You Are The SEC Commissioner

[B1GTide]

IDK. There isn’t a true consistent challenger. Unless Kirby ever gets Smart then you are really looking at aTm. But I think aTm is a ways away, and you always wonder if Texas well ever be back.

Whoever takes over for Saban will have a 5 year reign that will likely include a national championship opportunity without really doing anything. The SEC really is a conference of inconsistency. In all likelihood Alabama is looking at what Ohio St and Oklahoma are right now.

But I agree, there really is no reason to sign football powers anymore to the SEC.

You are dreaming. The only reason that the SEC doesn't have 2 or 3 other schools with national championships over the last 15 years is Nick Saban. The SEC is, far and away, the deepest conference in the country.

 

[81usaf92]

You are dreaming. The only reason that the SEC doesn't have 2 or 3 other schools with national championships over the last 15 years is Nick Saban. The SEC is, far and away, the deepest conference in the country.

Yes, but let’s not pretend the gap between Alabama and the nearest SEC program is “that close” either. Yes you have odd seasons like 2019 when a loaded LSU team wins it all, but it’s usually Alabama dancing through the SEC with little problem.

 

[B1GTide]

Yes, but let’s not pretend the gap between Alabama and the nearest SEC program is “that close” either. Yes you have odd seasons like 2019 when a loaded LSU team wins it all, but it’s usually Alabama dancing through the SEC with little problem.

We will see.

 

[Crimson1967]

People complain about Missouri a lot. But since they joined the SEC they have been to the championship game twice. In that time span LSU has been once and Fourteenesse hasn’t been at all.

 

[crimsonaudio]

We will see.

Alabama has lost eight SEC games in the last 10 years. That's 88 SEC games (including SECCGs).

I think his point stands. Alabama is head-and-shoulders above the next closest competitor in the SEC, regardless as to how good / deep the SEC is...

 

[81usaf92]

We will see.

We already are.

LSU- do you put more faith in 2019 or 2020 results in Orgeron? He is driving the program down and it’s obvious.

aTm- Growing but a ways to go.

Auburn- pain in the butt but no consistency except inconsistency.

Ole Miss- Will be what Arkansas was under Nutt more likely than a constant threat. A good team but very limited

MSU- they try

Arkansas- get real

Georgia- Above Average but what has changed from 2000?

Florida- Mullen may become a problem but it’s really Kirby’s problem more than Bama’s. He is no Spurrier or Meyer that is for sure.

The Rest of the SEC Least: Do we really need to talk about them?


Saban has signed some of the greatest recruiting classes of all time these past few years, and is on pace for this coming year to do the same. No one is close to taking down this juggernaut in the SEC.

 

[BamaInBham]

Last year had a lot more to do with the pandemic and the havoc it wreaked on the teams than the schedule.

Alabama cut through a 10 game SEC slate like a hot knife through butter. Yes I realize we were the most talented team with the best coaching staff and that won't always be the case.

It's a matter of numbers, though last year was an exaggerated example. With playing 10 games it meant that the SEC had 14 more guaranteed losses, and the 2 fewer games meant that they could not get 2 "guaranteed" wins. E.g., UK would have likely gone 9-4/8-5 vs going 5-6.

If the SEC were to go to a 9 game SEC schedule, there would be 7 more guaranteed losses meaning also a guaranteed 7 fewer wins.

I don't think a 9 game SEC schedule is utter stupidity. You might not like the idea, but to use language like that? There are pros and cons to both. Neither is "utter stupidity."

I agree that the language was unnecessarily harsh, though I did not mean to imply that advocates of 9 are stupid since Coach Saban is one. I should have said "IMO, more would be very unwise."

If you all want to watch Alabama play Western Carolina instead of South Carolina, and have our players take cheap shot after cheap shot in a game that will never be in doubt, in a game in which we are paying them a million bucks to travel, in a game in which there will be 10k empty seats (in a normal year), then we just have differing opinions.

You did not read the post carefully since I suggested that in lieu of the 9th SEC game, the SEC play a P5 game vs another conference. Overall it would be a boon to the SEC since, IMO, they will do well and further cement their superiority. In fact, I would be for 11 P5 games and only one "cupcake" for various reasons that I won't go into at this time.

 

[Bidgoodman]

It is the largest university in America.

So, size doesn't matter.

 

[81usaf92]

Alabama has lost eight SEC games in the last 10 years. That's 88 SEC games (including SECCGs).

I think his point stands. Alabama is head-and-shoulders above the next closest competitor in the SEC, regardless as to how good / deep the SEC is...

Without looking at it, I’m pretty confident to say that Alabama has less in conference losses since 2016 than Oklahoma. Ohio St probably has a few fewer but it’s not that much. We have had 3 undefeated seasons in conference since 2016.

 

[TIDETOWN]

Clemson would probably pay us money to take NCST out of the ACC!

Hostile rivalry here, I am assuming you are going back to the early 80's when Danny Ford accused NC ST of turning the program in to the NCAA. Danny physically confronted the state coach at the end of their game and it was not a very pretty sight.

 

[BamaMoon]

If not for Bama, Georgia would probably have at least two or three titles in the last few years.

