FishDuck Article Administrator No. 1 Share Posted January 31 Recently the entertaining SEC propagandist, Paul Finebaum, asserted that the SEC is still the best conference, “top-to-bottom.” I’ve heard of over-the-top exaggeration before in college football, but he says it with a straight face despite how the B1G has won the last two national championships, and how the SEC was not even in the Championship games of 2023 and... B1G vs. SEC: Top-Heavy or Balanced? Which IS Better? | FishDuck FISHDUCK.COM Recently the entertaining SEC propagandist, Paul Finebaum, asserted that the SEC is still the best conference, “top-to-bottom.” I’ve heard of... 2 Two Sites: FishDuck and the Our Beloved Ducks forum, The only "Forum with Decorum!" And All-Volunteer? What a wonderful community of Duck fans! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 2 Share Posted January 31 In the pondering for this article....I completely changed my views. For the reasons in the articles--I want a Top-Heavy conference, and never thought I'd feel that way. 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck Moderator No. 3 Share Posted January 31 Nobody knew how hard NIL and the transfer portal was going to hit Paul Finebaum, the poor guy has been knocked for a loop. Saban saw what was coming and got out. Finebaum stayed, and along with Herbie, is stuck. The SEC is not elite any longer. "The B1G might have won the last two championships, but top to bottom, we're better!" So, what. Your 11th week Mercer game is going to look really bad from now on. Vandy beat 'Bama, so did Oklahoma. If an SEC team does win the Natty in the next couple years it won't mean the whole conference is fantastic. Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Michigan aren't going anywhere. They'll be right there. Indiana, Washington, USC, Illinois, could all have strong seasons. The SEC Top Heavies carried the conference for a long time. The B1G can do that too. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Ducky No. 4 Share Posted January 31 I am also a go for top heavy as long as the Ducks stay in that elite group. Otherwise I guess it doesn’t matter to me. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 5 Share Posted January 31 Thank you, Charles, terrific issue to ponder as the Power 2 leaves all other conferences in the dust and the dough. Here's a preseason ranking of the SEC from Saturday Blitz. My first look at schedules will be B1G with the SEC schedules to follow, if OK with Charles. The SEC for some reason is repeating the 2024 in-conference schedules with only a change in venue. And expecting a different result? Wasn't Greg Sankey once considered to be the brightest bulb in the circuit? Way too early SEC football power rankings for the 2025 season SATURDAYBLITZ.COM The 2024 college football season is in the books, but in the SEC, there’s never really an offseason. Between coaching changes, the transfer portal, and highly Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Marsh No. 6 Share Posted January 31 Top Heavy wins National championships. Balanced is far more fun to watch from a strictly chaos standout. This is the Old Pac-12, a super fun conference to watch. Unless that is you have National Championship aspirations in which that probably isn't happening from a balanced conference. But still... fun to watch! I think I watched more SEC games this last season than I ever had because of the chaos. The chaos is super fun and I enjoyed it... I just don't want negative chaos around my Ducks. I want my Ducks to WIN without drama! 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 7 Share Posted January 31 On 1/31/2025 at 11:43 AM, David Marsh said: Balanced is far more fun to watch from a strictly chaos standout. This is the Old Pac-12, a super fun conference to watch. Boy isn't that the truth. I would not want to be in a top-heavy conference if I was not one of the heavyweights, but fortunately--we are. 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Marsh No. 8 Share Posted January 31 On 1/31/2025 at 12:37 PM, Charles Fischer said: Boy isn't that the truth. I would not want to be in a top-heavy conference if I was not one of the heavyweights, but fortunately--we are. You mean you DON'T want to be a Beaver fan? 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 9 Share Posted January 31 Different sport but ... The B1G has not won an NCAA Basketball Championship since 2000. (Maryland won in 2002 when it was a member of the ACC.) So, is the B1G better now when it is so hard to win a conference game on the road? Or was it better when Indiana and Bob Knight were kicking booty? When Bob Knight was on an Ohio State team full of future NBA All-Stars and won titles? When Michigan won the title in 1989 and competed for a title with the Fab 4? I'll take a top-heavy basketball conference all day long and Charles is spot on when it comes to football. Half or more of the SEC conference football teams were ranked in 2024. To what avail? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatOrlando No. 10 Share Posted February 1 I think there are three tiers in college football as a whole but also in conference. Power Four conferences and more exclusively the P2 first and second tiers can win a title in various ways. Group of five tier one programs are at the level of P4 second tiers. They can win but it's going to take a path like Penn State, Boise or ASU got. The criteria for top tier has changed somewhat because it's not all about geography. The running myth was that northern teams were slow, particularly the B1G. Big 12 and PAC teams were considered soft. ACC was considered FSU, Clemson and Miami thrown into a basketball league. I think the three things that determine your status today are as follows and this is just my opinion. 1.) The Brand: To me this is a combination of history, how they draw on television and an automatic inclusion in just about every top prospects recruiting top 10. Also they generally get the benefit of the doubt in polls and playoff consideration. For example a Texas, USC, Miami are always looked at as being back without the evidence needed to really say that. Meanwhile an Indiana is looked at as a fluke despite what they did. 2.) The Money : What can the program offer top prospects. What's the budget for coaching and specialists. What do the facilities look like. How involved and aggressive are top donors. 