One of my golf buddies is an LSU fan, born and raised in Louisiana. The other day we were on the course and the subject of college football came up. And like every single other SEC loyalist, he trotted out the same tired line about how tough their schedules are, how they "beat each other up," etc. You know the drill. We hear it every single week from September through November.And I am tired of it. Yes, the SEC has some great teams. No argument. Florida is a juggernaut at this point. And it would have been really neat if they could have played the second best team in the country, USC, last year.
But beyond that, my friend -- and many others like him -- then went into the argument that the conference is tougher, top to bottom, than the Big Ten. He used the same claim that if OSU or PSU were in the SEC, they'd be lucky to be mid-pack. Come on.
Let's just look at some facts. Of the SEC's twelve teams, eight (67%) were bowl eligible last season. Two of those powerhouses were Vandy (6-6 overall; 4-4 in conference) and Kentucky (6-6; 2-6).
Of the Big Ten's eleven teams, seven (64%) were bowl-eligible, with the worst being 7-5; 3-5 Minnesota.
I don't know what this proves. Really, nothing. But to look at those conferences and argue that, aside from national champion Florida, that the SEC is convincingly more dominant than the Big Ten is just media-induced hooey.
Let's have a Big Ten-SEC challenge and get it over with.
16 comments:
I love that picture. I used it a lot back in January. I think the trunk got a little droopy in Janauary. Coach had a hard time keeping his ego up...
Mississippi State, Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, and South Carolina are powerhouse programs.
At this time the SEC's top teams are better than the Big Ten's, but the Big Ten has more depth.
All too similar to the Big Ten-Big East debate from last basketball season. Although I think we hold our own much better in basketball, and that will be shown this season.
As posted before, there is scientific proof that shows your buddy (and everybody else raised in the south) is less intelligent than the rest of us.
Just send him this link and then have somebody read it to him.....
http://www.thebuckeyebattlecry.com/?p=914
Even though I love and grew up on Big Ten football, there is no denying that the SEC would clean the Big Ten's clocks in football. Top to bottom, I think it's a better conference. I do think that Penn State and Ohio State would fare better than middle of the pack, but I think if there was a Big Ten vs. SEC challenge, the Big Ten would win it about as much as it wins the Big Ten vs. ACC challenge in basketball.
Hint: Big Ten hasn't won the Big Ten/ACC challenge yet...
Anon -- maybe so, but wouldn't you at least like to SEE it? On the field.... so if the SEC won, it wouldn't change perceptions because everyone firmly believes they're faster, more talented, etc. But if Georgia, who is noted for never traveling anywhere, had to come play a game in the November cold in a northern Big Ten stadium... well, I'd just like to see it. That's all.
My claim isn't that the Big Ten is clearly superior (and I think you all saw that) -- but rather, that I'm tired of this knee-jerk, automatic assumption that the SEC is WAY above our conference. It isn't, plain and simple. Some great teams, a lot of mediocre teams and some bad teams. Just like the Big Ten.
I grew up in the south and hear about the SEC all the time. I simply feel that they are quite a bit better as a conference at the moment, esp the upper tier. However, the astute observer knows that these things cycle every 5-10 years. After spending 4 years at our great Purdue University, I realize that no matter how much "better" the SEC is in football, I will take the pride, class, tradition, and most importantly, the academics of the Big Ten any day over the SEC.
I think you need better friends. Preferably ones from Purdue. That would go a long way toward reducing that football induced discomfort, because this year's Purdue Tackle Football team isn't going to reduce the headaches and nausea when you are watching Eee Spunk pee En or hobnobbing with SEC jackholes.
Also try reducing golf discussion beyond not involving your lie, club selection, how the greens are playing, where the beer cart is and how doable the girl driving it is. These are usually all you need for the first 18. 19th hole, you're on your own. :-)
Seriously, from someone living in PAC10 country (ugh, USC maggots everywhere) there's no winning this argument and OSU's continued fsckup's in "Bowl Championships" leave us on indefensible grounds. Take it like a man and tell your friend he's a dick. Then punch the next OSU alum you see and tell them not to choke next time.
We all know we'll never see a playoff, and there's no real way of knowing who's the "better" conference empirically. There's barely enough football between power conferences to establish a rudimentary top 25, let alone a pecking order mixing two conferences. Since nobody is playing the best of the best in regular season, and nobody ever will.
Look up the head to head record in bowl games. I think you'll be surprised.
