SEC Fanboys Silent After Brutal Bowl Game Losses
SEC Exposed? After a string of bad bowl game performances, the Southeastern Conference, once the college football powerhouse, is suddenly under a microscope. Fans and critics alike are roasting the conference’s lackluster showings on social media, wondering why it is so hyped after failing to put up superior showings.
A Harsh Reality Check For SEC Fans
As it made its way through the College Football Playoff (CFP), SEC diehards loudly championed Ole Miss, Alabama and South Carolina as potential playoff deserving contenders, all with identical 9-3 records. But results on the field said something very different.
Then Alabama lost to a Michigan team that a lot of people would say was average, 19-13. South Carolina, meanwhile, couldn’t score on a stout Illinois team, falling 21-17. Tennessee then lost to Ohio State in the playoff, adding injury to insult, further corroding the SEC’s battered reputation vs. the Big Ten (B1G).
Social Media Erupts
It’s just how it goes in the digital age, and the internet was quick to reply. Memes, commentary, and straight-up mockery of the SEC’s failings rattled through social media platforms. Particularly ludicrous were the losses of Alabama and South Carolina — arguments which occurred before the bowl season in favor of a CFP spot for those teams resulted in widespread ridicule.
Eccentricity appeared, too, as critics pointed out how hypothetical matchups, frequently talked about among SEC fans, failed when the field was tested. Fans from other conferences, and especially B1G fans, were reveling in the victory of their teams, under siege of the narrative of SEC superiority.
The Hypothetical vs. Reality Debate.
For weeks, media analysts and fan boys have been selling the idea that SEC teams would have been the favorites in ‘what if’ scenarios. However, the actual results were not as they painted. But as Alabama and South Carolina crater, and Tennessee’s playoff performance is spotty, the credibility of such claims is being called into question.
In some ways, the College Football Playoff committee’s decisions, which have previously enraged SEC fans, now make perfect sense. SEC hype meet on-field results may not be a match this season.
A Wake-Up Call for the SEC
With each recent bowl performance for the SEC is a humbling reminder that past success doesn’t equate to future results. These losses are a significant blow to such a self proclaimed best conference.
This will likely be a story of whether it is a temporary slump or the start of a total realignment of college football’s power balance in the coming seasons. In the meantime, there seems to be fairly abundant fuel for the conference’s critics, and there’s a lot for the conference to deliver.
