RunningJacket

Gallo, absolutely true and the effect which is why the SEC should have going after the portal the past 5 years instead of worrying about NIL. But for some reason they let the portal genie become a thing and no one is putting the transfer genie back in the bottle because the courts won’t allow it. The only way to handle it is for schools to refuse to take a transfer - but we know that would never happen because the minute a high level player comes up with his “excuse/exemption” because grandma has cancer or whatever you’ll schools lining up to take him. It’s a suckers game and the courts will always side with the players - as they should. Regular students transfer all the time. If someone is dumb enough to hand a kid a million bucks that’s on them.

SEC fans love to bring up the NFL when they aren’t winning. The NFL is not college football. Who cares at all about the NFL on a college board? I don’t care how many players get drafted from my team nor my conference. Once they take off my schools jersey I don’t care what they do the next day with their lives.

The simple proof that the BIG wasn’t paying on par as the SEC during the bagman era is that the BIG didn’t win. That’s the proof. Sure, Ohio St, Michigan, and a couple others like Mich St were half assing the bagman game, but more than half the SES was all in which is why you had multiple teams win Natties. - Tennessee, LSU, Auburn, Bama, UGA, FL. That’s the proof - who won.

Now that the BIG and others can openly pay the results are speaking - the BIG and others are winning, That freaking Indiana and Miami (a lowly ACC school) just whipped Bama and all other SEC teams in their way proves it all. And this idea that its coaching is laughable and just another SEC fan excuse for losing. Was Chizik some genius? Or Orgeron? Cristobal is not a great coach by any means but the man knows how to buy players which is what it takes.

Words mean nothing - look at results.

Like I said earlier, my analysis indicates there were probably 15-20 teams using the bagman system from all conferences. But the SEC clearly and knowingly had more doing it. That’s not a knock in them - that was good business to keep up. My team in the heart of the southeast didn’t do it and we suffered tremendously for not doing it while UGa, Bama, Auburn, FSU, Clemson all did. That’s why no 5 star outside Calvin even looked at GT. It sucked to be surrounded by sharks while you are a dolphin.

That era is over which is why everyone now has a chance. Sure, schools are still living off of past reputation for young players but in another 2-4 years the future 4 and 5 stars won’t give a rip about Saban or Bama’s past success or UGA’s back to back because those players would have been in 3rd grade when it happened. For us fans, we remember it like it was yesterday, but young people don’t have that historical perspective. All they see is Auburn has sucked, Bama is declining, UGA can’t get past the BIG, etc, etc. Heck, my team has hosted more 4 and 5 stars on visits this past year than ever in our history. And it’s all because we can pay and have shown we can coach a little. And even though we haven’t beaten UGA the whole country saw us compete toe to toe with them because their talent has fallen and our talent has risen. That’s what makes a healthy sport.

If GT had never left we’d be easily jn the top half because we traditionally were and nothing would have changed. The reason Bear Bryant and Bobby Dodd disliked each other and we left was because we actually competed with Bama and won our fair share. You didn’t see the Bear pissed at Tulane or Miss St.

Of course being successful would have come down to embracing the bagman system. I don’t know if GT would have. I do know the negative recruiting against us being in the ACC would never have taken hold. Also, admitting morons to play the lines would have been interesting.

All I know, is the portal and NIL has been the greatest tools teams like GT, Indiana, Vandy have ever been given. Half my team (exaggeration of course) is former depth pieces from the SEC which is why actually sniffed being ranked. Now we got a 5 star RB from Michigan so our offense should be solid and our defense has no where to go but up and we got a lot of portal guys in that side. I expect another 7-9 wins. I think fans just under estimate the talent on a lot of mid tier teams. When the reality is there isn’t much difference between a 4 or 3 star. Our starting QB is gonna be Mendoza”s little brother and he’s darn good. I’m not gonna say he’s the next top NFL QB but from what I hear from the closed spring practices is that our coaches love him and that he is fast and skillful which is what we need op to win a lot of ACC games, The Tennessee game will be a fun one early on after we whip Deion once again.

No one had said that “only the SEC was cheating”. Out of the 138 FBS teams I’d say less than 20 were playing the bagman system. But the SEC did it better than anyone and had more teams involved - which is why they dominated for the past 3 decades. I’m not taking that away from the the SEC. They played the game of the times just like Knute Rockne, Bobby Dodd, General Neyland, and others in the past during their day.

All I’m pointing out is we are now in a new era called NIL and the BIG has dominated with 3 straight Natties by 3 different teams. That’s what the SEC use to do. Maybe the SEC will figure it all out and win 7 of the next 10. Then I’ll gladly give them credit, but right now that’s not the case.

In the past 30 years we’ve all lived thru 3 types of domination in a major sport that all had their heyday and then stepped back. 1 - the Big East in hoops with the old Georgetown, UConn, St Johns, Syracuse days. 2- the ACC in hoops who would constantly have 2-3 teams in Final Fours. 3- the SEC absolutely dominating the BCS era and 4 team playoff era.

