Bob Stoops coached in the SEC many moons ago, when the league was dominated annually by Florida and Tennessee.  So last week when he said the SEC’s repuation as a strong league was a product of “propaganda,” it was easy to say he didn’t know what he was talking about.

But Charlie Weis coached in the SEC in 2011.  He knows the current slobber-knockin’ SEC.  And the Kansas head coach — who like Stoops served as an assistant at Florida — agrees that the SEC ain’t all it’s cracked up to be:

“Do you know the stats?  In the SEC, the record of the good guys and the bad guys?

… I’m just sayin’, you look at the bottom of our league and the bottom of their league, just going based off the numbers, there’s validity in what he said.  I’m just going based off the numbers, I mean, I’m a numbers guy.  Just based off the numbers, you’d have to say (Stoops) has got a point.”

Apparently the argument that the good guys and bad guys are worlds apart is based on the fact that the top six teams in the SEC went 30-0 against the bottom eight teams in the league last year.  And, yep, that’s a pretty ugly nugget for the bottom eight teams to have to swallow.

But in how many leagues can you talk about a “top six?”

The Big Ten over the past decade has basically had Ohio State on top.  Southern Cal and Oregon have owned the Pac-12.  In the Big XII, the league title has gone to Texas or Oklahoma every year since 2004.  By comparison, the SEC hasn’t had a repeat champion since 1998.

Just last season the SEC finished the year with five teams ranked in the top 10 of the AP Poll.  The Pac-12 had two teams.  The Big Ten had one.  The ACC had one.  Notre Dame was also in the top 10.  No Big XII team finished in the AP top 10.

In the Big XII’s case, was that a product of uber-parity or the lack of nationally-strong teams up top?  In the SEC’s case, was the domination at the top due to a weak bottom of the league or superior talent among the frontrunners?  Seven consecutive BCS championships would suggest it had more to do with the strength at the top than weakness at the bottom.

A quick scan of both leagues’ records against the remaining “big five” conferences (plus Notre Dame) shows that Big XII teams went 9-5 against the big boys in 2012 for a .642 winning percentage.  The SEC went 13-6 against teams from the ACC, Big Ten, Big XII, and Pac-12 (plus Notre Dame) for a winning percentage of .684.

But this argument isn’t about numbers.  It’s about SEC fatigue.  Everyone outside the SEC is tired of hearing how strong the conference is – they probably shouldn’t listen to NFL GMs — and they’ll look for any possible excuse to run down the league that’s run up seven BCS titles in a row.

Even if it means coaches from a two-team league attacking a conference that’s only six teams deep.

Get used to it.  As long as the SEC is winning, this talk will continue.  And once the SEC finally loses a national championship game, the “I told ya so” chorus will be deafening.  Be prepared.

The new SEC Network is in for a fight.  Actually, it’s in for several fights.

As we’ve explained over the past several weeks, cable and satellite providers don’t like adding new channels.  That’s because they have to pay fees to new networks in order to carry (and re-sell) their programming.  Inevitably, the more they pay and the more channels they add, the higher your monthly bill rises.  The provider’s costs are passed along to its viewers.

Cable and satellite companies have tried to protect themselves from a large-scale subscriber revolt by bundling similar channels together.  Want premium movie channels?  You pay extra.  Want sports channels?  You pay extra.

More importantly, the family that doesn’t want extra movie or sports channels doesn’t have to pay any increased monthly fees.

But with so many channels now available, viewers are now growing tired of bundling, too.  A person might be willing to pay for the NFL Network and some extra regional sports networks, but that doesn’t mean he wants to be charged for the bull-riding or soccer channels.  Or vice versa.  A la carte programming is a desire shared by many.

On top of the “bundling versus a la carte” debate, many viewers are now choosing to get programming from a specific network by subscribing to that channel — or another provider — online.  More and more families are bringing content into their televisions via the internet with special TV hookups, video game consoles, or other devices/services.

Into all of that upheaval… enter the SEC Network.

Yesterday, Jon Solomon of The Birmingham News provided a broad overview of the current programming landscape and how the SEC Network might fit into it.  We linked you to it in our Sunday headlines, but in case you missed it, we wanted to push it again.  You should read it.

The more we as a society get used to instant answers to our questions — thanks, World Wide Web — the more we expect simple answers.  “When will I get the SEC Network?”  “How much will I pay for the network?”  “Can I just sign up for the network and nothing else?”

Unfortunately, as we’ve mentioned before, there are no simple answers on the SEC Network front.  Everything comes down to you where you live, your cable or satellite provider, and that provider’s willingness to cut a deal with ESPN/SEC.  Solomon’s column simply hammers home the point that how we view television is changing and that will impact the SEC’s new channel.

