Wake up call, please.
When?
December 5, 2009. Around 2 p.m. would be nice. I like pregame stuff.
Why, you ask?
Because that's the next game that means anything in the SEC this year. The last one. The big enchilada. The SEC Championship. Also known as the Alabama - Florida December Classic, based on the number of times it's been those two teams in those positions.
Let's be honest - it's what every real SEC fan should have known would happen all year. It only took to the end of Saturday to make sure the invitations read correctly as Alabama dispatched LSU and locked their spot in Atlanta. (Florida secured their spot with a win over Georgia last week.)
As for the remaining SEC games, well, there's not a lot to be excited about because as much as the fans of programs like Mississippi State, South Carolina, and Auburn would like you to think, none of those teams stand a chance against either Florida or Alabama in the season closers.
Much more important was the statement made by both teams in their wins Saturday (Florida blasted hapless Vanderbilt - ought to be a law) - they aren't going anywhere anytime soon. The SEC (particularly the SEC West) is littered with name coaches (except for Gene Chizik at Auburn who is as much known for his atrocious 12-22 head coaching record as anything else) and fanbases poised to see their teams vault to the top. Ole Miss has faltered under the weight of pressure. Mississippi State is a fine school with a mediocre athletic programs. Arkansas doesn't believe in enough defense to be taken seriously. LSU was the wildcard. Talented yet seemingly unorganized and fragile. Well, those cracks grew larger Saturday and the dam broke. Think any of the West teams can contend with Alabama in the near future? Forget about it. Nick Saban and Alabama showed you what a dominant program looks like. And get this - that Alabama team is still young and those coaches are bringing in another bumper crop of recruits. Florida post-Tim Tebow will look different, but they have playmakers nearly two deep at every position (even quarterback). In spite of what the fans of Georgia (which is a tire fire waiting to erupt) or Tennessee would have you believe, those teams are years behind Urban Meyer and the Gators. (South Carolina, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt - you are excused from the table as we all know you never had a chance anyway.)
Article comments
1 - JollyJim
I don't know why they don't just go ahead and hand out the National Championship trophy at the Georgia Dome. That game more often than not pits the two best teams in the country anyway. And did you really say that Florida "blasted" Vandy, and made a "statement" against them? As for LSU, they're led by a coach who has gotten away with one stupid coaching decision after another (like that last-second pass to beat Auburn that i swear to this day must have passed right thru the DB's torso), which have suddenly stopped working out for him.
2 - Jay Skipworth
They won by 24 points against a team in the conference. Yes, I know it's "just Vandy," but that is impressive. More impressive is how Florida has basically sleepwalked through their schedule and still beat most of the teams in the ground.