3.) NFL Prep: Most top guys have the ultimate goal of going pro. Making it in the league and to their second contract. To me that kind of ties into number two but occasionally a talented offensive lineman may go to an Iowa over an Ohio State or Oregon because Iowa pumps out develops lineman like a factory. With that said and back to the topic of this thread I'd put top tier teams as such. B1G: Penn State, Oregon, USC, Michigan, Ohio State. SEC: Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Texas A&M, Florida, Tennessee, Auburn. The programs that just fell below but could be considered are Nebraska, Washington and maybe Ole Miss. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 11 Share Posted February 1 FanDuel Odds to Win the B1G, SEC, and ACC in 2025. The author likes Penn State in the B1G. He is concerned about the number of starters OBD has to replace. He's following the crowd as is FanDuel with liking Texas in the SEC. Texas has the same easy in-conference schedule in 2025 but it does include a visit to Athens, Georgia. With a repeat of the 2024 in-conference schedules, SEC teams at the top of the conference are again likely to beat up on one another and get beat up by 'lesser' SEC teams. It's doing the same thing over but we are likely to hear the same whining coming out of Dixie. The Texas at Ohio State opener featuring new QBs Archie Manning and Julian Sayin should be a heck of an opening game. Dabo and a roster that returns many key players is favored over Miami. Two tough OOC games for Dabo, opening with LSU at home and ending with a game at South Carolina. Clemson and Miami do not meet for the 2nd year in a row in the regular season. Like Clemson, Miami has two tough OOC games hosting Notre Dame and Florida. And FSU opens at home vs. Bama. Betting Stuff: Way-too-early odds, picks to win conference championships in 2025 - Saturday Down South WWW.SATURDAYDOWNSOUTH.COM Taking a look at the current odds to win conference championships in the SEC, the Big Ten, and the ACC in the 2025 season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JabbaNoBargain No. 12 Share Posted February 1 (edited) I think it depends on how deep “the top” is. 2 teams? Not so much? 4 or 5? I think yes. Edited February 1 by JabbaNoBargain Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck Moderator No. 13 Share Posted February 1 On 2/1/2025 at 11:59 AM, Jon Joseph said: With a repeat of the 2024 in-conference schedules, SEC teams at the top of the conference are again likely to beat up on one another But Texas again won't be in the "Beating each other up" group, while Georgia is a punching bag. If we consider FanDuel’s odds as representative of the best teams in the conference next year, take the top 6 and look at the schedules. Georgia faces 4 of the other 5 teams. Alabama plays 3 of the other 5 teams. Ole Miss, Tennessee, and LSU play 2 apiece. And then there’s Texas, which will face only 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 14 Share Posted February 1 On 2/1/2025 at 12:03 PM, JabbaNoBargain said: I think it depends on how deep “the top” is. 2 teams? Not so much? 4 or 5? I think yes. The B1G had four teams that finished in the top-ten with Indiana at No. 10. Pretty cool... 1 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 15 Share Posted February 1 Terrific take 30. How did this scheduling work out for the SEC last season? Why should it be different in 2025? Mizzou, again, has the easiest SEC in-conference schedule. Ole Miss also has an easy SEC schedule and plays Georgia State, Tulane, The Citadel, and Wazzu OCC with all games in Oxford. Like Texas, Ole Miss does have to trip to Athens this season with UGA looking for payback. Texas 2nd season in a row with a seat in 1st class and Oklahoma is again in the last row of coach next to the lavs. Texas opens at TOSU. Ohio State although ranked behind Texas in almost every top 25 preseason poll I have seen is a -3.5 home favorite. Oregon is ranked behind Penn State in most preseason polls but is -3.5 road favorite at Penn State. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck Moderator No. 16 Share Posted February 1 On 2/1/2025 at 2:00 PM, Jon Joseph said: Texas opens at TOSU. Ohio State although ranked behind Texas in almost every top 25 preseason poll I have seen is a -3.5 home favorite. Oregon is ranked behind Penn State in most preseason polls but is -3.5 road favorite at Penn State. Moore to Moore, thunder & lightning RB's, Oregon's secondary has their eyes right, -3.5 @ Penn State! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 17 Share Posted February 7 The SEC again leads all conferences in Super Bowl participants. Adding Oklahoma + Texas did not hurt the cause. The SEC is crowning itself at the Super Bowl, since it missed the CFP national title again SATURDAYBLITZ.COM The SEC might have sat out of the national championship spotlight for the second straight year, but you wouldn’t know it by the way they’re strutting their stuf Philly is UGA North! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
widgeon No. 18 Share Posted February 7 And the SEC still plays only 8 conference games, which means fewer losses. Traditionally SEC plays cupcakes in their non-conference games, including an ultra cupcake game late in the season. The SEC has been smart about manipulating the system, to the point where the successes of their teams seem almost fraudulent. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 19 Share Posted February 11 A 2025 SEC Roster Ranking. Note, this ranling excludes portal transfers which will affect rankings after the 2nd portal wave of transfers. https://athlonsports.com/college-football/sec-football-ranking-rosters-2025 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 20 Share Posted February 11 Athlon Ranks the 2025 B1G Schedules from Easiest, 1. Nebraska to Hardest, 18 Wisconsin. OBD at 5. has one of the easier schedules per Athlon. https://athlonsports.com/college-football/big-ten-easiest-toughest-schedules-2025 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OregonDucks No. 21 Share Posted February 11 On 1/31/2025 at 3:53 PM, David Marsh said: You mean you DON'T want to be a Beaver fan? Well, the Beavers were in the top 2 in their current conference… 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
