The SEC

[Rebel]

 

[BlueStateSaint]

 

Remember, an SEC school gave us Bill Clinton, too.

[Rebel]

Remember, an SEC school gave us Bill Clinton, too.

What school? If you're referring to the swine from Arkiesaw, they weren't in the SEC yet.

[BlueStateSaint]

What school? If you're referring to the swine from Arkiesaw, they weren't in the SEC yet.

When did they join?

[Rebel]

When did they join?

1991, along with SC.

[BlueStateSaint]

But, they were in when Clinton claimed them in 1994, after they had won the basketball championship, so I count him as one of yours.

And that's all that matters . . . !

[docstew]

 

Missing quite a few titles there Reb. Auburn in football in 2010, LSU before them, etc. Hell Florida has more major sport natl championships since 2001 than the big 10.
 

[Rebel]

Missing quite a few titles there Reb. Auburn in football in 2010, LSU before them, etc. Hell Florida has more major sport natl championships since 2001 than the big 10.
 

That's current title holders, Stew. Looks like we now have another. Bubba Watson, UGA grad, current Masters champion.

[Tantal]

I've got full-on wood waiting for Florida to roll into College Station on September 8th. I know that the first few years are going to be brutal, but I like our chances of eventually becoming competitive, being the only Texas school in the SEC. I know that most SEC folks didn't want us, but I think that you'll reconsider once those checks start rolling in from the expanded footprint and renegotiated TV contracts.

[Revolution]

Talk, talk, talk. You guys just watch Beilema, Montee Ball, and the Badger crew blow the roof off of the NCAA this coming season.

[Rebel]

I've got full-on wood waiting for Florida to roll into College Station on September 8th. I know that the first few years are going to be brutal, but I like our chances of eventually becoming competitive, being the only Texas school in the SEC. I know that most SEC folks didn't want us, but I think that you'll reconsider once those checks start rolling in from the expanded footprint and renegotiated TV contracts.

Not true. It was a mixed bag on A&M with most people I know wanting A&M. It was Mizzou that no one wanted. They'd be a better fit for the B1G. Not really anything "southeastern" about Mizzou. T A&M was a perfect fit, but man, y'all gotta get some cheerleaders. FEMALE cheerleaders.

[Tantal]

T A&M was a perfect fit, but man, y'all gotta get some cheerleaders. FEMALE cheerleaders.

Screw THAT! I know that cheerleaders make for nice eye candy, but nobody really follows their lead. If you ever go to a game at Kyle Field, you'll see what I mean. The yells (not "cheers") are deafening.

So, which is your school? I'm assuming Ole Miss based on your user name. If so, y'all are in an even worse predicament than us.

[Rebel]

Screw THAT! I know that cheerleaders make for nice eye candy, but nobody really follows their lead. If you ever go to a game at Kyle Field, you'll see what I mean. The yells (not "cheers") are deafening.

So, which is your school? I'm assuming Ole Miss based on your user name. If so, y'all are in an even worse predicament than us.

I hope you Aggies come into the SEC with that type of arrogance.




Funny how all this shit talk ramped up the past 2 years. No one was saying anything 3 and 4 years ago when we won back to back cotton bowls (won one with Eli as well in, IIRC, 2003), and beat LSU in the first two officially named "Magnolia Bowls". BTW, those two cotton bowls? One was against Texas Tech in their 1-loss season and we were 8-4. We beat'em 47-34 because Nutt downed the ball in Tech's red zone with about a minute and a half to go. The next year we beat Oklahoma State who had 3 losses 21-7. We were 8-4 that year as well. Ole Miss isn't bottom of the pack. We're just the most inconsistent team in the conference. Nutt f'ed up ROYALLY getting that idiot Masoli from Oregon who had only one year left of eligibility. Last year was completely f'ed up due to the year prior and not developing a QB.

One of our main problems has been coaching. Hopefully Freeze, former coach for Arkansas State, 2011 Sunbelt champion, will change that. Freeze was actually Coach Cotton in The Blindside, or, should I say, he was the real coach at Briarcrest Cristian.

Oh, and tell your QB to watch out for this guy:

http://rivals.yahoo.com/footballrecruiting/football/recruiting/player-Channing-Ward-98175;_ylt=AlvF3U175GfU9PPHPXCbGKNDPZB4

 

Even the low-tier SEC teams have tough defenses. Not saying you won't be successful. IMO you'll have an easier transition than Missouri, but SEC speed on defense is no myth.

