Not sure how it will play out but so many people claim there's an SEC bias but really being in the SEC, especially the west division is a bad thing right now! How many of the top 10 non SEC teams could actually go thru a western teams schedule this year and not have at least 2 loses? The winner of the west definitely deserves a spot in the playoff.
Easy. None. There isn't a team in the country that could go through the SECW gauntlet without losing two games. The part that people from other parts of the country don't take into consideration is the physical toll it is week in, and week out. There is just not a break. I mean, the two worst teams in the West, TAMU and Arkansas, would be in the Top 5 of any other conference in the country.......maybe the top 3. And they are 6th and 7th in the DIVISION.
I personally believe the best teams not in the SEC are as follows, in order: Oregon, TCU, Baylor, Ohio State, and then maybe FSU(although I don't think they could beat any of the teams mentioned above). None of those teams play enough defense to win 7 conference games in the SEC, especially if they had to play a team from the East not named Vandy or UK.
Which is why Miss St is in the ideal spot to beat Bama next week in T-town and clinch the West. They'll be catching Bama off an emotional win at LSU (similar to A&M a couple years ago) and also catching them a bit banged up. If they can slow down WR Cooper, I don't think Bama can run the ball enough to keep drives going. If State does not get Bama, then Auburn will. Again, as I've stated here many, many times that Bama cant defend good spread teams and Auburn wont have anything to play for except pissing in Bama's cherios and ruining their season. Mark my words, either State or Auburn will get Bama.
I think a two loss SEC champion from the West would absolutely be in the final 4. Ludicrous to think otherwise with where the committee has ranked SEC West teams so far. If FSU were to lose a game, I can see a scenario where a 1 loss Miss St ( close Bama loss) and a 1 loss Bama, as SEC champ, both are in the final 4.
Depends on who the Champ is. A 2 loss Miss St team would have lost 2 of their last 3 games and would have played ABSOLUTELY NO ONE non conference, would not get selected when compared to a bunch of 1 loss Big 5 champs. No way. They don't have enough cache to pull that off. Auburn, Bama, I could see if because of their names and their losses would have been spread out. If we used Miss St as an example they would lose to Bama then Ol Miss and then win SEC Championship. No way they would get in with 2 losses in 3 games
Usualy when Bama plays LSU its pedal to the metal and they are amped up to max power , but Saban only had them wound to about half throttle last night , i dont see an emotional let down , they should have no problems getting full motivational power next week for the #1 team in the country.
...But i am very concearned about Auburn , especially if they lose to Georgia next week. They'll be coming full boar after Bama.
Why is it any more of a toll in the SEC vs the Big Ten, for example? Is the Big Ten not a physical league? Fact is, the SEC has hung it's hat on defense and there are more Big Ten defenses in the top 25 of scoring than SEC defenses (and ironically enough one of those isn't a Michigan St team). I don't argue that the SEC doesn't have more talent overall top to bottom. But if that is in fact true, it doesn't make it any more of a gauntlet. If the SEC is A talent and the Big Ten is B talent, it's A vs A, and B vs B, not A vs B. So it's a wash when talking about getting through a schedule unscathed. I'm not going to entertain Iowa playing LSU's schedule, because that is fiction. If Iowa were playing LSU's schedule, they'd be benefiting from being in the South East and it's horde of talent. Last time I checked, Iowa hadn't drifted that far south and it was still populated by cornfields. And they all lived happily ever after. The end.
I will assume this isn't serious, but I will answer it just in case. No, the Big 10 isn't a physical league. In fact, it's a complete joke. It's either the worst, or next to the worst league of the Big 5(ACC may be worse, but it's debatable). Using the fact that they have more scoring defenses in the Top 25 is literally the most arbitrary thing you could use. I mean, outside of tOSU, who in the Big 10 has a decent offense? Michigan State score 27 against Oregon. Nebraska can't throw the ball. Wisconsin is worse through the air. It's just a horrid league.
As for the difference in the two, if you play in the SECw, you have runs like Ole Miss did this year with Bama, Auburn, LSU, TN, and Auburn over a 5 week span. In the big 10, those schools MIGHT play one game as tough as any of those. You get the weeks with Illinois, NW, Indiana, Purdue, Michigan, etc.....all terrible football teams. You just don't get those weekend breaks in the SEC(or the Pac 10, to be honest). The PAC isn't nearly as physical, but there are no gimmes out there.
In all seriousness, do you think there is one team in the Big 10 that wouldn't lose three games in the SEC? What about one Big 10 team that wouldn't lose 3 games in the PAC? I think you could probably argue they would lose 3 in the Big 12.
I do agree with you that you can't compare Iowa and LSU because the talent level is different. It certainly is, and that's exactly my point. Week in and week out the physicality here is just at a different level, because the athletes are better. Outside of the OL position, there isn't another spot on the field that the Big 10 compares to the SEC, and even that has become a wash.
Don't cry arbitrary, then fall guilty to the same crime. Here is a list of SEC teams that cant pass the ball: georgia, auburn, lsu, florida, missouri, arkansas. Your argument, not mine. I could care less how a team moves the ball, as long as they score. Run/pass, 6 is still 6.
I'm not going to reargue the same point I just made. Your mind is made up.
I'm not going to reargue the same point I just made. Your mind is made up.
The facts are that the numbers say the SEC West could be left out of the playoff picture. It probably won't happen but it could if these teams continue to beat up on each other. We are getting ready to go through a playoff process that never had a dry run and has been done before. If every team in the West has two losses and we still have a bunch of one loss teams around the country, I think they will be in deep trouble. Mainly because this isn't a computer doing the thinking this time. It's a vote. And what hurts the SEC even more in this case is they've already lost one of their votes from the Committee when Archie Manning had to drop out. That's why this could get very interesting. And the two teams who could destroy the SEC's playoff dreams are Auburn and Ole Miss. Plus either Bama or Miss St will have one more loss after this next weekend.
I think the only way SEC doesnt get someone in is if MSU and Bama both end up with 2 losses AND dont win the SEC championship. MSU beating Bama IMO gets them in unless they have 2 losses to Miss/UGa. Bama beating MSU but losing to Aub/UGa.....woof! just dont see them making the final 4 and if SEC doesnt make the final 4....you can best guarantee we'll see an 8 team playoff in the very near future, which is how is freaking SHOULD BE!
If a two loss SEC team were to get in over 4 one loss or less conference champions, are we really any better off than when we had the BCS? With the process now involving the unbiased (wink wink) human element, this new system could and probably will get seriously tested right out of the gate.
