Settling the Big 10/1 vs. SEC debate

It’s an argument that has been burning for years, and in recent days it’s gotten just a little hotter in the blogsphere. The Big 10/1. The SEC. Which is better? Most of the time, the arguments are moot. It’s kind of hard to have a cohesive argument when you don’t understand the other side. And, let’s face it, most Big 10/1 fans rarely venture south of the Mason-Dixon (other than to watch their teams get stomped more often than not in Florida bowl games), and few SEC fans venture north (waaaay too cold). That’s where yours truly comes in: I was BORN in the heart of Big 10 (it was only 10 then) country, I graduated from an SEC school. So I’ve got some perspective from both sides. As an aside, the main debate right now centers on Michigan and Alabama. As a proud Ohio native and an even prouder UT alum, let me just say: THEY CAN BOTH SINK INTO AN ABYSS FOR ALL I CARE! Asking who’s more ethical: Rich Rodriguez or Nick Saban is like asking who’s the least deserving Heisman winner in history, Charles Woodson or Gino Torretta - you can’t really win, it’s pretty much a draw. Anyway, on to the comparisons: 

The Stadiums: The Big 10/1 has the three biggest on-campus stadiums in the country with Michigan Stadium, Beaver Stadium and the Horseshoe. The SEC isn’t far behind with Neyland Stadium, the Swamp, Bryant-Denny and Jordan-Hare. The Big 10/1 also has the Metrodome (yuck), but Vanderbilt’s stadium isn’t much better. The Edge: Big 10/1 by a hair. Bigger is better.

The Cities: The SEC has Athens, Ga. Enough said.The Edge: SEC (in a big way)

The Women: Nothing to write here. If your eyesight is so bad you don’t know which is better, you’re not able to read this. The Edge: SEC (in a big big way)

The Fans: Both are passionate, but here’s the difference: In the Big 10/1 if your favorite team loses Saturday, you wake up Sunday morning hoping the Bears, Lions, Browns, Bengals, Steelers or Vikings can redeem the weekend (well maybe not, if you root for the Lions).  If your favorite collegiate team wins, you hope the aforementioned NFL teams can complete your perfect weekend. In the SEC, if your favorite team loses, you go get drunk Saturday night because there is no redemption until the following Saturday. If your favorite team wins, you go get drunk Saturday night because the perfect weekend is complete. Falcons, Titans, Jaguars, Bucs and Dolphins fans? All Yankee transplants. I’m convinced of this.  The Edge: SEC 

The Rivalries: The Big 10/1 has cool trophies such as Paul Bunyan’s Axe and the Little Brown Jug. The SEC has that boot thing LSU and Arkansas play for. The Big 10/1 has Ohio State vs. Michigan. Even after 20 years of living in the South, I’m still convinced its the greatest rivalry in college football. Yes, even greater than the Iron Bowl. The Edge: Big 10/1 (would be SEC if UT and Kentucky still played for the Beer Barrel). 

The Coaches: Coaches from lesser divisions (Jim Tressel), non-BCS leagues (Mark Dantonio) and lesser-BCS leagues (Rodriguez) look to the Big 10/1 to provide the next challenge in their careers. NFL coaches, meanwhile, know the only way to go up is to go SEC (see Steve Spurrier, Bobby Petrino and Saban).The Big 10/1 however gets bonus points for JoePa. Those points are quickly used up by Ron Zook though. The Edge: SEC, by a Zook.  

Historic Coaches: General Neyland and Bear Bryant. Enough said. But before you pull out the “Paterno-has-more-wins-than-either-of-them card” are we sure Penn State hasn’t been pulling a “Weekend at Bernie’s” on us since 1999? The Edge: SEC 

The Recent Players: Both have had recent Heisman winners, both have a ton of NFL draft picks. It’s a push until you realize even the Big 10/1 has to go south to recruit.The Edge: SEC 

The Historic Players: The Big 10/1 has the only two-time Heisman winner with Ohio State’s Archie Griffin. It doesn’t have Bo Jackson, the single greatest Tecmo Bowl athlete of all-time (and not too shabby in real life either). The Edge: SEC 

