What Outside Fans Love and Hate About The SEC

Everybody who has followed college football or even college sports in the past 30 years has a passionate opinion of the SEC. One way or another, you have an opinion of the conference. There are some absolute truths, some half-truths, and some incredibly biased opinions involved with this feeling that you have. It is important to try to acknowledge these truths and move towards a greater knowledge of what we have with the SEC. So what do we have with this conference?

The SEC is a football based conference that has had a team at or near the #1 spot in the sport since about 2003. A team has won the NCAA championship from the SEC in 8 of the last 10 years. Those championships include 7 straight from 2006-2012. The conference also contains one of the most dominant basketball team ever in the Kentucky Wildcats who have won 8 national championships (2nd to only UCLA with 11). Kentucky leads all schools in winning percentage all-time in basketball. This conference is widely regarded as the cream of the crop when it comes to baseball and softball success as well. The numbers surely seem to back this up. Outside of those sports, the conference boasts several nationally recognized teams that have had continued success in a variety of sports.

Outside of the conference it is widely acknowledged that the SEC has the best football conference. They have the most dominant team and they have several elite programs. The conference has some fantastic schools both athletically and academically. They are to be respected. There are some fantastic all-around programs that the conference boasts. Those schools are to be respected for the programs that they have.

Fans of the conference are very vocal about that success. They continually boast of success by any SEC team in any sport and use it as confirmation bias that their conference cannot be beat in anything. That is where the hate comes in. SEC West fans were trying to act like undefeated FSU and Ohio State teams cannot compete in the SEC West. Not that they would finish 2nd or 3rd, the argument is that they would magically be below .500 in the conference. That the nation's elite programs would struggle to tread water. That they'd be worst than Arkansas. That the SEC is the best in every sport because Alabama and LSU are elite in football.

Let's start there with the dominance across sports. As a conference, the SEC typically boasts the national champion. There is no arguing 8 out of 10. However, football dominance is not overall sport dominance for the history of time. As of July 2015 (when last combined champs summary was released) the SEC had a total of 267 titles across all sports, but that number is smashed by just 3 schools in the Pac 12....UCLA, Southern Cal, and Stanford have a combined 323 titles across all sports. That is 56 more titles by 3 schools than all 14 SEC schools combined. Do not talk to us about sustained dominance across all sports. Feel free to brag about baseball, football, and/or softball success, but don't go overboard.

Now to football...
The SEC is the best conference. However, it is not untouchable. Were another elite program to join, they would still be elite. That team might finish 2nd or 3rd behind Alabama, perhaps LSU, or even Auburn in a good year, but they'd still win. The school wouldn't be treading water. They wouldn't be Arkansas...oh and Arkansas was not the best 6-6 team ever, They were 6-6 and there was a reason for it. 6-6 teams aren't magically 13-0 in other conferences. Maybe a game or 2 difference, but they aren't magically playoff contenders elsewhere in the Power 5.Oh and while the SEC West is elite, the SEC East is hot garbage in football. Missouri went from Big 12 bottom feeder to 2x SEC East champ. The West is the best division in Power 5, but you could argue the East as the worst. So don't get too carried away.

What can the SEC brag about though?
They can brag about their team being fantastic in the best football conference in the nation. For Alabama that means being the best against the best. Why a team with 4 national championships in recent history would want to share that success as conference pride is beyond me. Live it up Alabama! Your team has been kicking everyone's ass!! Do not degrade yourself by chanting for your conference in some collectivist nonsensical movement. Embrace your team. Why the heck are you rooting for your top rival to knock off FSU in the national championship? Seriously? Rooting for your rival.....You could be the class of sports, but you chose things like "keep the title in Alabama" ? Come on man!!!! You are the fanbase in the country most entitled to brag and enjoy your ride. IMO you ruin it a bit when you give others credit.

Kentucky brag about what you have done in basketball. Brag about that all day. Enjoy it.

Auburn don't claim the titles that you didn't win. Enjoy the ones you won legit.

Ole Miss you don't win titles and you are only relevant now because your coach paid athletes. Don't start....

Mississippi State you have never won a national title in any sport, just stop...

South Carolina you won some baseball titles, but you can't even win the SEC East. No, you wouldn't be a playoff contender elsewhere...

No, there won't be an all-SEC playoff. No, you won't get 3 teams. Yes, another team could possibly win. Yes, football and sports exist outside the SEC. If you would just acknowledge that as an SEC fan, you wouldn't be so despised.

Just enjoy being the top dog in football. Enjoy being perhaps the best overall conference. Please just don't go overboard. If you are an Alabama fan that does not do the constant conference brag, mad props to you. Respect to that program for the dominance it has provided. Don't be so willing to share. Enjoy what Nick has done.

Next week I will go over the current state of all FSU sports. Until then, have a great one.

-Noland

Reaction to Round 1 of the 2016 NFL Draft

Round One of the 2016 NFL Draft is in the books and as always there are some winners and some losers. Well what we think are winners and losers anyway, it is hard to truly evaluate a draft until we are three years out. Regardless, I will break down what I saw last night and what to look forward to tonight....

Winners

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jaguars were able to sit there at 5 and still end up with the best player in the draft. Jalen Ramsey is a rare talent that few teams get to employ. He is an All-American sprinter and long jumper in addition to his incredible football skills and IQ. If you want to see perhaps the greatest defensive tape of one athlete one game in 20 years, put on the tape of the 2014 Miami game. Ramsey willed the Seminoles to victory that night. He also completely leaped an offensive line to get to a field goal kick on multiple occasions. The dude is just an incredible athlete.

Cleveland Browns

The Browns showed tremendous patience for once and that perhaps they finally are on the right track. They did not take a QB they did not like. Instead this team got numerous draft picks with which they can rebuild their team the right way. They can now, at least in theory, have the proper infrastructure in place for a new QB when that pick does happen. The Browns traded down to 15 and still got the guy that they wanted at WR.

San Francisco 49ers

This team lucked out even more than the Jaguars. They sat at 7 and were able to get a guy who I believe is the 2nd best healthy prospect in this draft. DeForest Buckner is just massive and will create havoc at the next level. The 49ers instantly upgraded their pass rush with this selection.

Losers

Ole Miss Rebels

How can a team with 3 first round draft picks have been the losers of the draft?

Well, two of those players fell several spots because of questionable behavior off the field. Nkemdiche's issues are well documented and old news, but Laremy Tunsil was the story of draft night and not in a good way. Tunsil slipped several spots due to a video surfacing of him taking a bong hit leaking minutes before the draft. The video came from Tunsil's own Twitter account, which he claimed was hacked. However, he did not dispute the video that was clearly him, instead saying that it is an old video and that it was not him. Now we know that at least in the past, he clearly enjoyed the wacky weed like his former teammate

Later in the night, on Tunsil's instagram was evidence of Tunsil receiving improper benefits from the school. This could and should add a lot of fuel to the fire of those saying that Ole Miss is paying players. The program that suddenly came from nowhere to get top 5 recruiting classes consistently. Something stunk and Tunsil's social media hacks seem to be shining a big spotlight on the stench.

Oh, and uh, Laremy you might want to delete all social media from "hacks."

Myles Jack

This one breaks my heart because Myles Jack is an absolutely terrific football player that busted his butt for this opportunity. He did not get drafted in Round 1 though over concerns over his medical and potential issues with his knee that might require reconstructive surgery. This is truly a sad tale for Jack whom if healthy is my #2 player behind only Ramsey. Hopefully, the medical reports are a false alarm and he ends up in the best possible situation for him. This guy really seems like a class act.

Green Bay Packers

This was a draft that was rich in interior line depth. It makes very little sense to me why the Packers reached on a guy with short arms that has a high amount of broken tackles when the position of need was inside linebacker. They needed a inside linebacker to move Matthews outside and there is more value in this spot taking that position in this draft. Clark has the potential to be an inside force and BJ Raji did just retire, but there were better players and even better tackles available.

How did the Bucs do?

The Buccaneers did indeed trade down from 9 to accumulate a pick and make a selection. I had prepared myself for the Bucs taking Hargreaves, because the writing did appear to be on the wall for this pick. At least they got another pick in the process by moving down two slots. I don't feel great about the pick because Hargreaves seemed to struggle against bigger, more physical receivers (Kelvin Benjamin torched him in 2013). However, I'm okay with it and think he will be a decent professional. I am terrified for him when Tampa faces Julio Jones and Kelvin Benjamin though. Hopefully, they will be matched up against Grimes and not Hargreaves.

What is left for the Seminoles?

Multiple possible picks in the later rounds and a sure thing at kicker that will go sometime between rounds 2-4. I like the two linebackers as special team players and depth moves. Terrance Smith and Reggie Northrup show capability to be good special teams guys. I also really like Nile Lawrence-Stample in the later rounds. Unfortunately, for Stample he plays the most loaded position in the draft. Should be interesting to see what happens...I will let you know how I feel about each players landing spots next week!

What is to follow should be quite interesting....

Stay tuned for my complete reaction to the entire draft and for my recap of predictions from last football season....

-Noland