Sippin’ on the Haterade: South has risen, but who will knock it down?

By DAVID BALLARD
In 2006, the south rose again. And since the University of Florida’s 41-14 dismantling of Ohio State that year, the Southeastern Conference continued to rise to astronomical heights after Auburn University’s 22-19 victory over the University of Oregon. Five consecutive national championships –four by double digits – have led to a Grand Canyon sized gap between the SEC and the rest of the country.
The teams of the SEC have recruited the best players, lured the most successful coaches and cultivated the most rabid fan-bases in the country. The rest of the country isn’t going to stop this trend; they are going to have to keep up with it. To catch up and eventually pass these quality programs, a brand must be developed. Just as Oregon has done, teams in the ACC, Big East, and Big Ten and others need to improve their brand name; adjust it to their campus and find something that defines them. Oregon has embraced a constant element of change, earning a reputation of modern ingenuity. Once a similar feat is accomplished at other schools, the depth of the conference can strengthen, a hallmark of the SEC.
The ACC has depth, but the depth isn’t particularly strong and they don’t have a perennial national contender, let alone a pair a la Alabama and Florida circa 2008 and 2009. The Pac 10 has the two elite teams in Oregon and Stanford but no depth to back them up. The Big 12 had a down year with Texas’s first losing season in over a decade and is also losing Nebraska due to conference expansion. The Big 10 is the closest to catching their Southern counterparts with Nebraska coming to their conference. All that is left for the Big Ten to do is beat an SEC team in a National Championship game, though a win over Arkansas was a solid first step. The Big East is a joke. They have no national contenders until Texas Christian joins their conference in 2012 and even then, they have little to no depth. They have the farthest to go, but will benefit from that addition.
Once these problems are addressed, parity can overthrow the South and once again reign over the College Football world. But until then, their sweet tea will flow as smoothly as their southern drawls and the crystal ball will call the south home.