Gray Area OT: Bob Stoops Makes Good Point about SEC defenses
I 
Bob Stoops.
"I still don't know how (Texas) A&M was third in the country in total offense and scoring offense playing all those SEC defenses. I have no idea how that happened," Stoops said. "Oh, they got a quarterback. That's right."
October 3rd, 2013 at 9:29 PM ^
October 3rd, 2013 at 11:57 PM ^
The B1G is 5-4 in OOC games against the other Power 5 conferences. The SEC is 6-4, with two of its top teams losing. Oh yeah, and the B1G gets flack for all the close wins. How'd that SC game go last weekend? The SEC is probabl still the best conference. The margin is way smaller than most think.
October 4th, 2013 at 1:28 AM ^
Not sure if you're serious, but if so, you need to take a gander at the schedules. UConn, Notre Dame, and Cal are a long way from Clemson, TCU, and Virginia Tech. Until a conference can beat an elite SEC team in a game that matters, nobody can say anything.
October 4th, 2013 at 8:24 AM ^
TCU? Virginia Tech?
Hahahahaha give me a break. VT struggled to beat East Carolina and Marshall. Imagine Penn State losing to Ohio University at the half and coming back to beat them by 5.
Also another thing about SEC defenses... There are only 2 top-20 SEC defenses (Florida and Mississippi State although playing Tennessee can do wonders for you defensive stats) as opposed to 6 top-20 Big 10 defenses. On the other hand, their mediocre defenses are spread across the whole range while the Big 10 has 6 teams with clearly terrible defense.
October 4th, 2013 at 9:40 AM ^
Still not sure if you're serious. SEC fans probably use the same stretched logic to laugh at the fact that one of the BIG's two marquees programs barely scraped by uber Akron and UCONN back-to-back.
Again - beat them on the field, otherwise you clown yourself.
October 4th, 2013 at 10:37 AM ^
Yeah because state has played such impressive competitition on its way to being ranked 1st. If you matched up the SEC up 1-12 against the Big Ten 1-12 I'd probably say the SEC goes no worse than 9-3, thats still a pretty big gap.
October 4th, 2013 at 12:41 PM ^
Lets match them up: OSU v TAMU, Michigan v Georgia, Northwestern v LSU, Wisconsin v South Carolina, Penn State v Arkansas, Nebraska v Florida, MSU v Ole Miss, Iowa v Auburn, Illinois v Tennessee, Minnesota v Vandy, Indiana v Mizzou, and Purdue v Kentucky.
I say we could win 5 of the 12 matchups on a truly neutral field.
October 4th, 2013 at 1:16 PM ^
Big 10 might win 5, but I doubt they win any of those first four or maybe even six. We have good records in bowl games because the Illinois of the Big Ten beat the Tennessees of the SEC. And then we sum all of that up and say that we're on near equal footing. It's just not the reality though because we aren't winning those top matchups on a consistent basis and I definitely don't see us doing it in the scenario posed above, in which we're completely excluding their best team (Bama) and including ours (OSU).
October 4th, 2013 at 3:48 PM ^
October 4th, 2013 at 2:31 PM ^
Uh, how is throwing out Alabama reasonable? They are still a college football team and in the SEC, part of the reason the SEC is good is because of the dominance of Bama.
October 4th, 2013 at 1:12 PM ^
The tier-1 SEC teams are simply better than any other tier-1s of the major conferences, and to me, it's not even just the schedules, records, titles, etc. which I know is utlimately why the game is played. I was flipping back and forth last week between the NDvOK game and the LSUvGA game, and the level of talented play was just astoundingly different. Not top 10 vs 10-20 different, but like watching two different caliber leagues. I know this isn't really a good argument, but just an observation that really clicked for me last week. I would always admit that the SEC was the best, but argue that really they're not THAT much better since so much of the conference isn't really good (I still believe that part), and I would reference things like bowl records. I'm just starting to feel like I have been lying to myself. The middle-to-bottom of the Big 10 and Pac 12 teams may be as good, if not better than their typical bowl opponents from the SEC in that range. However, the top 3-5 SEC teams are just simply playing at a different level than anyone else.
