SEC Additions: Would You Rather Be A Big or Small Fish?
ESPN is reporting that Texas A&M, Clemson, Florida State, and Missouri are likely going to join the SEC, making a 16 team superconference that will dominate college football even more than the current SEC does.
The question I have for A&M, Clemson, and Missouri fans is: Would you rather have a program like Mississippi State or like Iowa?
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Iowa football seems to pull 10 win seasons out of a hat every couple of years. They compete for major bowl bids in the less competitive Big Ten. Their record is sometimes better than the team on the field, in the sense that ten win Big Ten teams are always overrated in the polls.
Mississippi State could whip just about any of the recent Iowa teams on the field, but State's record never compares because they play in the ultra tough SEC. They'll always lose three or four games no matter how much cash the administration sinks into the program. M State has basically zero chance of winning a national championship. Their best coaches will always leave for bigger programs, as we'll see with Coach Mullen in a year or so if State has a good team. Every couple of years, maybe even every other year, they'll beat a Bama or Florida and have a big party. But it won't ever happen consistently.
Mississippi State and Iowa. One is a small fish in a big pond and one is a big fish in a slightly smaller pond.
I don't see Texas A&M, Clemson, or Missouri competing with the big fish of the SEC: Bama, LSU, Florida, and now Florida State. Just ain't gonna happen. In a conference with 16 teams, assuming they play 8 conference games, there's going to be quite a few 3-5 and 2-6 ballclubs. And fans of the lower echelon teams won't be happy. Schools that win two or three SEC games and have .500 records will go to crappy bowlgames and will churn through coaches. They'll be happy to cash the huge checks coming from SEC headquarters, but do fans really want to be also rans in the best conference in the country? Or do they want to have a chance to win a slightly lesser conference like the Big Ten every season? Good question.
I know what I'd prefer: Iowa. Coach Ferentz has a great situation: Every couple of years he's gonna win 10 or 11 games and have a shot at the BCS bowls. That WILL NOT HAPPEN for the small fries of the SEC.
Be careful what you wish for Aggie fans.
The question I have for A&M, Clemson, and Missouri fans is: Would you rather have a program like Mississippi State or like Iowa?
-----------------
Iowa football seems to pull 10 win seasons out of a hat every couple of years. They compete for major bowl bids in the less competitive Big Ten. Their record is sometimes better than the team on the field, in the sense that ten win Big Ten teams are always overrated in the polls.
Mississippi State could whip just about any of the recent Iowa teams on the field, but State's record never compares because they play in the ultra tough SEC. They'll always lose three or four games no matter how much cash the administration sinks into the program. M State has basically zero chance of winning a national championship. Their best coaches will always leave for bigger programs, as we'll see with Coach Mullen in a year or so if State has a good team. Every couple of years, maybe even every other year, they'll beat a Bama or Florida and have a big party. But it won't ever happen consistently.
Mississippi State and Iowa. One is a small fish in a big pond and one is a big fish in a slightly smaller pond.
I don't see Texas A&M, Clemson, or Missouri competing with the big fish of the SEC: Bama, LSU, Florida, and now Florida State. Just ain't gonna happen. In a conference with 16 teams, assuming they play 8 conference games, there's going to be quite a few 3-5 and 2-6 ballclubs. And fans of the lower echelon teams won't be happy. Schools that win two or three SEC games and have .500 records will go to crappy bowlgames and will churn through coaches. They'll be happy to cash the huge checks coming from SEC headquarters, but do fans really want to be also rans in the best conference in the country? Or do they want to have a chance to win a slightly lesser conference like the Big Ten every season? Good question.
I know what I'd prefer: Iowa. Coach Ferentz has a great situation: Every couple of years he's gonna win 10 or 11 games and have a shot at the BCS bowls. That WILL NOT HAPPEN for the small fries of the SEC.
Be careful what you wish for Aggie fans.
posted by joe sweeney at 1:34 PM
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