Is Auburn overrated?

[MWM]

Nobody in the southeast is ever going to admit the SEC is down.... just won't happen under any circumstance. But pretty much everyone outside it can see it. It's not as good as it has been. I don't buy the SEC west is loaded. They have Alabama and Auburn and that's about it. LSU is not very good regardless of their record and neither is Arkansas. If they're loaded because of LSU and Arkansas, then every conference is loaded because all of them can claim teams that good.

Auburn deserves the ranking they have and they have the best player in the game this year. They may just be the best team in the country. If they go onto beat Alabama, then there will be no doubt as to where they stand. But I don't think their path has been any more difficult than Oregon's to this point. And most people not living in the southeast are likely to agree. If the two teams played on neutral terf, I think it would be close but I'd probably bet on Oregon. Auburn's offense is very good, but is capable of being slowed down, even if just a little. I don't know that Oregon's could be slowed down at all.

But like Rick said, none of us have much idea of what would happen if all these teams were able to play on the field.

[RBA]

Oregon #1 in BCS. Richly deserved.

[LoganBuck]

Nobody in the southeast is ever going to admit the SEC is down.... just won't happen under any circumstance. But pretty much everyone outside it can see it. It's not as good as it has been. I don't buy the SEC west is loaded. They have Alabama and Auburn and that's about it. LSU is not very good regardless of their record and neither is Arkansas. If they're loaded because of LSU and Arkansas, then every conference is loaded because all of them can claim teams that good.

Auburn deserves the ranking they have and they have the best player in the game this year. They may just be the best team in the country. If they go onto beat Alabama, then there will be no doubt as to where they stand. But I don't think their path has been any more difficult than Oregon's to this point. And most people not living in the southeast are likely to agree. If the two teams played on neutral terf, I think it would be close but I'd probably bet on Oregon. Auburn's offense is very good, but is capable of being slowed down, even if just a little. I don't know that Oregon's could be slowed down at all.

But like Rick said, none of us have much idea of what would happen if all these teams were able to play on the field.

To me Oregon is the same team they were last year. Ohio State set the blueprint on how to beat them. Run the ball on offense, win the time of possession battle, hit the quarterback, hit him again, hit him again. I think the PAC10 is actually weaker than last year.

I really like Auburn's offense, especially Cam Newton. If they run through the rest of their schedule, and the SEC Championship, there will be no doubt where they deserve to be ranked.

[Brutus]

To me Oregon is the same team they were last year. Ohio State set the blueprint on how to beat them. Run the ball on offense, win the time of possession battle, hit the quarterback, hit him again, hit him again. I think the PAC10 is actually weaker than last year.

I really like Auburn's offense, especially Cam Newton. If they run through the rest of their schedule, and the SEC Championship, there will be no doubt where they deserve to be ranked.

Blueprints are nice, and perhaps Ohio State did set one. But you also need the personnel to do it. Quite honestly, I see only one defense good enough to stop Oregon this year (Alabama). I definitely don't think even Ohio State could do the same thing this year. In fact, this Ohio State defense as is would probably get dinged quite a bit against Oregon.

[jojo]

Nobody in the southeast is ever going to admit the SEC is down.... just won't happen under any circumstance.

This is simply untrue and unfair.

Five of the six SEC west teams are ranked in the top 20 of the BCS standing with 3 of the teams being in the top 10 (overall the SEC West is 39-11). Name another conference that bests how just the SEC west is viewed by the BCS....

Auburn has to play all of those teams in addition to another SEC team in the top 20-South Carolina.

Oregon's resume? To this point they've only played 2 teams that currently sport a winning record.

There are plenty of reasons to argue the SEC West is tough this year without being biased.

[MWM]

"Rankings" don't make teams good. Part of the reason those teams are ranked where they are is because they're in the SEC. I've watched LSU, Arkansas, and Mississippi play this year (part of living in the southeast is that about every game is on TV) and you're not going to convince me that those teams are worthy of making a conference "loaded". They're all very average and every conference has teams this good.

[jojo]

"Rankings" don't make teams good. Part of the reason those teams are ranked where they are is because they're in the SEC. I've watched LSU, Arkansas, and Mississippi play this year (part of living in the southeast is that about every game is on TV) and you're not going to convince me that those teams are worthy of making a conference "loaded". They're all very average and every conference has teams this good.

Rankings aren't as arbitrary as "someone in the southeast"....and that's the point.


If the SEC West is essentially average then its a down year for NCAA football.

