Well, we can look at bowl game wins/losses all we like but the fact is the SEC puts more teams in bowl games and usually play a higher ranked team when they do.Here's the question to ask: is he wrong about the depth of the SEC?
"Listen, the SEC is a great conference, but I don't think they've been as deep the last few years. I think they've had two or three really good teams and then it's kind of been hit or miss from there."
I don't think he's wrong by any stretch.
From 2006-2015 (an entire decade), the SEC had a bowl record of 66-32 and won eight national championships (and played in a 9th PLUS had an all-SEC final).
2016 - 6-7
2017 - 5-6 (okay, UGA was one, but it's still a losing record)
2018 - 6-6
Keep in mind that that 17-19 bowl record includes a win by 5-7 MSU in 2016.
In 2016, no SEC besides Alabama had FEWER than 4 losses, and every team except UA and Florida had at least 3 conference losses.
In 2017, the SEC was Alabama and UGA and a bunch of four-loss or more teams.
The league was "somewhat" better in 2018 as five teams had 3 or fewer losses, but the reality is that the league isn't the 2006-2013 monster anymore.
The Big 12 has an all-time losing record against the SEC, but they're 9-7 in the last 3 years.
In the last 3 years, the SEC is 7-5 against the Big Ten. In the previous decade, the SEC was 25-16 (and 24-13 from 2007-15).
The ACC was 10-4 against the SEC in 2016 and 9-13 the past two years to total 19-17 in favor of the ACC.
But in that decade of dominance, the SEC thumped the ACC to the tune of 56-35.
We've gone from a winning pct of .615 to one of below .500 the last three years...despite the ACC being mostly a clown show last year.
The EVIDENCE supports Dabo's contention that the SEC is NOT what it was five years ago.
They've had "two or three really good teams"
I'd say in 2016, there was ONE DOMINANT team and a bunch of mediocrity.
In 2017, you had Alabama and UGA - and Auburn put together a good half of a season between losing to LSU and then losing to UGA.
In 2018, you had Alabama and UGA as really dominant teams.....LSU was hit or miss.....as were UF and Kentucky.
Now.....none of this vindicates the ACC in any way, but his comments on the SEC are dead-on accurate.
LSU- hasn’t beaten us since 2011 and has been shutout 3 times in that time periodI don't know about that. I mean, yea, we have recruited so well over the past 10 years that we are definitely the 500 pound gorilla in the conference much like USC did back in those days. But come on, LSU, TAMU, Georgia and Auburn could all legitimately beat us on a given Saturday. Florida is trending up as is Mizzou. There are some who have fallen way off like the Hogs and Black Bears but, for the most part, the conference is MUCH more of a gauntlet than every other conference except maybe the BIG.
I think you're missing a vital point - it's not how badly we whip inferior teams, it's that even in victory, our guys take a bigger beating because they're playing premium talent week in and out. While Clemson is play it's AAC-like schedule (it's ironic the conference abbreviations are so close), Bama is blowing out, but getting beat on by seriously talented teams week in and out. Just look at the NFL draft numbers above - and if you remove the two SEC teams Clemson played last year, they hardly played anyone who will be playing on Sundays this fall.But Dabo’s Point was more to say Alabama only had 1 competitive game all year, but everyone wants to act like it was such a challenge to get into the playoffs.
Your points are all well taken. But, as a Tide fan, I can tell you that I was on the edge of my seat for every one of those games. We peeked at LSU last year and beat a pretty good team. Miss St. the next week had us on the ropes late into that game. I thought Georgia had us beat. No one here is making excuses about getting it handed to us last year in the National Championship Game either. We lost to the better team that day. That was their '92 Bama-Miami moment. But Dabo does run off a the mouth at times and I am not a Dabo hater. In fact I am glad he makes these bone headed arguments because it provides the opportunity for fans like you and I to discuss it. But it is sheer nonsense and laughable what he is suggesting. That is just my opinion but one I believe in.LSU- hasn’t beaten us since 2011 and has been shutout 3 times in that time period
UGA- hasn’t beaten us since 2007, and have 2 blowouts in that time period
TAMU- hasn’t beaten us since 2012 and every game since has been a butt whooping
Auburn- fine, everytime Gus needs to get off the hot seat he winds up with that crazy season. But it’s not a normal occurrence since Saban has taken over that the game is close.
The SEC season since 2012 hasn’t been about Alabama worrying about losing games in conference. Sure every 3 years they slip up and Auburn or UGA wins one. We have won 12, 14,15,16,18. In that time period we have lost 5 conference games. We have lost 4 OOC games in that time period. Since Alabama vanquished LSU in 2011 the SEC hasn’t had a true challenger year in year out to Alabama. Clemson has been far more of a challenger than ANYONE in the SEC.
