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SEC Bias discussion

Kevin White is right in that he beat two SEC defenses that struggled to defend against the pass last year, and frankly, most SEC teams did. But he also threw his teammates under the bus in that interview and likely hurt his draft status.

 
Kevin White is right in that he beat two SEC defenses that struggled to defend against the pass last year, and frankly, most SEC teams did. But he also threw his teammates under the bus in that interview and likely hurt his draft status.
I don't see that at all.
 
Kevin White is right in that he beat two SEC defenses that struggled to defend against the pass last year, and frankly, most SEC teams did. But he also threw his teammates under the bus in that interview and likely hurt his draft status.
You must be joking. This is a league where Jameis Wiston and all his shenanigans will be the number one pick. Talent wins out and White is projected to go in the top ten.

 
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In First Year of College Football Playoff, The Overrated SEC is Exposed

https://secexposed.wordpress.com/2015/01/05/in-first-year-of-college-football-playoff-the-overrated-sec-is-exposed/

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Excellent article - everything I've told my dimwitted friends for years... to no avail.

Never did we say that the SEC was a bad conference. Merely that they were vastly overrated, the product of sports media overhype mixed with the skilled art of avoiding the top competition from the other Power 5 conferences. For years we have been told they are great because they have to play each other and that they didn’t need to prove anything by playing the other conference’s big boys on the block. For years we witnessed a corrupted BCS bowl system pair SEC teams with much inferior competition, creating mismatches that assured the SEC the best conference bowl records year after year.

The committee did give Alabama the (unearned) number one seed in what can only be described as a desperate attempt to give them the easiest path to the title (the closest proximity of any of the four teams to their game site to ensure easy travelling for their fans coupled with the matchup with a four seed, presumably the easiest team of the four).








 
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This seems like the right place for this.

Back in October the AP put out this study.  They claimed that it showed no SEC bias in their poll. I found this on reddit where a user did a good job of showing that their study was shit.

 
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Anybody else out there sick & tired of hearing about the best CFB conference?

— Twitter API (@twitterapi) November 7, 2011


Yeah but it will probably take a couple more losing playoff runs for the SECSECSEC mystique to wear off. I was encouraged to read the story about Saban crying about how the playoffs are damaging the Bowl games.

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/05/nick-saban-on-college-football-playoff-what-i-feared-the-most-would-happen

It warms my heart

 
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Yeah but it will probably take a couple more losing playoff runs for the SECSECSEC mystique to wear off. I was encouraged to read the story about Saban crying about how the playoffs are damaging the Bowl games.
SEC can't game the system for more favorable match-ups. They're getting exposed.

Follow @SEC_Exposed on Twitter

 
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The SEC, in one sense, is no different than any of the other conferences.  They have an aristocracy of two or three teams ('Bama, LSU, and one of UGA, UF, or Auburn, depending on the year), a mid-level of South Carolina, two of UGA, UF, Auburn, occasionally one of the Mississippi schools, occasionally Arkansas, Mizzou, and nominally aTm, although that one is trending down, and a lower level that includes the likes of Kentucky, Vandy, and anybody else that's left.  They've won plenty of championships, but so would any conference that has 'Bama in it.  I think in the last couple of years, the SEC has returned to earth a bit, and when Saban and Miles get ready to head off into retirement, which shouldn't be many years down the road, the SEC will still be strong, but certainly NOT unbeatable, ESPN hype or not.

 
The SEC, in one sense, is no different than any of the other conferences.  They have an aristocracy of two or three teams ('Bama, LSU, and one of UGA, UF, or Auburn, depending on the year), a mid-level of South Carolina, two of UGA, UF, Auburn, occasionally one of the Mississippi schools, occasionally Arkansas, Mizzou, and nominally aTm, although that one is trending down, and a lower level that includes the likes of Kentucky, Vandy, and anybody else that's left.  They've won plenty of championships, but so would any conference that has 'Bama in it.  I think in the last couple of years, the SEC has returned to earth a bit, and when Saban and Miles get ready to head off into retirement, which shouldn't be many years down the road, the SEC will still be strong, but certainly NOT unbeatable, ESPN hype or not.
IMHO, the SEC is perceived as the best conference because of the fact that when the so-called perennial powers like LSU and Bama are down, other powerhouse schools step up to be competitive on the national stage.  Since 1980, 6 schools in the SEC have won MNCs - Bama, Auburn, LSU, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida.  As far as I know, only 2 teams in the Big XII have ever won MNCs in modern times - UT and OU.  There just are not schools in the Big XII other than those two who have the resources, tradition or geography to go head to head with the Tennessees, Georgias, and Floridas of the SEC, schools that are "second tier" schools in the SEC.  When K-State, OK State TCU, and Baylor start winning MNCs, this perception will change, but until then, the BIG XII will never measure up to the SEC in the media or fans.

