Is SEC truly the nation’s best?
ACC, Big Ten have arguments
HOOVER, Ala. — When LSU’s Ed Orgeron matter of factly declared the SEC as “the best conference in the United States,” he was mostly preaching to the choir in the league’s backyard.
But the Southeastern Conference’s once-undisputed status as college football’s top league is facing strong challenges from both the ACC and Big Ten despite Alabama’s efforts.
The Crimson Tide certainly remains formidable as ever, if not invincible, at the top. Beyond that, there’s plenty of uncertainty — and in some cases mediocrity — in a league that won seven straight national titles from 2006-12.
“If you’re trying to hit a moving target on this date and say, ‘Is the SEC the best league right now?’, the answer is no,” SEC Network analyst and talk show host Paul Finebaum said Tuesday at media days. “I think it’s probably the ACC. It’s marginal and you can come back and say, ‘Yeah but…’
“Results matter, and the SEC has lost two times in the last four years to the ACC.”
Clemson toppled the Tide on a last-second touchdown at the national championship game in January. Florida State claimed the title with a win over Auburn four years earlier.
The ACC isn’t the only league mounting a challenge to the SEC’s supremacy.
The Big Ten finished with four teams ranked in the Top 10 in the final AP poll. The league went 3-7 in bowl games.
The ACC enjoyed an 8-3 postseason romp while the SEC’s 12 bowl teams managed just a .500 postseason record.
The SEC sent a four-loss Auburn team to the Sugar Bowl, its most prominent non-playoff game. The Tigers lost 35-19 to Oklahoma.
Still, SEC teams are faring well on the recruiting trail, with half of the top 12 signing classes in the 247Sports composite rankings this year. Alabama was No. 1 and Georgia only two spots back.
For Finebaum, the difference comes down to the head coaches.
The ACC has national championship coaches in Clemson’s Dabo Swinney and Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher, along with ex-SEC head men Mark Richt (Miami) and Bobby Petrino (Louisville).
The Big Ten starts with Ohio State’s Urban Meyer, who led Florida to a pair of national titles, and Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh topping the pecking order. The days of a Steve Spurrier-Saban-Meyer SEC coaching Mount Rushmore are past.
“What do you have now in the SEC? I mean, after Saban, who’s next?” Finebaum said. “There’s no clear second-best coach. And even if you come up with that answer, it’s not concrete.”