEC loss was by one score except Texas/Mizzou.

That being said, I would argue that the SEC is down right now. It's not dead. It will likely be back on top in the next year or 2.
 
#119
#119
TDawg said:
If I am being honest, it doesn't help the conference as a whole to see teams like UT, UF and to a lesser degree LSU, doing so poorly so props to them for making changes to get better (LSU not withstanding, still got an Ogre with the Oscar the Grouch voice as HC but they weren't terrible this year, just not great at all).

Those who think the conference superiority is dead apparently didn't notice that 50% of the CFP teams were SEC and now both of them have moved to the Natty game. It not only showed there is more than just one team in the conference that can win, it justifies both being in the CFP by beating two top seeded teams to get to the title game.
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What's pushing the unrest and agitation these days isn't Nick Saban, it's the playoff. No HC represents the playoff success more than Nick Saban. But he's more the poster child of what everyone just has to have.

Everyone wants in so bad they can taste it. Teams are willing to pay mediocre coaches millions to roll the dice to the big dance. So, obviously, not much tolerance if you can't get it done yesterday.

Another clue to this newfound playoff or bust mentality in the SEC is the overall apathy to even the bigger bowls by the players. The mass exodus of players will only get worse. Otherwise, why hasn't all this sitting been a problem decades ago?

The playoff fever is making head coaches filthy rich but from the very moment they sign on the dotted line, they are "on the clock."

Welcome everyone to the new world order.
 
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#120
#120
n_huffhines said:
This. And you also need to factor coaching changes and the opponents.... Kentucky played a 9-3 Northwestern and lost by 1. Every SEC loss was by one score except Texas/Mizzou.

That being said, I would argue that the SEC is down right now. It's not dead. It will likely be back on top in the next year or 2.
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How can a conference be dead when two of it's members are playing in the National Title game? Several teams other than Bama have played in the title game over the last decade as well. Maybe not as dominant, but dead?
 
#122
#122
DaddyChad said:
How can a conference be dead when two of it's members are playing in the National Title game? Several teams other than Bama have played in the title game over the last decade as well. Maybe not as dominant, but dead?
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I'm not arguing that it's dead, but outside of UGA and Bama, it wasn't a very good conference. There are 14 teams and a lot of them weren't very good.
 
#123
#123
TUSKtimes said:
What's pushing the unrest and agitation these days isn't Nick Saban, it's the playoff. No HC represents the playoff success more than Nick Saban. But he's more the poster child of what everyone just has to have.

Everyone wants in so bad they can taste it. Teams are willing to pay mediocre coaches millions to roll the dice to the big dance. So, obviously, not much tolerance if you can't get it done yesterday.

Another clue to this newfound playoff or bust mentality in the SEC is the overall apathy to even the bigger bowls by the players. The mass exodus of players will only get worse. Otherwise, why hasn't all this sitting been a problem decades ago?

The playoff fever is making head coaches filthy rich but from the very moment they sign on the dotted line, they are "on the clock."

Welcome everyone to the new world order.
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Yep, and it's that apathy that made me believe that UCF would take it to AU yesterday. But you get a lot of coaches who have very good seasons year in and year out and they either got run out of town or are about to. Yes, for UGA that yielded Kirby Smart but thats the exception, not the norm.
 
#125
#125
An argument can be made that the reason the SEC was so deep in the BCS era was because Bama was on probation from 1995 to 2000. That gave the rest of us a fighting chance. Now that Saban has returned Bama back to the evil empire conference depth has suffered.
 
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