Recent Titles: The SEC is 4-0 in BCS title games and might be 5-0 if undefeated Auburn hadn’t been left out. The Big 10/1 is 1-2 with both losses coming against SEC schools. Dig a little deeper and see the SEC has two more consensus titles (Alabama in 92, Florida in 96) since 1990. The Big 10/1 has one split title (Michigan in 97). And really, should it count considering they beat RYAN LEAF in the Rose Bowl that year? The Edge: SEC

Overall Titles: Alabama has 312, and that number is growing by the day! Beat that Big 10/1!The Edge: Alabama, er, the SEC

Ability to be put on probation: Alabama and Auburn. Enough said.The Edge: SEC 

Ability to teflon itself from probation: Tennessee. Enough said. The Edge: SEC 

The TV deals: The Big 10/1 has ABC and the Big Ten Network. The SEC has CBS and (gulp) the three Daves of Jefferson-Pilot/Lincoln Financial/Raycom/Whatever its called next week. The Edge: Big 10/1 (in a big way) 

The Academics: The Big 10/1 has Northwestern and a bunch of schools willing to sacrifice academics to win at football. The SEC has Vanderbilt and a bunch of schools willing to sacrifice academics to win at football.The Edge: Even

The Tradition: The Big 10/1 has the dotting of the i and not much else. The SEC has the Vol Walk, Denny’s Chimes, The Grove and … yeah, the Grove pretty much settles this (see The Women). The Edge: SEC

The Food: Dreamland. Enough said.The Edge: SEC 

The Fight Songs: It basically comes down to “Hail to the Victors” vs. “Rocky Top” The Edge: Big 10/1 (because I realize not everyone is sophisticated enough to “get their corn from a jar.”) 

The Uniforms: Michigan’s helmet is overrated, especially when you consider they stole the design from PRINCETON! However, the Big 10/1 has some nice classic looks, including Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, Purdue and Iowa. They lose points for the Nike monstrosities Illinois has.The SEC has its classic looks (Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss) and its own Nike mishap (Kentucky).  The Edge: Even

The Bowls: Pretty even considering most of the bowls pit the Big 10/1 against the SEC. The Big 10/1 has the Grandaddy of Them All, the Rose Bowl. The SEC has the Sugar Bowl (and the French Quarter).The Edge: Even

The Offseason: In the Big 10/1, you hibernate through brutally cold winters, thaw out for the NFL draft and start thinking football when NFL preseason games begin. In the SEC, there is no offseason. The Edge: SEC

The Blogs: The SEC has us. Enough said.  The Edge: SEC (in a big big way).  

Final Tally: SEC 15-4-3.

One more time, with gusto

If you are reading this, you are already aware of the clanging cymbals regarding the righteousness of the Big 10 and the depravation of Alabama football thanks to the eminent moral dissolution that allows Saban to operate as only he does. Chances are good that you got here because you were already reading arguments about it on a different blog. I’ll spare you the rehash of those arguments. And honestly, once you get past the personal attacks, there really isn’t that much to appreciate about Brian Cook’s argument. It’s mostly wild speculation that–much like all of his posts–are someone else’s ideas that he spins for the amusement of Michigan fans (Eight in the Box does a better job than I could explaining the fluidity of the numbers, and most importantly, how the numbers used in the argument against are suppositions rather than hard statistics). Most of us bloggers do that for our preferred audiences. His lack of creativity in his insults doesn’t make them any less par for the course. In fact, considering he’s retreading tired and baseless tropes about Saban, lack of creativity is probably an appropriate medium. In the interest of full disclosure, his reference to our first response to his blog resulted in lots of traffic for us, for which we are truly appreciative. If you too write an overrated blog, feel free to make accusations of phantom bad grammar. Just hotlink it, baby. And really, we don’t mind the insults. When you do a blog espousing the accounting practices of an eleven team conference called the Big Ten, it’s hard to take it seriously anyway (HT: Crimson Daddy).