I'm 100% confident they win it all in 2012 by beating ND if we don't beat them. Of course we know what happened in 2017 when we literally took the NC out of their hands in one play!

 

[TideEngineer08]

You did not read the post carefully since I suggested that in lieu of the 9th SEC game, the SEC play a P5 game vs another conference. Overall it would be a boon to the SEC since, IMO, they will do well and further cement their superiority. In fact, I would be for 11 P5 games and only one "cupcake" for various reasons that I won't go into at this time.

I did. I like that somewhat, however, there are reasons I prefer the 9th conference game. I understand the negatives as you point out. It is going to give another loss on the ledger and will hinder some teams bowl game prospects (however, at some point, win/loss won't matter anymore as far as bowl games are concerned but I digress). I do not like the current arrangement that sees us go 7 years between seeing Georgia and Florida on the schedule. I'd rather that rotation be tightened up. I believe it's better for the conference as far as fan interest (I realize that's not the be all end all either).

In the end, I do not think my viewpoint will ever win the day. As you pointed out, Nick Saban is literally the only voice in the conference that prefers this right now. Georgia/Florida/South Carolina/Kentucky will always block this suggestion because of their annual permanent non-con ACC rivalries.

 

[81usaf92]

If not for Bama, Georgia would probably have at least two or three titles in the last few years.

I'm 100% confident they win it all in 2012 by beating ND if we don't beat them. Of course we know what happened in 2017 when we literally took the NC out of their hands in one play!

The point is Georgia nor any of those 13 teams have really closed the gap as much as a deep conference would imply. We have played Georgia 5 times in the last decade and have won all of them, we have beaten LSU 10 out 12 times, beaten Florida 5 times, and beaten Auburn 7 out 10 times. Our recruiting dwarfs everyone, and only one SEC team not named Alabama has won a NC.

 

[TideEngineer08]

The point is Georgia nor any of those 13 teams have really closed the gap as much as a deep conference would imply. We have played Georgia 5 times in the last decade and have won all of them, we have beaten LSU 10 out 12 times, beaten Florida 5 times, and beaten Auburn 7 out 10 times. Our recruiting dwarfs everyone, and only one SEC team not named Alabama has won a NC.

And when our recruiting inevitably falls off, as much as it pains me to say that, it's not going to fall onto just one other team. It's going to be spread out amongst several. Which likely does make the conference more balanced. Still a lot of it is going outside the SEC as well.

 

[81usaf92]

And when our recruiting inevitably falls off, as much as it pains me to say that, it's not going to fall onto just one other team. It's going to be spread out amongst several. Which likely does make the conference more balanced. Still a lot of it is going outside the SEC as well.

Like I said, whoever takes over is going to have a 5 year period in which Alabama is nearly unbeatable because of the recruiting of Nick Saban. But I seriously doubt any one team is going to gain a sizable advantage after CNS retires.

 

[TideEngineer08]

Like I said, whoever takes over is going to have a 5 year period in which Alabama is nearly unbeatable because of the recruiting of Nick Saban. But I seriously doubt any one team is going to gain a sizable advantage after CNS retires.

Seeing how Oklahoma and Ohio State have handled transitions gives me hope. We've just bungled two in my lifetime so horribly. Well, Coach Bryant was just before I was born. That transition was not so bad... but it wasn't a true success either. We lost measurable prestige from Bryant to Perkins. Then the Stallings transition was an absolute and complete utter disaster that took us a decade to pull out of.

Oklahoma and Ohio State have hit homeruns in replacing Stoops, Tressel, and Meyer. While Riley and Day have yet to win national championships, they have been on the cusp each year and they've dominated the Big 12 and Big Ten. I can't see any negatives about them, if we are being reasonable fans.

 

[DogPatch]

Seeing how Oklahoma and Ohio State have handled transitions gives me hope. We've just bungled two in my lifetime so horribly. Well, Coach Bryant was just before I was born. That transition was not so bad... but it wasn't a true success either. We lost measurable prestige from Bryant to Perkins. Then the Stallings transition was an absolute and complete utter disaster that took us a decade to pull out of.

Oklahoma and Ohio State have hit homeruns in replacing Stoops, Tressel, and Meyer. While Riley and Day have yet to win national championships, they have been on the cusp each year and they've dominated the Big 12 and Big Ten. I can't see any negatives about them, if we are being reasonable fans.

But, Perkins was Coach Bryant's choice.

 

[TideEngineer08]

But, Perkins was Coach Bryant's choice.

I do not believe he was. He "blessed" it, for sure. But they largely took it out of his hands. At least that's what I read in Coach by Keith Dunnavant.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

I’d offer Clemson and sit back and watch them make excuses why they don’t want to join

Something tells me they'll pull out the FSU playbook from 1991.

"Well, if we wuz to join a conference rather than stay as an Independent, we'd have to share all that money with other teams," which was code for, "We'd be lucky to win 9 games every year" and everyone knew it.

 

[DogPatch]

I do not believe he was. He "blessed" it, for sure. But they largely took it out of his hands. At least that's what I read in Coach by Keith Dunnavant.

I've heard from multiple sources, who were privy to the process, that he was. But, I know it's a highly debated topic.