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Narrative about the SEC's reign of terror being over because everybody can pay players now
Posted on 1/20/26 at 9:02 am
Posted on 1/20/26 at 9:02 am
I don't have any knowledge about which programs outside the SEC were paying players back in the day and which ones weren't, so I don't have a strong opinion one way or the other. But I'm sure there's at least some truth to the narrative that NIL and the portal has made it easier for programs outside the SEC to compete at a high level.
But I think the other big reason why the SEC's reign of terror is over is because Saban retired. Saban and Alabama propped up the SEC for a long time.
There were several seasons when Alabama shined up a turd. If you take away Alabama in 2015 and 2016, there wouldn't have been a single SEC team finish in the top 10 of the final CFP poll. 8-4 Auburn would've been the top finisher in 2016 and 9-3 Ole Miss would've been the top finisher in 2015. It there was a 12 team playoff back then, the narrative would've been whether or not the SEC deserved to get more than one team in the playoff.
There were some programs that would get hot, like LSU in 2011 and 2019 and Auburn in 2010 and 2013, but for a while there it was Alabama and everybody else. Then Kirby came on the scene and helped prop up the SEC, but he wasn't able to break through with a national championship until 2021, and by this time LSU and Auburn and Florida had all turned fully retarded.
The hope for the SEC after Saban retired was that Kirby could keep up the pace he had in 2021 and 2022 and that Texas would be a monster. Give credit to Texas making the semifinals last season, but to this point Kirby hasn't been able to keep up the pace and Texas hasn't been a monster, while LSU and Auburn and Florida have still been retards.
It's all cyclical, I guess.
But I think the other big reason why the SEC's reign of terror is over is because Saban retired. Saban and Alabama propped up the SEC for a long time.
There were several seasons when Alabama shined up a turd. If you take away Alabama in 2015 and 2016, there wouldn't have been a single SEC team finish in the top 10 of the final CFP poll. 8-4 Auburn would've been the top finisher in 2016 and 9-3 Ole Miss would've been the top finisher in 2015. It there was a 12 team playoff back then, the narrative would've been whether or not the SEC deserved to get more than one team in the playoff.
There were some programs that would get hot, like LSU in 2011 and 2019 and Auburn in 2010 and 2013, but for a while there it was Alabama and everybody else. Then Kirby came on the scene and helped prop up the SEC, but he wasn't able to break through with a national championship until 2021, and by this time LSU and Auburn and Florida had all turned fully retarded.
The hope for the SEC after Saban retired was that Kirby could keep up the pace he had in 2021 and 2022 and that Texas would be a monster. Give credit to Texas making the semifinals last season, but to this point Kirby hasn't been able to keep up the pace and Texas hasn't been a monster, while LSU and Auburn and Florida have still been retards.
It's all cyclical, I guess.
This post was edited on 1/20/26 at 9:07 am
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Posted on 1/20/26 at 9:08 am to Violent Hip Swivel
quote:
while LSU and Auburn and Florida have still been retards.
We're on the upswing.
Alabama has carried the torch which appears to be coming to an end. Kirby has been great but needs sustained success. Anchors down coming into their own. Auburn with a new coach. LSU with a new coach.
Things are looking up.
Posted on 1/20/26 at 9:09 am to idlewatcher
quote:
We're on the upswing.
We better be after all the sorry arse coaches got canned this year.
Posted on 1/20/26 at 9:11 am to Violent Hip Swivel
Idiot UGA fans thought that fatass Kirby could carry the league after diddy Saban retired 
Posted on 1/20/26 at 9:15 am to cajunbama
Is "diddy Saban" a Freudian slip?
Posted on 1/20/26 at 9:15 am to cajunbama
quote:
Idiot UGA fans thought that fatass Kirby could carry the league after diddy Saban retired
It wasn't an unrealistic thought. At the time of Saban's retirement, Georgia had gone 42-2 in the previous 3 seasons with two national championships.
The last 2 seasons have been down years for Georgia though. This is true.
This post was edited on 1/20/26 at 9:18 am
Posted on 1/20/26 at 9:31 am to Violent Hip Swivel
The SEC has been plagued with bad coaching and bad QB play for a few years now. Think about it - how many teams in the SEC last year had head coaches that are considered great? Maybe three?
How many starting quarterbacks in the SEC last year were considered great quarterbacks? Chambliss, Pavia, and Stockton? Hard to put any other SEC QB in the "great" tier.
Until we as a league start making better coaching hires and producing better QBs, we're going to continue to lose on big stages.
How many starting quarterbacks in the SEC last year were considered great quarterbacks? Chambliss, Pavia, and Stockton? Hard to put any other SEC QB in the "great" tier.
Until we as a league start making better coaching hires and producing better QBs, we're going to continue to lose on big stages.
Posted on 1/20/26 at 9:33 am to Violent Hip Swivel
All I know is that if SC was cheating back in the day, they weren't very good at it...
Posted on 1/20/26 at 9:36 am to Violent Hip Swivel
Jesus you people are so pathetic.
Of course the reason why team like Indiana and Ole Miss and even TX Tech is b/c now EVERYONE can pay players.
All you clowns always thought it was a coach or a fanbase with history was why a recruit picked a school. lol
NOPE! Same reason Cam Newton picked Auburn..........they paid the most.
It's not a narrative............it's a fuggin fact and Saban quit as soon as everyone could pay players claiming it ruined college football!
College athletics before NIL was nothing more than whoever cheated the most won the most. In football and in basketball. Deny it all you want but you know it's a fact.
it was ALWAYS who paid the most and it still is! Only difference now is it's not against the rules.
