SEC East vs SEC West

[Großer Kriegschwein]

Florida is getting ready to start winning SEC championships again as soon as their quarterback problems get solved. That will balance things out more.

That would be ideal, but it will take Saban and Smart about a day in the film room to figure out how to embarrass McElwain in Atlanta. After that, Miles will follow suit and then everyone else about a year later.

McElwain will last 4-5 years and be gone. Unless Miami remains a dumpster fire or THE slime all at Free Shoes U starts having more problems.

[ChicoHog]

Should the SEC West start its on conference? Seriously, looks like the teams should be redistributed because this imbalance is ridiculous. West teams being punished. Never get a easy run to the playoffs like O State.

You mean Iowa?  I'm not a Buckeye fan but at least they play in the Big Ten East which is by far the tougher division.  Iowa plays in the west and does not play MSU, OSU, UM or Penn st this year.  Talk about an easy conf schedule.  Another reason to dislike 14 team conferences.  Schedules are too different to be fair. 

[ChicoHog]

I think college football as a whole will be better off when the Power Five all play nine conference games like the Big XII.  Will it be tougher in the SEC?  Yes, but that's just the nature of the beast.

Fix the alignment, cut out cross-division games which then wouldn't be needed, add a conference game and every SEC team plays 3 from the other division every single season.  It just makes too much damn sense.

Absolutely right.  it should be 9 conf games.  I really like the poster idea of moving Mizzou/Vandy to the west but I don't see it ever happening.  Maybe get rid of divisions altogether like they did in basketball. 

[Pig in the Pokey]

Should the SEC West start its on conference? Seriously, looks like the teams should be redistributed because this imbalance is ridiculous. West teams being punished. Never get a easy run to the playoffs like O State.

Bama and Bbarn to the East for Mizzou and Vandy.

[moses_007]

Auburn needs moved to the East, Mizzou should be in the West. 

[jbcarol]

UGa 20, Auburn 13  for the SEC East's second win of the season.

In the power rankings that actually consider the games, UGa will pull Tennessee up just behind Arkansas.

Auburn will back just ahead of the likes of Kentucky, Vandy, South Carolina and, of course, Mizzou.

[JayBell]

traditionally its been like playing OM and Miss St every year.  but now the mississippi schools are actually good.  Man I really hope we sweep the state of mississippi this year.  I have a hard time stomaching a loss to that state.

Um, what?  Average wins per season since 1992:

Ole Miss: 6.35.
Mississippi State: 5.87.
Kentucky: 4.65.
Vanderbilt: 4.09.

You can say Ole Miss and Mississippi State are "the Kentucky and Vanderbilt of the East," but playing those two on a yearly basis is nothing like getting Kentucky and Vanderbilt every season.  Even when West teams, including Arkansas, are bad, they're still competitive.  That's not something you can always saw about Kentucky and Vanderbilt.

Arkansas certainly can't look down on Ole Miss and Mississippi State too much when the Razorbacks' average since 1992 is 6.61 wins per season.

[JayBell]

It's only going to get worse too if South Carolina and Mizzou plummet, which is very likely.

[Pyotr Tchaikhogsky]

[jbcarol]

Michael Carvell ‏@Carvell_AJC 7h7 hours ago

It's time for the SEC East to carry its load http://trib.al/uaAqvoz

The SEC sort of feels like a bad marriage at the moment. One half of the couple is still trying to look its best and keep itself together, while the other party appears to have completely given up. Which leads to the question: Can one division divorce itself from another?

I am sure there are many people associated with the programs in the SEC West who've wondered something close to that in recent weeks because if the conference really was a marriage the West would be the responsible spouse who was achieving at work and still finding time to make it to the gym while the East would be the deadbeat who lounged around in sweat pants all day.

And like any bad marriage, people are starting to talk...

[jbcarol]

Jimmy Hyams ‏@JimmyHyams 23h23 hours ago

How did the SEC East get so bad after being dominant in the 1990s? Read my column: http://gridironnow.com/as-this-season-has-shown-sec-east-lags-behind-sec-west/ ...

You used to win and contend for national championships. Now you have trouble beating The Citadel and Florida Atlantic and Georgia Southern.

Florida and Tennessee were two of the three winningest programs in the nation in the 1990s. They combined to win eight SEC championships and two national championships. They combined for 11 bowl wins and 11 ten-win seasons.

