SEC delusion

A large portion of my family lives in the middle of South Eastern Conference (SEC) football country. Besmirching the good name of the SEC to them is like spitting in the face of Jesus. There are few higher crimes. And why say anything negative? I mean, the SEC is the greatest football conference on Earth. The second NFL. That's what I like to call them.

That's the perception, isn't it? That the SEC is so great that we must avert our eyes, lest we be blinded by their radiant brilliance. But I don't buy it. And I know what the SEC people will say: look at the SEC's track record in recent championship games. Yes. Your conference has a good track record in championship games, but then again, when an SEC team is in the championship game every year, the odds are certainly better than the odds for other conferences. And this fact all boils down to the perception that the SEC is so much better than every other conference.

Sure, there's an argument to be made to that end, but much of that argument is based in what people think, not factual results. Why, for example, is Alabama ranked as highly as they are? Because they played well in their tough SEC schedule? Alabama played six teams that played in bowl games this year. So did Oregon. USC–the one from Los Angeles– played nine teams that played in bowl games. So sure, USC lost a few more games, but they probably wouldn't have had they played juggernauts like Georgia State and UT Chattanooga. Look at Georgia, as a comparison. While most SEC teams each year play powerhouse programs like Murray State and Arkansas State, Georgia played a similarly tough schedule to that of USC. And what happened? They had pretty much the same record as USC.

But what about bowl results? Teams have to play tough teams without much of a choice as to who. True. And the SEC has a good bowl record in recent years. However, they've also been in a better position to win. The BCS title game aside, in bowl games played where at least one of the teams was ranked, the SEC team was the higher ranked team in every bowl this season. Same was true last year and the year before that. So what does that mean then? A ranked team, LSU say, beats unranked Iowa. And that's a special accomplishment why? USC should beat Fresno State. They did. UCLA should be Virginia Tech. They did. Oregon should beat Texas. They did. But nobody is waving the flag, saying OMG, look how great the Pac 12 is. A ranked team beating an unranked team is nothing to jump up and down about–except for SEC fans.

And don't start on the BCS championships. Alabama reached the BCS championship in 2011 without playing in their conference championship game. The Tide was, at best, the third best team in their conference yet they were somehow one of the top two teams in the country? And that's not the worst of it. In 2003, Oklahoma went to the title game after losing their conference championship. So I don't want to here about the SEC's track record in a championship game that is based in ridiculous stupidity. Justify those two games, using logic and ration, and then I'll listen to your BCS track record argument.

Never mind, in all of this, that few SEC teams know where the Rocky Mountains are, let alone the Pacific time zone. When a MMA champion is interviewed in the octagon after a tough fight and is asked who he/she wants to fight next, they almost always say "whoever they want me to fight, I'll fight." Not the SEC. They say, "I'll fight anyone, anywhere...except, mainly I mean anyone projected to finish .500 or under or come from the FCS subdivision and only here in our stadium." Boy, what a mark of a champion. Don't think that's true? Look at BCS championship contender Auburn this year. Five of their first six games were at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The one road game? They had to go all the way to Louisiana to play LSU. Whoo-wee! A six hour drive! PS, they lost. They only had one other tough road game, which they won by 4. Their other two really tough games were at home...which they won in miraculous fashion. Gee. No wonder they're playing in the championship game with a track record like that.  But they are the SEC champions...and that gets you an automatic bid into the BCS title game. Heck, sometimes just being from the SEC is good enough to get you in.