October 4th, 2013 at 6:20 PM ^
October 4th, 2013 at 12:10 PM ^
Bob's last 3 games against the SEC:
2003 LSU (Lost)
2008 Florida(Lost)
2013 A&M (Lost)
OU's offense
2003-04: Averaged 52pts/game vs Big12. Against LSU: 14
2008-09: Averaged 56pts/game vs Big12. Against Florida: 14
2012-13: Averaged 42pts/game vs Big12. Against A&M: 13
October 3rd, 2013 at 9:38 PM ^
You don't exactly have a whole lot of wiggle room to make fun of a conference that's been wiping the floor with everyone else for the better part of the last decade, not to mention winning 7 consecutive national championships, and primed to win an 8th.
Go beat the SEC and then maybe you can make fun of it.
October 3rd, 2013 at 9:52 PM ^
Miss st, Vandy, Tennessee, ole Miss, Kentucky, Mizzou have been horrible.
Arkansas, Georgia, South Carolina, & Texas A&M have been halfway good.
It's not the conference, but the top 3 teams that a class above.
October 3rd, 2013 at 10:09 PM ^
This^
Any talking point about total, top to bottom SEC dominance is as lazy as it is wrong. And if one is talking about a conference as a whole, then that is exactly what needs to be considered.
Not saying the B1G is on par with the top teams, but, for instance, NIU could easily take down Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Miss St. and Tennessee this year.
October 3rd, 2013 at 10:35 PM ^
October 3rd, 2013 at 10:40 PM ^
Their MACtion defense would give up 40 plus points.
October 3rd, 2013 at 11:12 PM ^
roughly half of the SEC is basically garbage or mediocre just like every other conference. Those teams and their fans shouldn't thump their chests about the accomplishments of other teams in the conference. They do though, and it is dumb as hell. The media wants to act as though the whole SEC is a non-stop gaunlet, but it has it's doormats just like everybody else. The SEC has earned the right to call itself the best conference over the last 7 or so years, but there is a point where the praise can become hyberbole.
Also I would argue the PAC 12 is on par with the SEC so far this year.
October 4th, 2013 at 1:21 PM ^
I completely agree with what you said, but I think the same goes for Big Ten and other conference fans who beat their chests when a middling-to-bad Big Ten team beats those middling-to-bad SEC teams in a bowl game and claim that there isn't much of a difference between the conferences. Middle-to-bottom, there probably isn't, but most people don't care about middle-to-bottom, they care about the top. And the Big Ten or really any other conference hasn't consistently performed well against the SEC at the top.
October 4th, 2013 at 7:31 AM ^
The PAC is tops right now IMO. Stanford, Oregon, UCLA, have as good a shot as any to beat the top SEC schools.
October 4th, 2013 at 9:25 AM ^
October 3rd, 2013 at 10:14 PM ^
This is the same thing that I have been for years. +1 to you sir.
October 3rd, 2013 at 10:57 PM ^
Arkansas and Georgia have been good throughout the century and Tennessee did win the first BCS title and were a very good team for years after (2001 Citrus bowl thrashing of UM included). While we wouldn't be scared of those mid-level SEC teams, the rest of the B1G and other conferences have trouble beating them as well.
October 3rd, 2013 at 11:22 PM ^
done anything noteworthy in the last five years. Saying Arkansas has been been on the level of Georgia in the 2000's is also stretching it. They have won more than 9 games(including bowl results) only 3 times since 2000. They have pretty much been average to bad in most years. Their record over that timeframe isn't that different than Sparty.
Like I said, the PAC 12 looks just as good as the SEC so far this year.
October 4th, 2013 at 9:33 AM ^
October 4th, 2013 at 7:40 AM ^
Mark Richt has been horrible against top 25 teams.
October 4th, 2013 at 9:43 AM ^
Odd comment the week after he beat top 10 LSU.
October 4th, 2013 at 10:09 AM ^
But one win this season doesn't make his overall record much better. He was stating that Georgia has been helping the SEC's resume over the course of their "domination". Which is not true. They have beat lesser teams and lost to the top teams, and have had extremely soft schedules the past few years.
October 4th, 2013 at 12:26 AM ^
By this logic, no conference has ever been "dominant." Yes, the SEC has bottom feeders just like everyone else. Doesn't change the fact that as a whole, they have damn good teams.
