Record 8 SEC teams in top 25

[TCramer]

SEC slates record eight teams in AP Top 25 - ESPN

To go along with this, one of the top comments:

"Here's how voting works in regard to the SEC:

Rank 'em all high before the season and have them play weak OOC games, so as to eliminate any reference point.

Here's where it gets fun. Have the overrated teams (overrated because of their preseason rankings) beat each other and then say,"Yeah, we lost. But look how highly rated that team was!" Following this line of thinking -- which the voters do -- the SEC can never really drop. Their wins are considered better than they really are and their losses more justifiable than they really are. It borders on the absurd."

I honestly feel like this guy has a pretty good point. The middle tier SEC teams are always giving the edge or benefit of the doubt when it comes to rankings. I know last year we saw how good Alabama was, but other than Alabama...I think most SEC teams are overrated.

 

[D-BOE34]

I agree with that guy 100%. I am curious to see how it all goes down next year with the final four. Hopefully not as much SEC love going around.

 

[Rack Em]

I agree with that guy 100%. I am curious to see how it all goes down next year with the final four. Hopefully not as much SEC love going around.

I thought the only SEC teams got into the playoff????

 

[Rack Em]

2 things that would help eliminate this BS:

1) Eliminate the Coaches Poll. That would get rid of the conference bias when coaches vote so they can get more teams in the BCS.

2) Eliminate Preseason Rankings. It's obvious why this is a problem. Play 4 weeks and then release a poll.

 

[koonja]

2 things that would help eliminate this BS:

1) Eliminate the Coaches Poll. That would get rid of the conference bias when coaches vote so they can get more teams in the BCS.

2) Eliminate Preseason Rankings. It's obvious why this is a problem. Play 4 weeks and then release a poll.

This is a great idea.

But even if they did it, I'm afraid ESPN would have their 'hypothetical rankings' from their 'analysts' and every viewer and media member would just buy into them and that would guide the week 5 rankings.

 

[Rack Em]

This is a great idea.

It discourages teams from making weak OOC games to start the season (cough.....Florida......cough). I wouldn't have a problem with a "Preseason" poll per se, but I don't think another one should come out until after week 4. But that's only a compromise that doesn't completely solve the problem: SEC circle jerk.

 

[TCramer]

Do you really think the coaches poll is the problem and not the media?

 

[Rack Em]

Do you really think the coaches poll is the problem and not the media?

Yes. The conferences share in BCS game money - therefore the coaches have an incentive to vote their conference teams higher so they have a better chance of sneaking an extra team into the BCS games (twice as much money).

But yes the media does play a role but the Coaches poll counts for 1/3 of the BCS formula. That's a lot of influence for people who only watch 1 game a week (though we all know the coaches don't actually vote).

Although this is moot since there will be a selection committee choosing the 4 playoff teams.

 

[stlnd01]

2) Eliminate Preseason Rankings. It's obvious why this is a problem. Play 4 weeks and then release a poll.

It's an obvious part of the solution, but it'll never happen. How else will they hype September games?

 

[anarin]

It's an obvious part of the solution, but it'll never happen. How else will they hype September games?

When you have high profile out of conference games you dont need hype for games.

 

[Rack Em]

It's an obvious part of the solution, but it'll never happen. How else will they hype September games?

It's hard to hype Florida vs. Butt**** U. It's easy to hype LSU vs. Oregon (from last year or two years ago).

The preseason polls are largely influenced by last year's performances. So the big games should hype themselves because fans will already know who 'should' be good (and would be ranked high in the preseason) and which games will be 'big'.

IMO, the big games will stand out because the first four weeks are usually filled with warm ups and the occasional good OOC match up. So the preseason poll does little except to give
undeserving teams like Florida an excuse to still be in the top 25.

 

[Rack Em]

When you have high profile out of conference games you dont need hype for games.

That's the point I tried to make. Mine was just very long-winded.

 

[stlnd01]

The real problem isn't the polls and who votes. It's the incredible lack of parity in scheduling, coupled with the fact that college football teams are highly fluid things that evolve (for better or worse) over the course of a season. No other sport has such a high-stakes regular season featuring teams playing utterly incomparable schedules, made up 19 and 20 year olds whose performance can be highly inconsistent week to week.
I don't really know what you do about any of that. Eliminating preseason polls and ranking everyone on, say, Oct. 1 on their body of work to date would be a start. But with 130 teams (or whatever) and only 12 games I don't know how you get a fair measure of everyone aside from the eyeball test reflected by polls.