But since 2008, Tennessee has lost at least six games each season. And since 2010, the Mighty Gators have had three coaches, a 4-8 season, a loss to then-FCS member Georgia Southern and four five-loss seasons.

What does it say about the East that Florida virtually clinched the division on Halloween, yet struggles to beat Florida Atlantic and trails Vanderbilt in the fourth quarter?

What does it say about the East when Missouri loses to Indiana and falls 34-0 to Georgia, yet wins the division in 2014?

[Bogghawg]

Truly lopsided.  Quinn Grovey said on the radio before the game that instead of that trophy the winner ought to get to play in the east and the loser in the west the next year. 

[DeltaBoy]

Sweet.

[Karma]

We did our part, 2-0.

[kp72204]

Think how great it will feel when we win the SEC Championship out of the west.

[RazorbackToTheFuture]

Truly lopsided.  Quinn Grovey said on the radio before the game that instead of that trophy the winner out to get to play in the east and the loser in the west the next year.

Lol that is awesome.

[goneal]

Not a great year for the conference overall. but boy did the East REALLY suck!!!

[Nuttcracker, Sweet!]

Doesn't surprise me, just glad we held up our end. Last year we were 0-2. One was Au-barn losing to Georgia, what was the other, anyone know?

[Großer Kriegschwein]

Doesn't surprise me, just glad we held up our end. Last year we were 0-2. One was Au-barn losing to Georgia, what was the other, anyone know?

Florida and Ol Miss. Loss went to the black bears

[26.2Hog]

Doesn't surprise me, just glad we held up our end. Last year we were 0-2. One was Au-barn losing to Georgia, what was the other, anyone know?

Florida beat Ole Miss 38-10.

[Hogarusa]

what was the other, anyone know?

Nobody knows and all results have been erased from the internet

[(notOM)Rebel123]

Florida beat Ole Miss 38-10.

I don't think Ole Miss played Fla last year. Think Ole Miss lost 4...Hogs, LSU, Auburn, & TCU in the bowl. UGA beat Hogs & Auburn.

Edit: oops, thought you were talking about last year. Nuttcracker's "last year...." Comment had me thinking 2014. My bad.

[jbcarol]

Cecil Hurt ‏@CecilHurt 3h3 hours ago

Final: Arkansas 28, Mizzou 3. SEC West finishes 12-2 vs. SEC East in 2015.

[Hook 'em Hogs]

Nobody knows and all results have been erased from the internet

Dang it!!!!

[jbcarol]

Cecil Hurt ‏@CecilHurt 3h3 hours ago

Final: Arkansas 28, Mizzou 3. SEC West finishes 12-2 vs. SEC East in 2015.

Patrick Brown ‏@patrickbrownTFP 18h18 hours ago

Patrick Brown Retweeted Cecil Hurt

And it's gonna be 13-2 after next Saturday.

[jbcarol]

Chuck Dunlap ‏@SEC_Chuck 3h3 hours ago

Alabama's last SEC Championship Game loss was to Florida in 2008.

[jbcarol]

Michael Carvell ‏@Carvell_AJC 4h4 hours ago

Florida is a huge betting line underdog for SEC Championship game http://trib.al/dHrIwDH

Gators are a 17-point underdog against the Crimson Tide, according to VegasInsider.com. The line already jumped up five points, as Alabama opened as a 12-point favorite.

[jbcarol]

Matt Zenitz ‏@mzenitz 1h1 hour ago

Saban said Florida is probably the most complete team Alabama has faced http://www.al.com/alabamafootball/index.ssf/2015/11/live_updates_nick_saban_talks_10.html ...

Saban on Jim McElwain: "Any success he's had is not a surprise to me."

— Asked what led to him hiring Kirby Smart as a defensive backs coach at LSU in 2004, Saban said he was looking for a young, bright coach with potential that he could develop after losing previous secondary coaches to other jobs. "It's worked out well," Saban said of Smart, who coached under Saban with the Miami Dolphins in 2006 and has been on Alabama's staff since 2007.

— Saban was highly complimentary of Florida's secondary.

— Saban: You're crazy if you don't think this will be a significant challenge for Alabama.

— Saban said Florida is probably the most complete team Alabama has faced this year.

— Saban on playing in the SEC championship game: This is a significant accomplishment.

[jbcarol]

Odds Shark ‏@OddsShark 20h20 hours ago

A total of 39.5 or less has only happened 18 times this season.

