STWBM: Big XII vs. SEC football

Recently, on Sports Talk with Bo Mattingly, a radio show produced in Fayetteville, Arkansas, a hot topic of discussion has been whether the SEC or Big XII is the better conference in football. Of course, this discussion stems from the fact that Missouri and Texas A&M will make the move from the Big XII and play in the SEC this fall. Many SEC fans argue that the Big XII is far less superior than the SEC and point to the SEC’s six consecutive national championships. Big XII supporters, however, argue that their conference is just as tough and that, if given the chance, Oklahoma St. could have beaten LSU in the national championship game last year. I decided to try to put my SEC bias aside and look at the debate from a straight numbers perspective from many different aspects. Here’s what I found…

            One indicator of a conference’s dominance is the number of Associated Press (AP) 1^st team All-Americans it has. I researched the last five seasons (2007-2011) of 1^st team All-Americans named by the AP.

• SEC: 38 All-Americans
• Big XII: 34 All-Americans

            So based on All-America selections, the SEC would have a slight edge. If you break down these numbers even further, you can see where the SEC and Big XII are the strongest. The Big XII has had 22 offensive All-Americans the last five years and the SEC has only had 12. Defensively, the SEC holds a lead, with 21 All-Americans to the Big XII’s 8. The SEC also has a slight edge in special teams, with 5 All-Americans to the Big XII’s 4.

            Another indicator is the number of major awards a conference receives at the end of every season. I looked at 20 major awards, such as the Heisman Trophy, Biletnikoff Award, and Outland Trophy, to name a few, and analyzed the last five seasons.

• SEC: 36 major awards
• Big XII: 28 major awards

            The SEC also flexed its muscles in two other indicators I researched.

A conference’s ability to bring in top rated high school players usually relates to its performance on the field. I looked at the last five years of recruiting (2008-2012) and averaged the Big XII and SEC teams’ rankings. Obviously Texas and Alabama will have high recruiting rankings, but a truly dominant conference will be strong from top to bottom.

• SEC: 21.85 average rank in recruiting (Scout.com)
• Big XII: 39.45 average rank in recruiting (Scout.com)

            A dominant conference will also send players to the next level. How highly players are thought of by NFL teams is seen in the NFL Draft, so I looked at the last five NFL Drafts (2008-2012).

• SEC: 202 total draft picks
• Big XII: 142 total draft picks

            One might argue that just because a player is drafted doesn’t mean he will be a star player in the NFL. To counter this argument, I researched the top five NFL leaders in certain offensive and defensive statistics over the last five seasons (2007-2011). On offense, I looked at the NFL leaders in passing yards, rushing yards, and receiving yards. Of defense, I looked at the NFL leaders in tackles, sacks, and interceptions. The SEC had a slight edge.

• SEC: 10 top five offensive leaders
• Big XII: 6 top five offensive leaders
• SEC: 10 top five defensive leaders
• Big XII: 7 top five defensive leaders

            Finally, in my opinion, the most telling stat of all when it comes to “Which conference is better?” is the record between the two conferences. If you look at the SEC’s record against Big XII schools in the regular season and in bowls, combined, they are 22-14 the last ten seasons (2002-2011).

            If you ask me, I believe the SEC is the best conference in college football, hands down.

            As for Texas A&M and Missouri, here is how they would rank against other SEC schools in the categories I discussed above, over the last five seasons.

Major Award Winners

1. LSU- 9

2. Alabama- 7

2. Auburn- 7

2. Florida- 7

5. Arkansas- 4

6. Texas A&M- 2

7. Georgia- 1

7. Missouri- 1

7. Tennessee- 1

AP 1^st team All-Americans

1. Alabama- 12

2. LSU- 7

3. Florida- 5

3. Missouri- 5

5. Georgia- 3

6. Auburn- 2

6. Ole Miss- 2

6. South Carolina- 2

6. Tennessee- 2

6. Texas A&M- 2

11. Arkansas- 1

11. Kentucky- 1

Average Team Rank in Recruiting (Scout.com)

1. Alabama- 3.2

2. LSU- 6.4

3. Georgia- 9.8

4. Auburn- 10

5. Florida- 13

6. Tennessee- 18.8

7. Texas A&M- 20.6

8. South Carolina- 21.2

9. Arkansas- 23

10. Ole Miss- 29.6

11. Mississippi St.- 30.6

12. Missouri- 35

13. Kentucky- 37.8

14. Vanderbilt- 58.8

NFL Draft Picks

1. LSU- 29

2. Georgia- 28

3. Alabama- 24

4. Florida- 20

5. South Carolina- 18

6. Arkansas- 15

6. Auburn- 15

8. Missouri- 13

8. Texas A&M- 13

10. Tennessee- 12

11. Kentucky- 11

12. Ole Miss- 10

13. Mississippi St.- 9

14. Vanderbilt- 8

 

Missouri vs. SEC: 4-1 (last ten seasons)

Texas A&M vs. SEC: 0-6 (last ten seasons)

Interesting Sports Illustrated Excerpt from 1999

While trying to box up some of my stuff in my room, I came across several Sports Illustrated magazines from the 1990s. One that stuck out was the 1999 college football preview with Penn St. linebacker LaVar Arrington on the cover and a headline declaring Penn St. as the pre-season number one team in the country. With the recent scandal at Penn St., I decided to open it up and read the article. Here's the first two paragraphs:

     "Penn State is a place where football players are expected to be gentlemen. It is a place where nominations to the Playboy All-America team are unwelcome and where the drab uniforms are designed as armor against ego inflation. It's also a place where emotions on the field are kept in control, lest they interfere with the blessed execution of fundamentals, and where the prescribed pecking order demands that seniors rule and underclassmen wait. If Penn State football lived and breathed, it would floss daily and come to a full stop before turning right on red.