[Tantal]

The old meme that there's no speed in the Big 12 is nonsense. Our DBs may have been gashed last year, but it was due to poor technique, not because they were slow. We've got a salty O-line coming back with Joeckel and Matthews at the tackle positions. RB (Michael/Malena/Trey Williams) looks excellent as well. WRs (Swope/Nwuchukwu) are better than average. Our only real offensive concern is breaking in a new and unproven QB (either Jamiell Showers, Soph. or Johnny Manziel, Fr-RS). The upside is that both of them are extremely fast. The DBs don't worry me as much this year because the SEC generally doesn't sling it like the Big 12. My primary concern is the D-line. Our defensive linemen aren't SEC-caliber anyway, plus, we have NO depth there.

Not sure if you keep close tabs on these things, but we hired Kevin Sumlin from the University of Houston as HC and Kliff Kingsbury as OC. They're Mike Leach disciples that are known for their "air raid" offenses. It's not so much the run-and-shoot as it is getting people into space. Expect a lot of screens, swing passes, and quick slants....mostly high-percentage throws that a new QB can make, rather than trying to just pound it up the gut.

I know that Ole Miss was good for a few years, but y'all really fell off last year...2-10 IIRC. It just seems that y'all have a slightly deeper hole to claw yourselves out of than we do. Surprisingly, I'm actually more concerned about LaTech than Florida. We get the Gators at home and everyone knows they'll have to lace 'em up tight. LaTech is a total sleeper team. They're bringing back 19 starters from a legit 2011 squad, so this is a complete trap game for us.

Because of the last minute scheduling due to conference realignment, we had to schedule 2 FCS teams (South Carolina State and Sam Houston State/FCS national finalists last year). That means that we have to go 7-5 to be bowl eligible. With the new coaching staff, new QB, and tougher conference, I couldn't complain about 7-5.

[Rebel]

The old meme that there's no speed in the Big 12 is nonsense. Our DBs may have been gashed last year, but it was due to poor technique, not because they were slow. We've got a salty O-line coming back with Joeckel and Matthews at the tackle positions. RB (Michael/Malena/Trey Williams) looks excellent as well. WRs (Swope/Nwuchukwu) are better than average. Our only real offensive concern is breaking in a new and unproven QB (either Jamiell Showers, Soph. or Johnny Manziel, Fr-RS). The upside is that both of them are extremely fast. The DBs don't worry me as much this year because the SEC generally doesn't sling it like the Big 12. My primary concern is the D-line. Our defensive linemen aren't SEC-caliber anyway, plus, we have NO depth there.

Not sure if you keep close tabs on these things, but we hired Kevin Sumlin from the University of Houston as HC and Kliff Kingsbury as OC. They're Mike Leach disciples that are known for their "air raid" offenses. It's not so much the run-and-shoot as it is getting people into space. Expect a lot of screens, swing passes, and quick slants....mostly high-percentage throws that a new QB can make, rather than trying to just pound it up the gut.

I know that Ole Miss was good for a few years, but y'all really fell off last year...2-10 IIRC. It just seems that y'all have a slightly deeper hole to claw yourselves out of than we do. Surprisingly, I'm actually more concerned about LaTech than Florida. We get the Gators at home and everyone knows they'll have to lace 'em up tight. LaTech is a total sleeper team. They're bringing back 19 starters from a legit 2011 squad, so this is a complete trap game for us.

Because of the last minute scheduling due to conference realignment, we had to schedule 2 FCS teams (South Carolina State and Sam Houston State/FCS national finalists last year). That means that we have to go 7-5 to be bowl eligible. With the new coaching staff, new QB, and tougher conference, I couldn't complain about 7-5.

My buddy is thinking ya'll will go 9-3:

http://www.sportsandgrits.com/2012/06/missouri-and-anm-schedule-breakdowns.html

...though I disagree with him. I've explained our past two years. We've ONLY been successful with pro-style QB's. We were with Snead, we were with Manning. Nutt tried this bullshit experiment of bringing in Jeremiah Masoli, with only ONE year eligibility in a rebuilding year. That was when he should have been developing a young QB. He squandered it. I expect JC transfer Bo Wallace to be the QB next year. He has his own JC accolades. Ole Miss, IMO, is going to be the SEC sleeper.

[Tantal]

My buddy is thinking ya'll will go 9-3:

I would absolutely drop a load in my shorts if we went 9-3, but it's not going to happen. Good luck to your Rebs, and feel free to swing by TexAgs.com for some good football discussion and trash talk in the first week of October. BTW, I hope y'all absolutely disembowel the 'Whorns.

