BleedGopher
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Per Wetzel:
Before the Rose Bowl, Indiana coach Curt Cignetti was asked about preparing his players to face Alabama and its considerable "mystique."
"Our guys just know what they see on tape," Cignetti said.
Translation: This Alabama team just isn't that good.
Indiana would go on to dominate the Tide 38-3. The win not only propelled the Hoosiers to the national semifinals to play Oregon but also left college football to wonder what had happened not merely to the once-mighty Crimson Tide but to the SEC as a whole.
After decades of clearly establishing itself as the nation's best conference, both the top-end excellence and the depth of the league have fallen. The SEC's hopes now rest with Ole Miss, which is still going through coaching shake-ups and distractions heading into its semifinal matchup with Miami.
It's not that the SEC isn't still "good" or even capable of winning a national championship -- Ole Miss might very well do it. Top to bottom, it might still be the best league, with the majority of schools all-in on football.
That said, the days of complete domination, all-SEC national title games or deep, juggernaut teams are clearly gone, perhaps forever. This isn't the same.
The SEC ruled the old era of college football, when rosters were built through high school recruiting that favored proximity first, followed by opulent facilities and rabid fan bases.
It was perfect for the SEC since the Southeast was rich with talent and league schools invested heavily in infrastructure while playing in front of massive crowds (some of whom might have been willing to offer some under-the-table sweeteners).
The new era of direct revenue sharing, the transfer portal and NIL possibilities, has caused talent to disperse, weakening depth as athletes seek playing time, opportunity and out-in-the-open money.
Suddenly the great teams aren't as great, and the rest of the teams are better.
www.espn.com
Go Gophers!!
Before the Rose Bowl, Indiana coach Curt Cignetti was asked about preparing his players to face Alabama and its considerable "mystique."
"Our guys just know what they see on tape," Cignetti said.
Translation: This Alabama team just isn't that good.
Indiana would go on to dominate the Tide 38-3. The win not only propelled the Hoosiers to the national semifinals to play Oregon but also left college football to wonder what had happened not merely to the once-mighty Crimson Tide but to the SEC as a whole.
After decades of clearly establishing itself as the nation's best conference, both the top-end excellence and the depth of the league have fallen. The SEC's hopes now rest with Ole Miss, which is still going through coaching shake-ups and distractions heading into its semifinal matchup with Miami.
It's not that the SEC isn't still "good" or even capable of winning a national championship -- Ole Miss might very well do it. Top to bottom, it might still be the best league, with the majority of schools all-in on football.
That said, the days of complete domination, all-SEC national title games or deep, juggernaut teams are clearly gone, perhaps forever. This isn't the same.
The SEC ruled the old era of college football, when rosters were built through high school recruiting that favored proximity first, followed by opulent facilities and rabid fan bases.
It was perfect for the SEC since the Southeast was rich with talent and league schools invested heavily in infrastructure while playing in front of massive crowds (some of whom might have been willing to offer some under-the-table sweeteners).
The new era of direct revenue sharing, the transfer portal and NIL possibilities, has caused talent to disperse, weakening depth as athletes seek playing time, opportunity and out-in-the-open money.
Suddenly the great teams aren't as great, and the rest of the teams are better.
Wetzel: The big, bad SEC isn't dead. It's just not special anymore
The Big Ten is guaranteed to be playing for a third straight national title. Can the SEC find a way to dominate this new era like it did the previous one?
Go Gophers!!
