CFB offseason thread 2025

[BTExpress]

The 1910s are tricky in general because Southern football was regarded as so inferior to the other regions then. Think about an undefeated or one-loss MAC or C-USA champ before playoff expansion. They were treated as a polite novelty and not a serious contender.

Now the regional pride part of me says that was probably bull****, but everything before World War I (and for the most part before 1934 and the breakaway of the SEC) is a big gap in my FBC history knowledge. So I can't say that for certain. Some day I ought to go back and fill that knowledge gap in.

In 1926, real college football came to the South.

 

[dixiehack]

I do know the facade of Southern gridiron inferiority began to crack a little by the early 20s when Alabama pulled off a 9-7 upset at Penn which shocked Eastern fans as much as the opposite result would today.

That helped pave the way for Bama to get the invite to the 26 Rose Bowl as the first team from the South to play in front of God’s original sunset. (Tulane was actually invited first but declined so the athletes wouldn’t miss class.) The Crimson Tide pulled off an equally-shocking upset of Washington and no one ever questioned whether football below the Mason-Dixon Line could compete nationally again.

 

[BTExpress]

There were 22 teams in the Southern Conference in 1926. Ahead of its time, I guess. Of course, some teams played only four conference games. Only Alabama played eight.

 

[Batman]

The quote from John Cohen makes that story into high comedy. It's like they hired Vladimir Putin as their AD and they annexed seven national championships.

"For too long, Auburn has chosen a humble approach to our program's storied history – choosing to recognize only Associated Press National Championships. Starting this fall, we have made the decision to honor the accomplishments of our deserving student-athletes, coaches, and teams from Auburn's proud history," Cohen said. "Our visible National Championship recognitions now align with the well-established standard used by the NCAA's official record book and our peers across the nation."

 

[tapintoamerica]

There were 22 teams in the Southern Conference in 1926. Ahead of its time, I guess. Of course, some teams played only four conference games. Only Alabama played eight.

It’s insane. There are SoCon brothers who were in the league for 20 simultaneous football seasons but never faced each other.

 

[Slacker]

When Hugh Freeze and Bruce Pearl are
your top coaches, anything is legal, I guess.

 

[Neutral Corner]

$EC! $EC! $EC!