Tennessee's sched was fairly weak, their offense was not effective vs. good teams (2 games in SEC over 30 points vs. Miss. State/Vandy), and they didn't exactly finish the season strong. They may have been a top 10 team, but I think most people that had watched them this year could tell this team wasn't even comparable to the Hendon Hooker 2022 team that was good enough to win a natty with him healthy.

I think the committee probably put the best teams in given the job the SEC teams did tripping over themselves down the stretch. With that being said, I would like to see an emphasis put on how teams finish the season and early losses being penalized slightly less than late losses. SCAR was the 3 loss SEC team that was legitimately capable of making a run. They found ways to lose games early in the conference slate. They improved and found ways to win down the stretch, that should matter.

Like I said, 3 loss teams don't really have a leg to stand on, but I do think teams that limp in down the stretch are less likely to perform in the playoffs, so their resume should be examined thoroughly.

Ags like to talk up how difficult the SEC is so they can have some comfort for why we've never been able to break through. The fact that the SEC typically has fared poorly against their opponents in bowl games is just an inconvenient fact. Here is an indisputable fact: we're a grossly underachieving program with poor leadership who consistently make poor decisions.

I came to terms with this fact years ago and now losses have no effect on me. I'd recommend some of you do the same.

OP derp.

RightWingConspirator said:

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...The fact that the SEC typically has fared poorly against their opponents in bowl games is just an inconvenient fact.

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your "Fact" is not really a fact now is it? just because you wish it or imagine it in your head, diesnt make it so.

SEC is #1 in bowl win percentage.

With all the chatter about how dominant of a conference the SEC is, I'd expect not to see the number of losses we see in bowl games is my point. It appears we have been a top heavy conference for years.

agchugger said:

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3 b1g teams left vs only 2 sec. Tennessee is there because they went 10-2 and that is a playoff lock if you win 10 games in the SEC. They deserve the same energy as SMU and Indiana. They had a nice regular season but clearly didn't belong in the playoffs.

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When you have 12 teams someone has to fill the spots. Which means there will be teams that are not good enough to win it all but are in the field and will take a beating
Its just the nature of playoffs, and something a lot of folks just can't seem to grasp or accept, and especially with college football

Just look at how many blowouts are in the nfl playoffs or how many sweeps happen in the nba playoffs

No reason to try a d get the perfect playoff field because no matter how hard you try there will always be blowouts

The part about this playoff tgst is stupid and sucks are the byes for az st and Boise

Lower ranked teams shouldn't be seeded higher and have byes because it's creating harder matchups for the top 2 seeds and easier ones for the 5 and 6 seeds

The best of the Big 10 this year is likely better than the best of the SEC. I think the SEC is deeper in terms of mid to bottom tier quality.

The biggest problem with the Big 10 is it really doesn't have any depth in quality.
They have 18 teams and only 4 of them have shown any signs of being a strong program in recent history (Oregon, Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State). USC, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Washington were good at one time but were hot garbage this year and other than last year with Washington, haven't shown much in the last several years. But the bottom half of the league is just awful. It's like they have 7 or 8 Vandys that most years just aren't competitive.

Indiana's record this year was 100% a function of their schedule. They literally played the 8 worst teams in the Big 10 plus Ohio State. They were a decent team and with a reasonably hard schedule would have finished 7-5 to 8-4.

RightWingConspirator said:

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With all the chatter about how dominant of a conference the SEC is, I'd expect not to see the number of losses we see in bowl games is my point. It appears we have been a top heavy conference for years.

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The SEC has historically done very well in the bowls and that is in spite of the fact that, in many years, the over-representation of SEC schools in the playoffs or NY6 bowls has meant lower SEC teams have gotten moved up a slot into tougher bowl matchups.

That being said, what really makes the SEC the toughest league is the fact that it has the highest percentage of teams with large stadiums (80,000-plus) to where it is hard to win on the road regardless of how meh the home team might be in a given year.

zb008 said:

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I don't think any other conference has gotten such a significant push while producing very little results more than the Big Ten has the last 20 years. They've only won 2 national championships in the last 20 years (one of them involved a massive cheating scandal), but the media keeps insisting on putting as many Big Ten teams in the playoffs as they can. Indiana's performance last night is how Big Ten teams perform in the playoffs way more times than not. I wish that the media would stop trying to pretend that the Big Ten is equal to the SEC. Indiana would have been 5-7 at best in the SEC. I also think that Ohio State, Oregon, and Penn State definitely would have had a few more losses in the SEC.

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the OSU championship in 2002

was a travesty by the Refs throwing a flag on 4th and 18 in the endzone about 5 seconds after the pass was broken up!

The SEC is the best conference, but is still massively overrated by fans of the mid and lower tier SEC programs. And it always seems to kick in this time of year as programs are trying to cope with another disappointing season that fell short of unrealistic expectations.

A typical 8-4 SEC team would need a good amount of luck from the scheduling gods to get to 10-2 or better even in the Big Ten. But then again you can still get lucky in the SEC like Tennessee. And remember, in the Big Ten, you don't get a late season tune-up against the West Texas School of the blind. Instead, you get another game in East Lansing, Minneapolis, Lincoln, etc likely in crappy weather that's going to be more difficult than beating the '21 Colorado Buffaloes by 3 points.

In short, an also ran SEC is more than likely an also-ran in most other conferences. And even if not, they don't really deserve to be in the playoffs and would likely face an embarrassing beat-down anyways.

They won last year's NC and have the most talented teams still in the playoff. So no.

