SEC Hate and Too Much Love

As a die-hard fan of the Tennessee Vols and college football in general, a few things have come to my attention in the last few years. One is that the SEC as a whole is hated by almost everyone who isn't directly a fan of one of the SEC teams. Another thing is that SEC team fans will pull for the conference no matter who is actually playing. For the latter, I cannot understand why anyone would pull for a rival team.

There are several reasons why the SEC is hated by other conferences, the biggest one being they have six National Championships in a row and are looking at a 7th. Perhaps the perception of it being a "thug league"?  Miami, and therefore the ACC, would make a much better case for "thug conferences." Look at UNC as well, where's the ACC hate? Its not like the b10 is even close to being clean either. Especially in the last few years, if you didn't know any better, you'd think the b10 was the ruthless league that bent rules for the well being of the football team. There is some media bias, but ESPN and other media outlets ride the coat-tails of the "flavor of the month", the SEC has been good for 7 years. If the ACC, or any conference for that matter, had won 6 NC in a row, the media would be totally bias to them also. The fans of SEC schools are quite insufferable, I'll get more into that next. SEC fans will take every opportunity to remind fans of other teams how dominant the SEC is, usually in a rude and degrading manner. This is something I will never really understand.

OK so, hate the SEC don't hate the SEC, I don't really care. What bothers me most about this whole thing is the fact that fans pull for the SEC Conference. Why, please tell me, would you pull for a rival team to win against anyone? Especially in a big game. It is absolutely ludicrous to me. Auburn fans telling Notre Dame fans the SEC is the best and Alabama will win. No team from their respective conference should ever want an in-conference rival to win, ever. Florida lost last night, that's good for everyone but the Gators and Gator fans. Tennessee has been terrible the last few years and we need recruits, recruits from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, recruits from anywhere we can get them. So if a recruit was on the fence between UF and UT, a Florida loss helped Tennessee in recruiting. If Alabama wins another National Championship, it benefits Alabama and Alabama only. So how does it make sense to pull for another SEC school that isn't your team? It doesn't, in no way, shape, form, or fashion does this make any sense whatsoever.

Please SEC fans, we want the SEC teams to lose and lose badly, to be embarrassed on national TV. Think about it before you post on ESPN and other sites, it only benefits your school if they are the ones playing in the game. Who cares if everyone hates the SEC, we aren't advocates for the conference, we are fans of our team.


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AT&T Cotton Bowl-Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma

AT&T Cotton Bowl (Dallas, Texas – Friday, January 4, 2013)
Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma – 8 p.m. ET (FOX)

In a sparkling, 77th AT&T Cotton Bowl that will pit a couple of familiar foes in, what are now, very different places, the Sooners and Aggies undoubtedly will provide a wonderful spectacle at Jerry World this January.
Texas A&M, led by its shining freshman quarterback, produced a 10-2 mark in its first season in the SEC.
Oklahoma narrowly missed out on its eighth Big 12 title, but with quarterback Landry Jones playing in his final game as a Sooner, the Crimson and Cream will have plenty to show in Arlington.
It smells of a Big 12 showdown, but this SEC-Big 12 clash already is gathering some steam.

In their first season in the SEC, head coach Kevin Sumlin has the #9 ranked Aggies in the Cotton Bowl, ending the season with a 10-1 record in their final 11 games. What the Aggies contain is the best player in college football, with quarterback Johnny Manziel. The freshman has 3,419 yards, a 68.3% completion percentage, 24 touchdowns, 8 interceptions, and on the ground, has 1,181 yards and 19 touchdowns. He won the Heisman this season, becoming the first freshman to ever do so. Manziel’s two primary receivers are freshman Mike Evans and senior Ryan Swope. Evans caught 75 passes for 1,022 yards and five touchdowns, while the steady senior Swope caught 64 passes for 809 yards and seven touchdowns.The biggest strength on offense that gets overlooked is the offensive line. Led by tackles Luke Joeckel and Jake Matthews, these guys are road graders and have made Manziel much more potent, especially run blocking. The Aggies have only yielded 23 total sacks on the season.

As the #11 ranked team in the nation, led by head coach Bob Stoops, the Sooners were co-champions of the Big XII. Oklahoma put up more than 6,000 yards of total offense this season, and a large part in that was quarterback Landry Jones, who has a 65.4% completion percentage, 29 touchdowns and 10 interceptions this season, along with 3,979 yards to go with it.  The Sooners were largely thought to compete for a national championship this season, as they were penciled in on several preseason ballots. But the national title shot went out the window with losses to Kansas State and Notre Dame – both home games. The Sooners finished fourth in scoring defense in the Big 12 and fourth in total defense, but the defense hasn’t exactly forced many turnovers this season. To beat Texas A&M, the Sooners will have to play contain with their front four defensive linemen, something LSU and Florida proved they could do. But can the Sooners?

These are two classic-style Big 12 teams, and it could turn into a shootout and a track meet, as the team that has the ball last could have the best chance to win. Johnny Manziel is playing some of the best football right now in the NCAA, and because of that momentum that he's riding, I'll take Texas A&M to win this one.

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