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re: Who will be the next elite team in the SEC?
Posted on 9/17/12 at 10:27 am to alabamabuckeye
Posted on 9/17/12 at 10:27 am to alabamabuckeye
quote:
Who will be the next elite team in the SEC?
Nobody is the only correct answer. you see the SEC actually has 6 elite programs. These programs will have their down times but always percolate back up to the top of the pile.
1. Alabama
2. Auburn
3. Georgia
4. Florida
5. LSU
6. Tennessee
These 6 programs have always been and always will be the standard bearers of the SEC.
Below these "Big 6" you have a number of very good, though not elite programs. The programs will go through periods of being good, sometimes great or almost great. But lack the conference tradition and stature to be considered as SEC elite and generally percolate downward after brief periods of relevancy.
7. Arkansas
8. Mississippi
9. Mississippi State
10. South Carolina
11. Missouri*
12. Texas A&M*
Then there are the bottom tier teams. Teams that have either a distant past of success or no history of success. They will upset teams from time to time but generally remain in the cellar year after year.
13. Vandy
14. Kentucky
So, like I said, there will be no "next" elite SEC programs. History proves that there is a "Big 6" that always dominate the conference. They will change order, they will have down times. but the thing about these Big 6 is they always rise to the top for a time. This has been true in the conference for decades and is not about to change.
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Posted on 9/17/12 at 10:45 am to Darth_Vader
Here is the thing about A&M. They are the opposite of the rest of the "middle of the pack" teams. Most of those schools are looking to hit on all cylinders so they can catch lightning in a bottle and win. For A&M they just need to quit tripping over themselves to do so because if A&M ever finds a way to win an SEC Title they will be a force that is very, very hard to knock back down. If A&M can win the money that will flow into the program will be mind boggling and they will dominate recruiting in Texas just as they did in the late '80s and early '90s, only this time they are built to sustain it.
It truly is the sleeping giant that is trying ever so hard to wake up.
BTW, I think Florida is a lock to get back to the top and stay there. FSU and Miami are living on borrowed time right now. Both are hurting for money and the ACC TV deal sucks, especially compared to what is about to happen with the SEC Network. With Florida in complete control of that state it can't help but be elite.
It truly is the sleeping giant that is trying ever so hard to wake up.
BTW, I think Florida is a lock to get back to the top and stay there. FSU and Miami are living on borrowed time right now. Both are hurting for money and the ACC TV deal sucks, especially compared to what is about to happen with the SEC Network. With Florida in complete control of that state it can't help but be elite.
Posted on 9/18/12 at 1:51 am to Darth_Vader
quote:
Nobody is the only correct answer. you see the SEC actually has 6 elite programs. These programs will have their down times but always percolate back up to the top of the pile.
1. Alabama
2. Auburn
3. Georgia
4. Florida
5. LSU
6. Tennessee
These 6 programs have always been and always will be the standard bearers of the SEC.
Below these "Big 6" you have a number of very good, though not elite programs. The programs will go through periods of being good, sometimes great or almost great. But lack the conference tradition and stature to be considered as SEC elite and generally percolate downward after brief periods of relevancy.
7. Arkansas
8. Mississippi
9. Mississippi State
10. South Carolina
11. Missouri*
12. Texas A&M*
The reason I think USC is going to be the next elite SEC program is because the common denominator between the "elite program" that Florida has become and current state of Gamecock football is the same. Spurrier built Florida from a solid SEC team to a national power.
He is laying the same foundation at Carolina today. Locking up the top talent in the state on a yearly basis (so our AJ Greens or Courtney Browns (or Sam Montgomery... not completely locked down, yet...) don't become other teams bread winners). Bringing a winning mentality to the fan-base and players. Making sure that the athletic department is making our facilities a vital part of growth and expansion.
Spurrier will, probably, be at Carolina another four years at least (based off what he has told his QB target coming in next year). In that time he will continue to grow the program as a whole by bringing in the best players, coaches and staff to get to where he likes to be... winning.
And the thought that we will just crumble back to mediocrity once he does hang up his spurs is just asinine. So we have a successful program, finally, and we're just going to hire some schmuck off the street to let the program go to hell? If anything we would, hopefully, learn from Florida's mistake and skip that Zook-like coaching debacle in favor of the young promise of a Meyer-like up and comer.
So, my vote for next elite team is, and will continue to be the original USC...
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