SEC Open Thread

[Jiggafini19Deux]

One thing they can still point to: 87 players drafted. The Big Ten had 67. ACC and Big 12 each had 38. I'm sure the portal and realignment skew these numbers to a degree, but you have to go back to 2006 for the last draft the SEC didn't have the most players picked.

The Big Ten did have the most first rounders this past draft. That SEC streak was broken.

 

[ulukinatme]

The funny part I’m realizing is the propaganda has probably always been this bad, they just don’t hold the cards anymore.

I liked this one the other day, ESPN has all 16 SEC teams in the Top 20 for Strength of Schedule. Like...wow.

 

[OrlaNDomer]

Would love to see a comparison of the pre-season SoS from the last 5 years vs the end-of-year SoS. Betting there's a trend of SEC schedules weakening over the course of the season.

Edit:
Don't know how legit this website is but here's what I found for 2024-2025:

2024 - SEC started the season with 12 of the top 25 hardest SoS (#1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24) and ended the season with 14 of the top 25 hardest SoS (#1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 21, 23, 25) with an average rise of 4.36 spots between the 14 teams.

2025 - SEC started with 14 of the top 25 hardest SoS (#1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 17, 20, 23, 24) and ended the season with 11 of the top 25 hardest SoS (#4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 16, 17, 19, 21, 22, 23) with an average drop of 5.43 spots between the 14 teams.

So not sure it's a trend, but pretty clear to me from year-to-year pre-season SoS is about as useful as pre-season ranking in general.

Source: NCAA College Football Season SOS Rankings & Ratings

 

[jerseyborn1971]

I want to see the draft numbers in 3 years. I bet they look very different.

 

[tirishman505]

The SEC has definitely switched to hyping their draft numbers, especially as proof that their conference is so much harder. I have a hard time getting behind this because there were a lot of mediocre to bad teams in the SEC. Florida, 7 draft picks, was bad. LSU, also with 7, was mediocre. Missouri (6), Tennessee (5), Auburn (5) were all mediocre to bad. Alabama had 10, the 2nd most after Ohio St, and they were severely flawed.

Nobody makes this argument for Clemson (7) or Penn State (6). Where SEC homers see it as proof of the gauntlet that is their conference schedule, after watching teams with my own eyes it just looks to me like squandered talent and dysfunctional programs.

 

[Dale]

The NFL Draft thing without the merit of winning the first round is a self own of all the talent with a lack of coaching much of the conference possesses

 

[Notre Dame Joe]

The school is paying out of their revenue, and boosters are donating to the school to make up for their lost revenue.

The main advantage of revenue sharing versus NIL is lack of scrutiny through CSC on rev share contracts. ND can choose to give Ian Premer mostly whatever revenue they want. An NIL deal would theoretically pass through NILGo.

Interesting, I have always wondered about the mechanics of it.

This is what we are up against. Whether directly or indirectly, state schools are bidding with the taxpayer's money.

Big Ten Program With $78M Debt Finds Seven-Figure Loophole to Use Taxpayer Money for NIL: Report

A Big Ten school, which is coming off a disappointed 5-7 season, found a creative way to pay its athletes legally but indirectly.

www.essentiallysports.com

 

[Irishokie]

Wasn’t it last year Missouri AND Tennessee did not beat a P5 opponent with a winning record? Screw these inflated rankings propping up wins against subpar conference affiliates. IIRC Oklahoma’s offense even looked decent against Tennessee.

 

[Irish2155]

In their bias opinion, the Bishop win over Auburn was a good. So were the two beat downs afterwards. Gritty.

Marcus has heard loud and clear.