Living in the heart of SEC country, all I hear about is dawgs this / gators that / go orange / roll tide, and that the sec is the best of all the conferences. It’s hard to deny that SEC fans truly love their teams- more than is exhibited by other conference’s fans. I have lived in PAC-10 country, chilled in Big-10 country, been through Big XII country during football season, and nothing compares to the experience that SEC fans provide. They are loyal- all of them. But, loyalty does not win championships. I’ve heard it said of both the Big-10, and the SEC that the conference is so good that it plays itself out of the national championship game. To me that is a poor excuse for not winning a championship, or even playing for one. In the last four years (1999-2002), the Big East has contended for three National Championships, winning one. 1999: Florida St. v. Va. Tech; 2000: Oklahoma v. Florida St.; 2001: Miami v. Nebraska; 2002: Ohio State v. Miami. In that period, ACC= 1 championship, Big XII= 1 championship, Big East= 1 championship, and Big-10= 1 championship. One must go back yet another year to find the SEC, when for the 1998 national championship Tennessee beat Florida St.
From 1999-2002, the Big East conference contended for more national championships than did any other conference- three. From 1998-2002, both the Big East and the ACC each contended for three championships. The Big XII contended for two, the SEC and Big-10 one each. The conference fans will tell you the reason for this is that their conference is so good that by the end of the season, they have beaten up on each other too badly to play for a title. Doesn’t the national championship stand for the best (most athletically talented) team in the country? Isn’t that shown by being the team that can overcome the adversity of the regular season and rise to the challenge to beat another similarly situated team?
To play in the national championship game these days, a team must be either BCS #1, or BCS #2. A whole lot more than wins and losses is figured into which team is decided BCS #1 and BCS #2. Another critical factor is strength of schedule. I submit that if the Big East can send a representative to the national championship game three of the last four years, that during that period the conference was at least on par with the other majors despite the fact that the non-conference games played by Miami and Va. Tech during their title game years were teams of high caliber. Of course, after this season, things will change.
I’m looking forward to the dust settling!