If you want simple, you’re outta luck.  The process by which providers add networks more often than not gets messy.  And the current television landscape — cable, satellite, bundling, a la carte, online, on-demand — is messier still.

Into all of that upheaval… enter the SEC Network.

The channel will make money and eventually you should be able to see it.  But you’d best be ready for a long, hard slog.  The Pac-12 Network, for example, launched last August and it’s still not on DirecTV.

How patient will SEC fans be?  Probably not very.  The thought of missing three football games every Saturday will likely lead some to pull their hair out, which is exactly what ESPN and the SEC are counting on.  The angrier you become, the more likely you’ll be to call your cable or satellite provider and demand the channel, thus upping the pressure on that provider to yield to ESPN and the SEC’s price demands (which will then be passed back to you).

What’s ironic is that before 2009 and the SEC’s twin contracts with ESPN and CBS, many SEC games weren’t on television.  After four years of nearly every SEC game getting national coverage, there’s now an expectation that any SEC game you want to see will be available.  Come next August, for some, that will no longer be the case.

SEC Football

1. The case of Georgia offensive lineman Kolton Houston is becoming a national story.

2. High expectations have arrived quickly at Texas A&M. Kevin Sumlin better be ready, writes Barrett Sallee.

3. Alabama’s current dynasty is the fourth best of the AP era, according to Braden Gall. Here are the top 25.

4. From Athlon Sports: Will LSU or Texas A&M finisher higher in the SEC West?

5. Tennessee’s recent hires show the importance of “familiarity and trust” for the program.

6. Georgia safety Tray Matthews is one of ten early enrollees to watch this fall.

SEC Basketball

7. Here’s an early projection for the upcoming SEC basketball season. (Andrew Wiggins’ decision pending)

SEC in the NFL

8. “The sky’s the limit” for Cam Newton with the Carolina Panthers, according to offensive coordinator coach Mike Shula.

9. Former Alabama offensive tackle D.J. Fluker is trying to embrace a leadership role with the San Diego Chargers.

10. Former SEC players Sam Montgomery and D.J. Swearinger are reunited in Houston after playing together in high school.

11. Tyler Bray is happy to have a shot with Kansas City after making “a lot of mistakes” during his time at Tennessee.

Extra

12. What if there were an NFL team made up of former Alabama and LSU players? Let’s look.

13. Let this be a lesson to other young players: former NFL WR Titus Young was arrested for the third time in a week.

SEC Football

1. What if the SEC and the rest of the power conferences only played each other?  ”If the big boys played only the big boys…it would send dominoes falling in every direction.”

2. Former Penn State quarterback Steven Bench will visit Mississippi State on May 20 and 21.

3. Georgia suspended offensive lineman Kolton Houston speaks publicly about steroids. NCAA should make ”a special case for me.”

4. Does new Kentucky coach Mark Stoops deserve a first-year pass?

5. What Stoops and the other new coaches in the SEC have accomplished this spring.

6. Auburn coach Gus Malzahn had to chase down Dameyune Craig twice before hiring him. Now Craig’s recruiting efforts are paying big dividends for the Tigers. (Another recruit committed Sunday morning.)

7. Auburn defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson on his linebacking corps: ”My linebacker depth chart in total is very fluid right now.”

8. If an NFL team was made up of only Alabama and LSU players – how good would it be?

SEC Basketball

9. With Jarnell Stokes and Jordan McRae back but Trae Golden gone, what’s the future look like at Tennessee?

10. The future at Kentucky could be altered on Tuesday.  That’s when super prospect Andrew Wiggins could reportedly make his decision.

11. Here’s one area where Kentucky and Louisville could work together for the benefit of both.

Media

12. Jon Solomon: “It’s estimated that more than half of viewers’ monthly cable TV costs are due to sports programming.”

Extras

13. Les Miles’ son throws a no-hitter. Second no-hitter of the season for Manny Miles.

14. Les can watch his son play but former Georgia coach Vince Dooley couldn’t watch son Derek play high school football back in the 1980′s- it was against NCAA rules at the time.

15. Happy Mother’s Day!  Bear Bryant: “Have You Called Your Mama Today?” (H/T Tony Barnhart)

Former Penn State quarterback Steven Bench to visit Missisippi State on May 20 and 21
Kentucky safety Ashely Lowery released from hospital nearly a week after car wreck
Co-Chair of the Kyle Field redevelopment committee says one goal of revamped Texas A&M stadium will be intimidation
New study finds largest discrepancies between teaching salaries and football coaching salaries are in the SEC
Unofficial tally shows Missouri and Florida with most player arrests among SEC teams since 2010
Georgia assistant basketball coach Kwanza Johnson leaving for similar job at TCU
Petition by Missouri basketball coach Frank Haith to find out if his bank account was illegally accessed denied by judge
Nation’s No. 1 basketball recruit, Andrew Wiggins, could reportedly make his decision on Tuesday…
Kentucky one of four schools Wiggins is considering
Follow SEC news year-round at MrSEC.com and on Twitter at Twitter.com/mrsec

