College Football Playoff: Yes, there is SEC bias

MIAMI ā€“ Yes, there is a Southeastern Conference bias. And there should be.

As I sat watching the LSU-Alabama game, something hit me. Actually, someone hit LSU running back Leonard Fournette. It was Alabama's Landon Collins and it wasn't the only vicious hit in that game.Ā 

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Collins and Fournette will be playing on Sundays, as will a number of guys on the field Saturday night, at Tiger Stadium. And in the SEC, that's the rule rather than the exception. They produce more NFL players than any other conference in the country.

It's become fashionable to rip networks like ESPN for showing an "SEC bias." Two of the top four in the college football playoffs will once again hail from the SEC. But critics say commentators give SEC games more coverage and that they imply SEC schools are just a little bit better than everyone else. And you know what? The critics are right.

But do you know why? Because the SEC is better.

SEC schools get the best players and the best players make up the best teams. Don't believe me? In 2014 SEC schools made up seven of the top 10 recruiting classes, according to 247sports.com. In 2013 -- half of the top 10. In fact, the only year in the last six in which the SEC had fewer than four of the top 10 was 2012, in which they had three, which was still more than any other conference.

Are recruiting rankings perfect? Of course not. But they're right a lot more often than they're wrong. And if I'm a fan, I'd take my chances with a higher rated group of players any day of the week. Wouldn't you?

SEC schools also pay their coaches more than anyone else. They win more bowl games than anyone else every season and they've won more crystal footballs than anyone else.

But forget about all that. What do your eyes and ears tell you? When I watched that Bama-LSU game on Saturday night I saw and heard more collisions featuring NFL-caliber players than you could see in a whole weekend of Pac-12 football.Ā They simply have bigger, faster, better players.

The same goes with Auburn. And Mississippi. And Georgia. And Texas A&M. Sure, you can pick out schools like FSU and Ohio State in other conferences that can boast a similar number of top-tier guys, but they are the exception in those conferences, not the rule.

In the Big Ten, Minnesota is legitimately competing for a championship. So is Duke in the ACC. Do you know who they are in the SEC? They're Arkansas and Kentucky.

SEC teams are just better. And until they're not, the bias will continue -- as it should.


About the Author:

Clay Ferraro joined the Local 10 News team in 2014 to take his dream job: covering big-time sports at a first-class station in paradise.Ā