While debate over the nation’s top conference used to be a hot topic, nobody argues its identity anymore. The SEC is on top right now, and it’s not even close. The league boasts a perfect 7-0 in BCS Championship Games, including the last five in a row. With the conference supremacy discussion settled for the time being, many have looked inside the walls of the SEC for the next hot debate topic. Which program is the SEC’s best?
Let’s settle the debate.
Throughout the entire history of the league, Alabama would definitively come out on top with its 13 national championships and 22 SEC titles. But I thought we’d take a look at a more current and relevant time frame. I settled on the “BCS era” that the SEC has so thoroughly dominated. The BCS began in 1998, so we’re looking at the last 13 years of college football in the SEC.
Your own personal criteria may dictate which program you think is best.
LSU and Florida both have a pair of national championships. They also tie for the lead with three SEC championships each.
But it’s LSU and Georgia who have had the most Top-10 finishes, each finishing with six.
Florida tops the league with five BCS bowl wins. And if it’s consistency you crave, the Gators are the only program to not have a losing season during the BCS era.
I assigned point values to some of the more recognized achievements of a college football team such as national championships, BCS bowl wins, SEC Championships, Division championships, Top-10 finishes and non-BCS bowl wins. Here is how I assigned the points:
BCS Championship Game Win – 20 points
BCS Championship Game Loss – Not needed. SEC is 7-0
SEC Championship Game Win – 10 points
SEC Championship Game Loss – 5 points
BCS Bowl Win – 8 points
BCS Bowl Loss – 5 points
Top-10 Finish (Coaches Poll) – 4 points
Non-BCS Bowl Win – 3 points
Non-BCS Bowl Loss – 1 point
Losing Season – -3 points
And here are the ultimate SEC standings in the BCS era…
1) Florida 140
2) LSU 124
3) Georgia 96
4) Alabama 76
5) Tennessee 68
6) Auburn 65
7) Arkansas 19
8) South Carolina 6
9) Ole Miss 4
10) Kentucky 2
11) Miss State -6
12) Vanderbilt -33
Without too much surprise, the Florida Gators take the top spot as the best SEC program during the BCS era with 140 points. All the more impressive considering the Ron Zook era. The second place team is the LSU Tigers with 124 points. The Gators combined consistency and excellence with their national championship victories and continued excellence. LSU nearly matched the Gators’ accomplishments; however, their losing seasons in 1998 and 1999 kept them away from the top prize. Had we started keeping score in 2000, LSU would have edged the Gators for the crown.
While Alabama is currently among the league’s super elite, they come in at fourth place behind the Georgia Bulldogs. Georgia finished with 96 points while the Tide were at 76. Aside from one great season (1999), Alabama was pretty mediocre with a few losing seasons prior to Nick Saban taking over. Behind Florida, Georgia has probably been the most consistent team in the SEC. Their only losing season in the BCS era came last year when they went 6-7. But they’re also the only one of the “Big 6” to not have a crystal football in their trophy room. For that reason alone, many would drop the Bulldogs down this list but I don’t think that’s fair to their program’s consistency in the BCS era.
Tennessee is next with 68 points, coming in just ahead of Auburn with 65. These two programs bookend the BCS era with national championships and have had their share of ups and downs in between. After the Tigers, it’s a long way back to Arkansas and the rest of the pack. Vandy takes their accustomed place in the cellar with -33 points.
While the criteria and point values can certainly be debated, it seems clear that Florida should be considered the league’s top program in the BCS era in almost any metric.
