gtrower
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- Aug 22, 2010
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This is the first year that I can remember the media - and even SEC fans themselves - acknowledge the lack of actual dominance that has been peddled the last decade. Here's the recent major bowl game results with SEC teams:
2015: Bama beat MSU and Clemson in the playoff, Ole Miss beat OK State
2014: OSU beat Bama in the playoff, GT raped MSU in the Orange Bowl, TCU raped Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl
2013: FSU beat Auburn in MNCG and OU beat Bama in the Sugar Bowl
2012: Bama beat ND in the MNCG and Louisville beat Florida in the Sugar Bowl
So in BCS/NY6 bowl games in recent history theyre 4-6. Bama is 3-2. Ole Miss who is about to get sanctioned by the NCAA for cheating over this time period is the only other SEC team with a major bowl win. IIRC the GT, TCU, OU, and UL wins were beat downs too. This year there's going to be an 8-win Auburn team going to the Sugar Bowl that is running half their plays through wildcat trying to keep pace with OU or OK State. So the non-Bama schools will likely fall to 1-5.
So what's changed? They still dominate the fabled recruiting rankings. Why isn't it translating? I'd say you've got to point to coaching of the usual "powers" more than anything else. Take a look at the coaching changes the big name SEC schools have gone through the last decade from when they really were better than everybody else to now.
- Bama - Saban -> Saban
- UGA: Richt -> Smart (Richt to ACC)
- LSU: Miles -> Orgeron (after getting denied by Fisher (ACC) and Herman (Big 12))
- UT: LOL -> Jones
- Auburn: Malzahn with Cam Newton -> Malzahn without Cam Newton
- Florida: Meyer -> McElwain (Meyer to Big 1o)
Saban is the only bright spot on that entire list albeit he's as bright as it gets. McElwain is being tolerated with the back-to-back SEC Least titles, but they'll grow tired of that putrid offense as soon as he loses one. And he's nowhere near Meyer. Smart, Orgeron, and Jones aren't inspiring fear in anybody. Basically if you look down the list of the traditional SEC powers, their HCs have gone from some of the best in football to question marks across the board (outside of Saban).
This could be the year we look back on that it all turned. The big indicator will be how the preseason polls look next year. If a hyped LSU / Auburn / UT / UF / UGA / A&M all end up in the Top 10/15/20 again then the narrative will continue with "ranked SEC teams beating up on each other."
2015: Bama beat MSU and Clemson in the playoff, Ole Miss beat OK State
2014: OSU beat Bama in the playoff, GT raped MSU in the Orange Bowl, TCU raped Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl
2013: FSU beat Auburn in MNCG and OU beat Bama in the Sugar Bowl
2012: Bama beat ND in the MNCG and Louisville beat Florida in the Sugar Bowl
So in BCS/NY6 bowl games in recent history theyre 4-6. Bama is 3-2. Ole Miss who is about to get sanctioned by the NCAA for cheating over this time period is the only other SEC team with a major bowl win. IIRC the GT, TCU, OU, and UL wins were beat downs too. This year there's going to be an 8-win Auburn team going to the Sugar Bowl that is running half their plays through wildcat trying to keep pace with OU or OK State. So the non-Bama schools will likely fall to 1-5.
So what's changed? They still dominate the fabled recruiting rankings. Why isn't it translating? I'd say you've got to point to coaching of the usual "powers" more than anything else. Take a look at the coaching changes the big name SEC schools have gone through the last decade from when they really were better than everybody else to now.
- Bama - Saban -> Saban
- UGA: Richt -> Smart (Richt to ACC)
- LSU: Miles -> Orgeron (after getting denied by Fisher (ACC) and Herman (Big 12))
- UT: LOL -> Jones
- Auburn: Malzahn with Cam Newton -> Malzahn without Cam Newton
- Florida: Meyer -> McElwain (Meyer to Big 1o)
Saban is the only bright spot on that entire list albeit he's as bright as it gets. McElwain is being tolerated with the back-to-back SEC Least titles, but they'll grow tired of that putrid offense as soon as he loses one. And he's nowhere near Meyer. Smart, Orgeron, and Jones aren't inspiring fear in anybody. Basically if you look down the list of the traditional SEC powers, their HCs have gone from some of the best in football to question marks across the board (outside of Saban).
This could be the year we look back on that it all turned. The big indicator will be how the preseason polls look next year. If a hyped LSU / Auburn / UT / UF / UGA / A&M all end up in the Top 10/15/20 again then the narrative will continue with "ranked SEC teams beating up on each other."