The SEC is a mediocre conference this year

It's all your fault

Agree. LSU gonna have to carry y'all across the finish line.

No more mediocre than any other conference.

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Agree?

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Outside of LSU, yes, I agree.

Agreed. Before the season started it looked like we were going to have another strong 2010 type year but it hasn't come close.

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Alabama is a mediocre team this year

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Fixed it for you.

Pretty much. Should be a lot better in the next few years, there's a ton of young talent on most teams.

BYU will be another shite stain on the SEC resume once Mizzou gets clobbered by them.

How does one define medicore? What is the litmus test for such a conclusion when looking at a whole conference?

People always say the conference is down when everyone beats up on everyone else. But wouldn't that mean the exact opposite? Wouldn't that mean that the conference is more competitive and less top heavy?

I think most people would agree with the following ranking of teams in the SEC (on average over about the past 20 years):

West:

1) bammer

2) LSU

3) AU

4) Arky

5) MSU

6) Ole Siss

7) A&M

I put A&M last only because they are new and haven't proven much yet. I suspect they will land somewhere between 3-5 in the West.

East:

1) Florida

2) THUGA

3) UT

4) USCe

5) Mizzou

6) Kentucky

7) Vandy

I put Mizzou 5th because I think it's clear they are a better program than KY or Vandy (who are the eternal bottom feeders of the whole conference), but I put them below USCe because of what Spurrier did by winning 11 games 3 years straight and because of how terrible Mizzou is this season. Also, if this were the 90's, UT would be #2 behind UF, but I think THUGA is a better overall program right now.

So, let's look at the conference this season:

Bammer is a top 5 team as usual. An Average bammer team.

LSU is probably a top 5 team. I think they're better than their average this year.

Auburn sucks, so I guess we can label them as being down. Well below their average.

Arkansas is meh. I wouldn't call them "down" but not good either. I think their record is deceptive. I'll call them below average, but not terrible.

A&M isn't bad, but not Johnny Football good either. I'll say average.

Ole Miss is better than their average and a legit top 20 team. I will call them good (but not on bammer/LSU level).

MSU is about at their average, if not slightly below. They are worse than Ole Siss this year which hasn't been the trend since Mullen got there (they have mostly owned Ole Siss).

East:

Florida - They are playing at about the average level a Florida team is expected to play, imo. Spurrier set the new expectation in the 90's and Meyer kept it rolling. I think McElwain has brought them back to that level so far. I wouldn't say a top 5 team, but definitely top 15.

Georgia - I would say they are below average for a THUGA team, but not as bad as some people think. Still extremely talented, just had some bad luck with Chubb, etc. Richt is Richt and always gets blown out by bammer. Don't worry, he will make it up by beating Auburn 55-0. If I were Florida, I would be a bit worried about THUGA.

UT - I would say they are slightly below average for a UT team. I think they are like Arkansas in the sense that they are better than their record. UT right now is better than they've been in about 7 or 8 years, imo. However, if you compare them over a 20 year average, they are probably below average (but not terrible).

USCe - Below average. Spurrier leaving during the season kinda fricked them. They are not a good team at all, but I don't think one expects USCe to be tremendous every year. If Spurrier had been there 20 years, this team would be terrible. But since people forget how terrible USCe was before Spurrier, I will say they are "below average" this year.

Mizzou - Terrible. Mizzou hasn't been in the SEC long enough to run a 20 year average, but based on where I think Mizzou should be, I think they are definitely terrible this year.

Kentucky - I would say they are average if not slightly above average. For a Kentucky team, they are not terrible at all.

Vandy -- An average Vandy team (terrible overall, but average for VANDY).

So, the East looks worse than the West (which has been typical for about a decade now). And the West, except for Auburn, looks about as good as usual. Ole Miss has sorta replaced AU as the #3 team in the division this season. So, there's no drop-off if you look at it that way.

I am just not seeing a "down" SEC. Maybe SLIGHTLY but not to the level the Ohio State people want us to believe.