Is the SEC is over rated?

SEC (2)

NOTE: On NNR Samantha Bunten of NBC Sports and I discussed the news of the day and previewed the Browns/Jets game.

For years the SEC has been riding on the coattails of the University of Alabama. But if you haven’t noticed the SEC has failed to win the last two national championships. In fact the lowly ACC and Big 10 (sorry that the colleges can’t count) have won the titles recently.

Going into the 2015 season the SEC had 7 teams in the AP top 25. How much of those rankings are based on talent vs. reputation? My answer is a lot on reputation and a little on talent. The Coaches Poll is not votes of the coaches at all. The people usually voting are from the communications department of most schools. The problem is that once a team is ranked it is easier to stay there.

But so far some of the teams have been struggling playing the Sisters of the Perpetually Miserable. But because the teams are part of the SEC, they tend to stay in the top 25. Other conferences that lose tend to fall out of the ranking. Maybe the voters will pay more attention next … Read more at FryingPanSports

If the playoff committee has 2 SEC teams in there will be trouble.

SEC

Note: On NNR yesterday Samantha Bunten of NBC Sports & I previewed the Browns/Falcons and other games this week. The podcast is on https://fryingpansports.com/radio-show/.

I have no problem with 2 SEC West teams being in the top 4 with a couple of weeks to go in the college football season. However, if the committee keeps 2 SEC teams in the final 4, I have a BIG issue with it.

No team that does not even play in their league’s championship game should ever be considered for a spot in the playoffs. Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer had a great point last week after his team’s win over 25th ranked Minnesota. He suggested that if the teams in the south are so good, let them come up north in late November and play a Big 10 team in the cold and snow. That would be a true test of their ability.

While ESPN seems to think the SEC is nearly equal to the NFL, many around the country see things differently. While Auburn prepares for their big game at Alabama, they will play the Sisters of the Perpetually Miserable this week. That is not unusual.

There are 5 Read more at FryingPanSports

It is time for Oho State to put a muzzle on Dr. Gee

Brutus 

Dr. Gee and I have a little history.  During his first stint as the President of OSU he would take calls during half time of the football games.  I called. Despite just accepting a nice salary bump for himself and tenured professors, Dr. Gee had just asked for more tax payer money.  I suggested that he and the others donate some of the large salary increases to offset the request to the legislature.  THAT was the last call that he ever took.  After that, the call in segment was dropped from the half time festivities.

 

For the second time in less than three years, Dr. Gee said something stupid for which he had to apologize.  Both times involved insults to the Catholic community.  His first was the “Sisters of the poor” comment.  This last one not only insulted the University of Notre Dame and its leadership but the entire SEC as well.

 

I have experience being a conservative in the liberal OSU.  I was told point blank that if I completed my graduate studies at OSU in political science, I would never get tenured.  My views were “too far out of the norm for this university.”  I … Read more at FryingPanSports

EDITORIAL: The NCAA declares Auburn QB Newton eligible

2010 BCS National Championship Game
Image via Wikipedia


To protect their backsides, the Auburn administration declared QB Newton ineligible and then asked the NCAA to make him eligible for the SEC Championship game.

The NCAA obliged like the faithful dog it has become for the power conferences and granted eligibility. There seems to be little doubt that Newton’s Dad tried to extort $180K from two other schools for his son’s services.

The NCAA said there was “no direct evidence” that Newton Jr. had any idea that his father was trying to sell his services. That is crap and everyone knows it.

If the BcS was threatened by a QB with eligibility issues from a 1st place Boise State or TCU team, you can bet the house, the car, the wife and your first born that the NCAA would suggest that the QB be held out until the full investigation was complete. Given its history for prompt action in the Reggie Bush case, that would occur in 2099.

The NCAA should complete the investigation immediately. To assume that the child knew nothing about the father getting nearly 200K is ludicrous. The NCAA needs to release the evidence of innocence.

This organization is totally incompetent when it … Read more at FryingPanSports

What did we learn from week three of the College Football Season?

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The Good:

The Top 6 team won easily but they didn’t play the toughest competition. Except for Ohio State and Alabama we have not yet seen most of the top 10 play a really good opponent.

#6 Texas and #7 Oklahoma struggled to wins against Texas Tech and Air Force respectively. Neither of these teams look all that good yet but both have young QBs and should get better as the season goes on.

Two SE Conference teams played league games on the road and looked solid. #10 Florida beat Tennessee on the checkered field. Tennessee is now 1-2. #12 Arkansas beat Georgia but this Bulldog team is not the power house it has been. Georgia was also 1-1 coming into the game.

The Bad (and VERY Lucky):

Wisconsin got REALLY lucky blocking the extra point to win their game at home against Arizona State. Wisconsin controlled the clock but were not effective putting the ball into the end-zone. The team is going to have to improve to be competitive in the Big 10+1.

The Ugly:

#9 Iowa went to Arizona and was a small underdog. The Hawkeyes fell behind by a 27-7 score and never could catch up again. … Read more at FryingPanSports

The final USA/Coaches Poll votes will not be made public!

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American Football Coaches Association announced Wednesday that the final vote by individual coaches for the USA/Coaches Poll will not be made public. The ONLY vote of coaches that is made public is the final poll. The other polls really don’t care to anyone anyway.

AFCA executive director Grant Teaff said the change will contribute to “making our poll the best poll it can possibly be.” The USA/Coaches poll helps decide which 2 teams play for the BcS Championship will not be released. According to a study done for the organization by Gallop, the votes for the final poll should be kept private to help promote accuracy in the result. WHAT?

I thought that the secret ballot was the very seed of evil. That’s why the President and Congress are so intent on making workers vote for or against unionization in public including union “organizers” with the so called Employee Free Choice Act.

Seriously, the coaches want cover from the criticism that has resulted from their previous votes. Several SEC coaches at their league meeting have already spoken out against the change. That list includes Steve Spurrier (South Carolina) and Mark Rick (Georgia). This change will take effect in the 2010 … Read more at FryingPanSports