Throughout numerous seasons, we have many debates on this board centering around the fundamental difference in size, speed, and even talent of the SEC teams versus other conferences. I admit I have been one of the skeptics thinking that perspective is sometimes overblown. But then I saw this story including quotes from Oregon's Chip Kelly after last night's dismantling by LSU:
The normally confident, quick-replying Kelly paused several seconds before answering.
?Yeah,? he said softly. ?Yes.?
Asked if his team hadn?t reached that elite tier yet, Kelly paused again.
?Yes,? he said.
The exchange was a rare publicly sobering moment for the usually cocksure coach, who seldom admits flaws. But after losses against Ohio State in the 2010 Rose Bowl, Auburn in January?s BCS title game and now an LSU team that was playing without its starting quarterback, the Ducks? weakness is obvious.
?They?ve got a little bit different athlete running around out there,? said Kelly, who is in his third season as Oregon?s coach and has a 22-5 record. ?They don?t look like a lot of guys we see. That?s a common trait.?
When a guy like Chip Kelly flat out admits his team doesn't have comparable athletes, it says something. Here's a link to the entire article:
http://msn.foxsports.com/collegefootball/story/LSU-exposes-Oregons-flaws-on-big-stage-090311
I guess my point in sharing this is that I've tried to dismiss the "physicality" difference represented by the SEC (even lesser SEC teams) against other conferences. As evidenced by Boise, some minor conf programs *can* occasionally put together the right recruiting to get the right athletes. Boise's lines dominated Georgia. But then again, it's Georgia.. not Alabama. I do think Boise recognized 3 years ago that you need big, fast uglies on the lines...not just pinball offense...and it's paying off now in much more balanced, stronger teams. Unfortunately for the Broncs, TCU's demise may have doomed any possible rise in the rankings.
But back to my point for this thread in terms of handicapping. Last night's game was another lesson for me. Sometimes, there really *is* a fundamental difference between teams which can't be overcome by a system, motivation, or magic fairy dust. I know this was always obvious to SEC backers, but thought I'd share my personal enlightenment. :lol:
The normally confident, quick-replying Kelly paused several seconds before answering.
?Yeah,? he said softly. ?Yes.?
Asked if his team hadn?t reached that elite tier yet, Kelly paused again.
?Yes,? he said.
The exchange was a rare publicly sobering moment for the usually cocksure coach, who seldom admits flaws. But after losses against Ohio State in the 2010 Rose Bowl, Auburn in January?s BCS title game and now an LSU team that was playing without its starting quarterback, the Ducks? weakness is obvious.
?They?ve got a little bit different athlete running around out there,? said Kelly, who is in his third season as Oregon?s coach and has a 22-5 record. ?They don?t look like a lot of guys we see. That?s a common trait.?
When a guy like Chip Kelly flat out admits his team doesn't have comparable athletes, it says something. Here's a link to the entire article:
http://msn.foxsports.com/collegefootball/story/LSU-exposes-Oregons-flaws-on-big-stage-090311
I guess my point in sharing this is that I've tried to dismiss the "physicality" difference represented by the SEC (even lesser SEC teams) against other conferences. As evidenced by Boise, some minor conf programs *can* occasionally put together the right recruiting to get the right athletes. Boise's lines dominated Georgia. But then again, it's Georgia.. not Alabama. I do think Boise recognized 3 years ago that you need big, fast uglies on the lines...not just pinball offense...and it's paying off now in much more balanced, stronger teams. Unfortunately for the Broncs, TCU's demise may have doomed any possible rise in the rankings.
But back to my point for this thread in terms of handicapping. Last night's game was another lesson for me. Sometimes, there really *is* a fundamental difference between teams which can't be overcome by a system, motivation, or magic fairy dust. I know this was always obvious to SEC backers, but thought I'd share my personal enlightenment. :lol:
