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

Super Conference Option 2

A while back before any of us knew what the college football playoff would look like, I cautioned that we should be realistic about it. In this article I said that it won't solve everything. That was way back in December 2013 and early returns and rankings look like I am right. Controversy is sure to follow, but is there a better solution? Expanding the playoffs is truly not the answer so I came up with two other options. So this option is my 3rd. This is the 2nd Super Conference Option, but my third option overall.

Option 1
Option 2

This option is very similar to Option 2. In fact, you could say it's the same thing. There is one major difference though, in this scenario the Big 12 beats the ACC to the punch and expands to 20 first. This is actually started by the Big 10 who takes Virginia and Duke. Therefore, the conferences align differently and different teams will be left out. The rivalries will also shift slightly as a result, but here are the ground rules again.
"4 conferences
20 teams
2 divisions in each conference
9 intra-division matchups
1 rotating opponent from the other division
1 cross-division rivalry game
1 out of conference rivalry game
These rivals will be posted in parentheses next to the teams below
Some teams are without a true cross division rival, so I will have to make up a rivalry."

BIG Conference (Formerly Big 10)
Eastern Division
Boston College      (Notre Dame, Miami)
Duke                     (Northwestern, North Carolina)
Indiana                  (Purdue, Vanderbilt)
Maryland               (Nebraska , North Carolina State)
Ohio State              (Michigan, Cincinnati)
Penn State              (Iowa, Temple)
Pittsburgh               (Wisconsin, West Virginia)
Rutgers                  (Minnesota, Louisville)
Syracuse                 (Illinois, Tennessee)
Virginia                  (Michigan State, Virginia Tech)
Western Division
Illinois                   (Syracuse, California)
Iowa                      (Penn State, Iowa State)
Michigan                (Ohio State, Stanford)
Michigan State        (Virginia, Oregon)
Minnesota               (Rutgers, UCLA)
Nebraska                 (Maryland, Oklahoma)
Northwestern           (Duke, Washington)
Notre Dame             (Boston College, Southern Cal)
Purdue                     (Indiana, Arizona)
Wisconsin                (Pittsburgh, Arizona State)

The first strike against a former Power 5 conference in this scenario is Duke and Virginia leaving the ACC for the Big 10. After that major coup, Notre Dame decides to join the Big 10 figuring the ACC is done for. Once the Group of 5 leaves for the Big 10, Syracuse, BC, and Pitt are practically begging to join the Big 10.

Let's look at the updated Ohio State schedule and see how the Big 10 improved. Actual opponent in parentheses unless it is the same opponent.

8/30 Ohio State @ Boston College (@Navy)
9/6   Virginia @ Ohio State (Virginia Tech)
9/13  Syracuse @ Ohio State (Kent State)
9/27  Cincinnati @ Ohio State
10/4  Ohio State @ Maryland
10/18 Rutgers @ Ohio State
10/25 Ohio State @ Penn State
11/1  Ohio State @ Pittsburgh (Illinois Home)
11/8  Ohio State @ Duke (@ Michigan State)
11/15 Ohio State @ Minnesota
11/22 Indiana @ Ohio State
11/29 Michigan @ Ohio State

You add a road game under this scenario for Ohio State and you replace Virginia Tech, Kent State, and Illinois with Virginia, Syracuse, and Pittsburgh. Those are all upgrades in my opinion. The one downgrade may be Duke v. Michigan State, but that is highly debatable as Duke is a quality opponent. Then Ohio State will likely have to face Michigan State in the title IF they win this side.

