I was thinking the very same thing as I was reading through the thread.. The SEC is probably the best conference in football top to bottom, year in and year out but this year its not all that. Good but not great by any means.
I am as pro SEC as anyone on this board, but the SEC is down this year - FACT. There is Bama, FLA, and a bunch of good solid football teams, and of course - there is Vandy. From 3-11 you could throw them in a hat and draw names and anyone could beat anyone on a given day. I cannot believe I am about to say this, but IMO the PAC-10 might be the best conference this year or at the very least in the conversation with the SEC and/or B12. The Big 10 is awful and perhaps even behind the Big East.
I have seen Bama and FLA play close games this year with my Vols and I am telling you all right now that they are not as good and have holes that both Texas AND TCU could expose. I said the other day on the air that TCU could win in a 4 game playoff system with those three teams. TCU is always good defensively, but they can score this year to boot. Bama has McElroy who has NEVER won a big game and Tebow has very little options on offense other than himself.
I have no idea who will win in the AL-FLA game, but I think it will not be half the game it was last year and both better realize that if they win, they are not locks by any means to win it all.
If Bama beats FLA - I think Bama beats Texas
If FLA beats Bama - I think Texas beats FLA
If Texas happens to shit the bed, and TCU sneaks in, I think TCU would beat Bama, but lose to FLA.
It all comes down to matchups at that point. One thing that I will point out is when people bring up the Bama loss to Utah last year. That was the biggest game in the history of Utah football, and that could have been the most disappointing game in the history of Bama football. Sometimes certain bowl games just are not a measuring stick of how good teams are, and I think most would agree with that.
And for the first time in a long time, I hope whoever is playing Bama or FLA kicks the shit out of them because it will be the first time this year that SEC refs cannot help win the game for them. FLA got bailed out of the Arky game by the refs and Bama got bailed out of the LSU game by refs. I usually root for the SEC but I am so sick of the bias towards those two teams that I will either root for Colt McCoy if he is there, or TCU, Cincy, or whoever else plays them.