'Bama vs Florida is 39.5.

http://www.oddsshark.com/ncaaf/sec-championship-has-extremely-low-total ...

[jbcarol]

ESPN SEC ‏@ESPN_SEC Dec 1

SEC title game features tremendous battle of front sevens http://es.pn/1Ou8OIR

Heading into Saturday's game, these two fronts have combined for 147.5 tackles for loss and 71.5 sacks.

Including Ragland, Alabama might have four members of its front seven drafted in the first round of the 2016 NFL draft.

[jbcarol]

SEC Network ‏@SECNetwork 38m38 minutes ago

Most SEC Championship Game Matchups:
Alabama vs Florida 8
LSU vs Georgia 3
LSU vs Tennessee 2
Auburn vs Tennessee 2
Arkansas vs Florida  2

[jbcarol]

Chris Low ‏@ClowESPN 1h1 hour ago South Carolina, USA

If Alabama beats Florida, the Tide would be the first repeat SEC champion in 17 years. Tennessee was the last team to repeat in 1997-98.

[jbcarol]

 SEC Country ‏@seccountry 1h1 hour ago

A whimsical look at "40 Prop Bets" for the #SEC Championship Game http://trib.al/ZQJ3D9C 

The number of times play-by-play announcer Verne Lundquist references Alabama as 17 1/2-point favorites over Florida. Over/Under: 2.5

The number of on-air mentor/protege references connecting Saban and McElwain. Over/Under: 5.5

The number of times Lundquist and Danielson broach the hot-topic notion of the SEC having a down year. Over/Under: 2.5

[jbcarol]

Florida vs. Alabama, 2015 SEC Championship: Time, TV schedule, live stream...

The matchup that will likely decide this will be Florida's patchwork offensive line against Alabama's dominant defensive front, especially A'Shawn Robinson and Jonathan Allen. The Gators are dead last in sacks allowed in the SEC, and the Tide are first in sacks gained. Harris may have to use every bit of his mobility.

[jbcarol]

SEC Football Championship in the '10s

2010    #19 So. Carolina 17    #1 Auburn    56
2011    #12 Georgia    10    #1 LSU    42
2012    #3 Georgia    28    #2 Alabama    32
2013    #5 Missouri    42    #3 Auburn    59
2014    #14 Missouri    13    #1 Alabama    42

[jbcarol]

Rehearsal:

SEC Sports ‏@SEC 24m24 minutes ago

If @AlabamaFTBL wins, trophy presentation is here. If @GatorsFB wins, it will be on their side of the SEC logo.

[jbcarol]

ESPN SEC ‏@ESPN_SEC  1h1 hour ago
Alabama exposes a suspect Florida offense, wins SEC title http://es.pn/1OaCUMX

[jbcarol]

Is it time to reset the divisions?

[jbcarol]

Chuck Dunlap ‏@SEC_Chuck 23h23 hours ago

Three of the SEC's 5 spots in the New Year's Six (formerly BCS) Bowls the last two years were from the league's Mississippi schools.


The other two were from the University of Alabama

[Jackrabbit Hog]

Is it time to reset the divisions?

It'll never happen unless there's expansion sometime in the future.  As is so often pointed out, ten years ago it was just the opposite as it is now, with Florida, Georgia and Tennessee basically dominating the conference.  Granted, the East wasn't as "top to bottom" strong then as the West is now, but the law of averages (and the law of the coaching carousel) says that in a few years things will begin to balance out again.  I'm sure the conference big-wigs are on board with that line of thinking.

[jbcarol]

Pat Dooley ‏@pat_dooley 1h1 hour ago

Dooley: QB play reason SEC East is down: It was a historic season for the SEC East and not in a good way. As m... http://bit.ly/1U7J05N

It was a historic season for the SEC East and not in a good way. As much as the division has been dominated by the West since the 2009 SEC Championship Game, it was never 2-13 bad.

But that was the record this season, as only Florida (over Ole Miss) and Georgia (over Auburn) managed victories against the dark side. The average points scored by the East in those 13 losses was 17.3 points, so, of course, the three openings in the division went to defensive-minded coaches.

Those hires are hardly reason for optimism that the East can turn things around.

Neither are the quarterbacks...

[jbcarol]

Kevin Brockway ‏@gatorhoops 17h17 hours ago Orlando, FL

Latest Line lists Michigan as a 4.5-point favorite over Florida in the Citrus Bowl.