October 9, 200620 yr The SEC is the best football conference year in and year out. And this year they have 6 teams in the top 20. But this article raises the point, since they are so competitive and so many good teams, are they actually hurting themselves as a conference in being too good. You make it through the SEC season undefeated and they should forgo the game in the New Year and give you the national title. Just kidding, but what is the chances of a team going undefeated in the SEC and getting a bid in the national championship game? http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/sec/2006-10-09-weekend-follow-up_x.htm "Well, you have undefeated Florida, you have Arkansas with one loss to USC. Auburn with one loss to Arkansas. Tennessee with a one-point loss to Florida. Georgia with a loss to Tennessee. LSU with a loss at Auburn and at Florida. That looks like the SEC," Slive said Sunday with a laugh and a sigh. "If you had to draw a picture, that would be it." "The reality is there's one undefeated team, and we're not halfway through the schedule in the league," Georgia coach Mark Richt said Sunday. "A lot can happen in this league; the race is on, and it's really just beginning. You can't lose heart at this point. There's a lot to fight for. We've won the East Division three of the last four years, and we've never won it undefeated." The SEC makes a strong case for being the most competitive league in the country. No other conference has more than four teams ranked in the coaches poll; the SEC has six, with three in the top 10. Teams not only knock each other out of league and national title contention on a weekly basis but a high percentage of their games tend to be close; nine of the 19 league games played have been decided by 10 points or fewer. The SEC also leads the nation in non-conference winning percentage, at 26-7 (.788).
October 9, 200620 yr The article makes some very valid points. But if you want to say you play in the best conference, then you have to be willing to step up every week and cannot have many down weeks. That 1 point loss to UF could really hurt UT and keep them out of the conference title game regardless of how good they play down the stretch.
October 9, 200620 yr They certainly are very good, but don't let their rankings fool you, they all have their weaknesses and can be beat by anybody in the country. FLA - Top 5, will give them their props for now AUB - Defense is suspect, and they aren't playing all that well right now. ALA - Not good ARK - on a hot string, a frosh QB who needs work, and a blowout loss to USC UT - Some good wins, a bad loss, and an even worse win against Air Force UGA - No identity on offense they'll lose some more. USC - too young, too inconsistent.
October 9, 200620 yr They certainly are very good, but don't let their rankings fool you, they all have their weaknesses and can be beat by anybody in the country. FLA - Top 5, will give them their props for now AUB - Defense is suspect, and they aren't playing all that well right now. ALA - Not good ARK - on a hot string, a frosh QB who needs work, and a blowout loss to USC UT - Some good wins, a bad loss, and an even worse win against Air Force UGA - No identity on offense they'll lose some more. USC - too young, too inconsistent. Every team in the country has weaknesses. SEC is the best of the best right now...
October 9, 200620 yr You're right. But, IMO, their best is not the best, that might be for the Big Ten this year.
October 9, 200620 yr You're right. But, IMO, their best is not the best, that might be for the Big Ten this year. The thing is a lot of other big time teams aren't having their weaknesses exploited because they arent playing the competition that SEC schools are playing. Look at the PAC 10. Cal appears to be the 2nd best team easily in that conference and were thumped by UT. The Big 10 only has 2 teams who are all that great IMO. No other conference is playing the tough teams week in and week out like teams are playing in the SEC. Its like Louisville. They are a great team, but had an off night Friday night. Its a good thing they werent playing a top 5 or 6 SEC team or they may have an L. In the SEC you cant afford to have an off week vs. the top 7 or 8 teams in the conference.
October 9, 200620 yr They are a great team, but had an off night Friday night. Its a good thing they werent playing a top 5 or 6 SEC team or they may have an L. That could be likely, or they might have underestimated MTSU a bit, however they woke up, and played effectively to finish the game.
October 9, 200620 yr They certainly are very good, but don't let their rankings fool you, they all have their weaknesses and can be beat by anybody in the country. FLA - Top 5, will give them their props for now AUB - Defense is suspect, and they aren't playing all that well right now. ALA - Not good ARK - on a hot string, a frosh QB who needs work, and a blowout loss to USC UT - Some good wins, a bad loss, and an even worse win against Air Force UGA - No identity on offense they'll lose some more. USC - too young, too inconsistent. A win is a win...rather have a bad win than a good loss. UGA has a bunch of freshman QB's. Very competitive conference, and it is tough to go undefeated, but it has been that way for years. No reason to cry over it. You just have to deal with it.
October 9, 200620 yr You're right. But, IMO, their best is not the best, that might be for the Big Ten this year. I think the depth is what seperates them...
October 9, 200620 yr That could be likely, or they might have underestimated MTSU a bit, however they woke up, and played effectively to finish the game. Your right, UL took care of business and got the win. It may have been very fortunate for them that they werent playing a good team.
October 9, 200620 yr I think this is the worst week for this argument. There is no way Arkansas should even stay close to Auburn, much less stop them on the road. If the SEC is the best because of what they have at the top, that took a huge blow this week...
October 9, 200620 yr I think this is the worst week for this argument. There is no way Arkansas should even stay close to Auburn, much less stop them on the road. If the SEC is the best because of what they have at the top, that took a huge blow this week... Florida is the best team in the SEC. They showed that by what they did to LSU. Arkansas is a very young team and they have improved a lot since opening with USC. That being said, Auburn had an off week and its cost them a chance at a National Title more than likely.
October 9, 200620 yr Arkansas is a very young team and they have improved a lot since opening with USC. OR USC is just that much better than Arkansas. But that can't be it...
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