Yahoo: Why SEC Isn't As Great In Football As You Think

[dcpony]

Interesting post with numbers.

http://www.thepostgame.com/commentary/2 ... on-sec-bcs

Is the SEC really the best conference in college football "top to bottom," as it's so often described? And if it is, why since the start of the BCS era in 1998 does the conference have overall losing records against the Pac-12 (11-12) and Big East (19-23) and superior but not dominating records against other major conferences? Might the nationwide perception of SEC superiority simply be part of a well-constructed ESPN business plan meant to protect and enhance the network’s $2.25 billion partnership with the SEC? As part of his admittedly left-coast-leaning inspection of myths and misconceptions about the South, author Chuck Thompson dug out the numbers and facts in devoting an entire chapter to Southern football amid critiques of religion, politics, education and racism in his new book Better Off Without 'Em: A Northern Manifesto for Southern Secession (Simon & Schuster). Here's an excerpt:

In his seminal work, The Burden of Southern History, historian C. Vann Woodward wrote: "The South has had its full share of illusions, fantasies, and pretensions, and it has continued to cling to some of them with an astonishing tenacity that defies explanation."

Few enduring southern delusions do more to illustrate Woodward's point than the region's storied devotion to college football and the myth of the superiority of the SEC, the twelve teams collectively regarded in the South -- and much of the rest of the country -- as whales to krill, The Beatles to Herman's Hermits, jackhammer sex with Mila Kunis to dry humping your junior prom date standing up in her parents' garage.

Claims to SEC superiority are based on a simple set of arguments, foremost of which is that of the 14 national championships awarded since the 1998 advent of the BCS system, eight have gone to teams from the SEC, including, remarkably, the last six in a row.

[East Coast Mustang]

Well then which conference is better? The inferiority complex that fans of schools outside the SEC have towards the conference is laughable to me. The SEC has dominated college football in the BCS era. So much so, that the national championship this year featured two SEC teams against each other- and they were the two best teams in the country, no doubt about that.

[Alasdair]

Well then which conference is better? The inferiority complex that fans of schools outside the SEC have towards the conference is laughable to me. The SEC has dominated college football in the BCS era. So much so, that the national championship this year featured two SEC teams against each other- and they were the two best teams in the country, no doubt about that.

It's not saying another conference is better, it is just showing that the SEC isn't nearly as dominate as the media and SEC fans make them appear to be.

[East Coast Mustang]

Well then which conference is better? The inferiority complex that fans of schools outside the SEC have towards the conference is laughable to me. The SEC has dominated college football in the BCS era. So much so, that the national championship this year featured two SEC teams against each other- and they were the two best teams in the country, no doubt about that.

It's not saying another conference is better, it is just showing that the SEC isn't nearly as dominate as the media and SEC fans make them appear to be.

Well I don't think Texas beating Ole Miss or UCLA beating Tennessee when they sucked proves that. But the SEC has won 8 of 14 BCS titles and 6 in a row...and the only BCS title they've lost was to another SEC team. Also, people forget, that '03 Auburn team SHOULD have played for a national title. It was an injustice that they didn't get a shot after going undefeated.

But I don't think the conference is top-heavy. Georgia has never won a BCS title but has had several Top Ten finishes. Similarly, South Carolina and Arkansas have been good as of late. It's not like there's one or two teams running the show and everyone else is riding their coattails.

[Dwan]

It is a top heavy conference split into two divisions and they traditionally dont schedule hard out of conference games.

[leopold]

I can't speak for all SEC fans, but most I know are just happy to be known as the 'best' regardless of the margin, dominating or not.

But on another note, if some Yankee wants to start discussing misconception about the South I'd like to start somewhere other than damned college football.

[NavyCrimson]

Well said - leopold.

[CenTXpony]

Why would any Yankee wanna talk college football? During the BCS era only one team north of the mason dixon line has won the title (Ohio St. 2002 I beieve) and that was a fluke. Then the only other team from outside the south was USC, while Auburn went undefeated and wasn't given the shot to contend. Smells like sour grapes to me.

[TidePony]

The SEC is what all the other conferences want to be - National Champions last year in football, gymnastics, golf, and softball at Alabama alone, basketball at Kentucky, track and tennis at Florida, LSU in women's track, equestrian at Auburn, and video making at Texas A&M.

[East Coast Mustang]

It is a top heavy conference split into two divisions and they traditionally dont schedule hard out of conference games.

Just recently...

Arkansas-USC
Alabama-Michigan, VT, Penn State
Georgia- Boise St.
Tennessee- Oregon
Ole Miss- Texas
Florida- FSU (every year)
LSU- Oregon, West Virginia, VT

I'm sure I forgot several as well.

[CenTXpony]

Auburn-Clemson
LSU-WVU
Ole Miss-BYU
Tennessee-NC State
Arkansas-aTm last two seasons
Georgia-Georgia Tech every year
South Carolina-Clemson every year
Kentucky-Louisville every year

[SMU21TCU10]

"jackhammer sex with Mila Kunis to dry humping your junior prom date standing up in her parents' garage"