Liberty Conference (Formerly Big 12)
Eastern Division
Central Florida       (Baylor, East Carolina)
Cincinnati              (Iowa State, Ohio State)
Clemson                (Texas, South Carolina)
Florida State           (Oklahoma, Florida)
Georgia Tech          (Texas Tech, Georgia)
Marshall                 (Kansas, Kentucky)
Miami                    (Kansas State, Boston College)
Temple                   (TCU, Penn State)
Virginia Tech          (Boise State, Virginia)
West Virginia          (Oklahoma State, Pittsburgh)
Western Division
Baylor                    (Central Florida, Houston)
Boise State              (Virginia Tech, UNLV)
Iowa State                (Cincinnati, Iowa)
Kansas                     (Marshall, Missouri)
Kansas State             (Miami, Colorado)
Oklahoma                 (Florida State, Nebraska)
Oklahoma State         (West Virginia, Oregon State)
TCU                         (Temple, Southern Methodist)
Texas                        (Clemson, Texas A & M)
Texas Tech                (Georgia Tech, UTEP)

The Big 12 acts first to expand in this scenario to get to a stronger 20 than the ACC so they are the automatic qualifier. The first team they add is Boise State adding them to their stable of classic Big 12 teams to form a Western division. They then need to add 9 teams East to go with WVU. They add Central Florida, Cincinnati, Marshall, and Temple also within the first week. They are prepared to add more mid majors, but not wanting to be left out of the playoff, FSU, Clemson, and Georgia Tech decide to bring along Miami and Virginia Tech and head to the Big 12. Realizing 12 is stupid to have as the name for a conference with 20 teams, they finally change the conference name. The new Liberty Conference ends up being the strongest conference of all.

Now let's look at the Noles schedule to prove it's strength.
8/30 Florida State @ Oklahoma State (same game in Dallas)
9/6   Oklahoma @ Florida State (Citadel)
9/20  Clemson @ Florida State
9/27  Florida State @ Temple (@ North Carolina State)
10/4  Virginia Tech @ Florida State (Wake Forest)
10/11 Florida State @ Marshall (@Syracuse)
10/18 Cincinnati @ Florida State (Notre Dame)
11/1   Florida State @ Georgia Tech (@ Louisville 10/30)
11/8   Central Florida @ Florida State (Virginia)
11/15 Florida State @ Miami
11/22 Florida State @ West Virginia (Boston College Home)
11/29 Florida @ Florida State

There is no doubt that this schedule is more difficult. Georgia Tech is the 2nd best team in the ACC and the Noles would be playing them yearly. Adding Oklahoma to the schedule is no easy task. There is no more Wake Forest and Syracuse beatdown games either.

Pacific Athletic Conference (Formerly PAC 12)
Northern Division
BYU                         (UNLV, Mississippi State)
California                  (Stanford, Illinois)
Colorado                    (Fresno State, Kansas State)
Colorado State            (Nevada, Arkansas)
Oregon                       (Arizona, Michigan State)
Oregon State               (UCLA, Oklahoma State)
Utah                           (Houston, Alabama)
Utah State                   (UTEP, Memphis)
Washington                 (Southern Cal, Northwestern)
Washington State         (Arizona State, LSU)
Southern Division
Arizona                      (Oregon, Purdue)
Arizona State              (Washington State, Wisconsin)
Fresno State                (Colorado, Mississippi)
Houston                      (Utah, Baylor)
Nevada                       (Colorado State, Auburn)
Southern Cal               (Washington, Notre Dame)
Stanford                      (California, Stanford)
UCLA                         (Oregon State, Minnesota)
UNLV                         (BYU, Boise State)
UTEP                          (Utah State, Texas Tech)

The Pac 12 moves after the Big 12 and Big 10 get started, but does decent work in expansion again. Realizing they are moving to twenty and might need to change numbers again, they decide to drop the number and simply become the PAC. They also realize the Big 12 is sticking after they expand with some strong mid majors and decide to add their own mid majors, starting with BYU. Once BYU is in the fold, they add some other teams.

