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re: Can somebody explain to me the 1972 Season?
Posted on 1/3/13 at 1:29 pm to loyalauron
Posted on 1/3/13 at 1:29 pm to loyalauron
It's pretty simple. The SEC title didn't mean that much back then. It wasn't tied to the Sugar Bowl, and there were no serious rewards for it. Auburn happened to play 7 conference games that year, while Bama played 8, but several teams only played 6.
For several years Auburn also played one less game due to its academic schedule (quarters). Auburn had its serious rivalry with Tech, which Bama had dropped. So several factors, all simple, explain why Auburn played one less conference game than some other teams.
For several years Auburn also played one less game due to its academic schedule (quarters). Auburn had its serious rivalry with Tech, which Bama had dropped. So several factors, all simple, explain why Auburn played one less conference game than some other teams.
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Posted on 1/3/13 at 1:29 pm to WDE85
It's really nice having the greatest coach in college football history as your Athletic Director and most powerful person in college athletics making your schedule.
Bryant was smarter than everyone else.
Bryant was smarter than everyone else.
Posted on 1/3/13 at 1:29 pm to DaleDenton
quote:
The Dolphins finished the season undefeated and won the Superbowl, they are the last NFL team to finish the season undefeated and to this day meet to celebrate with a toast when the last unbeaten NFL team loses their first game.
Completely irrelevant to topic, but this will change on February 2nd, 2014. Book that shite.
Posted on 1/3/13 at 1:30 pm to WDE85
I-59 could explain this
***not in before I-59
***not in before I-59
This post was edited on 1/3/13 at 1:31 pm
Posted on 1/3/13 at 1:30 pm to elvisleft
So when did the SEC title start to mean something?
Posted on 1/3/13 at 1:30 pm to 15sammy34
quote:
How do you think Bear Bryant won so many SECC? He scheduled an extra SEC game every year. Pretty damn smart if you ask me.
That and he rarely lost to SEC opponents. From 1971-1981, Alabama lost only 4 conference games.
Posted on 1/3/13 at 1:31 pm to USMC Gators
quote:
So when did the SEC title start to mean something?
When it was tied to the Sugar Bowl.
Posted on 1/3/13 at 1:31 pm to elvisleft
When did it first start tying into the Sugar Bowl?
Posted on 1/3/13 at 1:33 pm to I-59 Tiger
quote:
The SEC had really unbalanced schedules until 1978. You are correct in Alabama 7-1 and Auburn 6-1 with Auburn winning the 17-16. game. But that wasn't uncommon. Tennessee won the SEC in 1969 with a 5-1 mark while LSU was 4-1. Both teams lost to Ole Miss. Tennessee was blown out 38-0 and LSU lost 26-23. After Tulane's departure in '65 there had been an attempt to make sure teams had 6 "conference games" so there were some 'designated' conference games. For instance, Vanderbilt's and LSU's games vs Tulane were counted as an "SEC" game and State's vs Texas Tech was as well in 1968. That practice ended in '69.
Now, I really don't know the "why" anymore than the odd scheduling with member schools. LSU and Auburn met in 1969 for the first time since the 40's. Miss State and Georgia Tech never played as SEC opponents. Oddly enough, starting in 1972 teams did start a "rotation" of sorts where they had 5 fixed or permanent opponents and at least one opponent to play home and home for two years and then continue the process until that was completed.
For instance, Auburn played LSU in 1972 and 1973,Kentucky in 1974 and 1975, Ole Miss in 1976 and 1977 and Vanderbilt in 1979 and 1979 and the process started again with LSU in 1980.(Auburn and Ole Miss did play in '72 and '73 in addition to this format --for the first time since 1953).
Alabama and Ole Miss met each other in 1980 and 1981 but those games were not counted as SEC games.
Living Encyclopedia of college sports.
Posted on 1/3/13 at 1:33 pm to elvisleft
From what I can tell, Bama played more SEC games in 70, 71, 72, 73 & 76.
Only made a difference in 72 & 76. One positive, one negative for Bama.
Only made a difference in 72 & 76. One positive, one negative for Bama.
Posted on 1/3/13 at 1:34 pm to USMC Gators
quote:
When did it first start tying into the Sugar Bowl?
First of all, winning the SEC was and has always been a big deal. In some ways it was a bigger deal then. With that said, the tie-in game after the 1975 season, the first year the game was in the Superdome.
Now, SEC teams for eons played in the Sugar prior to that.
Posted on 1/3/13 at 1:34 pm to USMC Gators
Ya to my knowledge this was one of the only years it really benefited Alabama, but it does seem pretty unfair now that people put so much into how many SEC titles your school has.
Posted on 1/3/13 at 1:35 pm to 15sammy34
Alabama played as many as 8 and as few as 6 SEC teams throughout the 70's so your argument doesnt really hold a lot of water that he ALWAYS did this. It seems pretty random when you look at the number of conf games played per year.
70-7
71-7
72-8
73-8
74-6
75-6
76-7
77-7
78-6
79-6
Looks like groups of 2 years, probably caused by home and homes, with pretty random conf opponent numbers in those 2 year groups
70-7
71-7
72-8
73-8
74-6
75-6
76-7
77-7
78-6
79-6
Looks like groups of 2 years, probably caused by home and homes, with pretty random conf opponent numbers in those 2 year groups
Posted on 1/3/13 at 1:36 pm to USMC Gators
quote:
When did it first start tying into the Sugar Bowl?
it wasn't an official tie in but they always tried to get an SEC team since 1950 until maybe the BCS era.
Posted on 1/3/13 at 1:38 pm to Cdawg
I honestly don't remember anybody talking much about SEC championships until the schedules regularized -- and that was all about the Sugar Bowl.
Posted on 1/3/13 at 1:39 pm to Beer Bryant
quote:
Only made a difference in 72 & 76. One positive, one negative for Bama.
They would have been co-champs. Remember, Georgia defeated Alabama in 1976.
In the event of unbeaten teams with uneven records there was indeed "co-champs" such as 7-0 Alabama and 6-0 LSU in 1961.
Posted on 1/3/13 at 1:39 pm to Cdawg
quote:
it wasn't an official tie in but they always tried to get an SEC team since 1950 until maybe the BCS era.
The first I remember of it being actually tied in was in 1992 when the Bowl Coalition was started. It could have been started before this but that was the earliest I remember people actually talking about the tie in.
Posted on 1/3/13 at 1:43 pm to elvisleft
quote:
I honestly don't remember anybody talking much about SEC championships until the schedules regularized -- and that was all about the Sugar Bowl.
Well…when you win only 1 SEC title in the first 50 years of the conference, you tend to not talk about them as much as the teams that won them more regularly.
Posted on 1/3/13 at 1:47 pm to ThaKaptin
quote:
The first I remember of it being actually tied in was in 1992 when the Bowl Coalition was started. It could have been started before this but that was the earliest I remember people actually talking about the tie in.
We went to the Sugar Bowl as SEC Champions in '75, '77, '78, and '79. Georgia went to the Sugar Bowl in their SEC championship seasons of '76, '80, '81, and '82. I may be assuming too much but I believe the Sugar Bowl tie-in began in 1975.
Posted on 1/3/13 at 1:48 pm to RollTide1987
That's bull too, but you know that. If people made a big deal of it, they would have scheduled around it. For example, in the 60s all the Big Ten schools played exactly 7 conference games. Wonder why?
Come on... say it out loud. ;)
Come on... say it out loud. ;)
quote:
Well…when you win only 1 SEC title in the first 50 years of the conference, you tend to not talk about them as much as the teams that won them more regularly.
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