SEC releases 2012 conference football pairings

Just because you can't beat the Cardinals in the playoffs doesn't mean you have to be grumpy about my alma mater's team. I stand by my statement. Overall, the Big 12 is a tougher hoops conference, and Florida isn't nearly what is was when it was winning titles. Vanderbilt is about the only team in the SEC other than Kentucky that is consistently good.

 

Other than angst, what do have to counter Oz?

 

Is this sarcasm or are you actually trying to overlay the end-of-season 2011 BCS rankings against where teams project in 2012? If it isn't sarcasm, you might want to review where Oklahoma State, Kansas State and Baylor finished in the end-of-2010 rankings.

 

How about this: This year's champion will be the sixth in a row from the SEC. The SEC has produced the most NFL players. The SEC (and its two new members) produced the first eight picks in the 2011 NFL draft. The SEC has a ridiculous overall bowl record over the past five seasons. The SEC and Big 12 are matched up against each other in one bowl game a year (the Cotton Bowl), and the SEC has won seven of the past eight Cotton Bowls. (The one exception: Missouri beat Arkansas in a year the Tigers' clearly should have been playing in the Orange Bowl instead of Kansas. Oh, and Missouri is an SEC team starting this summer. )

Here's one slice of data (that shouldn't be read into too heavily, I admit) I thought was interesting: Conference representation among Pro Bowl selections this year (based on schools' 2011 football affiliation):

Pac-12 - 15
SEC - 13
ACC - 10
Big Ten - 9
Big East - 8
Big 12 - 7

And the Big 12 list included Shane Lechler (Texas A&M), Justin Smith (Missouri) and Von Miller (Texas A&M).

BCS rankings show that a number of Big 12 teams did well against their schedules and how their opponents did against their schedules. They're a poor indicator of overall talent level in a conference.

(You suckered me in. Crap.)

 

This is Petrino's fourth year at Arkansas, and he's making $3.5 million a year. There's only one major college job open for 2012. No way in hell does he go to Penn State. And no way in hell does an NFL team hire him.

And anyway, after the contract extension he signed last year, his buyout is $18 million thru 2012, $17.75 million in 2013, $14.5 million in 2014, $10.8 million in 2015, $7.4 million in 2016 and $3.9 million in 2017. He also has a non-compete clause for the entire SEC.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5909975

Again, where's he gonna go? He's a very good coach, but not a good enough one for anyone to pay 8 figures to buy him out.

 

Having the champion doesn't say crap about overall depth, nor does number of draftees. I wish it would be acknowledged that the SEC, other than Alabama/LSU/Arkansas, is kinda down rigjht now, and that Florida is currently as truly mediocre as its record the past couple of years indicate. I guess what steams me most is when SEC people treat Oklahoma State's and Kansas State's seasons as if they were Sun Belt teams having great records.

 

Overall, the Big 12 and SEC are, at best, historically even. Take Kansas out of the mix and its not even close, the SEC is better.

And to say Vanderbilt is the only team as consistently good as UK is ludicrous. Florida might not be meeting the standard of winning back-to-back NCAA titles, but they're 10-2 at present.

Who, other than the Jayhawks, wins NCAA titles from the "old" Big 12, or for that matter, consistently goes to the Final Four? No one. Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas are the only other two Big 12 teams I can think of who have gone to the Final Four in the last 20 years. The SEC has sent Arkansas, LSU, Mississippi State, Kentucky and Florida over the same time period.

I'm going to compare the SEC to the "original" Big 12 for historical comparison's sake: South Carolina = Texas Tech; Tennessee = Oklahoma State; Alabama = Oklahoma; Auburn = Iowa State; Ole Miss = Nebraska; Mississippi State = Baylor; LSU = Kansas State; Arkansas = Missouri; Kansas = Kentucky; Florida = Texas (a stretch since Texas constantly gags in the tournament).

That leaves Vandy, Georgia and Colorado and Texas A&M ... and Vandy and Georgia are both far better at hoops over time than Colorado and A&M are.

And I'm not grumpy about anything, but to think Mizzou is going to be a powerhouse is delusional. They've never been a powerhouse in anything.

 

Missouri will shit the bed next year in conference play....fire Pinkel.....and bring in someone different.

 

Avatar bet on that?

 

Absolutely.