Let's look at Utah State's upgraded schedule to see the impact on a quality mid major.
8/31 Utah State @ UTEP (@ Tennessee)
9/6   Colorado @ Utah State (Idaho State)
9/13 Washington State @ Utah State (Wake Forest)
9/20 Utah State @ Arizona State (@ Arkansas State)
10/3 Utah State @ Oregon (@ BYU)
10/10 Washington @ Utah State (Air Force)
10/18 Utah State @ Colorado State
10/25 UNLV @ Utah State
11/1   Utah State @ Oregon State (@ Hawaii)
11/8   Utah State @ California (@ Wyoming)
11/22  Memphis @ Utah State (11/21 San Jose State)
11/29  Utah @ Utah State (@ Boise State)

Utah State actually adds a bye week on 11/15 since they have 13 regular season games. All teams that play Hawaii usually have 13 games. These guys would no longer be playing Hawaii and would no longer have the 13th game. Quality is added throughout the Utah State schedule as well as additional home games. This schedule is highlighted by trips to Arizona State and Oregon. This is a Utah State schedule I would like to see.

South Eastern Conference
Eastern Division
East Carolina             (Texas A & M, Central Florida)
Florida                      (LSU, Florida State)
Georgia                      (Auburn, Georgia Tech)
Kentucky                    (Mississippi State, Marshall)
Louisville                   (Missouri, Rutgers)
North Carolina            (Arkansas, Duke)    
North Carolina State    (Southern Methodist, Maryland)
South Carolina             (Mississippi, Clemson)
Tennessee                    (Alabama, Syracuse)
Vanderbilt                    (Memphis, Indiana)
Western Division
Alabama                  (Tennessee, Utah)
Arkansas                  (North Carolina, Colorado State)
Auburn                     (Georgia, Nevada)
LSU                         (Florida, Washington State)
Memphis                   (Vanderbilt, Utah State)
Mississippi                (South Carolina, Fresno State)
Mississippi State        (Kentucky, BYU)
Missouri                    (Louisville, Kansas)
Southern Methodist     (North Carolina State, TCU)
Texas A & M              (East Carolina, Texas)

The SEC is last to act in this scenario because they don't need to act. They are set up the best heading into the expansion. This conference knows it just needs to get to 20 and they will be set. They add East Carolina to expand into North Carolina first. After the ACC is picked apart they want the Tar Heels as well, but the Tar Heels get them to accept rival NC State along with them. Louisville is also added from the ACC and Missouri is flipped West. To strengthen the market in Texas, Southern Methodist is added along with Memphis. The SEC West is still much stronger than the East, but by adding North Carolina and Louisville, the SEC has added two schools that can compete for titles on that side of the conference from time to time.

Now let's look at Auburn's schedule since they are considered to have the toughest schedule in the country.
8/30   Arkansas @ Auburn
9/6     Memphis @ Auburn (San Jose State)
9/20   Auburn @ Missouri (9/18 @ Kansas State)
9/27   Auburn @ Southern Methodist (Louisiana Tech Home)
10/4   LSU @ Auburn
10/11 Auburn @ Mississippi State
10/25  South Carolina@ Auburn
11/1   Auburn @ Ole Miss
11/8  Texas A & M @ Auburn
11/15 Auburn @ Georgia
11/22  Nevada @ Auburn (Samford)
11/29  Auburn @ Alabama

The only replacements here are Memphis, Missouri, Southern Methodist, and Nevada for San Jose State, Kansas State, Louisiana Tech, and Samford. You can argue that each of those is an upgrade and Nevada is a huge upgrade over Samford. This schedule is a win.

Final Wrap-Up

Under this scenario the two biggest snubs are Wake Forest and Connecticut based on their placement when the BCS scenario began. UCONN was left behind once again with no conference gaining a huge strategic advantage by adding them. Wake Forest was left behind because the SEC refused to add a 4th Carolina school and the ACC Schools that left for the Big 10 and Big 12 felt no loyalty toward Wake. As the weakest ACC school currently, I believe Wake would have to act first in a scenario such as this if it felt the ACC being picked apart.

I think I like this option better than the other Super Conference Option, but I am not sure if I like it better than the relegation option. I do like keeping the historic rivalries though. How bout' that last FSU-Canes game?
Which of the three options do you like best?
In my next piece, you can find out what happens to the service academies that get left out if they get left out. It is probably the best thing for those academies.
Have a great Thanksgiving tomorrow!