And truthfully, based on W-L  and championships since 1980, Texas would be equivalent to a second tier school in the SEC.

 
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What I've contended all along is there are factors that help glorify the SEC and without that, it would not have worked as it has.

First is the fact nearly all the schools are named after a state whose name carries an emotional ferver.

And you can hear them in your head with a Southern accent and all the warmth and tearing-up that goes with that.

Georgia... Alabama... Mississippi... Tennessee.. Florida... Kentucky...  and so on.

Resounding campus names... Auburn... even that sounds cool.

Second is the joining of SEC with CBS a little over ten-plus years ago. Few stop and focus on it, but the production qualities of that 2:30 central Sat afternoon game with Verne and Gary is way over the top in making things sound bigger than life and bigger than the country and the whole planet.

Take away that prime afternoon game and put it on another network and never EVER have had Verne and Gary do the game... ever... and see how the SEC comes across. Take away the CBS sound track, the opening overture, the resounding motif... and what do you get?

Add in a few coaching legends with really good sounding names.... Urban Meyer.... Nick Saban... Old Ball Coach, Steve Spurrier... Les Miles...

Names. Nouns. Sounds of vowels.  Words in the mind.  And The South.  Ah, the South....

All that goes with that. Pretty soon if you get a string of winning seasons on the national stage...there you have it.

Some good football during the run, yes, but would not be the same Glorification had those wins come from BYU, Arizona State, Iowa, Indiana, New Hampshire, Delaware, North Dakota, Maryland, Nevada, Idaho... and all televised on Fox Sports Southwest in 480i on Motorola 19" CRT sets sitting behind bars on 30 degree tilt-mounts off the back wall.

SEC on CBS arrived as the 16:9 units were on the horizon rolling out, as ESPN was soon to saturate from Thur to Sat, as everybody would be getting 720p or 1080i, with DVR for replay, and the whole shebang could be aired more gloriously than ever, and nothing sounds better than good ole southern names and places and never better than Saturday afternoon on CBS to the sound of trumpets... like the opening parade of the chariots in Ben Hur.

And all of that made the SEC --in the Mind---more than it actually is. It's just a string of schools, sittin' on soil like any other school, with a run of football programs that got in front of the class for a while and they all happen to be from the South and carry the labels and sounds of the south. But they're still average institutions, and their run won't last forever, their prime time coaches won't be around forever. In the end, they'll be what they've always been. And A&M right there with them.

Frankly I don't recall ever hearing the name SEC until a few years back. Not kidding. I might have heard Southeastern Conference. But not SEC. Can't remember when I first became aware of it. Grew up, lived much of my life, military, school, work... travel.. did a lot...never stopped and pondered this term... S E C.  Noticed it about the time saying things like #sec came along. So guess it's really just a hashtag. Is all it is.

#sec :P

Next.

 
Demographics and schools with a football tradition are the biggest factors on why the SEC may receive more praise than it deserves. 

The most productive area of the country in churning out football prospects is the South. Specifically, the area extending from Texas to South Carolina. The SEC happens to encompass that area and has a natural recruiting hotbed/advantage. African-Americans slightly outnumber "whites" in NCAA FBS collegiate football despite holding only 1/6 of the national population. When taking into account drafting NCAA players, essentially elite football players, African-Americans have a widened gap, especially on a per capita basis. African-Americans comprise more than 10% of the population in every SEC state, except Kentucky. On top of this, 6 of the top 10 states with the highest African-American distributions amongst their population reside in "SEC country". 2 more of those states in the top 10 border SEC states. Louisiana, Mississippi, and Georgia are three of the best states in producing top prospects and draftees, they just so happen to be the only 3 states with more than 30% African-Americans in their population distribution.

On school tradition, the SEC has Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, LSU, Texas A&M, Florida, Auburn, and Arkansas in the top 25 of all-time wins amongst programs that still compete at the FBS level. Alabama and Florida have won multiple national championships in the last decade. Florida has been held in high regard since the early 90's and Alabama is a recognized power. LSU had a reputation for being underachievers before Nick Saban came along, but they have a rabid fanbase and a renowned stadium. Georgia is always good, but very seldom great. Tennessee has Rocky Top, Neyland Stadium, multiple national championships, the recognizable bright orange and Peyton Manning. Arkansas was a dominant force in the SWC and has won multiple NCs, although they have sporadic success since joining the SEC. Auburn has noticeable colors, War Eagle, Bo Jackson, a recent national championships / appearances,and a major rivalry game with a national power. As was mentioned by a previous poster, the CBS broadcast has a sense of pageantry about it and has made more people aware of how football crazed people in the South are. With all due respect, football games with ranked opponents at Jordan-Hare, Neyland, Death Valley, Between the Hedges, and Bryant-Denny are a cut above venues in most of the rest of the country. Those experiences are scattered among 1 or 2 teams in other conferences.

 
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