LARGETONY Blog

It was a shoot out (that’s what they call it when it’s a high scoring game on both sides of the ball) and the Vols took most of the bullets.

A lot of points were scored in Saturday night’s game. Seventy-six points, in fact. Unfortunately only 31 of those belonged to the Vols. After last year’s 17-point whipping of the Cal (Berkley), the Golden Bears got their revenge and beat Tennessee by 14. Final score 45-31. It’s the first time Tennessee has lost a season opener in 13 years and it was the most points scored against Tennessee in 12.

But those aren’t the only shots Tennessee is suffering right now. The Vols had the fortune (or misfortune, depending how you look at it) to be the first on the front lines in the great SEC vs. PAC-10 War.

There have always been arguments about which college football conference is the toughest. Now, no conference is tough from top to bottom. Every fan has their on reasons and rationales for why their conference is the toughest. People like to say that the PAC-10 (Pacific) is stronger because they have had more National Championships in the last few years (all of them won by one team: USC). Some people claim the Big-10 is tops because of the legacy of Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State.

Those of us who are fans of the SEC (Southeastern Conference) argue that ours is toughest because, year after year, we have more high-ranked teams than any other. I think we have the most valid argument because it’s based on facts and not just opinions (although I guess you could argue that the rankings, themselves are opinion.)

But earlier this summer the conference argument got ugly when Les Miles, the coach at LSU (Louisiana State Univ) shot his mouth off about what an easy road USC has to the National Championship being in the PAC-10. (What is it with Louisiana Swamp Rats being so arrogant about football). His implication was that with so few tough teams in the PAC-10 it’s easy to go through the season with no (or one) losses and be in position to play for the title.

I will admit he does have a point…to a point. USC’s biggest challenge, in conference, is Cal. But when Miles shot his mouth off, he sort of ignored the fact that USC is still an extremely talented team with an extremely talented coach. And would be tough for anybody to beat. He also ignored the fact that his own LSU, although playing in the tough SEC, is in the weaker division of the conference, and has a relatively light schedule this year himself. And his few tough games are on his home field. Trust me, that can make a huge difference when teams are evenly matched. (Just look at Tennessee and Cal. Tennessee whips Cal at Knoxville, the next year Cal whips Tennessee at Berkeley.)

So LSU’s coach disses USC in the media and fires the first shot. The battle is on. Any PAC-10 team is now an automatic rival of any SEC team. Whether they play each other or not.

So Saturday’s game was not just about Cal getting revenge on Tennessee. It was about the PAC-10 getting revenge on the SEC. And since the Vols are the only SEC team scheduled to play a PAC-10 team this year, the west coast now has the bragging rights and we’re the goat.

Predictions are that LSU has the talent and a light enough schedule to end up facing off against the also-talented and light-scheduled USC Trojans in the Big Game in January. If it happens and the Tigers win, then it settles the issue for the SEC. If they lose, then it reinforces it for the PAC-10. But, at least then it’s their fault and not Tennessee’s. Seems only fair since Les Miles pulled the trigger.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 3rd, 2007 at 8:57 pm and is filed under football. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.