-Noland

NCAA Championships By Conference (2013-2014)

There is a lot of talk about which athletic conference is the best in the country. Usually, it defaults to the SEC because of their recent dominance in football. That conference sure has been successful, but as I have argued on here I believe that talk is inflated. Historically, the SEC has overrated their value in the sports landscape and their success. They also tend to take credit for things they don't deserve (like Ole Miss taking credit for an Alabama National Title because SEC!). Now, usually I do not try to indulge this talk, but sometimes I do. However, the SEC claimed 7 National Titles for the academic year (2013-2014) when they won 6 in NCAA sanctioned sports. They are claiming a title in the non-sanctioned sport of equestrian. That is like the Pac 12 counting a title in Ultimate Frisbee because Colorado won. I'd count Frisbee before I counted Equestrian, but that's just me. What's to be expected though when Auburn and Alabama claim national titles that don't exist all the time? Right?

Anyways, I decided to use the SEC's measuring stick since they are counting titles for the 2013-2014 academic year. However, I am only counting sports that are sanctioned by the NCAA. In order to save you time, I have separated these titles by conference. Additionally, I have only counted the traditional power (BCS) conferences.

ACC (5 Championships)
Women's Golf - Duke
Men's Lacrosse - Duke
Women's Lacrosse - Maryland (Leaving for the Big 10)
Football - Florida State
Men's Soccer - Notre Dame

The ACC had a strong showing during this past academic year with 5 championships. Eventhough one of those championships was by a team that is leaving the conference for the Big 10 with 14 teams. Louisville, will be taking Maryland's spot in the ACC and has just as good a shot to compete for titles next season. More importantly though, Louisville is much more competitive than Maryland in revenue sports adding to the conferences overall profile.

Florida State's win in the biggest money generating sport was huge for the ACC. However, I must admit that the win alone did not meet my expectations for Florida State overall. I thought that FSU would deliver two National Championships and they were very competitive in several, but not champions. The closest team was the Women's Soccer team that lost the championship to UCLA. Close doesn't count though and FSU fell short of my prediction. Can't complain about being champs in the greatest sport though.

Finally, Duke was huge this past year. They won the most championships in the conference with 2 and got much better in football. The Blue Devils took Johnny Football to the limit in the bowl game and reached the ACC Championship in Football for the 1st time in school history. Solid, but not spectacular year from the ACC as a whole.

American Athletic Conference (3 Championships)
Men's Basketball - UCONN
Women's Basketball - UCONN
Field Hockey - UCONN

The American Athletic Conference actually did pretty well on the championship front. This conference actually outperformed another power conference in the number of championships obtained. You will find that out later, but you will notice a trend in the national titles for the AAC. Every AAC title was won by UCONN. That's right, the UCONN Huskies won 3 National Titles in the 2013-2014 academic year. This school did a fantastic job in carrying the banner for the AAC. They owned the basketball world and showed up as big as possible in several sports. With UCONN tying a few other schools with 3 championships, the AAC should not be any more proud of UCONN. The question is whether UCONN will remain in the AAC much longer.

Big 10 (5 Championships)
Rowing - Ohio State
Fencing - Penn State
Men's Gymnastics - Michigan
Wrestling - Penn State
Women's Volleyball - Penn State

The Big 10 had a great year with 5 championships. They were led by a resurgent Penn State program that seems to have risen from the ashes of the scandal in a few sports. The Nittany Lions won 3 championships across their sports programs which is tied for tops in the country. Pretty amazing for a program that looked to be in shambles in the recent past. Their dominant volleyball team won another title and they were joined by Fencing and Wrestling on the championship front. A terrific season from Penn State.
The two other power programs from the conference (Michigan and Ohio State) also picked up a national title. Ohio State looks to be one of the favorites to play in the upcoming football playoff as well. The Big 10 is healthy as a conference on the championship front.

Big 12 (2 Championships)
Women's Gymnastics - Oklahoma (Co-Champion)
Rifle - West Virginia

The Big 12 struggled more than any other conference to get championships. These guys only picked up two championships for the entire conference and one of them was a split title. The other title was in rifle which many people didn't even know was a sanctioned sport. The Big 12 has got to pick it up. However, the Oklahoma football team is looking quite strong heading into the fall behind a big Sugar Bowl win over Alabama.