Sure, teams in those conferences can still compete and win Natties but not at the same rate and consistency. This coming season the ACC has one 1 football team with a chance - Miami. The SEC has one - UGA. The BIG has several. That’s just reality.

Now, can we all argue our team has a path to a Natty? Of course. That’s why we watch but we all know deep down that our teams would have to play way above their norm to win 3-4 playoff games let alone get an invite.

And polls are a joke and no longer matter with an expanded playoff. The committee has shown us they are a joke. FSU got hosed a few years ago. ND got hosed last year. I expect an SEC team to get hosed this December because the public pressure not to reward them will be high. It ain’t right but that’s been the history. You guys just haven’t had to experience the past 25 years but now that the BIG is the top tier welcome to my world of being a lap dog.

Anyone who uses polls in an argument is really a clueless fan. Polls are nothing but opinion and mean nothing. And worse than that polls are collusive entities that will prop up the money makers aka ESPN. The SEC will always be over populated in the polls until they are no longer in business with ESPN.

The entire country watched the “highly ranked” SEC get exposed, aka they LOST games against other conferences. Yet, we have fans bringing up post season polls? Zero logic. In a playoff system the post season poll is a poll of 1 - Indiana. No one cares who finished 2nd or 19th.

We all wish our teams had been cheating. As a GT guy I’ve always said we were stupid for not playing the game like others were. By the late 80’s this was no longer a gentlemen’s sport and we should have been cheating to compete instead of pissing away 20 years.

As for better coaches come on with that. Saban was at Mich St and won nothing until he aligned with the bagmen in Tuscaloosa. He played it perfectly but he isn’t some great coach. Look at Cignetti- he didn’t suddenly become a hundred times better coach but he did get a hundred times better player pool and magically won. Gene Chizik won a freaking Natty using the bagman system and no one says he’s a genius coach.

The entire sport’s history is fake because it’s never been a fair sport. I will say Saban is the GOAT of the bagman system. I will say Cignetti is the GOAT portal coach so far. I will say Kiffen is the GOAT of getting AD’s to buy him.


But this new era is wide open for any team willing to pay. Indiana will always be the new marker in college football. The ND era of the mid to 1900’s is long gone. The Bama dynasty is over. The SEC domination is over. The field is now wide open to whoever pays and coaches. I think it’s great for the sport.

No one is saying the SEC is buried.

There is a vast difference in saying the SEC is no longer dominant and saying the SEC is now buried. That’s the problem with commentary - it’s always the extremes which is rarely true.

My point as a 50plus year college football fan who watches way more games than I should is that the SEC is now just another conference. No better, no worse. They’ll win some Natties and not win some Natties. Just like the other conferences will.

I love SEC football. I also love ACC and BIG football. I also love those late night west coast games.

Everyone should root for their team and then enjoy the post season as a celebration of the sport. And if your team or conference wins then have fun with it. But you SEC fans had just gotten way to over the top as you dominated the sport. Believe me, if BIG fans start spouting nonsense then I’ll call then out too. But the expanded playoffs have shown that the BCS and 4 team playoffs will eventually be given asterisks by fans in the future.

Here’s the thing - I’m a southern homer and ALWAYS rooted for the southern team to beat the northern or western teams. And because I’m an alum of a southern ACC school it was never an issue until SEC fans turned college sports into a conference thing. It use to be regional pride so an Auburn win was treated the same as a Duke win, etc.

But the “it just means more” mindset has turned everyone against the SEC, especially when everyone knows the “it just means more” really meant “we’ll pay morons who can run and jump”.

Now that the NIL and portal era has shown that the SEC mystique was completely manufactured it is fun to watch SEC fans try and come to grips with it. Sure, the preseason polls will let you guys beat your chest about rankings but the expanded playoffs are where the truth is revealed and has shown these preseason rankings are as legit as the tooth fairy.

I still root for SEC teams, sans UGA for traditional reasons we all respect, and I’m glad the days of “it just means more” are over. Root for your team and enjoy the good seasons and suffer thru the bad. This sport is at its healthiest it’s ever been because every team has hoop because the field is level with no super teams like we saw all over the past 20 years when Saban and Kirby bought and coached all star teams. Right now none of us have a clue who the best teams will be. Some will pick UGA because of coaching and youth with a returning stud QB. Some will pick Texas. Some will say Cignetti can rebuild. Some will pick Columbus hair dye. But the point is we don’t know which is fantastic for exciting Saturdays every week. No more just show up and win games.

Just buy the Braves package on mlb tv. I bought both the Braves and mob package for 200 for the year.

The Braves will be fine. Last year injuries got us. Certain posters just like to whine because we let Freddie and Dansby walk because they wanted to be overpaid for their production.

AA is doing a good job.