ITS THE SEC PAWL!

There’s a holiday that is celebrated every Saturday in the south…Gameday. On gameday, women usually wear dresses, while a collared shirt and khakis are the standard for men. It’s southern tradition. It’s the SEC.  It has been said that the best football in the country is played down south and with the success that the Southeastern Conference has had in the last ten years, it would be hard to disagree. A team from the SEC won the natty for seven consecutive years just before the end of the BCS era. There was even a four year stretch from 2009 through 2012 when the BCS national championship didn’t leave the borders of the state of Alabama. Regardless of the team you affiliate yourself with, that’s impressive. The beginning of the SEC’s dominance in college football is usually associated with the arrival of a certain head coach at the University of Florida, which caused the rest of the league to up their game. That coach goes by the name of Urban Meyer.

Luckily, Urban coaches at Ohio State now,  and there is no doubt that he took OSU, from a very good team to legendary status in the last four years. Yet, the perception still remains that the SEC is premier powerhouse conference in college football, which is evident now with 10 of the top 25 teams in the AP poll coming from the conference.

Buuuut let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The polls won’t stay this way. Teams will lose and drop out of the top 25. Therfore, the SEC bias that we hear so much about isn’t much of a worry for teams like Ohio State that are in a great position to win out this regular season. The blue chip teams in the SEC are the only teams from the conference that OSU will realistically have to worry about in the postseason; teams like Bama and Auburn.  So how does Ohio State match up against the best of the Southeastern Conference?

Ohio State vs Alabama

Clearly, OSU was the better team last year when they crushed the Crimson Tide’s in New Orleans; but if the two teams should meet again this year in the postseason….I expect the same result. Lane Kiffin obviously  took detailed notes during his little meeting with Tom Herman this summer. I mean, we were already seeing some of OSU’s offensive plays in week 1 of Bama’s game against wisky. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and if anyone will know the weaknesses of Urb’s read option, it’s Urb. Different year, same result.

Ohio State vs Auburn

The one team from the SEC who could give the silver bullets fits is Auburn. They are the only team in the country that I could imagine being able to go series for series with Ohio State at the end of the year. They are fast. They score A LOT and they have great coaches. But guess what OSU is also fast and they score a lot too! Not to mention Urb’s coaching staff is the best around. Which means at the end of the day, while it would be a great game, Ohio State is their own toughest opponent and I  don’t see them losing to AU.

The south is all about God, family, football and sweet tea in that order. It’s down home, it’s warm weather,  its momma’s cookin’.  It’s charming, laidback and endearing. People love the south. So when the SEC gets a lot of love in the media and in the polls over the next four months, don’t fret. If Ohio State takes care of business, the natty trophy is their’s to lose at the end of the year.