Welcome to the SEC, Texas A&M and Missouri

[WinterBorn]

I saw this article online and wanted to share it, just in case we have any Texas A&M or Missouri fans.

http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-foo...ever-to-forget

"1. No one hates SEC teams more than SEC teams.

You may not believe this and it may be hard to comprehend, but it’s an undeniable reality. The hate goes beyond primary rivals and full bore into any conference game, any week.

You want hate? Consider this conversation between Auburn quarterback/wideout Kodi Burns and I in the days leading up to the 2010 BCS National Championship Game.

Me: “Did you pull for Alabama in last year’s national title game?”

Burns: “You’ve got to be kidding me. I was the biggest Texas fan out there.”

Me: “But it’s conference pride.”

Burns: “It’s Alabama, man.”

2. It’s all about defense.

Days before last year’s national championship game, after Oklahoma State gave up more than 40 points (again) and won a big game (again), Cowboys coach Mike Gundy said he would have loved to play LSU in the BCS National Championship Game.

Gundy said the ‘Pokes would’ve “thrown it 50 times” and made it fun.

If you’re throwing it 50 times in an SEC game, you’re losing. Period. (Quick aside: Oklahoma State threw it 58 times against Iowa State. And lost.) Guess what Missouri and Texas A&M like to do?

If you can’t control the interior with your defensive line, your trend-setting offenses – Missouri and Texas A&M already have the two most creative offenses in the league – won’t be enough. Because eventually the guy on the other side, whose entire being revolves around playing defense, will figure out your funky offense.

And then it gets ugly.

3. The love ends in Week 2.
So far, it has been all roses and respect this offseason. The SEC office even chipped in by giving Texas A&M (Florida) and Missouri (Georgia) marquee home games on Sept. 8 to begin their first season in the league.

Then, reality hits.

It’s not just dealing with brutal road trips and loud environments unlike anything you’ve seen, it’s the reality that seven of your 12 new friends consistently finish in the top 25 of recruiting rankings.

Consider this: Texas A&M went from playing two big games a year, to playing every team in the SEC’s current six-year national title run this fall: Florida, LSU, Alabama and Auburn

4. Don’t upset Alabama fans, you’ll just make them more crazy.
See: Updyke, Harvey.

See: Downing, Brian.

5. Atlanta may as well be Siberia.
The last time the SEC expanded in 1992, South Carolina and Arkansas joined a regional conference that hadn’t yet developed into the national behemoth it is today.

And it still took South Carolina 19 years to reach its first SEC Championship Game.

Arkansas did it in Year 4, but the West Division was in awful shape; worse than the current downtrend of the once mighty East Division (Florida, Tennessee rebuilding). Under that logic, Missouri could have one – maybe two – years of potential to win the East before Florida (at least) cycles back up.

As for Texas A&M in the heavyweight West Division: it took South Carolina nine years to have a winning SEC record while playing in the then powerful East.

6. Don’t confuse sports.

Dear Missouri:

Only one school cares about the beginning of basketball season in October. If you’d like, you too can brag about roundball five months before it matters.

If so, there’s a nice place for you next to Kentucky in the Music City Bowl. In good years.

When in doubt, always remember: it’s a football world. Bathe in it.

7. There’s no such thing as job security.
Missouri has had unprecedented success under coach Gary Pinkel. The four-year run of 40 wins from 2007-10 is unmatched in more than 120 years of football.

But Pinkel probably wouldn’t have made it past Year 4 (after the 2004 season) if the Tigers were playing in the SEC. At that point, his Missouri record was 22-25.

Since then, Mizzou is 62-29, and Pinkel is 18 wins from passing Don Faurot as the school’s all-time leader in victories.

What does this all mean now for Pinkel and Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin? The same as it does for every other coach in the SEC: you have two years to prove yourself.

After that, Year 3 becomes make or break.

8. Embrace power football

The SEC is all about controlling tempo on both sides of the ball.

On offense, that means a power run game. This, of course, is foreign to both Missouri (four and five-wide, no fullback) and Sumlin’s pass-happy teams at Houston (and now at Texas A&M).

Both Sumlin and Pinkel said in June that playing in the SEC won’t change their style of play. That’s what Urban Meyer said, too. Then he lost three games in his first season at Florida because he couldn’t get tough yards by spreading the defense and finding seams.

A year later, his spread offense suddenly became an option-heavy, power run game with a 245-pound quarterback bulldozing opponents and setting up quick, change of pace tailbacks.

You’re not surviving in the SEC without a lead blocking fullback and/or a tight end. And neither Missouri nor Texas A&M has a true lead-blocking fullback on the roster.

They’ll learn.

9. It’s all about sustained success
The story of Auburn under coach Gene Chizik:

One year with Cam Newton: 14-0, national champions.

Two years without Newton: 16-10.

One year with Newton: victories over Alabama, LSU, Arkansas and Georgia.

Two years without Newton: 0-8 vs. Alabama, LSU, Arkansas and Georgia.

Translation: the national championship coach at Auburn better start winning games that matter. Soon.

10. When in doubt, chant S-E-C! "

 

[old navy]

Roll Tide !!!

 

[WinterBorn]

Roll Tide !!!

You are a wise man with excellent taste!

 

[old navy]

Roll Tide !!!