 

[stlnd01]

When you have high profile out of conference games you dont need hype for games.

This is true. I was being somewhat facetious. But preseason polls, unfortunately, aren't going away any time soon.

 

[NDWorld247]

It's BS and frustrating to see, but at the end of the day, it really doesn't matter. The SEC is only allowed two teams in BCS bowl games (incl. NCG) and they're going to deservedly get that regardless of the number of teams they have in the top 25 poll.

Regarding future polls (2014 and beyond)...they're meaningless. Let the coaches and media vote and publish their results. It doesn't matter. They don't have a say in the College Football Playoff.

 

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

lol the problem is teams don't beat the SEC in bowl games and it inflates them. The SEC always wins 60 to 66 percent of their bowl games.

 

[UmphreakDomer]

best article about this i've ever read.

in a nut shell--espn is hedging their bet. they have the media contracts with the SEC, so, by have more SEC teams in the conversation--as others have stated earlier--by playing in a power conference and beating each other it almost guarantees the winner of the SEC championship gets to walk into the BCS.

i'd be willing to bet that in the 1st year of the playoffs next year, 2 SEC teams get in, and on opposite brackets.

great read--
Why SEC Isn't As Great In Football As You Think | ThePostGame

 

[Ndaccountant]

Until someone knocks them down (Oregon I am looking at you) nobody can say anything. They have earned their reputation by not only winning the MNC each year, but often embarrassing the other team along the way (OSU, ND, OU etc).

They are certainly top heavy, but in the end, does it really matter if their middle teams are inflated?

 

[TCramer]

best article about this i've ever read.

great read--
Why SEC Isn't As Great In Football As You Think | ThePostGame

Great article, they touch on a lot of the points brought up in this thread

 

[irishpat183]

Until someone knocks them down (Oregon I am looking at you) nobody can say anything. They have earned their reputation by not only winning the MNC each year, but often embarrassing the other team along the way (OSU, ND, OU etc).

They are certainly top heavy, but in the end, does it really matter if their middle teams are inflated?

Exactly.


Someone else needs to beat them in the NCG. Until then, they've earned it.

 

[Bishop2b5]

2 things that would help eliminate this BS:

1) Eliminate the Coaches Poll. That would get rid of the conference bias when coaches vote so they can get more teams in the BCS.

2) Eliminate Preseason Rankings. It's obvious why this is a problem. Play 4 weeks and then release a poll.

The bias in the Coaches' poll tends to even out, as coaches from every conference will give a little more weight to teams from their conference.

I get the point of eliminating preseason polls, but look at the Harris Poll, which doesn't come out until about the midway point of the season. It always looks just about exactly like the Coaches' and AP polls. They've sorted themselves out by the midway point and are just about as accurate by that time as the Harris. It appears that eliminating preseason polls would make little or no difference in the long run.

 

[GowerND11]

Just because the Preseason Polls are eliminated doesn't stop people from ranking the teams. As someone said ESPN would be doing their "mock" rankings, and people (coaches, media, fans, etc.) would still be creating polls in their heads. It is a great idea to stop these Preseason Polls, but I don't see it really doing much. Plus, I really don't think polls would really take into account weak schedules, because they would look at the previous season, and those "hypothetical polls."

 

[T Town Tommy]

The reaction to having eight teams in the SEC ranked is a little overblown to me. I read earlier that there was seven B1G teams ranked in the Top 25 at one point this season. And out of the five power conferences this season, the B1G has to be fourth or fifth, with the Big 12.

 

[NCDomer]

The two newest additions to the SEC demonstrate the middling nature of the SEC. Sure, they have 2-3 great teams each year, but everyone else is far from special.

Missouri
2010: 10-3 overall and 6-2 B12, lost to Nebraska, TxTech, and Iowa
2011: 8-5 overall and 5-4 B12, lost to ASU, OU, KSU, OkSt, Baylor. (Also, beat TA&M)
2012: 5-7 overall and 2-6 SEC, lost to UGA, Vandy, USC, Bama, UF, Cuse, TA&M.
2013: currently 6-0, 2-0 SEC. UGA is their only notable win. They still have UF, USC, and TA&M remaining. They could quite easily finish 10-2, but I think they'll win the SEC East with 1 loss to TA&M.