Pac 12 (10 Championships)
Men's Tennis - Southern California
Women's Tennis - UCLA
Outdoor Men's Track - Oregon
Women's Water Polo - Stanford
Men's Swimming and Diving - California
Men's Indoor Track - Oregon
Women's Indoor Track - Oregon
Women's Soccer - UCLA
Men's Water Polo - Southern California
Men's Cross Country - Colorado

The Pac 12 had a dominant 2013-2014 Academic Year. These guys won 10 championships for the conference during the year which was the most out of any conference. Three programs won multiple national titles out of the Pac 12. One of those programs tied for the most in the nation by winning 3 separate national championships. Absolutely tremendous year for the Pac 12 from top to bottom.

When most people think of the Oregon Ducks, they think of all the crazy uniform combinations that the football team wears. However, Oregon is the birthplace of Nike and it was born and breed because of track. It is one of the many reasons that Oregon's track team is consistently near the top. This year the track program was beyond awesome. Oregon track won three national championships this past academic year. The men won in both indoor and outdoor, while the women won indoor. Absolutely amazing year from Oregon track.
USC and UCLA were no slouches in the past academic year when it came to sports. Each of these programs picked up a pair of national championships. Seven national championships between three schools is absolutely an incredible feat. Those three schools won more national championships than any conference just by themselves. Don't look for them to stop either. Oregon and UCLA are both strong contenders for the newly created college football playoff.

SEC (6 Championships)
Baseball - Vanderbilt
Men's Golf - Alabama
Softball - Florida
Women's Track Outdoor - Texas A&M
Women's Gymnastics - Florida (Co-Champion)
Women's Swimming and Diving - Georgia

So, we see that the SEC won the 2nd highest number of championships as a conference. An absolutely amazing job by the SEC, but not the level that their fans are promoting. They should be thrilled that they won 6 championships and proud of the conference. Everyone should be celebrating the incredible season that Vanderbilt baseball had, but that is not how they roll in the SEC. This conference has to justify that it pummels the rest of the country. It is a strong conference and better than the competition most years, but let's take a chill pill.
The SEC's championship total was boosted by the ladies of the University of Florida. They won two national titles and did so in impressive fashion. (Side Note: Interesting how when FSU girls dominate Florida it is because they were a girl school and UF doesn't care, but when UF wins its parade time). Florida had a very strong year from their women's athletic program.
The biggest win for the SEC had to be Vanderbilt's baseball championship. That championship put the SEC total at 6 and allowed them to finish in second place ahead of the ACC. Had Vanderbilt lost to the Cavaliers, the ACC would have had 6 to the SEC's 5. That awesome series victory for Vanderbilt was the banner moment of the season for the SEC.

This conference will again be strong in the 2014-2015 school year. It has several championship contenders in several sports. Next year they may pass the Pac 12 in championships, but for this year the Pac 12 reigns supreme.

-Noland

10 College Football Fanbases That Need To Pipe Down

I am not even going to pick on the horrible fanbases over @ Miami and Florida. These are 10 other groups of fans that need to quiet down.

10. Penn State
If I were a Penn State fan, I would want to be quiet during this time. The stuff that happened over there is absolutely disgusting. However, these guys somehow are on TV every week and there are some Penn State fans that are still whining.

9. Michigan Wolverines
Nobody really cares about the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry in the south. It is a meaningless rivalry that really doesn't matter. These guys always claim to be legit (I admit I bought in this year), but rarely are. They don't have the speed to play with the real elite of the nation. Michigan fans also typically think they know a lot about sports, but don't really know anything.

8. North Carolina Tar Heels
Yes, you have an amazing basketball program, no you do not have good football. You never will be elite in the ACC in football. You had to cheat to get the success you did get. Just be quiet. Plus you guys rooted for Butch Davis....

