Manrule #112 --If teams are afraid to schedule your favorite teams you may use games from as far back as 3 seasons for comparisons when posting on websites.

:thumb: Love it

I can't do it from this computer at home, but I will when I get back to work. But I bet you won't like what I find …

 

I guess you've had the week off.

 

Still waiting...

Not a good team in that bunch, although UC might be on their way to becoming a good team. Spin it any way you like, U of L's schedule is not even close to playing 8 SEC teams (9 if they would make it to the SEC championship game) in any way, shape or form. I like Louisville, but they would win the overall SEC title MAYBE once every 15 years or so...

 

 

I guess if you keep saying how tough the SEC is, people will keep believing it, but the SEC is down this year and the rating systems support that statement. Louisville has played a comparable schedule to most of the better teams in the SEC this year.

 

Sagarin rates Louisville's schedule (29th toughest) higher than Florida's (36th), LSU's (37th), Arkansas' (73rd), and Auburn's (32nd).

 

Massey rates Louisville's schedule 24th, just slightly lower than Florida's (22nd), LSU's (20th), and Auburn's (19th), and much tougher than Arkansas' (42nd).

 

Colley Matrix rates Louisville's schedule 30th toughest, not as good as Florida's (20th), but higher than Auburn's (38th), LSU's (32nd), and much higher than Arkansas' (62nd).

 

Billingsley, Wolfe, Anderson/Hester, and Colley Matrix all have the Big East ranked higher as a conference than the SEC. Sagarin has the Big East just slightly behind the SEC.

 

Even though there are a lot of good teams in the SEC, it is a 12-team conference and no team plays all of the good teams in the SEC. Most of the better teams play 3 and no more than 4 games against other top SEC teams.

I guess if you keep saying how tough the SEC is, people will keep believing it, but the SEC is down this year and the rating systems support that statement. Louisville has played a comparable schedule to most of the better teams in the SEC this year.

 

Sagarin rates Louisville's schedule (29th toughest) higher than Florida's (36th), LSU's (37th), Arkansas' (73rd), and Auburn's (32nd).

 

Massey rates Louisville's schedule 24th, just slightly lower than Florida's (22nd), LSU's (20th), and Auburn's (19th), and much tougher than Arkansas' (42nd).

 

Colley Matrix rates Louisville's schedule 30th toughest, not as good as Florida's (20th), but higher than Auburn's (38th), LSU's (32nd), and much higher than Arkansas' (62nd).

 

Billingsley, Wolfe, Anderson/Hester, and Colley Matrix all have the Big East ranked higher as a conference than the SEC. Sagarin has the Big East just slightly behind the SEC.

 

Even though there are a lot of good teams in the SEC, it is a 12-team conference and no team plays all of the good teams in the SEC. Most of the better teams play 3 and no more than 4 games against other top SEC teams.

 

Is that the same thing as Sagarin saying UL would win the SEC??? No...

UL would have 2 or 3 losses this year playing in the SEC...I don't care what some tout says...and UL playing WVU, Rutgers, USF, UC, UConn, UK, Miami (down), Middle Tenn, Syracuse, Kansas St, Temple, and Pitt is nowhere close to being as hard as playing a SEC schedule....

 

I don't think you will EVER in your lifetime hear anyone utter the phrase "the Big East is a tougher conference than the SEC" or "it is harder to win the Big East than the SEC"...

 

Playing 4 top SEC teams and 4 other SEC teams is still much harder than a Big East schedule.

Is that the same thing as Sagarin saying UL would win the SEC??? No...

UL would have 2 or 3 losses this year playing in the SEC...I don't care what some tout says...and UL playing WVU, Rutgers, USF, UC, UConn, UK, Miami (down), Middle Tenn, Syracuse, Kansas St, Temple, and Pitt is nowhere close to being as hard as playing a SEC schedule....

 

I don't think you will EVER in your lifetime hear anyone utter the phrase "the Big East is a tougher conference than the SEC" or "it is harder to win the Big East than the SEC"...

 

Playing 4 top SEC teams and 4 other SEC teams is still much harder than a Big East schedule.

 

Two or three losses? Against who? That's a laugh. You said earlier that U of L's schedule is not even close (your words) to playing an SEC schedule. I have just shown you, using three different rating systems, that Louisville's schedule is very comparable to the best teams in the SEC. What do you have to back up your opinion? I know the Big East by itself is not as tough as the SEC, mainly because there are fewer teams and the three top teams (UL, WVU, Rutgers) of course each only play the other two. But Louisville has three bowl-eligible teams from BCS conferences on their schedule (way better than most SEC teams' non-conference schedules) and they beat them by a combined score of 114-41. And they did this without having their starting QB for several games and after losing their Heisman candidate RB in the opener.