[bucksfan2]

Blueprints are nice, and perhaps Ohio State did set one. But you also need the personnel to do it. Quite honestly, I see only one defense good enough to stop Oregon this year (Alabama). I definitely don't think even Ohio State could do the same thing this year. In fact, this Ohio State defense as is would probably get dinged quite a bit against Oregon.

The same things were being said last year about Oregon when OSU played them. Its the reason I really am not buying Oregon to this point yet. They haven't played a team yet who will hit them in the mouth. They will hit them over and over again.

As for Auburn I don't buy them yet. I won't buy them until they play and beat Alabama. They are a nice story with a dynamic QB but so was UM until they ran into some trouble. As someone said above I think the SEC is way down this season. LSU isn't all that great, neither is Arkansas or Ol Miss. Florida and Georgia are both down this season and Alabama is the cream of the crop but has one loss to their name.

I am not a big believer in teams that can't stop anybody. I am a big believer in dynamic offenses but those need to be accompanied by solid defenses. Both Auburn and Oregon don't have a defense.

[WVRed]

Nobody in the southeast is ever going to admit the SEC is down....

I'm not going to disagree with this, but the SEC is still in line to send a team to the national championship game for the FIFTH year in a row, with the leading Heisman candidate to boot.

It's not going to matter until after January 10th when the dust settles after all the bowl games and then we can justify whether or not the SEC is overrated.

[Brutus]

The same things were being said last year about Oregon when OSU played them. Its the reason I really am not buying Oregon to this point yet. They haven't played a team yet who will hit them in the mouth. They will hit them over and over again.

As for Auburn I don't buy them yet. I won't buy them until they play and beat Alabama. They are a nice story with a dynamic QB but so was UM until they ran into some trouble. As someone said above I think the SEC is way down this season. LSU isn't all that great, neither is Arkansas or Ol Miss. Florida and Georgia are both down this season and Alabama is the cream of the crop but has one loss to their name.

I am not a big believer in teams that can't stop anybody. I am a big believer in dynamic offenses but those need to be accompanied by solid defenses. Both Auburn and Oregon don't have a defense.

If you look around college football, however, you'll see a whole bunch of teams that can't stop anybody. Alabama and, I suppose TCU, are the only two teams really built on defense right now.

I usually agree with you about needing to be able to play defense. That usually is a team's downfall. Problem is, there aren't many teams that can make Oregon pay for that. This year the defenses just don't seem to be catching up with the offenses as much.

[Sea Ray]

Nobody in the southeast is ever going to admit the SEC is down.... just won't happen under any circumstance.

I don't know if I qualify as "the southeast" but I do think the SEC is down as compared to recent years. I still think they're the best football conference around but I'm "not as sure" as I used to be...

[Sea Ray]

If you look around college football, however, you'll see a whole bunch of teams that can't stop anybody. Alabama and, I suppose TCU, are the only two teams really built on defense right now.

I usually agree with you about needing to be able to play defense. That usually is a team's downfall. Problem is, there aren't many teams that can make Oregon pay for that. This year the defenses just don't seem to be catching up with the offenses as much.

That's true. Syracuse is not a national contender but they do seem to be built on defense, but the top teams appear to be "we'll outscore" you types

[bucksfan2]

If you look around college football, however, you'll see a whole bunch of teams that can't stop anybody. Alabama and, I suppose TCU, are the only two teams really built on defense right now.

I usually agree with you about needing to be able to play defense. That usually is a team's downfall. Problem is, there aren't many teams that can make Oregon pay for that. This year the defenses just don't seem to be catching up with the offenses as much.

I would lump OSU in there as a good defensive team. They had one bad game against Wisconsin and thats about it.

The issue with Oregon is that they play in a conference that really doesn't value defense. Its a run and gun type league and has been ever since I can remember. There have been years when USC's defense has been good but thats about it.

I think that there are several teams that Oregon would have a tough time against. Alabama, TCU, and Ohio State come to my mind right away but also Big 10 teams like Wisconsin and Iowa (not being a Big 10 homer just impressed with these teams) have good defenses, good OLines, and solid QB's. Teams that can play a ball control offense and make sure you pay every time you run the ball.

[kaldaniels]

They are not overrated in that their play on the field so far undoubtedly merits their current ranking.

But Saban is gonna take em' down.

[OnBaseMachine]

To me Oregon is the same team they were last year. Ohio State set the blueprint on how to beat them. Run the ball on offense, win the time of possession battle, hit the quarterback, hit him again, hit him again. I think the PAC10 is actually weaker than last year.

I disagree. I think Oregon is much better this year than last. Jeremiah Masoli was a turnover machine. Darron Thomas is a much, much better QB, IMO.