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Excellence in Our Own Backyard
by Will Hampton, ’09
The great debate continues all over the television,
Internet, radio, and newspaper. ESPN analysts still talk about one
question, and no one seems to have a definitive answer. They devote
entire segments, and create voting polls every other week. They want
to know, what is the best conference in college football?
The sports fan does not have to look any further. Week
after week, the Southeastern Conference continues to dazzle and
amaze. Think of what talent is playing right now. Florida, LSU,
Auburn, Alabama and Georgia are all easily national title
contenders.
I will even put
Vanderbilt in the mix, as they start 4-0, and are nationally ranked
in the top 25 in almost twenty five years.
. When a comparison is made, the SEC has better athletes
individually than most other teams around the country. The SEC has
the speed, and the size to match up with any team in the nation.
Tim Tebow of Florida, Matthew Stafford of Georgia, and
Knowshon Moreno of Georgia are all early Heisman contenders. Also,
the SEC has one of the best freshman classes with Julio Jones at
Alabama and A.J. Green at Georgia.
Also, the environment of the games in the SEC is
absolutely electric. That kind of gameday aura is hardly matched
anywhere else in the country.
The other great conferences in the nation do come close,
like the Big 12 and the Pac 10. USC is a very sound, and dominating
team from the Pac 10, but then there is Arizona St., who got beat by
an equally impressive Georgia team.
While the Big 12 has premiere teams like Mizzou and
Oklahoma, it is hard to match the Big 12 up with the overall talent
of the SEC.
As of the September 21st AP poll, the SEC had 6 teams
ranked in the top 25. Three teams finished in the top 5. Georgia,
Florida, and LSU round out the top five with 3, 4, and 5
respectively.
There are no better games and atmospheres than in the SEC.
Most of the SEC games turn out to be thrillers and instant classics.
It is clear that Saturdays in the fall are dominated by the
Southeastern Conference.
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