7. UCLA Bruins
Don't act like you care about football when your team starts out well. Now they lost and they will be quiet again until they win. UCLA is not USC level in football or anything, but yet when they win or before a matchup they talk trash. Just like they talked trash before they played FSU in the bowl a few years back. Then they lost and...

6. Boise State
Your team plays on a blue field and plays garbage competition. You cannot compete consistently with the nation's elite. They won't even win the Big East next year when they join. That one point win over BYU at home on your blue field is worthy of the top 25 ranking though. Keep thinking that.

5. Ohio State
You guys are on probation. Deal with it. Nobody cares about your school or your rivalry with Michigan. You barely beat UAB. You will always have Maurice Clarett though.

4. West Virginia
Really? You all are saying FSU is legit when they play a legit team like WVU. You mean the same WVU that backed out of a commitment to play FSU. Ok. Keep telling yourself that your team could take the Noles. You do realize that your team is 0-3 all time against the Noles, right? No, ok keep talking nonsense then.

3. SEC Fans
I put all SEC Fans together, because honestly if I broke them up team by team, they'd have at least 7 of the top 10 spots.
The SEC is good. They are the best conference, but they are not as good as you think they are.
Auburn got beat easily by Clemson in Week 1. Auburn took LSU to the brink yesterday. Clemson looked better against Auburn than LSU did. Oh, and Clemson beat Auburn without their best player. Clemson didn't have Sammy Watkins this year.
Vanderbilt lost to Northwestern.
Ole Miss got destroyed by Texas.
Let's not overdo it. Alabama is loaded and so is Georgia, but let's not act like every team is a title contender.
Also Arkansas and Kentucky are completely terrible.

2. Fans of Players Kicked Off the Team
I threw this one in there because every fanbase has this guy. The guy who is an apologist for some idiot that got kicked off the team. Then every time a bad play happens they say "if so and so were still here that wouldn't have happened." They do it for graduated players too. For FSU it is the Greg Reid apologists. They were out in full force last night when Greene fumbled the punt. Nevermind that Greene has 2 punt return TDs already this season and Greg Reid fumbled a return every other game, but hey its fun to say things in hindsight right? Oh Greene had a TD catch last night too and Reid's replacement at corner Waisome had the interception that ended Clemson's hope.
LSU has those guys that talk about the Honey Badger all the time.
Florida still has everyone obsessed with Tebow.
Just stop it you are annoying fans.

1. We want the backup QB
The most popular player in the stadium, the back up QB. Just remember there is a reason that the backup does not start. This fan is in every stadium at every level. The fans love the backup QB. Heck, I don't doubt that there are guys asking for Aaron Rodgers to get benched on the Packers. Believe it or not there are still Noles fans that don't believe in EJ Manuel. There are honestly Tech fans that think they would have won a national championship if they had benched Michael Vick. The fan that constantly screams for the backup QB is the most annoying and short sided fan there is. Unless your QB is Heath Shuler...

Then there are two fanbases that need to get louder
1) Seminole Fans
For years we have been mocked by those saying we are overrated and that people jumped the gun on us being back. Now with the huge win and our first title contender in years, we need to get loud.

2) Notre Dame Fans
These guys have had it worse than Seminole fans. These guys are constantly being told that their football team isn't even relevant. This is all despite the fact that they have the biggest fanbase and the best TV deal. Now that they are poised to rejoin the top 10, enjoy yourselves.

Orioles Select LSU Pitcher Kevin Gausman

The Orioles selected LSU right handed pitcher Kevin Gausman with the 4th pick in the draft which is still in its early stages on mlb.com. They made this pick after Stanford's Mark Appel, the expected #1 pick, fell to them at 4. Appel is still on the board currently. As I type this, we are currently at the #8 pick which belongs to the Pittsburgh Pirates and they just took Appel.

Gausman is the 3rd LSU player the Orioles selected in the first round. They selected Ben McDonald #1 overall in 1989 and Mike Fotenot in 2001. Both were solid, but unspectacular major league players. Although Fotenot wasn't with the Orioles. I hope Gausman is better than those because we need this pick to hit.

