Now that the 2010 season is officially over, it is time to wrap it up. At the start of the year COLLEGE FOOTBALL HAVEN previewed each conference with a “5 Step Drop.” We will look back at those predictions to see how this year shaped up with what was expected in a series of “5 Yard Out” columns over the next few weeks. First up, the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
Showing posts with label Mississippi State. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mississippi State. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Souteastern Conference (SEC) Football Season Preview 2010
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) has dominated college football the last four years. Here are five questions to get a quick glimpse of what SEC football will look like in 2010.
1. Who will win the conference? Alabama Crimson Tide. Even though Alabama lost several key defenders to the NFL, so did Florida. Florida also lost a lot on the offensive side. Alabama did not. Nick Saban faces the challenge of keeping his team hungry and focused after reaching the pinnacle last year.
2. Who is the top returning player? Mark Ingram, Alabama. How can the answer to this question be anyone but the reigning Heisman Trophy winner? In case you forgot, Ingram ran for 1,658 yards (6.1 yards per carry) and scored 20 touchdowns (17 rushing, 3 receiving) in 2009. In nine games the Heisman Trophy winner ran for more than 100 yards.
3. Which team will be the most improved? Mississippi State Bulldogs. The Bulldogs were 5-7 in Dan Mullen's first year. Mississippi State ended the year on a positive note by beating Ole Miss, 41-27. That momentum will carry over into this year and people will be talking about the Bulldogs at the end of the year.
4. What will be the biggest surprise? The SEC champion will not play in the BCS title game. After an unprecedented four year run, the SEC champion will be back in the Sugar Bowl. Alabama will not be undefeated at season's end, and that will keep them out. At least two other teams will be undefeated and claim the top two spots in the final BCS standings.
5. Which coach is on the hottest seat? Les Miles, LSU. Everyone in the Bayou is getting restless after the 2007 National Championship has been followed up with back-to-back single digit win seasons. Miles didn't even receive much credit for the national championship three years ago, since he won that year with Nick Saban's recruits. Now is the time for Miles to deliver with the players that he has recruited, otherwise, he will be shown the door out.
1. Who will win the conference? Alabama Crimson Tide. Even though Alabama lost several key defenders to the NFL, so did Florida. Florida also lost a lot on the offensive side. Alabama did not. Nick Saban faces the challenge of keeping his team hungry and focused after reaching the pinnacle last year.
2. Who is the top returning player? Mark Ingram, Alabama. How can the answer to this question be anyone but the reigning Heisman Trophy winner? In case you forgot, Ingram ran for 1,658 yards (6.1 yards per carry) and scored 20 touchdowns (17 rushing, 3 receiving) in 2009. In nine games the Heisman Trophy winner ran for more than 100 yards.
3. Which team will be the most improved? Mississippi State Bulldogs. The Bulldogs were 5-7 in Dan Mullen's first year. Mississippi State ended the year on a positive note by beating Ole Miss, 41-27. That momentum will carry over into this year and people will be talking about the Bulldogs at the end of the year.
4. What will be the biggest surprise? The SEC champion will not play in the BCS title game. After an unprecedented four year run, the SEC champion will be back in the Sugar Bowl. Alabama will not be undefeated at season's end, and that will keep them out. At least two other teams will be undefeated and claim the top two spots in the final BCS standings.
5. Which coach is on the hottest seat? Les Miles, LSU. Everyone in the Bayou is getting restless after the 2007 National Championship has been followed up with back-to-back single digit win seasons. Miles didn't even receive much credit for the national championship three years ago, since he won that year with Nick Saban's recruits. Now is the time for Miles to deliver with the players that he has recruited, otherwise, he will be shown the door out.
Monday, February 15, 2010
END THE PAROCHIALISM OF COLLEGE CONFERENCES
College sports have thrived under the organizational structure of conference for several decades now. These conferences have created identities through the years, which, in many cases, involves the geographical location of the schools in the conference. The Atlantic Coast Conference, Mid-America Conference, Southeastern Conference, and Pacific 10 Conference all refer to specific regions of the country.
From time to time, these conferences have grown in size by incorporating additional teams. Currently, the Big 10 and the Pac-10 conferences have expressed an interest in growing. Ask any “expert” on the subject of conference expansion and he or she will tell you that expansion consists of many factors in addition to the regional location aspect already mentioned. Academics (admission standards, research accreditation) and athletic competitiveness in all sports, and money are some of the bigger issues.
I have been reading about the possible conference expansions and all this rhetoric about academics and water polo being as important as football brings one word to mind: parochial. I don’t expect anything different since educating America’s brightest young minds should be the primary goal of colleges and universities, but let’s be honest with ourselves. When expansion is announced where does it make headlines and generate endless discussion and debate? College football media outlets. Football is the driving force behind all expansion. I graduated from a school that is a member of the Mountain West Conference (MWC), but we never competed academically with other MWC schools. The chemistry department did not have trivia bowls with conference rivals. The English department did not meet on weekends to have essay write offs with other MWC member schools. Maybe it looks good for recruiting after a down year or it helps with those conference advertising spots during athletic events when your team is losing by 30 points to be able to promote a strong academic resume, but people rarely associate athletics and academics in college sports. Conference alignment pertains to sports and sports only, and even then, conference alignment is flexible. The smaller sports like lacrosse and wrestling are not sanctioned by all schools, so some schools compete in one conference for the small sports and another conference for the big sports.
It is time to revamp the conference structure we have come to know in college sports. We need conferences that are assembled based more on competitiveness. It is time to kick out teams like Vanderbilt, Baylor, Iowa State, Duke, Maryland, Kansas, Mississippi State, Washington State, and Indiana who show little commitment to football and field a competitive team once a generation, and let teams like Boise State, BYU, Utah, and TCU replace them.
From time to time, these conferences have grown in size by incorporating additional teams. Currently, the Big 10 and the Pac-10 conferences have expressed an interest in growing. Ask any “expert” on the subject of conference expansion and he or she will tell you that expansion consists of many factors in addition to the regional location aspect already mentioned. Academics (admission standards, research accreditation) and athletic competitiveness in all sports, and money are some of the bigger issues.
I have been reading about the possible conference expansions and all this rhetoric about academics and water polo being as important as football brings one word to mind: parochial. I don’t expect anything different since educating America’s brightest young minds should be the primary goal of colleges and universities, but let’s be honest with ourselves. When expansion is announced where does it make headlines and generate endless discussion and debate? College football media outlets. Football is the driving force behind all expansion. I graduated from a school that is a member of the Mountain West Conference (MWC), but we never competed academically with other MWC schools. The chemistry department did not have trivia bowls with conference rivals. The English department did not meet on weekends to have essay write offs with other MWC member schools. Maybe it looks good for recruiting after a down year or it helps with those conference advertising spots during athletic events when your team is losing by 30 points to be able to promote a strong academic resume, but people rarely associate athletics and academics in college sports. Conference alignment pertains to sports and sports only, and even then, conference alignment is flexible. The smaller sports like lacrosse and wrestling are not sanctioned by all schools, so some schools compete in one conference for the small sports and another conference for the big sports.
It is time to revamp the conference structure we have come to know in college sports. We need conferences that are assembled based more on competitiveness. It is time to kick out teams like Vanderbilt, Baylor, Iowa State, Duke, Maryland, Kansas, Mississippi State, Washington State, and Indiana who show little commitment to football and field a competitive team once a generation, and let teams like Boise State, BYU, Utah, and TCU replace them.
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