Courtesy: Bleacher Report
*FAN SUBMISSION by Jack Holland of San Francisco.*
Undeniably, the number one team in the nation is undefeated reigning champion Alabama. But outside of Alabama, who else is there in the SEC? The only real challenge left for the Crimson Tide is at home against #4 LSU. The SEC has seven teams in the AP Top 25 (that’s more than 25% for those keeping score at home)! Four teams in the top 20 have one loss and they all come from the SEC. The other 16 teams? They’re undefeated.
It’s an event when the the preseason polls are released in the fall. College football is just around the corner. But there’s way too much stock put into preseason rankings. Take last year for instance. USC was ranked #1, Arkansas #8 and West Virginia #11 in the preseason poll. At the end of the year, these “powerhouses” didn’t even crack the top 25. The lesson here? Don’t judge a book by its cover. Preseason polls are based largely on last season’s results. Teams rarely resemble the previous squad that left the field eight months prior.
Look at some early season results. Clemson downs Georgia. Miami shellacks Florida. Arkansas loses to ACC newcomer Rutgers. Missouri is the only undefeated team in the SEC and Indiana is their best win of the young season.
When it’s all said and done, Alabama will probably be in the national title game again this year. Maybe the SEC will crown another national champion. But maybe this year will be different. Nick Saban’s team is not as electric or tested than in years prior. Let’s give them props for beating a gutsy Texas A&M squad. But they beat an average Virginia Tech team and posted a lackluster performance against an over matched Colorado State. Is this a down year for the SEC?
The SEC will beat each other up in conference play, but they’re not going to rack up the same power points this year. The early non-conference match ups are going to add up and hurt the them. They won’t have the strength of schedule to prop them up at the end of the year.
My bet? We’re going to see a team from outside the SEC holding up the national championship trophy in Pasadena.