Of course the reason why team like Indiana and Ole Miss and even TX Tech is b/c now EVERYONE can pay players.
All you clowns always thought it was a coach or a fanbase with history was why a recruit picked a school. lol
NOPE! Same reason Cam Newton picked Auburn..........they paid the most.
It's not a narrative............it's a fuggin fact and Saban quit as soon as everyone could pay players claiming it ruined college football!
College athletics before NIL was nothing more than whoever cheated the most won the most. In football and in basketball. Deny it all you want but you know it's a fact.
it was ALWAYS who paid the most and it still is! Only difference now is it's not against the rules.
Posted on 1/20/26 at 9:37 am to Violent Hip Swivel
quote:
NIL and the portal has made it easier for programs outside the SEC
Back then if you wanted to make money, you had to get drafted.
If you wanted to get drafted, you had to develop and/or show out against elite competition to get noticed.
This was more likely to occur in leagues with superior on-the-field talent, television deals, and tie-ins, e.g., the SEC.
Now if you're not quite good enough or if you don't want to put in the effort, you can just enter the portal and get paid, pretty much anywhere.
Some of these kids come from nothing and instead of changing their lives through hard work, development, education, and eventual generational wealth, they're selling their decently-athletic souls for a quick $100k and a dead end at some shithole.
Those guys could always get paid anywhere. But back then, most couldn't get PAID unless they chose carefully and really worked for it.
If left unchecked, the transfer portal will probably be the death of this sport.
Posted on 1/20/26 at 9:38 am to Violent Hip Swivel
Everyone CAN pay players now. It’s just that some can pay more than others, and those others now include a few programs that once were the sole beneficiaries of paying players.
That Drummond Coal money isn’t impressing anyone anymore.
That Drummond Coal money isn’t impressing anyone anymore.
Posted on 1/20/26 at 9:45 am to paperwasp
quote:
If left unchecked, the transfer portal will probably be the death of this sport.
Newsflash: We're in the NIL era b/c of cheating programs and coaches like Bama, Bear Byrant, and Saban.
You cheaters killed college sports a long time ago much like UCLA basketball and the cheater John Wooden.
Cheating programs killed college sports a looooooooong time ago but now Saban and Bama fans think now that Indiana can/will pay players it's the death of the sport!
You realize how stupid you sound??????????? It's more popular than EVER!
Posted on 1/20/26 at 9:45 am to Violent Hip Swivel
the portal has done more to "end the terror" than NIL has. Guys like Kirby and Saban dominated becuase they brought in elite talent and are also elite developers of talent. You could have a guy come in as a green freshman but by his junior year he'd be played at an extremely high level. WHen he leaves for the NFL you just plug and play the next dude behind him.
Now that we have the portal nobody can stack elite depth like that anymore. Evreryone is going to have studs in teh starting 22 but what set the true big boys apart was the shocking amount of quality depth. You don't see that anymore becuase if a guy isn't starting by year 2 he just leaves.
Now that we have the portal nobody can stack elite depth like that anymore. Evreryone is going to have studs in teh starting 22 but what set the true big boys apart was the shocking amount of quality depth. You don't see that anymore becuase if a guy isn't starting by year 2 he just leaves.
Posted on 1/20/26 at 9:49 am to daydreamin
quote:
the cheater John Wooden
Posted on 1/20/26 at 9:56 am to Violent Hip Swivel
Florida, Auburn, and LSU being down is what is giving fuel to the narrative.
Posted on 1/20/26 at 9:59 am to daydreamin
Dancing bananas and Jesus references and name-calling. You definitely seem like a normally-functioning human being and not some random nutjob.
Posted on 1/20/26 at 9:59 am to daydreamin
If you think for one second other teams outside the SEC weren't paying players you're an idiot. This Big 10 narrative of now that everyone is paying players the playing field is level. Cardel Jones once famously said he didn't go to OSU to go to class. Does anyone really think Cardel was playing for free? Michigan was caught in a pervasive sign stealing scandal just a few years ago. Does anyone really think they haven't been paying players for years? I'm sure Reggie Bush played for USC for free. There are stories about Vince Young while at Texas receiving a nice steady stream of income.
The transfer portal is what's changed everything. Kids aren't "stuck" at schools anymore. They also aren't having to sit out a year and losing a year of eligibility for transferring. Not every kid that transfers, transfers for "more money". A lot of them are transferring for more playing time. Teams aren't able to stack talent anymore.
The transfer portal is what's changed everything. Kids aren't "stuck" at schools anymore. They also aren't having to sit out a year and losing a year of eligibility for transferring. Not every kid that transfers, transfers for "more money". A lot of them are transferring for more playing time. Teams aren't able to stack talent anymore.
Posted on 1/20/26 at 10:03 am to NWLA_Bama
You're wasting your time arguing with that schmuck. All you'll get back is Saban/Alabama cheated & destroyed college football with a few fuggin, LMAO & emjois mixed in. It's all he's got.
Posted on 1/20/26 at 10:08 am to Violent Hip Swivel
quote:SEC programs believed their own headlines and got soft. Look at the teams who played for it all last night. They look and play like their coaches.
Narrative about the SEC's reign of terror being over because everybody can pay players now
That said, it's a lot harder to instill that mindset now than it used to be. Especially if kids are more about the $ than winning.
Posted on 1/20/26 at 10:12 am to Violent Hip Swivel
SEC doesn’t have a recruiting advantage now because anyone can pay players
Keep eating that rat poison
Keep eating that rat poison
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