From: mcconnel@b11.b11.ingr.com (Guy McConnell)
Subject: Re: SEC shoots itself in the foot
Organization: Intergraph Corp. Huntsville, AL
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1992 15:55:35 GMT

In article <402@rd1.interlan.com>, tonyf@rd1.interlan.com (Tony Fernandez) writes:
|> In article <1992Nov5.182357.3295@b11.b11.ingr.com>, mcconnel@b11.b11.ingr.com (Guy McConnell) writes:
|> >In article <398@rd1.interlan.com> tonyf@rm1.interlan.com (Tony Fernandez) writes:
|> >>I can't believe you guys are still upset about this.  
|> (about Miami not joining the SEC even though they were never invited)
    And even though there is no indication that they actually wanted to come)

|> >    I, for one, am not upset at all about this.  I *am* a little
|> >weary of hearing how everyone in the world trembles at the prospect
|> >of facing the fading canes.
|> >
|> 
|> Well, how else do you explain Miami's inability to schedule good teams to
|> home and home series?  Next year home schedule outside of Syracuse absolutely
|> stinks!  They do play on the road FSU and Colorado. 

    It's all clear to me now; if Miami "doesn't play anybody", it is an 
inability to schedule them, if it is anyone else, it is an unwillingness to 
schedule them. 

|> >    And, as I indicated, Miami got the type of conference they were
|> >shopping for.  But of course (in your best Wizard of Oz intonation) you
|> >can't blame the canes, you can't blame the canes, you can't...
|> 
|> Sarcasm or not, I don't see how you can blame the Canes for that.  

    The sarcasm was intended to show how ridiculous your contention that the SEC
was afraid to pick up Miami was.

|> >>and what is more impressive is that the SEC has
|> >>12 teams, while the Big East has only 8 teams.
|> >
|> >    I must say that the impressiveness of this one (as well as the
|> >relevance) totally escapes me.  What does it matter how many teams
|> >the Big Easy has?
|> 
|> What I meant was that the Big East having 3 out of 8 teams in the top 10 is
|> more impressive than the SEC having 1 out of 12.  The fact that the SEC
|> has more teams from which to pick makes the Big East accomplishments more
|> impressive.

    Or it means that they don't play each other enough and/or are not tough
enough top to bottom knock each other off.

|> As for saying that the SEC would have more teams in the Top 10 if it wasn't
|> for other SEC teams knocking them out, the same applies to the Big East 
|> and all conferences.  And before someone brings up the fact the the Big
|> East doesn't have a full round-robin schedule please note that the Big
|> East will still play proportionaly more conference games than the SEC.
|> The SEC plays 8*12/2=48 conference games out of a possible 11*12/2=66 for a 
|> 73 percent coverage. The Big East plays 21 conference games out of a possible
|> 7*8/2=28 for a 75 percent coverage.

    "Coverage" doesn't mean diddly.  If you only have 8 teams, you could all 
play each other and still have room for outside games.  The SEC has less "total
coverage" in order to keep from playing solely in the conference.

|> As for it being relevant, it refers to a comment you made in the post I was
|> replying to (since deleted) in which you claimed that Miami didn't join the
|> SEC because they wanted to join a conference they could dominate.  That 
|> point was given to show that the SEC is not any tougher than the BE.  

    I simply raised the logical question in response to the still 
unsubstantiated position that the SEC didn't want Miami.  Did Miami want in the
SEC?  Another question yet to be answered.

|> >Where are the facts?  Has Miami tried to play Alabama in a home and
|> >home series?  I honestly don't know but, as I indicated before, I
|> >seriously doubt that Alabama would have declined.  Why should a
|> >school with the tradition of Alabama refuse to play an upstart?
|> 
|> They are afraid of losing?  Sorry, couldn't resist.

    You obviously missed my post containing the win/loss record between the two
teams.  They have met 14 times and Alabama is 11 - 3 against Miami.  Miami won 
in 1954, 1955, and 1990.  As I also stated there, they did have a home and home
series.  It is rather hard to believe that Alabama would have cancelled that
since we have so thoroughly dominated it.

|> >This is (hopefully) the face of things to come; the battles
|> >will be fought within the conferences and the winners will meet in a
|> >playoff system in which a true national champion can be crowned
|> >instead of a "mythical" one as it is now.
|> 
|> Well, that I agree with.  Although, I still like to see out of conference
|> games between good teams.  

    Absolutely no argument there.  But, as I said before, playing 8 SEC games 
per year does not provide any "breathers".  We must go outside the conference 
for those.

|> >   Me too.  And I hope Miami won't elect to stay home and try and
|> >extend their home winning streak.
|> >
|> 
|> If Alabama is undefeated, and Miami is invited to the Sugar Bowl they will
|> be there.  

    Well, I am relieved to hear that from a reliable source in the university's
athletic department.  For what it is worth, I expect them to be there if both
remain undefeated.

--
Guy McConnell  guy@mspe5.b11.ingr.com  or  ...uunet!ingr!b11!mspe5!guy
   *** A hurricane is a seasonal thing.  The Tide is forever.  ***