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You lose me.

"Facts are inconvenient things." John Adams. If the SEC is the top football conference, how did Bama defeat all of those ranked SEC teams in a row, make the PO with three losses, win a 1st-round PO game at SEC behemoth Oklahoma, and lose 38-3 to Indiana? At SEC media days, Kirby Smart reminded everyone that Georgia's 2nd-round loss in the Sugar Bowl last season was to SEC opponent Mississippi. Apparently, Kirby doesn't recall losing the 2024-25 Sugar Bowl to Notre Dame? Understandable. I don't like to recall the 2024-25 Rose Bowl or the 2025-26 Peach Bowl; however, OBD lost to Big Ten teams, Big Ten teams that won championships. In 2025, PO home game 1st-round loser Texas A&M played six of the SEC's seven bottom teams. A&M did not defeat an SEC team that won more than six games. Overranked throughout the season, Missouri did not defeat a P4 opponent that won more than six games. As was the case in the ACC, B12, and Big Ten in 2026, six SEC teams did not win more than five games. That's 33.33% of the Big Ten and 37.50% of the SEC. In a year where the B1G played nine conference games and the SEC played eight. When you obfuscate, even in Tampa, Florida, you are skating on thin ice.

Notre Dame edges out Oregon in Brayden Parks sweepstakes https://duckswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/ducks/recruiting/2026/07/23/oregon-football-recruiting-brayden-parks-commitment-notre-dame/91028018007/

If we're talking plurality in which the conference has the most competition from top to bottom the Old Pac-12 was the best conference as anyone could win in any given week. Now it would be the Big 12 as they have the most competition from a game-to-game and week-to-week basis. But we don't count those conferences because they didn't or can't win a national championship because they don't have a team that could win it all.

Obstructed view for the faint of heart?

Per St. Nick: “First of all, whoever wins the national championship doesn’t define who has the best conference. I think the best conference gets defined by how many good teams you have from top to bottom." Facts to ignore: But to suggest that the Big Ten is solely winning national championships and getting lucky with one team the last few years conveniently ignores that the depth argument about the SEC also doesn’t hold up, at least at the top of the league. The Big Ten was 11-5 in bowl games last year, the SEC was 4-10. In fact, the Big Ten has a combined 8-2 record against the SEC in bowl games over the last two seasons and a 3-0 record in the College Football Playoff.

Florida, the beneficiary of the SEC-bump, is in many of the preseason top 25 rankings. Florida has not bowled since 2024, and Coach Sumrall has never coached in the P4. QB Aaron Philo and his OC Buster Faulkner are coming to Florida from Georgia Tech, but ... In 2025, Philo was the backup QB at GT. Georgia Tech, behind guts ball QB Haynes King, did finish 17th in 2025 Total Offense. But this was against ACC defenses, not what Philo and Faulkner will see in the SEC. CFB guru Phil Steele ranks Florida's 2026 schedule the 10th most difficult in the nation. Sumrall was hired after Florida failed to win the Lane Kiffin sweepstakes. The 7.5 2026 win total for Florida is a good number; I think the Gators will win 7 or 8 games. For Forum friend Gat's sake, I hope the Gators win at least nine games.

Can Dan get this young man's commitment when he lives 'next door' to a Notre Dame team with deep NIL pockets? Choosing Oregon will be an upset.

One of the last remaining uncommitted blue chips, 6-3 and 305 DT Brayden Parks out of Chicago, is set to announce today at 2pm Pacific between Oregon and Notre Dame. ND listed as the favorite (close to home plus family ties) but Ducks still with a punchers chance. https://247sports.com/article/top247-dl-brayden-parks-commitment-thursday-cbs-288417604/ Go to CBS Sports College Football YouTube Channel link in story and click, and then find the Live button on the channel site.

1st round 2025 16-team field games: 1. Indiana vs. 16 Tulane 8. Oklahoma vs. 9. Alabama 4. Texas Tech vs. 13. Texas 5. Oregon vs. 12. BYU 2. Ohio State vs. 15. Utah 7. Texas A+M vs. 10. Miami 3. Georgia vs. 14. Vanderbilt 6. Mississippi vs. 11. Notre Dame Georgia had a bye and lost to Mississippi in the Sugar Bowl; Oklahoma and Texas A+M lost home games. Texas did defeat a dysfunctional Michigan team in its bowl game; Vanderbilt lost its bowl game to 4-loss Iowa. And as a side note, 3-loss Illinois defeated 3-loss Tennessee in Nashville. Five SEC teams in the 12-team field; none played for a championship. The PO committee thinks the SEC is the top football conference; Tony Petitti, speaking softly and carrying a B1G stick, disagrees. Bill Parcells: "Your record says what you are".

Thank you, Charles, for these great posts. There is humidity where the SEC is meeting in Tampa, but no humility. Perhaps when it doesn't Just Mean More on the field, you might want to zip it? When Big Ten media days open on Tuesday, July 28th, in Chicago, I expect Tony Petitti to reiterate the facts about the conference's athletic success in 2025 and 2026 to date, and then rest his case. I expect to hear nothing about the difficulty of schedules versus 'The Other Guys' or anything about breaking away and going intramural except in response to questions from the media. It will be interesting if we hear from Tony and the coaches about the preference for a 24-team playoff field. The PO committee's final ranking on 12/7/25 would have given us a 16-team PO field with 7 SEC, 3 Big Ten, 3 B12, 1 ACC, 1 G5 team that would have knocked out 16 USC and Notre Dame. Four of the eight first-round games would have been hosted by SEC teams. A 2025 24-team field: 7 SEC, 6 Big Ten, 5 B12, 3 ACC, 2 G5, and Notre Dame. Tony is a businessman well aware that the PO committee's process is opaque and the results are SEC-centric. Tony will not agree to a 16-team PO without automatic qualifiers, which are not included in Tony's 24-team proposal. From having the bully playoff pulpit a few seasons back, Greg Sankey is now on a playoff island of his own. BTW, what do you think ESPN would pay to broadcast intramural SEC sports with the playoffs only involving SEC teams?

If you don't like the SEC and think they are full of hot air... Oh do I have a fun article on Monday. Stay tuned everyone! Yes... Shameless self promotion.

Sumrall and Florida should be interesting to watch and see what happens over the next year or two. I don't follow Florida or their fanbase really at all so I don't know if he'll be under immense pressure to win right away or if there's patience for him as he rebuilds the program.

Never grows Old....

So true...so fun to watch and recall!

Aesthetics-wise, T. Boone Pickens Stadium ranks No. 4 in this B12 stadium ranking, but it is the loudest stadium in the conference and No. 1 in open amateur fans' voting. Perhaps a Week 2 11 AM local kickoff time is a blessing in disguise? At least a few of the Paddle people could be sober? https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/big12/2026/07/23/big-12-college-football-stadium-rankings/90950547007/?utm_source=usatoday-sports-strada&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=usatbaseline&utm_term=Conten

Elite Offense coming for 2026!

Nobody has OUR depth!

We'll be better than this!