In the wake of the announcement that Alabama was to face LSU in the BCS Championship game, I was talking with Michael Castillo of the 110 Report, Kyle Kensing from SaturdayBlitz and Trenise Ferreira of Reign of Troy about SEC fan perception that the PAC-12 is a pass-happy, no-defense conference.
The first part of the conversation is up over at The 110 Report. Part Two is below the jump, and check in with Reign of Troy and Saturday Blitz for the finale.
The PAC-12 just completed it’s first season after expanding to 12 teams, and it appears as though it will still take time for everyone to feel out the new format. How’s the SEC going to work with Missouri and Texas A&M coming to town?
Tony: It will be weird having Mizzou in the SEC East, but that had to be done to keep the traditional rivalries in place. It took many years for either Arkansas or South Carolina to be competitive within the SEC, and it will take time for the new additions to adjust. Texas A&M is likely the best suited for the rugged, defense-based play in the SEC, so it will be fun to watch these games.
Michael: I have a hard time trying to figure out why Missouri and Texas A&M wanted in on the SEC, knowing that they wouldn’t compete in the conference for some time. A&M wanted to escape the veil of Texas, but they get thrown into a division with one of the top three football programs in history, and two others who’ve won BCS bowls in the last few years in Alabama, LSU and Auburn. I do think however that Missouri and A&M will get boosts to their recruiting, much like Utah will in the PAC-12, but it’s going to be a while until either are able to compete for conference titles.
Kyle: Missouri’s been consistently solid the last half-decade, and while A&M had some famous blunders this season, the program has great history and high potential. Neither is likely to make a ripple among the LSU/Alabama upper echelon, but it’s just two more bowl-potential teams in an already powerful conference. The most intriguing facet to their additions is the TV deal. Larry Scott brokered a record-setting contract for the PAC-12, setting the bar. The SEC was likely to surpass it before, but adding two good universities with good sports bumps that bar even higher.
Trenise: Missouri and Texas A&M going to the SEC is an absolute joke. A&M hasn’t been an SEC opponent like, EVER (or at at all in the past 8 years), so why they want to be subjected to that week in and week out is beyond me. Missouri, too seems out of place, because there is no way you can convince me that they have the talent or the competitiveness to hang with the big dogs of LSU, Bama, Florida and Georgia on a regular basis. I am curious to see though how this will play out with seven teams now in each conference, but I think both of these teams will see a similar – or worse – fate in joining the SEC as Utah and Colorado saw in joining the PAC-12.