Bama Hammer
Fansided

SEC Football: Swagger quest derailed by Troy Trojans over LSU

By Ronald Evans

ATLANTA, GA - DECEMBER 03: A general view during the SEC Championship game between the Florida Gators and the Alabama Crimson Tide at the Georgia Dome on December 3, 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - DECEMBER 03: A general view during the SEC Championship game between the Florida Gators and the Alabama Crimson Tide at the Georgia Dome on December 3, 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The SEC football quest to regain CFB Swagger status in 2017 took a big hit Saturday night at Tiger Stadium. Sun Belt Conference, Troy Trojans took down the Bengal Tigers 24-21.

Before expounding on the sad state of affairs masquerading as LSU football, a disclaimer is in order. SEC football and its failing quest of regaining swagger is a problem throughout most of the conference. There is an argument about SEC dominance based on national championships. We made it a couple of weeks ago, SEC has 11 national championships in 21 seasons.

The weakness in that argument is it highlights achievements of teams more than it does the conference. So crow as much as we Alabama football fans want, the SEC, SEC, SEC chants are less than full-throated.

As much as it pains to admit it, there are some big cracks in the SEC football foundation. Fans of Alabama and Georgia can make a counter-argument. Even Vandy can still boast about its win over Kansas State.

Beyond those three teams, the SEC football 2017 performance has been average at best. Much football is yet to be played. Regaining SEC swagger is still possible through a superlative performance during the post-season.

The real damage to the SEC’s reputation has not been losses to Clemson, Michigan, TCU and UCLA. Losses to Power Five foes happen to every conference. Where the SEC has stumbled is in performances against weaker conferences.

SEC vs. non-Power Five teams

With the exception of the LSU loss to Troy, losses are not the problem. It is the meager wins against what should have been far out-matched teams that tell a different story. The list below challenges any claim about SEC football swagger.

  • Tennessee 17-13 over U Mass. The Minutemen are 0-6 in 2017. In the five preceding seasons, U Mass has won 10 games.
  • Auburn 24-10 over Mercer. The Bears took a long hiatus from college football, returning to the FCS level in 2014. Since then Mercer has a record of 19-20.
  • Texas A&M 24-14 over Nicholls State. The Southland Conference, FCS Colonels have not posted a winning season since 2007.
  • Kentucky over Eastern Kentucky 27-16. The FCS Colonels were 3-8 in 2016 and finished 8th in the Ohio Valley Conference. This season EKU is 1-3.
  • Kentucky over Eastern Michigan 24-20.  The Eagles have one winning season in 21 years though 2017 includes a win against Big Ten team Rutgers.

SEC vs. the Sun Belt

The Troy Trojans are a pretty good football team. The Trojans were 10-3 in 2016 and almost shocked all of college football, narrowly losing to Clemson 30-24. At 4-1, Troy is clearly in route to another bowl season.

So is the LSU loss to Troy forgivable? No, it is not. SEC national championship programs are never supposed to lose at home to Sun Belt conference teams. Yes, it has happened before as Alabama football fans will remember.

The Alabama football loss to Louisiana-Monroe in 2007 was worse. It can be argued that loss marked the lowest point in a long wilderness exile for Alabama football.

Getting back to 2017 and the SEC, there are more risks to the SEC football reputation this season. Missouri plays Idaho and U Conn. Ole Miss has Louisiana, TAMU meets New Mexico and Tennessee has Southern Miss. The SEC schools should win each game but single-digit wins would further damage regaining SEC swagger.

Next: With a few exceptions little joy across the SEC

Alabama football does not need any swagger help from its SEC brethren. Winning another SEC championship guarantees a CFB Playoff berth. SEC performance in out-of-conference play has silenced any chatter of a one-loss SEC championship loser making the CFB Playoff.

Home/Alabama Football