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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Chick-fil-A Bowl

Chick-fil-A Bowl (Atlanta, Ga. – Monday, December 31, 2012)
LSU vs. Clemson – 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)



Clemson lost their only two games against ranked opponents – Florida State and South Carolina.  So, we really don’t know how good this team really is.  The offense is electric behind Tajh Boyd, but they only managed 17 points against the Gamecocks.
 The ACC’s Player of the Year is Boyd.  He’s thrown for 3,550 yards and 34 touchdowns, committing only 13 interceptions, and he rushed for 492 yards and nine touchdowns.  He has two formidable receivers in Watkins and Hopkins.  Ellington, the 1,031-yard rusher, is a burner in the open field.

The Tigers posted another 10-win season, and it’s getting boring watching LSU win at least 10 every year.  The passing game never quite lived up to expectation, and the running game carried the offense once again.  
The running game stayed true to form, with its bruising and physical style.  Freshman Jeremy Hill emerged as the Tigers’ biggest playmaker.  The freshman Hill finished with 631 yards rushing with 10 touchdowns.  The Tigers finished 5^th in the SEC in rushing.
John Chavis once again authored a great season as the leader of the defense.  Chavis had to replace three starters in the secondary and two at linebacker. Linebacker Kevin Minter led the defense, and he had a bigger impact than Sam Montgomery or Barkevious Mingo.  Montgomery and Mingo combined for just 11 sacks.
Clemson will attack the secondary behind Boyd’s arm, and LSU finished 6^th in pass defense.  To attack the LSU defense, the Clemson’s offensive line has to play well and provide time for Boyd in the pocket.

To say that Clemson will be able to handle the Tigers’ speed rushers on the edge is assuming a lot, especially seeing the success FSU and South Carolina both had. Clemson will have to take care of LSU in the trenches and Tajh Boyd will have to have a great game for the ACC’s Tigers to pull off the upset.

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