BCS Rankings: The SEC Has Proven to Be a Mini NFL Over the Last 10 Years

Culture

The University of Alabama on Monday proved that they are not only the national champion; they are the best football program in America.

The Crimson Tide handily defeated the Notre Dame 42-14 in a one-sided victory while hardly breaking a sweat. The victory solidified their claim to being a football dynasty. Alabama is 61–7 over the last four years and 6 of the losses occurred against SEC teams. Two of the losses occurred against BCS national champion predecessors, Florida (led by Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow) and Auburn (led by Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton). The only non-conference lost was against Utah in the 2009 Sugar Bowl.

Alabama finished the year No. 1 in the BCS rankings and captured their third BCS title in four years. The victory marked only the third time in history that a college football team won the national championship three times in four years. The Alabama victory also proved once again that the Southeastern Conference is the most dominant in college football.

The SEC routinely dominates the BCS rankings. This year going into the bowl season, six of the Top 10 teams were in the SEC. The conference is so dominant and they send so many athletes to the pros that they should sign a development deal with the NFL. Every other major sport has a development league so why shouldn’t the NFL?

If they can’t secure a development deal then they should create an offseason game where a team of SEC All-stars plays against a select team of NFL players. Or maybe the SEC champion should play a collection of college all-stars. Either way the SEC is dominant and Alabama is king of college football.

The win marked the seventh year in a row that an SEC team has won the national championship, Alabama has four, Florida has two, and Auburn and LSU each have one.  The SEC is a breeding ground for great players, as well as a cash cow in college sports. The conference has led all others in ticket sales since 1998 and has a $3 billion television contract. Any deal with the NFL would add to its considerable revenue stream.

Four of the past six Heisman Trophy winners are from the SEC and the conference consistently produces the most NFL players. In 2011 the conference produced 38 players and in 2012 they exceeded that with 42. In effect the SEC is an NFL development league without an official endorsement deal or formal relationship.

The SEC had nine players drafted in the first round in 2012 with eight of the first 18 picks. “It [was] the sixth consecutive season that the SEC has had more than one player taken in the first seven picks and the 10th time in the last 15 years that an SEC player has been selected in the top three.” In the last 10 years only two NFL teams have not selected an SEC player in the first round.

SEC alumnus and Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton won the 2011 NFL Rookie of the Year award after leading Auburn to the BCS national title in 2010. Alabama alumni Julio Jones is a pro bowl wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons in only his second season and Heisman Trophy runner-up, Trent Richardson rushed for 11 touchdowns in his rookie season for the Cleveland Browns. Richardson won the BCS championship with Alabama in 2011.

The proposed league already has a spokesperson. Katherine Webb the former Miss Alabama is an SEC alumnus that graduated from the 2010 BCS national Champion University of Auburn. She caused a mild media storm when her cameo was shown during the BCS title game. She is currently dating Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron. Her twitter account grew by 100,000 followers during the game, proving once again that the SEC has multiple mass marketing appeals.