SEC

Dennis Dodd has put out CBS Sports Post Spring top 25 and he has Ohio on top. Interesting that he feels they will be prepared to beat an SEC opponent in the championship game because, "this is the Big Ten where there isn't a serious challenger to the Buckeyes."

Sadder then that is that there are no other B1G schools in the top 19 and only Northwestern and Nebraska in the top 25. No Michigan in the top 25? This will be good bulletin board fodder as this team gets motivated for a better season than 2012.  This team was within a minute of beating a good SEC team.  I think Dennis Dodd has misplaced the reality that Michigan is back, and the SEC and Ohio be )#(#$. 

 

 

Texas A&M is adding about 20,000 seats to become the third largest stadium in college football, trailing only Michigan and Penn State. Kyle Field is already known for being extremely loud, so Texas A&M has a very good chance to have the best home field advantage in college football. Its been a good year for them: Moving to the SEC, beating Alabama, Heisman winning QB, now this. They also have a great recruiting class coming in. Texas can't be too happy right now. 

Links:  http://kylefield.com/

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/9233122/texas-aggies-approve-plans-seat-more-100000-sec-largest-stadium

Bielema, on Saban:

"... he can't compare."

That's not all, but it's the best part. You can read the rest here:

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/blog/eye-on-college-football/21...

The SEC basketball coaches are bitching about being treated like a mid-major conference after playing like one:

 

Tennessee coach Cuonzo Martin predicted two weeks ago that the SEC would earn six bids.

Martin said the SEC's three bids were an ''embarrassment'' after the brackets were revealed, and he didn't back down from those comments Monday. He said Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama are ''NCAA tournament teams'' that landed in the NIT.

''It's almost like a mid-major mentality in this league, when you've got your second-place team that doesn't get in the NCAA tournament,'' Martin said. ''This is a BCS league. It's one of the best leagues in America. That shouldn't happen.''

The SEC's non-conference performance indicates it actually wasn't one of the best leagues in the nation this season.

 

http://www.usnews.com/news/sports/articles/2013/03/19/sec-seeking-answers-after-getting-only-3-ncaa-bids

As the article goes on to point out, the SEC had losing records against all BCS conferences and performed worse than two mid-major conferences.

Here's an interesting Rivals article (link). Highlights!

• Obviously: OSU and Michigan have the best recruiters. You probably know all about Michigan's body of work, but OSU was admittedly impressive in Texas and Georgia. They secured the #1 Texan and took a 4 star running back wanted by Texas/Oregon. They also beat out 'Bama and Georgia for a 5 star Georgian linebacker. 
• Also expected: Fred Jackson's recruiting prowess in Detroit is like Nick Saban and Lane Kiffin, but cleaner  (This is almost not an exaggeration.)
• Greg Mattison's work all over the country gets mentioned. He's credited for securing Poggi from the Crimson Temptress, but you probably knew that already. 
• I think Indiana's continued recruiting successes are the most noteworthy. They pulled a couple 4 star prospects from the Hoosier State--but also a 4 star out of Georgia.  Indy raiding the SEC is pretty wild.
• Jerry Montgomery didn't make the list. These things probably vary by year, and I don't think it's a strong indication of anything in particular, but it's a relevant omission for Michigan fans.
• Frosting should come in two varieties: Chuck E. Cheese-style and the kind made with cream cheese. Also, all pie crusts should be made of graham crackers. 

The topic of high school football quality and recruiting in SEC country has been widely debated on this board. This free Rivals article lays out a case for Georgia's rise in HS football that pertains to many programs across the South. Writer's key points with a little first-hand commentary by this Atlantan: 1. High quality HS coaches. They are well paid, but also incur high turnover with immense pressure to win. 2. Year round training. Even junior high programs have organized S&C for the entire offseason in addition to 3 weeks of spring football. 3. Focus. These programs measure themselves by their players at SEC/ACC schools in football. http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1466822 * Although not cited in the article, Milton lost in the first round of the playoffs and is considered an OK football school. Gwinnett County schools are among the Georgia powerhouses.