 

The SEC seems to think it can build a little wall around itself, refuse to schedule hardly any out of conference games against quality opponents, thump its chest about how great it is, and not have anybody call its bluff.

Miami might be down, but as of tonight they're bowl eligible.

 

That makes 9 for Louisville.

Why isn't UL in title discussions still then?

Why isn't UL in title discussions still then?

 

Two reasons. 1) They were dropped farther in the polls than other teams (7-8 spots for losing by 3 to an undefeated top 15 team on the road, while Texas and USC dropped 7-8 spots for losing to unranked teams on the road) Michigan didn't drop at all in the AP or BCS for losing to tOSU. Louisville is ranked #6 by the computers, but tenth and eleventh in the human polls.

2) They lost too late in the season to recover. Florida lost in week 7, USC lost in week 10, Louisville lost in week 12.

This whole thread is pretty much a joke. The SEC isn't as good as it usually is IMO as far as the top teams being unbeatable but I wouldn't call it overrated. You have a lot of good teams but nobody that is really great. Even teams like Vandy played Michigan tough up into the 3rd quarter.

Florida is good but not great.

Tenn is up and down but a solid club. I think they would be a good matchup with somebody like Wisconsin.

LSU is VERY talented but underachieving.

Georgia is down but can beat most teams on a given night.

Aburn is just flat tough to figure out.

KY has improved all year. They have a lot of weapons on offense and a young defense that is sorry right now.

Vandy has some talent and can play spoiler.

Arkansas has overachieved with a new offensive coordinator but can beat anybody.

Alabama should be in the Big 10 this year.

I don't know that the SEC is the best confrence this year but they aren't far down the food chain if they aren't. Year in year out there isn't a better confrence. I wouldn't call this their strongest year but they are better than most!

The SEC seems to think it can build a little wall around itself, refuse to schedule hardly any out of conference games against quality opponents, thump its chest about how great it is, and not have anybody call its bluff.

This is exactly right....in 2004 they scheduled nobody and got burned. In 2005 they scheduled nobody and got hit in the mouth by West Virginia. So this year, they want to schedule nobody and take their ball straight to Glendale. I am not buying.

The SEC is the best conference most years, but not this year.

 

Here's why:

 

The best teams struggle to win at home against the worst teams in the conference.

Florida needed a FG block at home to escape SC

LSU needed OT to beat Ole Miss

UGA crushed Auburn

Just to name a few

 

Arkansas comes out of nowhere to establish itself as the best team in the conference. On the strength of basically one player.

 

Kentucky is having a great year in the conference, yet struggles at home against an absolutely awful team.

 

Bottom line: The SEC lives off that "top to bottom" hogwash, yet refuses to schedule tough non-conference games. What are they afraid of? That the unfortunate ugly truth will be exposed?

 

At best, the SEC is equal to the other major conferences.

 

And don't use the whole "the SEC has five ranked teams" garbage. So does the ACC, and they're in a very down year.

 

:ylsuper: :ylsuper: :ylsuper: :ylsuper: :ylsuper: :ylsuper:

Thank the Lord for Jim Schue! Agreed 100%.

This whole thread is pretty much a joke. The SEC isn't as good as it usually is IMO as far as the top teams being unbeatable but I wouldn't call it overrated. You have a lot of good teams but nobody that is really great. Even teams like Vandy played Michigan tough up into the 3rd quarter.

Florida is good but not great.

Tenn is up and down but a solid club. I think they would be a good matchup with somebody like Wisconsin.

LSU is VERY talented but underachieving.

Georgia is down but can beat most teams on a given night.

Aburn is just flat tough to figure out.

KY has improved all year. They have a lot of weapons on offense and a young defense that is sorry right now.

Vandy has some talent and can play spoiler.

Arkansas has overachieved with a new offensive coordinator but can beat anybody.

Alabama should be in the Big 10 this year.

I don't know that the SEC is the best confrence this year but they aren't far down the food chain if they aren't. Year in year out there isn't a better confrence. I wouldn't call this their strongest year but they are better than most!

 

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Calling the SEC overrated in football is like calling the ACC overrated in basketball. Some years are better than others but year in year out they are the best. Anybody that disagrees with that is either a hater of a team in that confrence (or teams) or they just don't watch much college ball!

Why isn't UL in title discussions still then?

For the same reason the Louisville-WVU game was called a "WAC conference travesty" but tO$U-Michigan was "a classic."

I'm still waiting for the evidence that the SEC is the only conference that goes out of its way to not schedule tough OOC games.....