Kentucky safety Ashely Lowery released from hospital nearly a week after car wreck
Nick Saban responds to Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops comments regarding SEC…
Saban: “I think there’s probably a lot of animosity out there because of the success that we have in our league…”
Co-Chair of the Kyle Field redevelopment committee says one goal of revamped Texas A&M stadium will be intimidation
Transfer of Tennessee cornerback Daniel Gray raises concerns about depth in Vols secondary
New study finds largest discrepancies between teaching salaries and football coaching salaries are in the SEC
Unofficial tally shows Missouri and Florida with most player arrests among SEC teams since 2010
Georgia assistant basketball coach Kwanza Johnson leaving for similar job at TCU
Five former SEC  players invited to NBA combine
Petition by Missouri basketball coach Frank Haith to find out if his bank account was illegally accessed denied by judge
Follow SEC news year-round at MrSEC.com and on Twitter at Twitter.com/mrsec

Sooner or later, the Southeastern Conference will go to a nine-game conference schedule.  It’s easy to see why.  Creating better content for the SEC Network and the league’s broadcast partners (ESPN and CBS) will result in more cash for the league.  And if cash is a strong enough motivator to drive schools to new conferences and away from old rivals, it’s certainly a powerful enough motivator to push through an extra league game per season for each football program.

But getting from A to B could be tricky.  Or so it’s been said.

Before we look at the SEC’s schedule rotation, let’s tackle some fears that are being drummed up at the moment.

“If the SEC goes to a nine-game league schedule, schools will stop playing good non-conference opponents.”

The four SEC schools with annual games against in-state rivals (Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina) have made it clear that they would probably nix a quality non-conference game if the league goes to a nine-game schedule.  The reality is that two factors will still play a role in scheduling: the new College Football Playoff and money.

If it becomes clear that teams in other leagues are scheduling 11 big-conference teams per year (nine in conference, two out of conference), then the SEC teams hoping to reach the playoff will have to follow suit.  Strength of schedule is expected to be a key element in picking teams for the four-team playoff.  SEC squads will either do what everyone does or cross their fingers and hope that selection committee members see a nine-game SEC slate as being tougher than other leagues’ nine-game conference schedules.  That’s possible, but with SEC fatigue having already helped push America to a playoff, would the league’s teams want to risk it?

As for money, if the folks at Cowboys Stadium or the new downtown Atlanta stadium guarantee an SEC team a hefty payout to come in and play a good non-conference foe, it’s doubtful that that SEC squad would pass up the opportunity.

The idea that you’ll never see another good non-conference game on your team’s schedule has been overblown.  Most league schools play one good non-conference opponent and three cupcakes now.  If anything — and UGA president Michael Adams recently said this — fans have shown they’re tired of paying to see creampuff games.  It’s likely then that the extra SEC game created by a nine-game schedule would replace a game against an FCS-type foe rather than a game against a decent draw.

“Florida and Georgia could face a year where they have only five home games.”

If you’re going to make an omelette, you’re going to have to break some eggs.  Either a) Florida and Georgia exercise the outs they had to have worked into their contracts with the city of Jacksonville or b) they play at EverBank Field every other year.  That one neutral site game is the most complicating issue of moving to a nine-game schedule.  But we’ll have more on that below.  Suffice it to say, neither Florida nor Georgia would be forced into a five-game home schedule just by shifting to a nine-game conference schedule.

“With a nine-game schedule, some schools will host five games while others host just four… giving those schools with more home games an advantage.”

The Big Ten just adopted a nine-game schedule for its 14-school league and nixed this argument in the process.  Under the new Big Ten plan, all of the schools in one division will play the same number of home games in a given year.  If East teams play five home games this year and West teams play four, next year the West’s teams would play five home games and the East’s four.

As we’ll show below, the transition to such a schedule would not be as difficult as you might think.

Let’s keep a couple of other points in mind, too.  First, thanks to the SEC Network, the league office will have to somehow get more involved in scheduling.  There is no way the league office wants to see a repeat of last November 17th’s “Pay-Per-View Day!”

On that Saturday, Arkansas played Mississippi State, Ole Miss played LSU, Tennessee played Vanderbilt and Missouri hosted Syracuse.  The rest of the schedule looked like this: Alabama A&M at Auburn, Western Carolina at Alabama, Jacksonville State at Florida, Georgia Southern at Georgia, Samford at Kentucky, Wofford at South Carolina and Sam Houston State at Texas A&M.

