… so you tell me on which side of the line this season’s version of the SEC fell.
1 SEC team won at least 10 games this season – Alabama, which posted a 14-1 record. This is the first time since the 2000 season that the SEC had only one team reach 10 victories. Florida went 10-3 in 2000. In the 15 seasons in between, the SEC had two double-digit winners in two of them and reached a high of six in 2012. At least four SEC teams had won 10 or more games in each of the previous six seasons.
Get The Picture 
Parity or mediocrity?
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Saban has killed the SEC.
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Beat me to it…”the Saban effect”.
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This year? Mediocrity. Mostly due to lack of QBs and the coaching changes/questions with all the new head coaches. You will see improvement over the next 2-3 years but its not likely anyone takes Bama out.
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Agreed, the SEC is a year away from dominating bowl season, injuries at QB, young QBs, and coaching turnover resulted in a down year. I am not buying into Bama has beat the SEC down.
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Performance in the SEC is not matching the talent level. There are so many variables that it is hard to explain why. The mental grind of competing against great athletes on most weeks has to be a part of it. Sky high one week and flat the next. I guess that’s why the SEC schedules so many cupcakes. Bama’s depth and Sabans stressing an even keel is the obvious difference.
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Saban Derangement Syndrome – Did you coin that senator? either way, the SEC schools done lost their minds trying to dethrone Saban. There is a long string of very high quality coaches that were jettisoned over the last 5 years in search of the next Urban Meyer.
So far, few of those programs ended up with better coaches than they had previously. Going school by school is just a walking billboard for “buyer’s beware”
turnover and less experienced coaches, potentially less skilled coaches, and you end up with what the SEC has become in short order, which is mediocre.
Good lord I hope administration buy in and Kirby Smart get us where we want to go, or at least to where we were with Richt. I do not want us joining the likes of Tennessee or Auburn on this path.
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Exactly. On a school by school comparison for new HCs hired over the last few years the new HC comes up short of the old HC repeatedly. Is Boom better than Spurrier? While McElwain may be an improvement over Boom, is he an improvement over Urban Myer? I think not. Ed Orgeron over Les Miles? Gary Odom over Gary Pinkel? No way! Derek Mason over Franklin? Nope. Bret Bielema over Bobby Petrino? No. Booch is better than SOD but is he better than the Laner? Or Fulmer. Nah. Sorry as I am to say this, the jury is still out on Kirby being an improvement over CMR. The record certainly isn’t so far but since he seems to be killing it in recruiting we should all give him a pass for now. But on balance, the HCs in the SEC are not as good as a group as the SEC HCs were 5-6-7-8 years ago.
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I’m all on the CKS train, as I was with Richt, and as I will be with CKS until he is fCKS.
but SDS has severely diluted the quality of coaches in the SEC the last 5-6 years, and quality of play has suffered as a result. Even if the new coach is as good as the old coach, the transition means a year or two of reduced performance. with the short leashes in the SEC now, if after 2 lesser years, that new coach may only have another year to succeed before the long knives come out. Heck, in year 2, the seat might be warm, recruiting may suffer, and the downward spiral continues, with another new coach and another new cycle.
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Fulmer was very mediocre without Cutcliffe
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Ha ha! This was the first season in 15 years the SEC didn’t have Mark Richt coaching. The last time they only had one 10 win or more team was 2000, the year before he got here. He won 10 or more 10 times in 15 years. I’m willing to bet that he and Saban are the SEC leaders in that category over that time period.
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Richt went 9-3 his last year. 🙂
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His team went 10-3. I very much doubt that his presence during the bowl game would have resulted in a loss.
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@ PTC Dawg – OK, the team Richt started the season coaching won 10 or more times in 15 years. Is that better?
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But ten wins is so easy anyone can do it…….
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Obviously, this past year was quite the anomaly in the SEC. I least I think it was. UT and Ole Miss fell flat on their faces…AU was a let down along with LSU.
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CMR leaves and only Bama can win 10 +
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