You are a wise man with excellent taste!

Apparently you are as well.

 

[WinterBorn]

Roll Tide !!!

You are a wise man with excellent taste!

Apparently you are as well.

I grew up in Tuscaloosa. We used to ride our bikes over to watch them practice, and see bear in his tower. I went to th UA, my kids went to the UA, and plenty of my money went there as well.

I figure those of us who were proud fans during the bad years (Mike dubose ect) earned the right to strut during these great years!

RTR!

 

[samjones]

Ignorance, ignorance, ignorance

"1. No one hates SEC teams more than SEC teams.

You may not believe this and it may be hard to comprehend, but it’s an undeniable reality. The hate goes beyond primary rivals and full bore into any conference game, any week.

You may not believe this and it may be hard for you to comprehend, but this Husker fan will tell you that we didn't really like Oklahoma or Texas. Conference pride? No.

To this day I scour the obituaries waiting for the death of Billy Simms.

The Cowboys don't like OU much either, I'm lead to believe. And I'm not altogether certain they were fond of TU down there in College Station. My alma mater, Mizzou - they weren't altogether fond of Kansas.... or Ar-kansas either, but that's a different story.

You are a dumb fucking joke if you think that the SEC is the only confence that ever had blood-rivalries. It's simply sad that so many of them had to disappear because of a bunch of greedy asswipes in Austin. They have value, these blood-rivalries. I remember tuning in every Saturday after Thanksgiving to find out whether Nebraska would beat Oklahoma to play for the naitonal championship in the Orange Bowl or whether it would be the other way around.

2. It’s all about defense.

Days before last year’s national championship game, after Oklahoma State gave up more than 40 points (again) and won a big game (again), Cowboys coach Mike Gundy said he would have loved to play LSU in the BCS National Championship Game.

Gundy said the ‘Pokes would’ve “thrown it 50 times” and made it fun.

Nuff said. The 'Pokes would have won the BCS championship because they would have beat LSU. "It's all about defense" is just a dumb statement. Offense and defense are both important in winning the big game.

3. The love ends in Week 2.
So far, it has been all roses and respect this offseason. The SEC office even chipped in by giving Texas A&M (Florida) and Missouri (Georgia) marquee home games on Sept. 8 to begin their first season in the league.

Then, reality hits.

This is absolutely the dumbest thing you've ever written Winterborn and that's saying ALOT.

Mizzou knows what having a tough schedule is like. We've been playing Oklahoma, Nebraska, Texas, and sometimes-great teams like Oklahoma State, Kansas, and Kansas State for over a century. Whodafuck you think you're talking to here?

(No offense to aTm, I just didn't happen to go to school there which is why I'm not mentioning you more often.)

5. Atlanta may as well be Siberia.
The last time the SEC expanded in 1992, South Carolina and Arkansas joined a regional conference that hadn’t yet developed into the national behemoth it is today.

And it still took South Carolina 19 years to reach its first SEC Championship Game.

You are too lazy to look up how long it's been since Mizzou won a conference title. Go do that and report back to me about how hard it is going to be for us to adjust to the SEC. We're not Boise State, Dickwad.

6. Don’t confuse sports.

Dear Missouri:

Only one school cares about the beginning of basketball season in October. If you’d like, you too can brag about roundball five months before it matters.

Of all the dumb things you've written, this may be the only one that actually bothers me on some level.

Mizzou has a good football team. Mizzou has a good basketball team. Neither is remarkably better than the other and that has been true most years. Mizzou is neither a "football" school nor a "basketball" school. We're a bit like Michigan in that we can do both.

Our football team and our basketball team, unfortunately, both disappoint in their own ways, but that doesn't make them inept. Just disappointing. Mizzou basketball will be about the same in the SEC as we were in the Bit 12. We're just switching K rivals, that's all.

7. There’s no such thing as job security.
Missouri has had unprecedented success under coach Gary Pinkel. The four-year run of 40 wins from 2007-10 is unmatched in more than 120 years of football.

Meh - Mizzou has had success before too. "Unprecedented" is an overstatement, albeit not a falsehood.

No Mizzou coach though they had alot of job security in the Big 12.

8. Embrace power football

The SEC is all about controlling tempo on both sides of the ball.

dumb. You don't know the difference between the Big 12 and the Pac 12.

9. It’s all about sustained success

Funny you should write that. Some teams expect their coach to win consistently. Some don't care so much. That's true in the Big 12 and in the B1G and in the SEC and in all the power conferences.

The SEC has plenty of teams with mediocre football programs. Mizzou will be a contender for every SEC title like they were a contender for every Big 12 title. Maybe they'll do better in the SEC because they always seemed to come up short in the Big 12.

Sadly, Mizzou has essentially alienated it's entire urban base by switching conferences. Mizzou/Kansas was simply the greates all-sports rivalry ever and if you knew the geography and history you would understand why they made such great natural rivals. Now they won't play every year any more. Sad really.....

If Mizzou had been invited to join the B1G (they would have) then the same kind of great rivalry would have been built with the Illini - but that didn't happen and now Missouri is basically playing in the SWC (not a typo). They'll be doing a bunch of road trips to be playing a bunch of teams that no one in Missouri really cares about.


No one outside the boot anyway.