I will not try to make anybody think that I am not biased. Well, maybe biased isn't the right word. Whatever you want to call it I think the SEC is the best college athletics conference in the country. This is across the board, in every sport. I love watching the schools in this conference slug it out week after week in during basketball and football season, and its also nice to know they are quite competitive in other sports as well.
Let's take the current college football season as an example. The SEC is well-represented in the most recent top 25 poll, being tied with the Big 12, both having five teams in the top 25. The most interesting part about this to me are the teams that the SEC has in there. A couple are the powerhouse teams that you would expect to see. Of course LSU, Florida, and Georgia are in there. However some of the other teams that you would expect to see like Tennessee, or Alabama are noticeably absent from the list. Instead they are replaced by Kentucky and South Carolina.
Think about this. Kentucky is ranked #8 in the nation. This is football, not basketball. I am the biggest Kentucky basketball fan that you will find, so I know what it is like to see Kentucky in the top 25; but not in football. In my lifetime, I cannot remember a time off the top of my head that Kentucky was in the top 25 in football. The craziest part about it, is that they 100% deserve their ranking too. They are good. Of course, we see stuff like this every so often. They have a lot of seniors, guys that have had the opportunity to play together a long time, and they have veteran leadership and experience on their side. So, when they play younger teams, like Arkansas, and even a young Louisville team. But, you cannot deny the ability of this team, quarter back, Andre Woodson has already thrown for over 1300 yards this season, has tossed 16 touchdowns and just one interception. Impressive, no matter how you slice it. They have not been playing all cupcakes either. Don't believe in blue yet? Well, we will find out this weekend, when they go up against the other newcomer SEC team in the top 25. The South Carolina Gamecocks.
The "other" USC is another team that is not as used to the spotlight in the SEC as the bigger schools like LSU and Florida. However, having snagged Steve Spurrier out of the NFL, away from a miserable career there, they had a glimmer of hope of returning to prominence again. Well, I would say they are well on their way. Spurrier said in an interview when he first became the head coach at South Carolina that it would not be an overnight success story, but if the school and the fans gave him a few years to turn things around, he would, and he has. Being a South Carolina resident myself, it is kind of cool to hear people talking about them this season, as opposed to Clemson this, and Clemson that. Carolina has improved upon its previous record in each of the past three seasons, and have started to recruit the kind of talented players that will be able to hang with the SEC's elite for years to come. I am not jumping on the Gamecock's bandwagon just yet, but it is fun to watch.
This Saturday at 7:30pm in Columbia, SC the Gamecocks host the Wildcats in what should be an excellent game. They near prolific offense of Kentucky against the smack-you-in-the-mouth defense that South Carolina has been producing of late will be a sight to see. The battle of the two fresh faces in the SEC promises to be a good one. At the end of the game, we might have just figured out who is for real, and who has just be pretending up to this point. Kentucky or South Carolina? You decide. Well, actually whatever you decide doesn't really matter, but for purposes of this blog and good discussion. You decide.
8 comments:
Go Penn State.
Big Ten is where it's at.
Ryan, 2 things.
I do agree with you on certain things about the SEC but:
1. I believe KY has been ranked back when they had Crouch as their QB in the late 90's.
2. The game SC vs. KY is not SATURDAY, it is THURSDAY NIGHT. Just wanted to make sure you get some facts rights!!
Thanks Chase, I stand corrected. I can always count on you to point them out. Let me correct myself. Yes, the game is in Columbia on Thursday night. Also, what I meant was that this is UK's highest ranking (#8) since 1977. I was just exaggerating about not remembering them ever being ranked before. I apologize.
I agree with a lot of what you had to say Ryan, it's likely that the SEC is the best athletic conference and if not, they DO have the best school in all of college athletics which would be Florida.
But in no way can I agree with the statement that Kentucky "deserves" thier current ranking. Don't get me wrong, I do think Kentucky is good, but I'm not ready to say they deserve to be in the top 10. Yeah maybe they're undefeated right now so they have to be up there in rank. But what team of any worth has Kentucky met, then #9 Louisville? You mean the team that flopped against Syracuse?? No, the reason Kentucky is #8 is because of the weakness of their first half schedule. Watch Kentucky face three quality opponents in a row--SC, LSU, Florida--and watch Kentucky's record go from 5-0 to 5-3 just like that. Sure, Kentucky can have the #8 ranking...for a week. I can't disagree that the SEC is the best football conference, but expounding on that by talking about the short-lived success of the Kentucky Wildcats??? Come on Ryan!
I think you may be surprised. I am telling you, UK has looked very good. I do think they will struggle on the road in big games, like this week at SC. However, my point to the post was that the SEC strength can be tested even by looking at the teams that have been considered "weaker" in the past. Think about it, UK, which is historically one of the weakest teams in football in the SEC is now ranked #8 in the country and playing great. I think UK could beat a lot of top quality opponents this season in other conferences too. Don't knock the win against Louisville either, Louisville was good. You know as well as anybody that one loss like that can send a team on a serious skid, whereas, had they won the game, it could be a different story all together. I say UK goes 1-2 in the next three games, still making them a force to be reckoned with in the SEC.
Fair enough, I guess we'll just wait and see. In my opinion this week against SC is UK's only chance to get that 1 win. But time will tell.
Sure, Louisville might be a half-way decent team, but nothing excuses a loss to Syracuse! Not even coming off a tough game against the in-state rival.
Anyone who watched last night's game saw that Kentucky in no way deserved their #8 ranking. FOUR turnovers?!? That is not top-10 quality football. I just feel sorry for them that they got routed by the weakest opponent that they will face in the upcoming weeks. If there were any misconceptions about being able to pull of an upset against LSU or Florida in the next two games, they should be gone. Come October 21, the Wildcats will be a 5-3 team, not even in the top 25.
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