Bielema: SEC needs to have 9 conference games...because numbers matter.

[BamaNation]

and 8 is not 9.

at least that's my interpretation of his ramblings.

Bielema: SEC needs 9 league games for CFP sake

Speaking Tuesday before Illini Night at Wrigley Field, Illinois coach Bret Bielema told reporters he'd like to see the College Football Playoff expand to 16 teams in 2026, but only if all the major conferences, including the SEC, play nine league games.

www.espn.com

 

[selmaborntidefan]

and 8 is not 9.

at least that's my interpretation of his ramblings.

Bielema: SEC needs 9 league games for CFP sake

Speaking Tuesday before Illini Night at Wrigley Field, Illinois coach Bret Bielema told reporters he'd like to see the College Football Playoff expand to 16 teams in 2026, but only if all the major conferences, including the SEC, play nine league games.

www.espn.com

Bret Bielema won the Big Ten conference three straight years at Wisconsin.
He just had a 10-win season at Illinois.

And yet he was 11-29 with only EIGHT conference games in the SEC, and nearly half of those wins came in one season.

So when a guy is a winner in one conference and a pretty pathetic loser in another one, doesn't that pretty much tell you which conference is stronger overall at least most of the time?

 

[selmaborntidefan]

The Big Ten has three complaints:
1) SEC doesn't play up north in November (ludicrous as they don't play in T-Town in August, either)
2) the SEC plays Mercer in November before Big Weekend (I don't grasp what's being said here)
3) the SEC only plays eight conference games

But since these same folks argue the SEC is "top heavy," what good is it going to do to have Alabama tack on a game against Vandy or Kentucky most years?

 

[BamaNation]

Having lived in OH for nearly 3 years ... delusional and irrational are very appropriate adjectives when describing Big10/X/XI/16/18/99 lugheads.

When we lived in NYC in the 90's, met a colleague of my wife's who was a Nebraska alum. I will forever and a day hate Nebraska and want them to go 0-whatever because of how idiotic and irrational he was. Then I moved to OH and met a whole herd of OSU fans that were just like him... and recently some UMich fans... and the story continues.

Explaining the superiority of their conference to me was kinda like a vegan going out of their way to let you know they don't eat meat even when you didn't ask. (No offense to our resident vegans, but you know it's true )

 

[CB4]

Having lived in OH for nearly 3 years ... delusional and irrational are very appropriate adjectives when describing Big10/X/XI/16/18/99 lugheads.

When we lived in NYC in the 90's, met a colleague of my wife's who was a Nebraska alum. I will forever and a day hate Nebraska and want them to go 0-whatever because of how idiotic and irrational he was. Then I moved to OH and met a whole herd of OSU fans that were just like him... and recently some UMich fans... and the story continues.

Explaining the superiority of their conference to me was kinda like a vegan going out of their way to let you know they don't eat meat even when you didn't ask. (No offense to our resident vegans, but you know it's true )

Any analogy concerning “vegan” and a “Brett Bielema quote” I find difficult to “swallow”.

But not for Brett…from the looks of him, he’s never had difficulty swallowing anything.

 

[colbysullivan]

Meh, we already play the toughest schedules in the nation.

 

[4Q Basket Case]

Every time I see Bret Bielema, I think of Lennie from Of Mice And Men.

Tell me about the rabbits, George.

 

[bamamc1]

Every time I see Bret Bielema, I think of Lennie from Of Mice And Men.

Tell me about the rabbits, George.

 

[DawgAlum2054]

I wold rather see more top tier out of conference games.

The SEC isnt scared to play anyone.

Look at the out of conference games teams like Georgia and Alabama have played and scheduled.

Who has USC scheduled? Penn State?

enough arguing about who the better conference is or who deserves to be in the playoffs, play some of these games in the regular season.

 

[DzynKingRTR]

I wold rather see more top tier out of conference games.

The SEC isnt scared to play anyone.

Look at the out of conference games teams like Georgia and Alabama have played and scheduled.