This season, Gausman is 11-1 with a 2.72 ERA in the extremely tough SEC. Gausman helped LSU advance to the Super Regional. Be sure to check out the future Oriole in the Baton Rouge Super Regional. Gausman has a mid to upper 90s and a plus changeup. Another thing that Gausman has is a coach with Oriole ties. Alan Dunn is Gausman's pitching coach at LSU. Small world.

Welcome to the Orioles organization, Kevin Gausman. Good luck as the college baseball playoffs continue.

-Noland

Big 12 Speculation Continues

The Big 12 sources say nothing is done yet, but rumors are abound about teams jumping to the conference. Some say it is a done deal with FSU and Clemson moving to the Big 12. They say the age of the superconference is upon us. FSU and Clemson are in and Virginia Tech is on deck. Some even say that Notre Dame is about to join the conference. Is any of it true?

Well, not quite, but it could be headed that way. We also know several pieces of information that can help us have some informed discussions on this issue.

Texas has been trying to get Notre Dame in the Big 12 since 2010 and seems to have made a little bit of headway. Unfortunately for them, Notre Dame has a TV Deal with NBC through 2015. It seems unlikely that a move would happen before then. Unlikely, but not impossible. The Big 12 could come up with some sort of unique revenue sharing for Notre Dame to work around their current deal. They do something similar for Texas and it would be difficult, but not impossible. Notre Dame would certainly bring more to the table for a Big 12 TV deal even if it was in a limited fashion.

In addition to all of that, the athletic director at Texas is saying to some in the Big 12 that he thinks Notre Dame is seriously looking at the Big 12. The most obvious point about Notre Dame in the Big 12 is that nobody knows how it would work. It will certainly be interesting to follow though.

Everyone is trying to figure out what works best for them. It is a confusing time and nobody knows for sure what will happen, including my Seminoles.

The rumor is that FSU and Clemson are talking more and more about moving as a package deal out of the ACC. FSU and Clemson would be wise to move together for travel costs, current rivalry, and other reasons. It seems that the ACC schools will have to make the move. Another rumor is that nobody wants to see the ACC de-stabilize and that either FSU and/or Clemson are going to have to make the first move.

Also apparently the SEC has told the Big 12 to see if it really wants to grow beyond 12. Is the SEC scared that in a superconference situation the Big 12 gets better than the SEC? Clemson, FSU, Notre Dame and VT together may make the Big 12 the premier conference.

A high level source in the Big 12 says the conference will end up with 12 and a half schools. That source speculated that the teams would be FSU and Clemson or FSU and Louisville. The source seemed fairly certain that FSU would be one of the teams moving. The half was for Notre Dame. It seemed that the source says the league will be 12 teams unless Notre Dame joins at which point they could move to 14. Wild stuff. I would be down for FSU playing Notre Dame every year starting in 2014 though. Sign me up for the Big 12.

-Noland

You Might Want to Put That Trophy in a Case

Nope. Whoops. Alabama's BCS title trophy shattered. A recruits dad fell on a rug next to the trophy. For some strange reason it wasn't in a display case. Incredibly, this is the third major trophy to break at an SEC school since 2008. Orson Charles who ended up going to Georgia, broke Florida's title in 2008. This past year Missouri's mascot broke the Independence Bowl trophy. The SEC needs to learn to put their trophies in a case or like the Alabama trophy they will look like this.

-Noland

Bobby Petrino Out @ Arkansas

Another "classy" SEC guy bites the dust. How he left his pro team in Atlanta was disgusting. The questionable recruiting practices at SEC institutions of course says nothing about the character of the men though (Sarcasm). If you cheat on your employer it is one thing, but hiring someone for the sole purpose of cheating on your wife is downright dirty. Man I cannot stand the SEC or its lack of character among coaches. The only one that seems to have a lot of class is Mark Richt. Sometimes there are more important things than winning and winning does not excuse all. It is one thing to have an NFL coach doing these types of things, but young people need better role models than this in college during a crucial point in their lives. I hope Petrino works everything out and is able to take care of his family while learning from his mistakes, but this is truly an unfortunate situation.

-Noland