2009 Conference Champion: Alabama Crimson Tide 14-0 (8-0 SEC)
2009 Conference Runner-up: Florida Gators 13-1 (8-0 SEC)
2009 Bowl Record: 6-4
Bold Prediction for 2010: LSU disappoints (again) and goes 8-5. Les Miles leaves for Michigan.
Team Rankings: The SEC's dominance lies not in its power at the top, nor its second-tier teams (LSU, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Georgia, Auburn), but its third tier: South Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky. Now, all those teams lost their bowl games, true. However, for example, Kentucky is #62 overall (about half-way through all 120 teams) but #10 in the SEC. The #10 team in the Big 12 (Kansas) was #77 overall. In the Big Ten, #9 team (Michigan) was #83 overall. The ACC, #10 (Duke) was #88 overall, and the C-USA #10 team (Tulane) was #107. The SEC had 10 teams go to bowls, more than any other conference.
After all this building up of the SEC as the top conference in the nation, let me tear down the ego a bit. The SEC is better, yes. But not heads and shoulders better. The difference in point total between the SEC and Big 12 (#2 in the Conference Rankings) is less than that between the Big Ten (#3) and the ACC (#4). What does this tell us? The SEC, Big 12, and Big Ten can and should be grouped together as far-and-away the best conferences. The SEC's only major advantage is that they had two elite teams this year - give Nebraska the three wins from its 1, 1, and 2-point losses, or heal Bradford's arm and give Oklahoma another three wins, or prevent Ricky Stanzi from being injured against Northwestern, and the SEC's stranglehold on the top is severely diminished.
This is not to say that the SEC is not the best - I have showed that it is. Just not "as best" as some people tend to believe.
1. | Alabama | 0.8232 | 14 - 0 | #1 |
2. | Florida | 0.7744 | 13 - 1 | #4 |
3. | LSU | 0.6606 | 9 - 4 | #21 |
4. | Mississippi | 0.6359 | 9 - 4 | #29 |
5. | Arkansas | 0.6136 | 8 - 5 | #33 |
6. | Georgia | 0.6060 | 8 - 5 | #35 |
7. | Auburn | 0.6059 | 8 - 5 | #36 |
8. | South Carolina | 0.5398 | 7 - 6 | #56 |
9. | Tennessee | 0.5298 | 7 - 6 | #57 |
10. | Kentucky | 0.5103 | 7 - 6 | #62 |
11. | Mississippi State | 0.4221 | 5 - 7 | #74 |
12. | Vanderbilt | 0.1634 | 2 - 10 | #111 |
Awards!
Best Showing in an Out-of-Conference Game:
Alabama 34, Virginia Tech 24. Alabama's opening week win against the Hokies set the stage for an eventual national-title run. However, in hindsight, there really weren't many marquee wins for the SEC in the OOC slate... one area in which the conference could step it up.
Worst Showing in an Out-of-Conference Game:
UCLA 19, Tennessee 15. In Lane Kiffin's second game as coach, the Vols laid an egg against a poor (at best) Bruins team. The UCLA Defense stymied Volunteers QB Jonathan Crompton into throwing 3 interceptions.
Best Conference Game:
LSU 33, Arkansas 30 (OT). Arkansas took a late lead, but LSU forced overtime on a last-second field goal. The Hogs' kicker Tejada missed a field goal in OT, and the Tigers took advantage, winning the "Golden Boot" trophy and saving Les Miles' job... for another week.
Best Showing in a Bowl Game:
Florida 51, Cincinnati 24. The Gators took it to Cincinnati, racking up 659 total yards and scoring 30 points in the first half. The defense was just as dominant, holding Cincinnati to just 56 yards and 3 points in the first half.
Worst Showing in a Bowl Game:
Arkansas 20, East Carolina 17 (OT). The Hogs were shut down by the Pirates, going 0-13 on third downs and outgained 393-283. A second-tier SEC team should not have that kind of trouble putting away a CUSA team (even the CUSA champion).
Best Scoring Offense: Arkansas
Best Passing Offense: Arkansas
Best Rushing Offense: Florida
Best Scoring Defense: Florida
Best Passing Defense: Florida
Best Rushing Defense: Alabama
Least Penalized Team: Tennessee
Best Turnover Ratio: Alabama
Week 1 Matchups / Prediction of the Week!
Thursday, September 2
Southern Mississippi at South Carolina
Saturday, September 4
Miami (OH) at Florida
Louisiana-Lafayette at Georgia
Kentucky at Louisville
Jacksonville State at Mississippi
Tennessee-Martin at Tennessee
Arkansas State at Auburn
Tennessee Tech at Arkansas
San Jose State at Alabama
Memphis at Mississippi State
Northwestern at Vanderbilt - POTW!
The battle of the "Academic Institutions" of the Big Ten and the SEC, respectively, in which the Wildcats' O will test the usually strong Commodore D. Northwestern 30, Vanderbilt 10
LSU vs. North Carolina (in Atlanta, GA)
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