Who has USC scheduled? Penn State?

enough arguing about who the better conference is or who deserves to be in the playoffs, play some of these games in the regular season.

Hey the B1G teams never play FCS teams, except when they do. The play against all the powerhouse teams in the MAC and do play against notre dame sometimes. Also they play up north in November.

 

[colbysullivan]

I wold rather see more top tier out of conference games.

The SEC isnt scared to play anyone.

Look at the out of conference games teams like Georgia and Alabama have played and scheduled.

Who has USC scheduled? Penn State?

enough arguing about who the better conference is or who deserves to be in the playoffs, play some of these games in the regular season.

USC and Penn State is a conference game now lol. If that doesn’t show everything currently wrong with college football, I don’t know what does.

 

[Con]

Since we are talking about the Big 10, where is @B1GTide? I haven’t seen him lately and was just wondering if he is ok or just taking a break?

 

[BearFoot]

Any analogy concerning “vegan” and a “Brett Bielema quote” I find difficult to “swallow”.

But not for Brett…from the looks of him, he’s never had difficulty swallowing anything.

Brett has swallowed everything that’s ever been within the gravitational pull of his colossal mouth…..except for his EGO.

That’s a challenge that the infamous “Beard Meets Food” wouldn’t even be able to conquer!!!

iykyk

 

[colbysullivan]

We have to stop this nonsense when people try to make the argument the SEC is anything but the best conference in college football. Here‘s 3 decades of evidence to prove they’re wrong:



It’s not even really that close to be honest. Quite frankly, it is intellectually dishonest to try making the argument the SEC isn’t #1. I mean, my goodness, #2 and #3 COMBINED have half the titles the SEC has…

 

[selmaborntidefan]

I wold rather see more top tier out of conference games.

The SEC isnt scared to play anyone.

Look at the out of conference games teams like Georgia and Alabama have played and scheduled.

Who has USC scheduled? Penn State?

enough arguing about who the better conference is or who deserves to be in the playoffs, play some of these games in the regular season.

Let's use some recent Big Ten teams as an example how DUMB this whole argument is.

2021 Michigan - played the 3 worst teams in the Big Ten in 4 weeks between 10/9 and 11/6; their OOC was W Michigan, NIU, and 4-8 Washington (if Alabama is supposed to look ahead and see FSU was no good in 2017, the same applies to your team)

2022 Michigan - played 3 of the 4 worst teams in the Big Ten in a 9-game conference schedule plus an OOC of Hawaii, Colorado St, and UCONN, who combined for 12 wins. Even then, they couldn't beat TCU despite knowing their signals.

2023 Michigan - nine Big Ten games (3 straight games against the 3 WORST teams in the conference) and an OOC of E Carolina, Bowling Green, and UNLV.

2024 Ohio State - nine Big Ten games (2 straight against the two worst teams in the Big Ten IN NOVEMBER, no less) plus an OOC of Akron, W Michigan, and Marshall


Folks - they've had some good teams, but they haven't even met their own threshold of "tough schedule."

Give me one name they played OUT OF CONFERENCE. Maybe Washington in 2021?

Ok let's see, using the playoff teams:
2021 Georgia - #3 Clemson
2021 Alabama - #14 Miami
2022 Georgia - #11 Oregon (who wound up 10-3)
2023 Alabama - AT Texas
2024 Georgia - Clemson (who made the playoff)
2024 Texas - Michigan AT THE BIG HOUSE
2024 Tennessee - NC State on the road

So can we just flush this whole "SEC 8-game schedule" nonsense?

What everyone in the SEC learned last year was "don't play tough games that might get you beat later in the season, just sidestep the tough ones and have a 0 in the loss column and you're in."


ETA: yeah, 2022 Ohio State played Notre Dame, and admittedly they do better than their conference usually does. But this whole 8-game argument is nonsense.

 

[TideMan09]

I've neverrrr taken anything Coach Bielema says simply because his coaching & personality remains me of Butt-Head..

I'm actually being serious..