J Money -- I would LOVE to see a Big Ten/SEC challenge. Although I think we'd come out on the losing end this year and in the near future, it would still be very exciting and the Big Ten would have nothing to lose since the national media has repeatedly called the Big Ten inferior to the SEC.
I just think that the Big Ten is more of a basketball conference right now. However, our conference has a lot of potential for good football. Besides Northwestern and IU, all of the schools have a potential to be very competitive in football.
Northwestern went 9-4 last year. Frankly, only IU is a guaranteed doormat this year.
And Acacia, if I had a red pen, I'd take it to your comment. Yeesh. I can't even follow the golf paragraph.... proofread, young man, proofread!
Argh that typical Machiavellian SEC crap drives me nuts. The SEC is great. Why? Because everyone knows they're great.
In a certain respect, there already has been a "Big Ten/SEC Challenge":
-At 14-15, the SEC maintains a losing bowl record against the Big Ten in BCS era play. Eliminate the ignominiously disappointing Buckeyes (who would finish "in the middle of the pack") and the SEC is 10-15 against the remainder of the Big Ten.
-Last year's graduating classes achieved a .500 stalemate (5-5) in bowl games.
This is the making of the SEC juggernaut. It's enough to make me want to March to the Sea.
J Money,
Please, do whip on out that red pen. Upon review I see the word "not" as opposed to "that" which confuses slightly, but hey, I'm not getting paid for this content. At least not on your bill. Thank you soulless mega-huge credit card company and technology giant. ;-) Interpolate, young man.
Incumbent upon you is the responsibility to punch the fsckup (fsck is a linux utility but a convenient proxy for a foul word, see Slashdot.org) OSU grad regardless. They are the source of your troubles in discourse. Second to your poor life choices that leads you to golfing with SEC morons, naturally.
Carry on.
Well said, Ethan. Nothing like results and reality to deflate the hyperbolic Eee Spunk pee En rhetoric.
Not that it will do anything to alter the trash coming out of the boob tube. My advice to all that object to the inane crap: Change the channel. My advice to all those who hear it from their "friends": get new friends.
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去年下半年以來的 酒店工作金融海嘯，不僅讓市井小民壓力沉重， 酒店上班就連專營高檔客層的精品商家，也都面臨不小的壓力， 寒假打工
甚至無力負擔商圈的房租，市場瀰漫著一股悲觀的氣氛。
隨著股市、房市 暑假打工的熱絡氣象，外界預期一些辛苦經營的精品店面、 酒店PT商圈，將順勢而起，不過，熟悉大台北商圈的欣元商仲總經理焦文華直言，目 禮服酒店前精品業者的經營還相當艱困，景氣反轉的力道並不如外界預期。
焦文華分析，精品商圈 兼差的經營，確實還是面臨消費力不足的困境。目前消費者物價指數已連續兩個月負成長（六、七月份），具體反映出消費力衰退的現象，高檔的珠寶、手錶、服飾等精品市場感受更深，部分店家業績 打工，更是過去高峰期的三分之一，業者稱得上是「苦撐待變」。
永慶店面事業部 台北酒店經紀經理李元鳳表示，精品商圈在金融海 酒店經紀嘯中確實面臨很大的壓力，且當時都無法預期景氣何時好轉 酒店打工，耗費數百萬元的裝潢成本，更迫使業者無法輕言放棄。以當時的天母SOGO商圈為例，就算距離天母SOG 酒店兼差O百貨的開幕已經不到半年的時間，但周邊店面的空置率仍高達二十％，顯示屋主與業者都存有濃厚的觀望心態，這 酒店兼職與過去市場會提前反映利多現象有顯著差異。
雖然精品業者辛苦經營，但是從喝花酒永慶店面事業部的統計數據來看，五大精品商圈的空置率在今年上半年皆有明顯下降，但是積極展店的業種，卻是以餐飲、零售等微利事業體，精品商圈交際應酬的「精品氣氛」，已逐漸稀釋。
不僅精品商圈的味道變了，過去勇於投資精品商圈的粉味投資客，追價的力道同樣大不如前。李元鳳表示，以台北市最廣為人知的「晶華酒店商圈」為例酒店喝酒，售價從二○○八年曾出現的每坪三百萬元的高檔價格，到今年平均一百八十萬至兩百五十萬元的水準，雖然店租行情波動不大，但也反映出目前買方出價的「保守」。
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