Projecting an image
of strength is a very important defense mechanism in nature. It is why many
animals (think cats) will puff up their fur and make themselves big when they
sense danger. They are trying to create the illusion that they are dangerous
and not to be taken lightly. In reality the creature may be a 10 pound weakling,
but how the threat perceives them is more important than the reality. A large
bark is often better than a hard bite.
Much like nature, in
college football perception matters, often more than reality. There are too
many NCAA Division 1 teams for them all to play each other. Instead we have to
use like opponents and strength of schedule to try and gage how good teams really
are. Talking heads and sports writers guide the public discussion based on
their often flawed opinions. The perceived quality of teams is used to schedule
bowl game matchups.
The goal of the
schedulers is to create as many classics
as possible. They want people to remember their bowls. Think Boise State vs
Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. That game was so intriguing that it added to
the cache of the Fiesta Bowl. It helped bolster their brand. However, often
these bowl games don't end up so much fun. They often result in blowouts. They
expose to the world the reality of a team's strength or weakness. This year the
bowl season revealed just how wrong the common perception about the SEC West
was.
The whole college
football season we had to listen to the sports world go on and on about how
great the SEC West was. People joked that the first ever College Football
Playoff should be four teams from the SEC West. They appeared to be just that
much better than everyone else.
At one point in the
season Mississippi State and Ole Miss were having a revival. The state of
Mississippi was the center of the college football universe. Dak Prescott was
the new Cam Newton. A dual threat quarterback who would propel his team into
the national championship. And the defenses of both teams, well they were SEC
defenses so by definition they had to be great. An SEC defense could stop any
team in the country cold in their tracks. I know I briefly bought into the
hype, basically everyone did.
Meanwhile the old
guard, Alabama, Auburn, and LSU, started the season off like usual, with a
bunch of wins. They played SEC style football. A brand of the game that we
were told was much superior to those styles that the teams on the west coast or
in the middle of the country were playing.
They dominated teams on defense and ran the ball with authority. Their
famous coaches continued to show their genius.
Then, about midway
through the season, the cracks started to appear. The perceived powerhouses of
Ole Miss, Mississippi State, LSU, Auburn, and Alabama all lost some games.
Thing was they only lost to other SEC teams and everybody knows losing to an
SEC team is like beating any other power conference team. It is perceived to be
like Odin losing to Zeus in an epic immortals showdown.
Alabama escaped from
the SEC West regular season in the best shape as far as national polls were
concerned. They only lost once and it was to Ole Miss and it was early in the
season and a close final score. They appeared set up perfectly for another title
run. All the other SEC West teams would just have to settle for dominating some
poor whipping boy of a team from another conference in a bowl game.
Then bowl season
started and reality struck. In the various bowl games the SEC West teams were
forced to actually play against other major conference football teams. The
actual quality of the SEC West teams was revealed. The viewing public no longer
had to trust the opinions of the sports media. They were able to truly see who
was best and the perception that the SEC West was light years ahead of the rest
of the country fell apart into a smoldering heap. Teams in the SEC West just
weren't that good.
The national media's
portrayal of the SEC West was primarily responsible for the perception that
they were head and shoulders better than everyone else in the country. They
continually perpetuate the myth that the SEC is some kind of super conference.
This year they were clearly mistaken in their continued defense of their
superiority. Hopefully the experience will bring about some change next year
and bring about a bit more balanced analysis.
The SEC is also to
blame for this misperception. Their teams refuse to schedule difficult
nonconference games. Instead they opt for pushovers and Football Championship
Series teams. For example Alabama, the supposed best of the SEC West, played
West Virginia, Florida Atlantic, Southern Mississippi, and Western Carolina. Of
that group only West Virginia is any kind of threat. By scheduling such a weak
nonconference season these teams provide us with no ability to truly judge
their talent against the rest of the nation. For 2014 this worked for them, as
the conventional wisdom worked in their favor. All seven teams were scheduled
for bowl games.
It could also work
against them in the future. By losing so soundly in all of their bowl games the
SEC West destroyed the perception about them and showed the whole country the
true reality of their skill. The narrative surrounding the conference should be
much less grand next year. All of the teams should have to work much harder to
prove their worth. The bowl games will no longer be a guarantee.
The shattering of
the perception of SEC West supremacy is a perfect example of just how different
the perception of team, or in this case an entire conference, can be from the
actual reality. Much like a small dog picking a fight with a German Shepherd, the
SEC West was all bark and no bit.
Sources:
No comments:
Post a Comment