The top of the conference has the best two teams, and won the last National Title.

NO

The answer remains "no".

Big 10 is cashing SEC checks this bowl season

This thread continues to age about as well as room temperature milk. Yum yum, come get you some.

Keeps aging poorly

Nope. It's the SEC

Showstopper said:

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This thread continues to age about as well as room temperature milk. Yum yum, come get you some.

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Based on glorified Spring games? If you're referring to the Tennessee-Ohio State game, I'm not surprised that Ohio State won.

OBJTEX said:

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They won last year's NC and have the most talented teams still in the playoff. So no.

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Funny how cheating never gets exposed in the SEC. Better politics? Bigger influences?

Big 8

Feels like the pendulum has swung to the BIG. Transfer Portal has eliminated the recruiting advantage that the SEC has had in the south.

SABUILDERAG said:

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Feels like the pendulum has swung to the BIG. Transfer Portal has eliminated the recruiting advantage that the SEC has had in the south.

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It's not the portal. End of the day, the B1G transitioned to a national brand. National brands make more money. More money means they can buy better coaches and players. To act as if their significantly better media contract isn't going to help them long term is ignoring reality.

The issue of SEC dominance is accepting that sec dominance is actually just Alabama dominance. Kirby learned and has transferred it to Georgia well enough., but it all fails in comparison to saban. Deriding the B1G is the wrong move

The Banned said:

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SABUILDERAG said:

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Feels like the pendulum has swung to the BIG. Transfer Portal has eliminated the recruiting advantage that the SEC has had in the south.

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It's not the portal. End of the day, the B1G transitioned to a national brand. National brands make more money. More money means they can buy better coaches and players. To act as if their significantly better media contract isn't going to help them long term is ignoring reality.

The issue of SEC dominance is accepting that sec dominance is actually just Alabama dominance. Kirby learned and has transferred it to Georgia well enough., but it all fails in comparison to saban. Deriding the B1G is the wrong move

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Agreed and since the SEC stated the addition of t.u. I have wanted A&M to find a way to the B1G. It's every bit as good in football but way better in academics but more importantly no t.u.

Emilio Fantastico said:

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Indiana's record this year was 100% a function of their schedule. They literally played the 8 worst teams in the Big 10 plus Ohio State. They were a decent team and with a reasonably hard schedule would have finished 7-5 to 8-4.

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I don't know why people continue to dog Indiana. They were a legit 10 or 11 win team. They just weren't any better than that and weren't a title contender. That doesn't make them a 7 or 8 win team as you allege.

The 8 worst B10 teams were, based on conference wins from bottom to top:
-- Purdue
-- Maryland
-- NWestern
-- Wisconsin
-- UCLA
-- Michigan St
-- Nebraska
-- Washington Rutgers or USC (same conference record)

I've bolded the teams Indiana played. They also played (and beat) Michigan.

Oregon played UCLA, Purdue, Maryland, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Washington off that list as well as Michigan. They did, of course, play Ohio State and Illinois. However, they got BOTH of them AT HOME. (This was prior to the Big 10 CCG, obviously).

Indiana was 8-0 at home. Would they have beaten Ohio State at home? I don't know; maybe not. But they were all but unbeatable there. Check with Nebraska on that. Besides, did Ohio State lose to Michigan due to their energy wasted on Indiana? We'll never know, but as we saw in the Notre Dame game, if Indiana comes out flat against a good team, it will be a long day for them. Like ND, Ohio State was better prepared than IU was for that game. It would have had to have been a totally different game in Bloomington as people there actually forgot basketball season had started already!

The bottom line is that Oregon's and Indiana's regular season schedules aren't THAT much different. For your argument to hold water, you'd have to argue Oregon would have only won 9 or so had they had a harder schedule and/or switched a couple of home/road games. Maybe still better than IU, but not necessarily the title contender they appear to be.

We'll see tomorrow.

OP would like to point out how the Big Ten champion is now getting drilled

Man, I can't stand Penn State or Ohio State, and the playoff semifinals look like they will have both teams, plus the sips.

I was hoping for an Oregon-Georgia championship game, but now I guess it's Georgia or bust. If ND somehow beat Georgia, I think that will lead to an Ohio State-Penn State championship game. Texas-Penn State isn't any better.

Ehhh.....probably. But I could argue SEC is also overrated this year.

Gonna find out soon...

I do think OSU wins it all.

This thread looking worse and worse.

Could easily be an all Big 10 final this year.

Michigan in 2023 and now OSU & Penn State looming in 2024. I Would say the Big10 has now surpassed the SEC in 2024. But that was the intent when they pulled in USC, UCLA, Washington & Oregon. They won realignment and now have a good chance to win the Natty in 2024. Big10 teams will be more proactive in pulling HS talent from the south.

Onionman said:

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This thread looking worse and worse.

Could easily be an all Big 10 final this year.

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The tu-bought refs:

"Not so fast, my friend."

Really

You are going to prop them bc the bracket gave Penn State a cake walk to the final four?

And propping them for Ohio State is funny. The only team with equal talent to Bama dynasty teams.

How about we prop the powers that be on protecting the Big 10 in the bracket. That will be a staple.

LB12Diamond said:

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Really

You are going to prop them bc the bracket gave Penn State a cake walk to the final four?

And propping them for Ohio State is funny. The only team with equal talent to Bama dynasty teams.

How about we prop the powers that be on protecting the Big 10 in the bracket. That will be a staple.

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Also, are we also going to act like glorified scrimmages (non-playoff bowls) still mean anything?

Still the most overrated or nah?