Hawk, We hear what you are saying and it makes a great deal of sense. I think what people outside of the SEC don't understand is that this league is very physical. When you have to play week in and week out you lose a lot of people. Look at us vs Auburn last year. They won, but said they were never the same team for many weeks because of all the hard hits. I watched a lot of football last weekend and I thought there was more hard hitting going on the the Florida/Auburn game than any I've seen all year. The defense here is much more intense that what I have watched any where else. I thought that Barry Alvarez said it best last year when asked about the OU/Boise State game last year. In a one off game Boise State can win, but if they had to play in a major conference they would not be able to win near as many games because of depth. The other thing about the SEC is if you go through history, you have a lot of teams that have won NC. I don't know the exact number but Alabama (7?), Georgia, Tennesse, Florida, LSU have one more than one. Arkansas won one. Not sure about Ole Miss or AU. At least half the conference has a NC and others that haven't won still have a lot of tradition. You go into very loud stadiums every week and there is a lot of venom between the schools. A lot different than coming in and playing someone without the rivalry. We don't think we are that much better, but football is a game of inches. We are proud of this conference and very proud of our Tigers.
I just don't agree with that. USC is better than any team in the big 10. They blew out Mich last year and Mich was a better team last year than this year. Mich probabaly will lose one more game and that's against Ohio St. Ohio St. will probably play Cal in the Rose bowl this year. What do you think is gonna happen them? Cal will blow them out. The problem with the Big 10 is y'all lack team speed. Sure there are good athletes here and there but the overall team speed is lacking. No one in the Big 10 can match up with USC or LSU teams speed.
What, pray tell, are you talking about? Go back, read that "quote" again. I was talking about what you guys have been saying about USC playing in your conference, silly! Oh, yeah, I forgot the team speed thingy. I guess that's why you're 57-56 against other BCS conference teams over the past five years and so far this year. I will only speak for Iowa. We have played Southern Cal, Texas, LSU, and Florida twice in our last five bowl games. We saw speed from Southern Cal that we weren't able to handle. The other four games we matched up very, very well... what else is there to say.
I wasn't talking about past teams I am talking about the here and now. All programs and conferences go threw their up and down periods. The SEC and Pac 10 are the two best conferences right now and they are both loaded with good young players to stay on top for a while. I am not a homer I am a realist. If the SEC was sucking I would be the first to say so.
It's a long season. The cream will continue to separate. To decide who has "it" and who doesn't at this early stage is fun, I guess, but mere folly. ... unless of course, you're really a psychic... then we need to talk. My dog is missing.
Look Mich got blowed out by Oregon and if they played tomorrow they would get blowed out again. They are the third best team in the PAC 10. This has already been shown no need to wait any longer. Illinois is the up and coming team in the Big 10. Why? Because CRZ has recruited speed.
This is fun (I'm in tears)... thanks. I hate rainy days. So you've already decided Oregon will finish third in the Pac... I'll wait on that. So South Florida beats Auburn at Auburn and Auburn turns around and beats Florida at Florida. Should we put South Florida in the BCS Championship game now or should we wait? Arky got 70 put on them last year and went on to win the west. It's a good thing they didn't call you to confirm their demise. Illinois has brought in some speed. They're almost as fast as the rest of the Big Ten now. I'm teasing now... and even I don't like to do that... so I'll stop. but thanks for the smile!!
Hawker - thanks for the great course correction to this thread. One comment - we (me included) get wrapped up in statistics, but college football is a game of "who's better RIGHT NOW." App State showed us some of that this year. We all want the top teams to play in the BCS championship game precisely because stats, at the end of the day, don't matter. We want the players and coaches to decide on the field. So, even though I really appreciated your OOC stats, I couldn't help but think how irrelevant they are without insight into who the wins or losses were against, at what part of the season, in what conditions, what year, etc, etc. Out of context, the numbers really are just generalities. If LSU can't win the BCS crown this year, I'm hoping it goes to Cincinnatti or South Florida - just to drive home that recruiting class strength and other statistics don't mean anything in a vacuum. The men have to suit up and play ball. Against other men. In the weather. Amidst bedlam. That - I love.
Good points, Crunch. Stats are what they are. We even recruit kids primarily on stats... that kid runs a sub 4.4.... this kid passed for ten zillion yards.... They should always be taken in context. The quality of teams in each league tend to bounce around. Penn State was good, then bad, then good... all in a six year span. Florida, Tennessee, among others, including LSU, aren't alway putting out quality cream. The fun of the game is when average teams find the magic formula, even for a year or two. They upset everyone's world... and they can't get the approval of anyone, except their mothers, for actually being good. Cincy or South Florida may prove to be just such a team this year. And all you or I would be able to come up with is "well, they're just lucky they didn't play in our conference. They'd a been killed". And so it goes... I bet my kids are cuter than your kids... and stronger... and, finally, faster.
