Conference supremacy is always a popular debate among college football fans. Who is the best overall? Who is the deepest? Who has the most national title contenders? Whose easy conference schedule is the reason for their inflated record? Should the SEC Champion automatically play in the BCS championship game? The list goes on.
There are several ways to rate a conference. Many different analysts have their models and formulas, but those numbers are often an afterthought in bar rooms and message board debates. High profile games leave lasting impressions in the minds of fans and control a conference’s reputation. Below we take a look at some of the games the SEC will play this year that will reinforce its reputation as the nation’s top conference or give its myriad detractors ammunition.
LSU v. North Carolina 09/04 Atlanta
The Chick-Fil-A kickoff has served as the SEC’s season opening showcase beat down of the ACC each of the last two years. The dominant victories Alabama has achieved have helped solidify the conference’s reputation. This game should be much closer. UNC brings in its hyped defense, and Les Miles will be looking to save his job. LSU has been going downhill since their national championship and will be vulnerable in this game. If they lose, look for the ACC fans to crow about the game all season.
Northwestern v. Vanderbilt 09/04 Nashville
Northwestern and Vanderbilt each have the reputation of being the cellar dwellers of the Big 10 and SEC. Any Big 10 fan or SEC fan who wants to talk about depth top to bottom will have to talk about this game. Vanderbilt seemed like the easy pick a few months ago, but with Bobby Johnson gone, this could be an opportunity for the Big 10 to strut.
Alabama v. Penn State 09/11 Tuscaloosa
This is another Big 10 – SEC match-up that will inform many opinions. If Alabama loses, get ready to hear about the end of the SEC’s golden age. If Alabama wins, get ready to hear the Big 10 say Penn State isn’t that good anyway. This should be an interesting game to see Penn State’s defense pitted against Alabama’s experienced offense and Alabama’s young defense against Penn State’s offense.
Oregon v. Tennessee 09/11 Knoxville
Tennessee has made some embarrassing news lately regarding out of conference scheduling. Their refusal to play North Carolina is sad for a once proud program. This game is expected to go Oregon’s way, so it will influence people’s opinions only if something unexpected happens. If Oregon wins big or if Tennessee pulls off the upset the then this game might become suddenly meaningful.
Clemson v. Auburn 09/18 Auburn
SEC – ACC match-ups always generate plenty of buzz because of the proximity of many of the conferences’ schools. These teams are getting similar preseason hype. Both have coaches coming off their first full season and are hyping their quarterbacks. Both are considered contenders for their division titles. The winner of this game will give its conference a lot to claim in the supremacy talk.
West Virginia v. LSU 09/25 Baton Rouge
The Big East and the SEC don’t meet that often. West Virginia has played a home and home with Auburn and is playing more quality out of conference games. This should be an interesting match-up and could mean Les Miles’ job if he loses after previously losing to North Carolina. Even against a declining prgram, winning in Baton Rouge would be special for any opponent, especially a Big East one.
Arkansas v. Texas A&M 10/9 Dallas
The Jerry Jones Bowl will get plenty of media coverage. By early October we should have a good idea about how good these teams really are (if at all). This pretty much the only high profile match-up with the Big 12 (Georgia plays Colorado, but that probably won’t matter much, see below). In many ways this game is similar to the Oregon/Tennessee game. Arkansas is expected to win, so it will take something unforeseen to make this game a strong argument for either conference.
Rivalry Week 11/27
Florida v. Florida State
Georgia v. Georgia Tech
South Carolina v. Clemson
These SEC-ACC match-ups are always big opinion makers for those on the outside. They are such big games for the fans of the teams playing that the bragging rights of the game itself usually overshadow the conference implications. The conference supremacy argument that comes along with the win is just salt to rub in your rival’s wound. Just look at last year when the SEC swept these three games before two of the ACC teams played for their conference title.
There are many other out of conference games the SEC will play this year that won’t have the same impact on the conference’s reputation as these listed. For the most part, the SEC is expected to win and little will be extrapolated about the conference from those games. The big caveat, however, is the upset. If the conference teams get upset, then that will be another story altogether.
And as fun as it is to talk about whose conference is better and as many arguments depend on one team playing in a better conference than another, there are serious implications to perceived conference strength. When the voters decide who to make number one or number two and when they decide who to send to the BCS or the BCS championship game, you can rest assured that they will have the outcomes of these games in the forefront of their minds.
Stick with leftoverhotdog.com for more on Conference Supremacy as the season unfolds.
