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After a long, exciting year, the SEC’s year ended with a thud in bowl season. There’s still plenty to chant “S-E-C!” about as the 2014 season comes to a close.Â
- The young running backs. Nick Chubb, Leonard Fournette and Jalen Hurd all have at least two more years of college football remaining. With the way they lit it up in their bowl games, that trio could be competing for national honors for the rest of their careers. Add in players like Boom Williams behind them and the SEC is going to own the running game going forward.
- The toughest week-to-week slate in college. Texas A&M running back Tra Carson put it perfectly after Ohio State beat Alabama: with a month to prepare, teams from other conferences can knock off the SEC’s best. It’s the weekly grind that makes the SEC as special as it is, with no breathers week to week.
- Extreme parity. This year, the top of the SEC wasn’t quite as good as it has been in recent years, evidenced by Alabama getting knocked out of the playoff in the Sugar Bowl. Eight of the conferences 14 teams won eight or more games in 2014, and the conference set a record with 12 teams in bowl games. It felt like anyone could beat anyone in this game,
- East on the way up. The slate of opponents might have been lighter, but the SEC East proved it belongs during bowl season. The division was certainly down during the regular season, but a 5-0 postseason mark earns some respectability for the lesser division.
- Ridiculous recruiting. The SEC isn’t going anywhere, folks. According to 247sports’ composite rankings, the SEC has 10 teams ranked in the top 25 national recruiting classes, including three — Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee — in the top five. As it does every year, the SEC is bringing in some of the most touted players in the country to fill out its already stacked rosters.
A former freelance journalist from Philadelphia, Brett has made the trek down to SEC country to cover the greatest conference in college football.