But Dabo’s Point was more to say Alabama only had 1 competitive game all year, but everyone wants to act like it was such a challenge to get into the playoffs. Our season was “beat UGA and you are in”, but a lot of people try to act like the SECW + Tennessee was such an obstacle to overcome when Alabama was blasting all of those teams by 30,40, and 50 points. He wasn’t saying ACC=SEC. He was more saying “stop making excuses for getting your butt kicked by a more focused and better coached team”. Alabama didn’t lose to Clemson because of the schedule, they lost because we had bad position coaches and a highly unfocused team playing the best team they played all year.
This isn’t an ACC vs SEC argument that he is making, this is a “Alabama fans can’t accept that Clemson kicked their butt” argument. Alabama had a whole month to rest up from the tolls of the regular season. We lost the game because of a lack of focus and poor coaching not because we had a murderous road compared to Clemson. If he was to say the SEC was equal or less than the ACC then you have a point, but he didn’t. He was saying that if Alabama was really that good then they wouldn’t have gotten trounced by Clemson.I think you're missing a vital point - it's not how badly we whip inferior teams, it's that even in victory, our guys take a bigger beating because they're playing premium talent week in and out. While Clemson is play it's AAC-like schedule (it's ironic the conference abbreviations are so close), Bama is blowing out, but getting beat on by seriously talented teams week in and out. Just look at the NFL draft numbers above - and if you remove the two SEC teams Clemson played last year, they hardly played anyone who will be playing on Sundays this fall.
There's ZERO question the SEC has loads of better players than the ACC, and that's the point. Point margin isn't the issue, the physical toll is...
Which is why Dabo is a flipping idiot.
Wrong, absolutely incorrect.This isn’t an ACC vs SEC argument that he is making, this is a “Alabama fans can’t accept that Clemson kicked their butt” argument.
I don’t remember anyone from Florida saying they were too tired to play Nebraska in 95, and the fact of schedules was the reason for the spanking in Arizona. Nor do I see any Alabama fan letting LSU fans use the “ we had the hardest schedule in the nation and played an extra game” argument for 2011.Wrong, absolutely incorrect.
You are completely missing the point by saying that Dabo was referring to the Bama fans or any other fans for that matter. He was referring to the media who has occasionally made mention of this. In fact, Bama fans have rarely initiated this point. Mike Griffith and others have.This isn’t an ACC vs SEC argument that he is making, this is a “Alabama fans can’t accept that Clemson kicked their butt” argument. Alabama had a whole month to rest up from the tolls of the regular season. We lost the game because of a lack of focus and poor coaching not because we had a murderous road compared to Clemson. If he was to say the SEC was equal or less than the ACC then you have a point, but he didn’t. He was saying that if Alabama was really that good then they wouldn’t have gotten trounced by Clemson.
So what. None of that makes those teams not good teams or close to elite teams. We've had long runs against good teams back in the old days as well. We had 10 year runs on Tennessee, Auburn and just about everybody else back in the 70's. They still had good teams during those years.LSU- hasn’t beaten us since 2011 and has been shutout 3 times in that time period
UGA- hasn’t beaten us since 2007, and have 2 blowouts in that time period
TAMU- hasn’t beaten us since 2012 and every game since has been a butt whooping
I'll repost his quote:This isn’t an ACC vs SEC argument that he is making, this is a “Alabama fans can’t accept that Clemson kicked their butt” argument. Alabama had a whole month to rest up from the tolls of the regular season. We lost the game because of a lack of focus and poor coaching not because we had a murderous road compared to Clemson. If he was to say the SEC was equal or less than the ACC then you have a point, but he didn’t. He was saying that if Alabama was really that good then they wouldn’t have gotten trounced by Clemson.
It's obvious he's dismissing the strength of Bama's schedule vs Clemson's, which is an absolute joke."Listen, the SEC is a great conference, but I don't think they've been as deep the last few years. I think they've had two or three really good teams and then it's kind of been hit or miss from there. It's an awesome league, for sure, and I know people say that Alabama was tired because they went through the grind and had to play all these teams," Swinney told ESPN, discussing a narrative he has heard mostly in media circles. "Well, they won by an average of 33.1 points per game [going into the playoff], so they ought to be well-rested."
This isn’t an ACC vs SEC argument that he is making, this is a “Alabama fans can’t accept that Clemson kicked their butt” argument. Alabama had a whole month to rest up from the tolls of the regular season. We lost the game because of a lack of focus and poor coaching not because we had a murderous road compared to Clemson. If he was to say the SEC was equal or less than the ACC then you have a point, but he didn’t. He was saying that if Alabama was really that good then they wouldn’t have gotten trounced by Clemson.
Alabama’s. No blue font at all.I’ll ask the question again...Which schedule would you rather play?
He asked which schedule would you RATHER have, not which is easier. I don’t think many here would want to trade LSU, Auburn, and aTm for Syracuse, BC, and UNC. Alabama’s schedule has the perfect balance of excitement and the difficulty to make a title run.Sigh