TA&M
2010: 9-4 and 6-2 B12. Lost to LSU, Arkansas, Mizzou, and OkSt.
2011: 7-6 and 4-5 B12. Lost to OkSt, Arkansas, UT, OU, Mizzou, and KSU.
2012: 11-2 and 6-2 SEC, lost to UF and LSU. Beat OU in similar fashion as ND. Also, beat Bama.
2013: currently 5-1 and 2-1 in SEC. Only loss is to Bama. Will likely only lose one other regular season game.

Basically, both teams perform in roughly the same fashion as they did before they joined the SEC. Now, they garner more hype because omg they just beat another SEC team. Now, thinkheads apply that logic to teams like Louisville. They say Louisville can beat any team in a one-game scenario, but wouldn't last through the grind of a major conference like the SEC. This explains how it walloped UF in the bowl game.

To end the hype, someone needs to beat the SEC in the NCG. Until then, the hype will persist.

 

[NDinL.A.]

Do you really think the coaches poll is the problem and not the media?

The coaches poll is the biggest joke in sports. Does anyone think coaches actually sit around and watch games on Saturdays??? Obviously, with all the work they have to do on Saturdays, they're a little busy to watch any games, unless they are lucky enough to catch one after they play an early game and the media clears out and they aren't sucking up to recruits and their families.

So if they can't watch ANY games, why in the hell are they participating in a poll? All they can do is read scores, watch a few highlights or MAYBE talk to a head coaching buddy of theirs, and that's it. We thoroughly pounded USC last year and were clearly the better team, but all anyone saw on the highlights was the goal-line stand and the final score, so it looked as if they were almost our equal (same can be said in reverse about the 2011 game).

And you know who does many of those polls? Some intern. And if that's the case, then why not have you and I do the polls as well? It's an effing joke...

 

[T Town Tommy]

The two newest additions to the SEC demonstrate the middling nature of the SEC. Sure, they have 2-3 great teams each year, but everyone else is far from special.

Missouri
2010: 10-3 overall and 6-2 B12, lost to Nebraska, TxTech, and Iowa
2011: 8-5 overall and 5-4 B12, lost to ASU, OU, KSU, OkSt, Baylor. (Also, beat TA&M)
2012: 5-7 overall and 2-6 SEC, lost to UGA, Vandy, USC, Bama, UF, Cuse, TA&M.
2013: currently 6-0, 2-0 SEC. UGA is their only notable win. They still have UF, USC, and TA&M remaining. They could quite easily finish 10-2, but I think they'll win the SEC East with 1 loss to TA&M.

TA&M
2010: 9-4 and 6-2 B12. Lost to LSU, Arkansas, Mizzou, and OkSt.
2011: 7-6 and 4-5 B12. Lost to OkSt, Arkansas, UT, OU, Mizzou, and KSU.
2012: 11-2 and 6-2 SEC, lost to UF and LSU. Beat OU in similar fashion as ND. Also, beat Bama.
2013: currently 5-1 and 2-1 in SEC. Only loss is to Bama. Will likely only lose one other regular season game.

Basically, both teams perform in roughly the same fashion as they did before they joined the SEC. Now, they garner more hype because omg they just beat another SEC team. Now, thinkheads apply that logic to teams like Louisville. They say Louisville can beat any team in a one-game scenario, but wouldn't last through the grind of a major conference like the SEC. This explains how it walloped UF in the bowl game.

To end the hype, someone needs to beat the SEC in the NCG. Until then, the hype will persist.

I would agree with Mizzou. They haven't beaten anyone of note other than a very depleted Georgia team. And last year they were awful as they fought several injuries themselves. They have most of their tougher games left and just lost their QB for most of them. They will lose at least three games and maybe four moving forward.

But A&M? While they did finish third in the SEC West, they embarrased Oklahoma something awful in their bowl game and they beat the Tide at T Town. And their losses to Fla and LSU last year was nothing to be ashamed of as they happened early and really before JF got going. Now... I don't believe they are a Top 10 team this season as their defense is horrendous. But, until they lose again I can't see them dropping out of the Top 10. LSU should take care of that in late November.

Louisville? Who really knows? They haven't played anyone of note nor will they until they get to the BCS bowl games. They will have their one game scenerio once again against somebody. I like Bridgewater but if we are to complain about anyone in the Top 10, the Cards and Ohio State with their weak schedule should be the first two teams mentioned.