How much the league will get involved and in what way is anyone’s guess, but that kind of a lineup won’t help get a new television channel off the ground.  So like it or not, the SEC is about to start providing scheduling “tips.”

Second, the new money coming in from the network, the playoff, the new league-owned Sugar Bowl, and a new bowl lineup will more than make up for the lost revenue from a home game every other season.  Pre-2000s, before the NCAA allowed schools to play a 12-game schedule, schools played six to seven home games per year anyway.  That would be the case once more, only with millions of extra dollars from new revenue streams pouring into each school’s coffers.

Finally, those schools with in-state, non-conference rivals would certainly be more limited in their scheduling options.  But that’s the case with an eight-game conference schedule, too.

Trust us not that much would have to change in a nine-game universe.  If the SEC adopted our plan…

Read the rest of this entry »

Nick Saban responds to Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops comments regarding SEC…
Saban: “I think there’s probably a lot of animosity out there because of the success that we have in our league…”
Co-Chair of the Kyle Field redevelopment committee says one goal of revamped Texas A&M stadium will be intimidation
Transfer of Tennessee cornerback Daniel Gray raises concerns about depth in Vols secondary
New study finds largest discrepancies between teaching salaries and football coaching salaries are in the SEC
Georgia assistant basketball coach Kwanza Johnson leaving for similar job at TCU
Five former SEC  players invited to NBA combine
Follow SEC news year-round at MrSEC.com and on Twitter at Twitter.com/mrsec

SEC Football

1. Is Auburn still shopping for a transfer quarterback? “We’ve got two guys currently, we’ve got three coming in. We feel like all of them can play.”

2. The trial of  former Auburn player Dakota Mosley - who was prominent in ESPN’s coverage of failed synthetic marijuana tests – remains tentatively scheduled for June 10.

3. Auburn assistant coach Dameyune Craig is getting attention for his work on the recruiting trail. (Also see our SEC Recruiting Notebook from earlier today).

4. Nick Saban with an endorsement of a power conference schedule.  He likes what the Big Ten is doing – moving away from playing FCS schools.  “I’m for five conferences – everybody playing everybody in those five conferences.”

5. Jeff Schultz on the Alabama coach : ”When Saban speaks, everybody listens now.” Pat Forde: “There is no longer a viable excuse for the rich not to play a nine-game conference schedule.”

6. Saban updates spring practice injuries – including running back Derrick Henry.

7. Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel and his NFL critics.

8. Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo is guarding against complacency.  ”I’m not the most popular guy with our offensive football team right now.”

9. Tennessee secondary looks thin after the departure of cornerback Daniel Gray.

10. Some marquee non-conference matchups involving SEC teams.

Bob Stoops/SEC

11. David Climer on Bob Stoops’ comments regarding the SEC.  ”The Oklahoma coach is right.”  Top six SEC teams went 30-0 against the bottom eight in 2012.

12. Matt Hayes disagrees: “Last year, the Big 12 had one team in the top 10 of the final BCS regular season poll. The SEC had six.”

13. Joe Walljasper: “Look, we don’t judge the Jacksons on the merits of Rebbie and La Toya.”

14. MrSEC’s take  -  top to bottom –the SEC dominates everyone else come bowl season.

SEC Basketball

15. Long rumored – finally happening. Georgia assistant coach Kwanza Johnson leaving for a job with TCU. Bulldogs only getting Florida, Tennessee and Kentucky on the road next year.  Coach Mark Fox:  ”Those are our biggest draws, and we don’t have that at home, so that’s concerning,”

16. I count five former SEC players on this list of those invited to NBA combine.  One of them is former Mizzou point guard Phil Pressey.

17. The question that will be asked all year – Kentucky or Louisville?

18. Referees could be getting some leeway on players elbowing an opponent above the shoulders. Also some changes coming to the block/charge call.

Extras

19. Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany will be deposed in Ed O’Bannon lawsuit against NCAA.

20. . Concern over a toe was apparently the reason why former Alabama running back Eddie Lacy fell to late in the second round of the NFL draft.

21. Jeff Pearlman: “ Were it not for (Donald) Trump, (Tim) Tebow may very well have a job right now.” (If you’ve ever watched the ESPN documentary-  ”Small Potatoes: Who Killed The USFL?” – you’ll know why Pearlman’s comments make sense.)

When Texas A&M’s Kyle Field expands to become the largest stadium in the SEC and in the state of Texas, it will do more than just seat 102,500 fans.  By lowering the field seven feet, enclosing the stadium and bringing the fans closer to the action, the Aggies want to send a message of intimidation.  

Here’s how Sam Torn, Co-Chair of the Kyle Field redevelopment committee, described it.

“Our goal is, when an opposing team walks out on this field it is going to be so loud, it is going to be so intense, that literally someone is going to wet their pants.”

Opposing coaches and players – you and your bladders have been warned.