October 4th, 2013 at 6:26 PM ^
October 4th, 2013 at 9:21 AM ^
October 4th, 2013 at 9:23 AM ^
October 4th, 2013 at 10:39 AM ^
Remember when a middle of the road mississippi state team wiped the floor with us when we were probably the 3rd best team in the conference that year? Because I remeber it pretty vividly.
October 4th, 2013 at 11:08 AM ^
Michigan at 7-6 in 2010 was probably the 5th or 6th best team in the conference that year, behind Ohio State (12-1), Wisconsin (11-2), Michigan State (11-2), Iowa (8-5) and probably Penn State (7-6). All of those teams beat us by 10 or more points.
The bowl game itself is probably something of an outlier, too, as it was painfully clear Rodriguez had lost the team at that point.
October 4th, 2013 at 11:32 AM ^
Eh Penn state and iowa were probably equal and both were on the road, obviously we weren't good but my point is neither was the rest of the big ten. The point I was responding too was that the middle and bottom of the SEC is just as weak as other conferences and I disagreed with that, I think from top to bottom the SEC is better than the Big ten, this year the PAC 12 might be better but we don't know yet.
October 4th, 2013 at 11:43 AM ^
Penn State was on the road, though.
October 4th, 2013 at 11:55 AM ^
Thanks, for some reason I thought that was night game at kinnick we started with a pick six against them.
October 3rd, 2013 at 9:44 PM ^
SEC is not known for offense and it's not because all their defenses are amazing, they seriously lack QB talent in most years.
October 3rd, 2013 at 9:49 PM ^
October 3rd, 2013 at 9:53 PM ^
He has a title. Lost to a rampant UF team in another game. If you want to complain he lost to Boise, go ahead.
October 4th, 2013 at 12:33 AM ^
October 4th, 2013 at 12:06 PM ^
Yes. Badly
October 4th, 2013 at 2:19 AM ^
That avatar looks shockingly familiar. Welcome back?
October 4th, 2013 at 4:13 PM ^
But it was this stretch where he got that reputation-
| 37 | Sugar Bowl | L 14–21 | January 4, 2004 | 2003 | LSU | Louisiana Superdome | New Orleans, Louisiana | 79,342 | Bob Stoops |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 38 | Orange Bowl | L 19–55 | January 4, 2004 | 2004 | USC | Pro Player Stadium | Miami Gardens, Florida | 77,912 | Bob Stoops |
| 39 | Holiday Bowl | W 17–14 | December 29, 2005 | 2005 | Oregon | Qualcomm Stadium | San Diego, California | 65,416 | Bob Stoops |
| 40 | Fiesta Bowl | L 42–43 | January 1, 2007 | 2006 | Boise State | University of Phoenix Stadium | Glendale, Arizona | 73,719 | Bob Stoops |
| 41 | Fiesta Bowl | L 28–48 | January 2, 2008 | 2007 | West Virginia | University of Phoenix Stadium | Glendale, Arizona | 70,016 | Bob Stoops |
| 42 | BCS NCG | L 14–24 | January 1, 2001 | 2008 | Florida | Dolphin Stadium | Miami Gardens, Florida | 70,016 | Bob Stoops |
October 3rd, 2013 at 9:50 PM ^
I don't disagree with Stoops in the sense that the SEC crows about the defense until they have competent offenses, at which point they argue that their offenses are unstoppable and that's why the defenses are struggling. There was an immense amount of defensive attrition from the draft/Saint Saban Memorial, so it makes sense that the defenses are going to struggle. But it should be interesting to see what happens if an SEC team does play for the title and runs into a program like Oregon who can run it up on anyone.
October 3rd, 2013 at 10:02 PM ^
The loss of Colorado and Missouri didn't really hurt the Big 12, except for the number of members, but Nebraska and especially Texas A&M is directly affecting the Big 12.
October 3rd, 2013 at 10:07 PM ^
I haven't checked in a few days, but as I recall, Big 12 teams do figure heavily among some of the better scoring defenses in Division I at least this season to date. That being said, I would tend to agree with those who might say that Stoops might have to present a more dynamic, layered arguement for elements of his claim here.
October 4th, 2013 at 8:06 AM ^
According to the NCAA's website, you are right. However, most of those games have been against cupcakes.