[Rebel]

September is going to be a brutal month for us, look at our schedule. Just hired a new coach and he runs a spread option offense. I HATE that offense. Bo Wallace is a pro-style, not a dual-threat.

[Tantal]

September is going to be a brutal month for us, look at our schedule.

Texas is pretty good (at least their defense is), but by no means unbeatable. Agreed that you'll probably get mudholed by 'Bama in Tuscaloosa. Central Arky, UTEP, and Tulane shouldn't be that daunting. You could end September at 3-2 or 4-1 depending on how the Texas game goes, but the schedule doesn't get any easier.

[Rebel]

BTW, I'm actually looking forward to getting A&M into the SEC. We get Texas players in the SEC now, but this will open up even more due to TV exposure. We're not greedy in the SEC. Everything is shared. Yes, I know ALL about the Tsips network. All other teams were treated like chattel by UT. Mizzou is gonna have to grow on me. .....in 10-20 years or so. Also BTW, we do have dude cheerleaders with the big cones on the sidelines.

[Rebel]

We play in Oxford on the 6th of October. If you go, you HAVE to get to "The Grove". It was ranked 5th in the nation from the "tailgate commissioner".

[Tantal]

Granted, we ended up losing both of these in the end, but we held decent leads at one time. The defense just unraveled in the Cotton Bowl against LSU once MLB Michael Hodges went down. He didn't have Von Miller's talent, but he was truly the QB of the defense. The Arky loss is all on Coach DeRuyter. He kept covering the same receiver with the same linebacker and with the same results. As you'll see from the video, speed ain't gonna be a problem. Watch the RB that takes the handoff @ 3:32. It's Trey Williams, the incoming freshman. The dude single-handedly won a 5A state title for Spring Dekaney. Had offers from most of the SEC, including 'Bama, but we got him. Total beast.

[youtube=425,350]IIedP1g9HzE[/youtube]

[Rebel]

Not talking about your offensive speed. Of course it's fast. So is the rest of the Big-12, "B1G", and PAC. Problem is, our defensive guys run between a 4.3-4.6 in the 40. Like I said, it's not a myth. The SEC doesn't win 6 consecutive NC's on offense alone and if Texas would have been playing an SEC team instead of USC in their last NC, that SEC team would have shut Vince Young down. Think about this, the awesome Tim Tebow was knocked out by a dismal Kentucky defense that had his ass puking when he was taken out.

[Rebel]

You guys have a young coach, a good coach. He'll adapt. Also, think about this, Coach Francione couldn't do shit in the SEC.

[Tantal]

Also, think about this, Coach Francione couldn't do shit in the SEC.

Couldn't do shit in the Big 12 either, which is why we ran his ass off 5 years ago. Mike Sherman, for all his faults, righted the ship to a certain degree. I agreed with his firing, but I think that he's a good man and a helluva offensive coordinator and recruiter. I think that we'll look back at the Sherman era and determine that he helped rebuild the program, regardless of the wins and losses. Most of our recruits balked once we fired him, but Sumlin was able to keep them all but Bralon Addison, who eventually committed to Oregon. I think that within 4 years we're going to be competing for the West. I also think that we'll win an SEC title before Arky does.

[Tantal]

Not talking about your offensive speed. Of course it's fast. So is the rest of the Big-12, "B1G", and PAC. Problem is, our defensive guys run between a 4.3-4.6 in the 40. Like I said, it's not a myth.

The myth is that all speed is concentrated in the SEC, which is incorrect. You do realize that Texas A&M won the national title in Track in 2011, right? The problem isn't speed, it's power and depth on the front 7. All football power comes from the ass and quads. If you look at SEC teams, LSU and 'Bama in particular, their front 7 all have HUGE asses and legs. We just need to get our training up to speed, starting in Jr. High. Like it or not, Texas is where the talent is, at least in terms of pure numbers. Hell, Oklahoma and Okie Lite couldn't field a team if not for Texas. If we can steal the cream of the crop from UT, we'll be fine.

I'd love to go to a game at Oxford; unfortunately, time, money, and kids are a severe obstacle. One of the things on my bucket list, once I retire, is to either buy or rent an RV and hit every TAMU game in one season. It may be College Station one week, then Auburn, then CS, then Tuscaloosa, then CS, then Oxford, then CS, then Columbia. If possible, you should try a game at Kyle Field. You won't find a better gameday experience and more hospitable people anywhere in the country.