SI writers discuss whether SEC dominance hurts the sport

[WoadBlue]

And they touch on a great deal.

I think this is my favorite quote: "While the “It Just Means More” slogan is easily mocked, it also carries the weight of truth. When the fans of a program demand competitiveness—the best facilities, the best coaches, the biggest staffs, the biggest NIL packages—they get it."

You are what you tolerate. We tolerate weak position coaches, and we get stuck with them. We accept repeat 7-6 and 6-7 teams, so we get a bunch of them. We accept not winning the ACC for seemingly a century, and that's what we get. It does not mean more to UNC fans, and the results show that.

 

[midline]

Clemson is the only football program in the ACC that truly takes football seriously enough to compete at the elite level year in, year out.

 

[WoadBlue]

Clemson is the only football program in the ACC that truly takes football seriously enough to compete at the elite level year in, year out.

FSU does too, when it can stop spending most of its time and energy hating the fact that UF got a 50 year head start.

 

[WoadBlue]

Ohio St's Ryan Day has responded to not winning the BT this year by making staff changes - very SEC-like. For UNC fans, it should be most interesting that Ohio St let go OL coach Greg Studrawa.

The Ohio St OL in 2021 might not have been the best in the BT, but it was worlds better than the mess that Searels delivers. In 6 years at Ohio St, Studrawa has produced 2 Remington Trophy winners, 2 other All-Americans, and a string of All-BT players.

 

[JimmyinVA]

... We accept not winning the ACC for seemingly a century, and that's what we get....

1980 was our last ACC football title -- 41 long years ago. and i'm with you woad, i do NOT accept that.

 

[midline]

FSU does too, when it can stop spending most of its time and energy hating the fact that UF got a 50 year head start.

Not sure FSU took football as seriously as many thought. They tapped into that Florida talent pool 40 years ago, but they didn't keep up in the arms race of facilities. They were trying to catch up to most of the SEC, etc., when Jimbo left. Not sure why anyone would want to go to FSU. The whole town is a dump.

 

[tarheel0910]

Not sure FSU took football as seriously as many thought. They tapped into that Florida talent pool 40 years ago, but they didn't keep up in the arms race of facilities. They were trying to catch up to most of the SEC, etc., when Jimbo left. Not sure why anyone would want to go to FSU. The whole town is a dump.

Yeah, they weren't doing the one thing that you have to do which was spend money on facilities. Don't know if they started doing that again, but they were just living on their name for a long time.

 

[WoadBlue]

Not sure FSU took football as seriously as many thought. They tapped into that Florida talent pool 40 years ago, but they didn't keep up in the arms race of facilities. They were trying to catch up to most of the SEC, etc., when Jimbo left. Not sure why anyone would want to go to FSU. The whole town is a dump.

You are on to something. FSU relied on Bobby Bowden as great recruiter and great speaker while failing to invest in facilities as they should. Bowden made the program great, and the boosters kept riding that rather than investing for when he would need to step aside.

 

[WoadBlue]

1980 was our last ACC football title -- 41 long years ago. and i'm with you woad, i do NOT accept that.

You and I recall those days. One of the things I remember thinking that fall is that if James Worthy hadn't broken his ankle back in the sporing, then Dean Smith very well might have won a National Championship in the same calendar year that UNC football won its 5th ACC championship. I was expecting many more ACC champion ships in football in coming years.