ESS EEE SEE 0-4 in bowl games
[UPDATE 10:17 PM: 0-4 now with Miss State getting crushed by Texas Tech]
The mighty SEC starting off 0-3 in bowl games after Auburn goes down to Houston. Meanwhile, the B1G is waiting until Dec 28 to have its first team play. With 10 teams from our conference to make a bowl game (late addition Rutgers included), it's supporting my long standing opinion, and probably some of yours too, that the top heavy SEC is extremely one dimensional.
Can't wait to see Minny lace 'em up tonight.
Can't wait to see Finebaum eat more of his words once the bowl season is over.
"But Pauuuuuuuuuuul....."
Any other bowl game revelations you'd like to share?
December 28th, 2021 at 4:04 PM ^
Holgersen knew what he was doing. Once they get in the Big 12 they could be a powerhouse.
December 28th, 2021 at 5:00 PM ^
Houston is one of those mid-major schools (like San Diego State) that should always be decent because of its proximity to large metropolitan areas with lots of football talent. Cinci (moving up, of course) and Northern Illinois are other examples.
December 28th, 2021 at 5:55 PM ^
Dekalb is more Iowa than Chicago.
December 28th, 2021 at 6:45 PM ^
Wrong. Only 60 miles west of Chicago.
December 28th, 2021 at 7:21 PM ^
Culturally, DeKalb is definitely more Dubuque, Iowa than Chicagoland. It gets rural pretty quickly west of Aurora.
December 28th, 2021 at 10:32 PM ^
Yeah. I lived in Chicago a long time and have been all over Iowa and DeKalb. DeKalb is home to the world’s largest corn festival. It is absolutely nothing like Chicago but it is indistinguishable from the cities around the University of Iowa. “Major Metropolitan” is absolutely no way to describe it.
December 29th, 2021 at 8:39 AM ^
Yeah but he never described Dekalb as “major metropolitan.” He described it as being in “close proximity to” a major metropolitan city. Which it is.
December 29th, 2021 at 10:30 AM ^
I lived in St. Charles, IL - the far Western suburbs of Chicago along the famous North Ave. Just to the west of us is where the corn fields started and extended to Iowa. NIU was in those corn fields, just 20 minutes from my home.
December 28th, 2021 at 7:22 PM ^
You made his point. 60 miles West off 88 into the nothingness that is Western Illinois.
Dammit I just burned my home state of Iowa a bit, too.
December 29th, 2021 at 7:45 AM ^
No worries about the unintentional burn of Iowa. I once spent a month there one week and it is worthy of such a burn...
December 28th, 2021 at 4:10 PM ^
You hate to SEC it.
December 28th, 2021 at 4:13 PM ^
? I see what you did there
December 28th, 2021 at 5:30 PM ^
You seC it too, huh?
December 28th, 2021 at 4:11 PM ^
Yep, I see. Gophers win tonight and that would be awesome.
December 28th, 2021 at 10:08 PM ^
WVU ain't in the SEC, but I'm okay with the ACC looking like trash, as well. Meanwhile, TT is kicking MSU's ass (not that MSU), and I am loving it. Tech's redshirt freshman QB having himself a time.
December 28th, 2021 at 10:44 PM ^
How many posters does it take to figure out what conference WVU is in?
December 28th, 2021 at 10:53 PM ^
They're the Mountaineers so...Mountain West?
December 29th, 2021 at 11:49 AM ^
The WAC?
December 28th, 2021 at 5:39 PM ^
harbaugh: the gif that keeps on giving
December 28th, 2021 at 4:25 PM ^
OVERRATED! <clap, clap, clap-clap-clap> OVERRATED! <clap, clap, clap-clap-clap> OVERRATED! <clap, clap, clap-clap-clap>...
December 28th, 2021 at 10:17 PM ^
Just to throw some stats in here, here are the four games played so far with spread and score:
Florida vs. UCF. Spread: UF by 6.5. Final Score UCF 29 - Florida 17. SEC missed the spread by 18.5 points
Missouri vs. Army. Spread: Army by 6.5. Final Score Army 24 - Missouri 22. SEC beat the spread by 4.5 points. S-E-C! S-E-C! S-E-C!
Auburn vs Houston. Spread: Auburn by 1.5. Final Score Houston 17 - Auburn 13. SEC missed spread by 5.5 points
Miss St ve Texas Tech. Spread: Miss St by 9.5. Final Score Texas Tech 34 - Miss St 7. SEC missed the spread by 36.5 points.
On average, the SEC has thus far missed the spread by two touchdowns. Are they serially overrated as a conference? We may not know until Saturday when their second tier plays the Big Ten second tier, but early returns indictate that Vegas has no idea how bad the SEC was this year.
December 28th, 2021 at 10:34 PM ^
Speaking of overrated, anyone here live in Georgia that plans on attending the sparty-pitt game? Tickets are super cheap. Assuming my kid tests negative tomorrow, I may take him to show our support for "lil bro". Just kidding, we'd be pulling for pitt.
December 28th, 2021 at 11:48 PM ^
absolutely go to the game! When my kids were young and we lived in NC, we'd do the Meineke/Belk/Duke Mayo bowl every year even though we didn't give a rip about the teams in them. Support the local bowl game and make memories! Fun fact, the first time we went, it was NC State vs USF. My daughter picked NC State because they were the doggies (she was 3) and NC State won. 15 years later, she started as a freshman at NC State. :) Between the bowl games and trips to the Big House (last one was 2016 Indiana) she loves hitting the games and having a blast
December 28th, 2021 at 10:36 PM ^
Does it surprise anyone that, as soon as every conference can play by SEC rules and pay players, the conference begins to crumble?
