You aren’t wrong. Whoever coaches them next year would have to shiiite the bed to not make the playoffsIt's Penn State by a mile. Their fans are locked in, they basically have run of a whole state except for exclaves of Pitt and Temple, but the biggest thing is this....in the Big Ten, they have no protected rivalries, so it doesn't take much for them to get a fantastic schedule.
Next year they have Minnesota, Purdue, Rutgers, USC, and Wisconsin at home, and Maryland, Michigan, Northwestern, and Washington on the road. No Ohio State, no Oregon, no Indiana, no Illinois, no Iowa.
Sign. Me. Up.
I was curious about this. I couldn’t find a conference breakdown since 1992, but I found one since 2003.Florida. 2nd to Alabama, they have to be the winningest program in the SEC since the 1992 expansion. Multiple national championships under different coaches.


I said penn state bc Florida is in a crappy spot.With the coaching vacancies (or expected vacancies) at Auburn, Florida, and Penn State, which of the 3 is the best situation for an incoming head coach (fan support, NIL, storied history, expectations, highest ceiling)?
I’m not sure I agree. Auburn has decades of experience in doing anything and everything to land recruits. Meanwhile it’s felt like Florida has been too proud of their rise to academic prominence to really get dirty.Florida by far is the easiest to recruit. All three have money.
I don't know. Why should Auburn be a consistent contender? I think Auburn's crazy alumni make them unstable but raise the ceiling of the program. I think out of the three Auburn is the least desirable and UF the most desirable, but I honestly don't know how to rank PSU. I think of them as a tier below OSU and Michigan (really two tiers below OSU because I view Michigan as below OSU), but I suspect the average person thinks of them as higher status than I do.Auburn’s meddling alumni keep them from being a consistent contender IMO
Yep , sec expansion was a bad decision in my opinion. It’s going to lead to endless firings . You have 12-13 programs that are all in on football.I’ll say Penn State and it’s not particularly close.
They’ve got a pre-built playoff caliber team. They obviously have plenty of money, and I think it’s going to be easier to consistently win big in the Big 10 than the SEC.
The Big 10 is very competitive at the top- arguably ahead of the SEC right now- but there are still only a small handful of programs capable of playing at that level. Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon, Penn State. USC if they ever get theirtogether.
Compare that with the SEC- there are at least 9 teams who are going to expect to be playoff contenders in a given year. And that’s not counting Ole Miss or Missouri, who are in contention right now.
I don’t think it was a bad decision at all. If the SEC had let Texas and Oklahoma join the Big 10 along with the others, the Big 10 would be head and shoulders above the SEC in perception.Yep , sec expansion was a bad decision in my opinion. It’s going to lead to endless firings . You have 12-13 programs that are all in on football.
In the big 10 you maybe have 5 maybe 6 ?
rutgers , Maryland , Purdue, northwestern , aren’t real.
there’s a few programs there that are doing more than I’ve ever seen them like Indiana and Illinois.
At the end of the day they aren’t serious national title threats because their recruiting classes are worse than Tulane and UTSA.
there sec has 1 program below 27th in total talent rankings and that’s Vanderbilt.
meanwhile , the big 10 has 11 programs below 27th…… that’s insane .
the sec has 8 of the top 15 .
14 of the top 25 ………..
Yep , sec expansion was a bad decision in my opinion.
I didn’t see this answer until I posted…I don’t think it was a bad decision at all. If the SEC had let Texas and Oklahoma join the Big 10 along with the others, the Big 10 would be head and shoulders above the SEC in perception.
I don’t disagree with that. I would have Auburn right behind them just because of what you’ve said.I’m not sure I agree. Auburn has decades of experience in doing anything and everything to land recruits. Meanwhile it’s felt like Florida has been too proud of their rise to academic prominence to really get dirty.
But… maybe that’s all a moot point now with NIL
It seems like a lifetime ago, but Penn State was a fallen defender and one flukey interception away from playing for the National Championship last year. They had a lead in the 4th quarter against Notre Dame in the semifinals last year and TWO defenders fell down on a play, allowing ND to tie it up. They had the ball in a tie game with about 40 seconds and 2 timeouts. Started off with a big run, then the QB got hit as he threw and ND picked it off around midfield. A couple plays later, ND was in FG range and put one through to win it.I realize Penn State just fired their coach but they have by far shown the most ability to compete in recent years out of these teams. They have six Top 15 finishes since 2016, five of them being Top 10 finishes.
Im just looking out for state and I don’t want to bring extra losses to our schedule more than likely.I don’t disagree with you but accepting Texas & Oklahoma’s offer to join was much better than saying no…
They would have gone to the Big 10 and the SEC would have become more irrelevant and that would be even worse than the current situation…
I suppose one could argue that the SEC expansion is the domino that set in motion the Big 10 expansion that led to this chaos, but I don’t think standing pat was a real option.I don’t disagree with you but accepting Texas & Oklahoma’s offer to join was much better than saying no…
They would have gone to the Big 10 and the SEC would have become more irrelevant and that would be even worse than the current situation…
You’re right that State was better off before. No argument there.Im just looking out for state and I don’t want to bring extra losses to our schedule more than likely.
I suppose one could argue that the SEC expansion is the domino that set in motion the Big 10 expansion that led to this chaos, but I don’t think standing pat was a real option.
And boom goes the dynamite. This debate is over.Florida by a damn mile.
Here’s a list of schools with 3+ natties in the past 30 years:
Alabama (6)
Ohio State (3)
LSU (3)
Florida (3)
Thats it. The whole list. Here’s another list of schools that didn’t make the cut: Georgia, Michigan, Florida State, Clemson, Texas, USC.
Auburn has 1 natty in the past 30 years, on the back of the most physically dominant player in college football history. Penn State has zero.
Florida is objectively a Top 5 job by just about any criteria imaginable. Penn State and Auburn aren’t anywhere close to that.
UF's last natty was what, 17 years ago? The entire landscape of CFB has changed since then. They dominated a weak eastern division and an up and down SEC (until Saban got Bama rolling). Today Penn State is in a better position than UF.Florida by a damn mile.
Here’s a list of schools with 3+ natties in the past 30 years:
Alabama (6)
Ohio State (3)
LSU (3)
Florida (3)
Thats it. The whole list. Here’s another list of schools that didn’t make that cut: Georgia, Michigan, Florida State, Clemson, Texas, USC.
Auburn has 1 natty in the past 30 years, on the back of the most physically dominant player in college football history. Penn State has zero.
Florida is objectively a Top 5 job by just about any criteria imaginable. Penn State and Auburn aren’t anywhere close to that.
Penn St’s last was 39 years ago, when they feasted on a weak independent schedule.UF's last natty was what, 17 years ago? The entire landscape of CFB has changed since then. They dominated a weak eastern division and an up and down SEC (until Saban got Bama rolling). Today Penn State is in a better position than UF.
A young Saban could turn either into a program that collects nattys.
When were Penn State and Auburn’s last NC’s?UF's last natty was what, 17 years ago? The entire landscape of CFB has changed since then. They dominated a weak eastern division and an up and down SEC (until Saban got Bama rolling). Today Penn State is in a better position than UF.
A young Saban could turn either into a program that collects nattys.
Auburn's job has to suck. Too many cooks in the kitchen and a massive inferiority complex because they're constantly comparing themselves to Alabama.With the coaching vacancies (or expected vacancies) at Auburn, Florida, and Penn State, which of the 3 is the best situation for an incoming head coach (fan support, NIL, storied history, expectations, highest ceiling)?