Power 5 vs Power 5.....thru 9-14

Nothingfaced said:

What is up with this trend of people comparing a conference to another conference? It blows my mind. You'd think an Alabama fan couldn't care less how another school did in the SEC; they care about Alabama and Alabama only.

As a UAB fan, I only care about UAB. Screw Conference USA and how they do. I don't care. I just don't understand.

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In today's cfb landscape, you have no choice but to pull for your conference. I hate it myself, and long for the days you hoped tennessee and auburn lost most every game. but those days are over.

I think SEC fans figured it out before most of the country. Mostly because southern football was looked on with disdain due to socioeconomic influences of yesteryear and lacking large media outlets. SEC 'pride' and trumpeting big wins were the only way to draw attention to the media disadvantaged South. I have heard northern media types and fans explain away 'conference pride' as a southern inferiority complex.
We know that is not true at all. I remember my dad telling me in the seventies we have to hope (not pull for)HATED Tennessee beats so and so , that way when we beat them, we will get votes from that region of the country, the only way Bama will stay ahead of Notre Dame , or Michigan , etc. . We know that comparing conferences and shouting conference victories is the best way to 'politic' for the SEC. In a lot of ways, we started it, and especially now we have to keep doing it. SEC! SEC! SEC!

The SEC West is the toughest conference in college football this year. Period. No one has to face a slate like the teams from the SEC West this year.

In ESPN's Football Power Index ratings (FPI), they rank the future SOS for each team:
Bama: 2
Ark: 1
Aub: 9
LSU: 3
MSU: 18
Miss: 11
aTm: 13

That's national strength of schedule rank for remaining games. For the SEC West teams only. I didn't even look at the SEC East. Who cares about Power 5 vs Power 5. Doesn't hold a candle to having to play in the SEC West.

Exactly. When all SEC teams win out of conference games it imporves all of us. I want our conference to go undefeated every year in OOC games.

My goal for Auburn every year is 4-8.

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Nothingfaced said:

What is up with this trend of people comparing a conference to another conference? It blows my mind. You'd think an Alabama fan couldn't care less how another school did in the SEC; they care about Alabama and Alabama only.

As a UAB fan, I only care about UAB. Screw Conference USA and how they do. I don't care. I just don't understand.

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its a power conference thing, you wouldn't understand

trenda said:

The SEC West is the toughest conference in college football this year. Period. No one has to face a slate like the teams from the SEC West this year.

In ESPN's Football Power Index ratings (FPI), they rank the future SOS for each team:
Bama: 2
Ark: 1
Aub: 9
LSU: 3
MSU: 18
Miss: 11
aTm: 13

That's national strength of schedule rank for remaining games. For the SEC West teams only. I didn't even look at the SEC East. Who cares about Power 5 vs Power 5. Doesn't hold a candle to having to play in the SEC West.

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those are interesting SOS.....weren't people talking about our lack of SOS before the season started?

First Sergeant said:

those are interesting SOS.....weren't people talking about our lack of SOS before the season started?

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It seems like every year the pundits do this but when the end of the year rolls around, we have a top five or ten schedule.

Without games like FAU & USM, our offense wouldn't have a chance to get the kinks worked out. Sims and Coker would have been trial by fire. I'm fine with playing little sisters of the poor if it means we get a couple more weeks to work out our offensive issues and prepare for our SEC slate.

trenda said:

The SEC West is the toughest conference in college football this year. Period. No one has to face a slate like the teams from the SEC West this year.

In ESPN's Football Power Index ratings (FPI), they rank the future SOS for each team:
Bama: 2
Ark: 1
Aub: 9
LSU: 3
MSU: 18
Miss: 11
aTm: 13

That's national strength of schedule rank for remaining games. For the SEC West teams only. I didn't even look at the SEC East. Who cares about Power 5 vs Power 5. Doesn't hold a candle to having to play in the SEC West.

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This is what a lot of people refuse to get. There is just no accounting for how tough SEC conference play is. I remember Nick Saban said something along the lines of if an upcoming team isn't ranked, they should be. As someone else said, playing in the SEC is like a bowl game every week. That's why, when it comes to bowl games the SEC dominates, they're used to it.

In the last three years, they've been 5-3 (before new additions), 6-3, and 7-3. The other side of that is that the SEC teams, even the ones that would win their bowl games, and that would dominate other conferences, might have to play some easier games just to get bowl eligible. Both the number of bowl games, and the overall record speaks for itself. But, the path from the SEC to the championship is like no other. For instance, last year Alabama would have had to beat 3 top 5 teams in a row to win the championship. No other conference created a situation like that.

First Sergeant said:

those are interesting SOS.....weren't people talking about our lack of SOS before the season started?

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Alabama's OOC SoS is still low, but as you see it's clearly balanced out and SoS has one misleading characteristic. It acts as though there's a big difference between for instance the #80 team and the #120 team. But, for a championship caliber team, both are a guaranteed win. What SoS doesn't fully account for is a run like Alabama will have to do. I saw a weak argument made on behalf of the Big 12, that all those conference games get even harder, that Iowa State is just so much more difficult as the season progresses.

Ok, try LSU, try Auburn...

GP for Bama said:

There is definitely a threat that the SEC west teams beat each other up this year and the "all-knowing committee" leaves them all out.

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Absolutely, all of this is leading up to the argument that keeps a one loss, non conference champ out. For instance, Alabama last year.

They'll point to OOC SoS, they'll point to 8 conference games, they'll point to not being the conference champs, and for the biased people in the room (most of them) they'll ignore the rest. That's the goal at least...

Then, if they can trick the SEC and everyone else and get them to fall for it, they'll see the SEC play 9 conference games+one tough OOC game+all FBS foes. Then, with the SEC having the 14 toughest schedules, they'll keep SEC teams out because they have multiple losses. There's no way to win if you abandon logic and reason.