It's a new era in college football. Coaches who respect their players and build meaningful environments will ascend. No longer a wild, wild west where the winner is decided by the highest bidder.
December 29th, 2021 at 1:29 AM ^
Lol. It’s ridiculous to relate SEC performance in this year’s bowl season to NIL. NIL is just starting and hasn’t had any noticeable impact (yet) on recruiting.
The rich are still rich and the poor are still poor. It will take 3-5 years MINIMUM to have a significant impact.
Note: Yes, a player or two may be swayed but to make a substantial difference will take more than a few players.
December 29th, 2021 at 1:46 AM ^
Texas A&M would like to talk to you about how NIL has had no effect on recruiting.
December 29th, 2021 at 11:11 AM ^
I can appreciate that it will take a few years for the full effect to be felt. Maybe, more accurately, this is more directly the impact of the transfer portal.
But the "star freshman" stuff that has been common in the SEC for a long time and not much of anywhere else seems to be noticeably muted this year. Between COVID year, transfer portal, and NIL, the general fall of the SEC is all but assured. Bama will probably always be an institution under Saban, but (1) he can't coach forever and (2) good players at this point can reasonably expect to make about as much NIL money at a program like OSU, Michigan, or ND.
December 29th, 2021 at 11:39 AM ^
This is just an absurd take. A few SEC bottom feeders lose their bowl games and the "general fall of the SEC is all but assured".
- There are (obviously) 2 SEC teams in the CFP
- The top 3 recruiting classes belong to SEC schools
- 10 of the top 20 recruiting classes belong to SEC schools (Including Texas and Oklahoma would make 12)
I dislike the SEC as much as the next Michigan fan, but SEC dominance is not going anywhere for a while. Texas Tech beating Mississippi State is not a harbinger of doom for the SEC.
December 29th, 2021 at 1:32 PM ^
Look, I'm not saying that the SEC is going to suddenly become the worst conference in CFB, but I think that parity will significantly level out at least with the Big Ten/midwest powers in the next few years. I think that portends a general decline in quality and that we've already begun to see it with everyone in the SEC looking vulnerable at some point this year; most years, they all look indestructible. A lot of it has to do with coaching talent, too; the Big Ten around 2012 started gaining a lot more high quality coaches.
December 28th, 2021 at 4:26 PM ^
It would be so amazing if the SEC wins 0 bowl games
December 28th, 2021 at 4:27 PM ^
Indeed living off of Bama's coattails!
December 28th, 2021 at 4:40 PM ^
And have been for at least a decade now. They used to do the same with UK in basketball.
December 28th, 2021 at 9:18 PM ^
Used to be?
December 28th, 2021 at 10:24 PM ^
Considering UK hasn’t been all that the last several years some of the shine has worn off. They have relied on others teams in hoops lately as much or more than UK.
Living in Kentucky the “fans” are starting to dislike Calipari as his record as of late isn’t much better than Tubby Smith.
December 29th, 2021 at 1:28 AM ^
You’re not wrong. UK is my second team and I take in a game yearly. The fans are moronic about their basketball. Firing cal and getting a better coach is a pipe dream. The entitlement is bad there
December 28th, 2021 at 4:29 PM ^
So embarrassing for them…all to non-Power 5 conference opponents too
December 28th, 2021 at 4:31 PM ^
Wonder how ESPN is handling this...what's the spin? Covid, the flu, opt outs?
December 28th, 2021 at 4:33 PM ^
Yes, Yes, Yes, and not motivated to play non-power 5 teams.
December 28th, 2021 at 5:35 PM ^
Of course not! SEC teams are only motivated to play SEC teams because that's all that matters. Games not involving two SEC teams should be ignored. See? It proves that the SEC is best. I will now attempt to untangle myself from the circle I've created.
December 28th, 2021 at 4:33 PM ^
We'd like to see SEC consistency.
December 28th, 2021 at 4:44 PM ^
Doesn't matter. As long as Alabama wins the rest of the conference will continue to ride their coattails and act like they all somehow won it together.
December 28th, 2021 at 8:46 PM ^
Well, they won't be happy this year, will they?
December 28th, 2021 at 6:27 PM ^
With the head hunting by Smoke Monday (and 2 ejected players for targeting), this may be accurate (shrugs).
December 28th, 2021 at 6:30 PM ^
I enjoyed watching Auburn lose after Smoke Monday was flexing and high-fiving the whole sideline after getting ejected for yet another targeting cheapshot. It was a refreshing contrast to see all of the Air Force players helping up opponents after the whistle (while still playing punishing, physical football during plays).
December 28th, 2021 at 5:26 PM ^
Yeah, but all those teams had the flu. Or something.
December 28th, 2021 at 5:58 PM ^
Not to mention every SEC loss so far are to non-power 5 opponents. Cincy -14.5??!!!
December 28th, 2021 at 6:02 PM ^
But... But... But...
S-E-C?????
December 28th, 2021 at 6:09 PM ^
I'm hoping Cincy can pull off the upset. It'd be a lot of fun to play them if only to change the 'mighty SEC' narrative. But wins against Georgia and Alabama might be a better thing for us in the long run, for recruiting.
One thing's for sure: The SEC's bowl fail so far this year bodes well for Michigan/Georgia. Georgia's wins against Missouri, Auburn and Florida certainly look far less impressive.
They really haven't played anyone else except Alabama, who smoked them.