3 & Out: Conference Warfare, The ACC Title Race And Mississippi State’s Push In The SEC West
By Zach Pugh
1st Down: Conference warfare
I’ve always found the debate between fans of teams in separate conferences silly. Arguing that a specific conference is better than the other becomes redundant and there’s no winning the discussion. A team from the SEC has won the last six national championships. Then, somehow the entire conference is celebrated as victorious. I’m sure most of you have seen the commemorative shirt honoring the feat of the SEC’s six straight titles. Are fans of Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi State, Georgia, South Carolina and Kentucky really going to wear that shirt with pride?
Don’t get me wrong, the teams from the SEC that have won the last six years (Florida, LSU, Alabama & Auburn) have been great. Just looking at what Alabama has done, and is still doing, on the recruiting trail is remarkable, but there’s a certain level of ridiculousness to the SEC chant. When Alabama was establishing its superiority to Michigan in the Cowboy Classic, fans were chanting “SEC, SEC, SEC.” How about chanting “Yea, Alabama!” instead?
It’s just hard for me to understand how someone with their fan allegiance tied to one program is cheering for other teams within that same conference to succeed in order to represent the league as a whole. Is a Michigan fan really rooting for Urban Meyer and Ohio State to bring a national championship to the Big Ten just so the conference looks good? Could this be a generalization? Sure, but the emphasis of a conference’s success seems to be becoming more of the focus since teams from the SEC have been crowned the best in the nation the past six years.
2nd Down: The race in the ACC
I stand by my preseason pick of the Florida State Seminoles not only winning the ACC, but also making it to the BCS Championship, but the race for the ACC title might be closer than originally thought. The ‘Noles’ defense should finish among the nation’s elite. However, the offense from Clemson and Virginia Tech’s defense could be huge challenges for FSU. We’re still at a point in the young season where gauging how good teams are can be tricky, but it’s never too early to speculate as to who the contenders could be.
Virginia Tech’s special teams were able to spark their 42-7 rout over FCS opponent Austin Peay. The running game struggled quite a bit against the Governors. The Hokies are still trying to find someone to replace David Wilson. J.C. Coleman and Michael Holmes had a difficult time finding much room against a team they should’ve handled easily. Logan Thomas is a threat on the ground, but the coaching staff is trying to establish an identity in the backfield with its tailbacks. You can chalk up the slow start on Saturday to early season rust, but the confidence in VT challenging for the ACC title comes from their defense.
Clemson took the nation by surprise last year by starting with an 8-0 record, but then the meltdown capped with disaster in the Orange Bowl. The Tigers might not get a serious look — understandably so — until they make it out of the ACC, but they do have plenty of talent on offense to challenge Florida State’s defense. The main concern with this team is still its defense and the jury is out on whether or not new defensive coordinator Brent Venables can make a quick turnaround. Offensively, Tajh Boyd has led the Tigers to two straight games of 500-plus yards. The second concern is whether or not Boyd can remain consistent, something he was not able to do during the collapse last season.
3rd Down: Can Mississippi State contend in the SEC West?
4-12 in the SEC West definitely looks abysmal, and there is certainly cause for all the questions that face head coach Dan Mullen, but Saturday’s total domination of Auburn have hopes high in Starkville. The excitement goes beyond the fact Saturday’s win marks the first time since 1999 the Bulldogs have begun conference play 1-0. The Tigers are the only team MSU has beat inside its division that wasn’t Ole Miss.
Tyler Russell looked impressive and while it’s difficult to gauge what to take from his performance against an underachieving Auburn defense, he knew what was at stake and came to play. Russell was 20-of-29, passing for 222 yards and threw for three touchdowns. Russell helped guide the offense to 15 plays of 10 yards or more. His 20 completions are a career high and he is also the first MSU quarterback to throw for 200-plus yards in an SEC game since 2010.
Head coach Dan Mullen talked after the win about getting the monkey off his back, Auburn was more like a gorilla on his back. Going back to his days as an assistant at Florida, Mullen had never beaten the Tigers. The hypothetical gorilla went beyond results on the field. Mullen had wanted to sign Cam Newton out of junior college. Mullen was an assistant at Florida when Newton was a Gator, but Newton chose Auburn and the rest if BCS history.
So, now the question is if is this the year the Bulldogs compete in the SEC West? If MSU was able to make it out of the division as the representative, it would be the biggest surprise of the 2012 season. The road will be difficult as they will have to get past Alabama, LSU and Arkansas. Yes, the Razorbacks embarrassed themselves against UL Monroe, but they will use that loss as motivation for the remainder of the season.
Looking at the upcoming schedule, the Bulldogs have a great chance to be undefeated going into their match-up with Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The next five games include Troy, South Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee and Middle Tennessee State. Tyler Russell will have to remain efficient and the road will not be easy, but the Bulldogs have a chance and are off on the right foot.