SEC Network eventually worth $70+ Mill per team?

[CookieMonster.sixpack]

Well as Flab has already stated, the law of diminishing returns will almost certainly mean that the benefit of all the new money will have a longer lasting effect on teams like State. So I'm in agreement about the quickly part.

Here are our records versus the top teams in the conference each year:

'97 - #10 Georgia (47 pt. L), #11 Auburn (20 pt. W), #13 LSU (15 pt. L), #22 Ole Miss (1 pt. L, 17 Stewart Patridge)
'98* - #1 Tennessee (10 pt. L), #13 Arkansas (1 pt. W),
'99 - #8 Alabama (12 pt. L), #17 Arkansas (5 pt. L), #22 Ole Miss (3 pt. W, Eugene 17ing Clinton!)
'00 - #10 Florida (12 pt. W), #18 Auburn (7 pt. W), #19 South Carolina (4 pt. L), #22 LSU (7 pt. L)

'09 - #1 Alabama (28 pt. L), #3 Florida (10 pt. L), #17 LSU (4 pt. L)
'10 - #1 Auburn (3 pt. L), #8 LSU (22 pt. L), #10 Alabama (20 pt. L) #12 Arkansas (7 pt. L),
'11 - #1 Alabama (17 pt. L), #2 LSU (13 pt L), #5 Arkansas (27 pt. L), #9 South Carolina (2 pt. L), #19 Georgia (14 pt. L)
'12 - #1 Alabama (31 pt. L), #5 A&M (25 pt. L), #14 LSU (20 pt. L)

The bolded games are games where, and this is my opinion, we seriously threatened to win or we won outright. Notice how many more bolded games appear in the Sherrill era. Given that the SEC was weaker. Given that we were better. Given that this is NOT Sherrill's first four years. Given all that, and not taking away from what Mullen faces year in and year out and has accomplished. I think it's safe to say that the top of our league left us behind in the first decade of this century. The gap has widened. Will we narrow that gap in this decade? I certainly hope so.

Bottom line: Whereas we used to contend and beat the top teams in our league regularly, it's now a rare occasion.

 

[MadDawg.sixpack]

Agree. The gap has widened.

 

[Jimbob Cooter]

None of that matters. You didn't even define what a 'big boy' is. You used Arkansas, then Auburn, but fail to acknowledge that we beat a 'big boy' last year. Three of them actually.

You are acting like the money is raising these programs. That's true, historically. But you're not using history, you're using wins and losses. In that case, you have to acknowledge that it is NICK SABAN that is causing this wide gap between us and them, not the SEC money. Arkansas wasn't suddenly a big boy SEC program. They just hired one of the best coaches in the game, that's all.

You people don't even know what you're arguing about. The money sets the potential. After that, it's what you do with it. Tennessee is one of the richest out there, but they can't get it done right now. Don't have the correct leadership.

 

[bruiser.sixpack]

Actually, of the 3 D-1 College towns in Mississippi, Hattiesburg has more going for it than the other 2. And they certainly "try" to make USM a focal point. But the negative may actually be Hattiesburg's closeness to the Coast, The Redneck Riviera and New Orleans. I know many students from the Jackson Metro area that chose USM due to those factors. It seems 3 and 4 star football players, on the other hand, do not choose USM for those factors, or any others.**