     Such staunch conservatism can take root when the man who sets the tone is a campus fixture for 50 years (think about that), including 33 as the coach. Joe Paterno gives the public a program it can feel good about, unlike renegade schools with extroverted thugs and low graduation rates. For this he is deified as an island of dignity, and he deserves it. Paterno has not only won 307 games (fourth most in major college football history to Eddie Robinson's 405) but also had a four-year graduation rate of 74% of his players (according to the latest NCAA figures) and given more than $4 million to Penn State, toward the construction of a library and for the endowment of faculty positions and scholarships."

Wow...there's so much there that has been contradicted in a matter of months. I could sit here and write a 5,000 word report about it, but I'm going to leave it as is. Let it sink in. I have re-read it four or five times now, and each time something else sticks out. Keep in mind, this was published only a year after Penn State (according to the Freeh Report) found out about Sandusky's sexual abuse. It's sad how far one can fall...

Top Ten Most Memorable Razorback Football Games

Since I was born on April 13, 1994, I have only missed a couple Razorback home football games in Fayetteville. Obviously, I don't remember anything about the games I was at as a baby, but as I started getting older, the games meant more to me and I remember more and more details. The other day, I was thinking about some of the crazy games I've been to, so with football just around the corner (less than 42 days! But who's counting?) I decided to make a list of the top ten Razorback football games that I attended. This little stipulation eliminates great games such as both of our seven overtime games, the triple overtime thriller over LSU, and the upset at #2 Auburn a few years ago, but it includes several big upsets, memorable events, and overall great games. I got excited just writing this, so I hope you do to, while also remember the good ol' days.

10. The Streaker- October 26, 2002: Arkansas- 48, Ole Miss- 28

• At first I was confused. However, my confusion soon turned to absolute hysteria as I realized what was going on. About halfway through the third quarter, UofA student Brenton Poole ran onto the field wearing only shoes, socks, a Hog hat, and a g-string with a doll attached to it. I couldn’t believe I was witnessing a streaker! The eight year old me thought it was the funniest thing I’d ever seen and couldn’t stop laughing. Being the second oldest game on my list, I don’t remember much about the actual game. A quick look back, though, and I learned that a junior quarterback for Ole Miss named Eli Manning threw for 414 yards and two touchdowns on 42-for-56 passing.

9. Joe Adams is Houdini- November 12, 2011: #8 Arkansas- 49, Tennessee- 7

• With the outcome of the game never in question, as Arkansas led from start to finish, the only question I had during the game was “When will the next highlight happen?” Jarius Wright had an amazing catch where he juggled the ball several times before finally hauling it in. The most spectacular play of the night was made by Joe Adams. He fielded a punt at his own 40-yard line, ran backward (which caused me to scream “Just go forward!!” and “STOP!”), broke a few tackles (which caused me to scream “Oh my gosh!” and “Go! Go! Go!”), before scoring on a 60-yard punt return. Both plays made ESPN’s Top 25 College Football Plays of 2011 and Adams’ punt return earned an ESPYs nomination for “Best Play of the Year.”

8. Southwest Classic- October 9, 2010: #11 Arkansas- 24, Texas A&M- 17 (Dallas, TX)

• When the “Jerrydome” opened in Dallas, TX as the new home of the Dallas Cowboys, my favorite NFL team, I wanted to go see what all of the hoopla was about. Then, in 2009, the Razorbacks started a non-conference (well, non-conference at the time) series with old SWC rival, Texas A&M, and they would play in new Cowboys Stadium. I wasn’t able to go the first year, but my nana and papa got my brothers and I tickets to go in 2010. The stadium is MASSIVE. Pictures and stories don’t do it justice, you just need to go and see it for yourself. The actual game was a little too close for my liking. Arkansas was already #11 in the country and had BCS hopes. Luckily, Ryan Mallett contributed 310 yards and three touchdowns on 27-for-38 passing, leading the Hogs to a victory in Dallas.

7. Homecoming Upset- November 1, 2008: Arkansas- 30, #19 Tulsa- 23

• This game had so many headlines leading up to it. It was the homecoming game and Arkansas was playing the undefeated Tulsa Golden Hurricane. More importantly, it was the return of Arkansas’ former offensive coordinator, Gus Malzahn (who was the head coach of the 2005 Springdale High School Bulldogs). Tulsa, led by Malzahn, had one of the best offenses in the country, averaging 55.6 points per game leading up to the Arkansas game. Somehow, the Hogs kept them in check and stopped their last second drive at the eight yard line to seal the victory.

6. College Gameday- November 11, 2006: #11 Arkansas- 31, #13 Tennessee- 14

• The 2006 Razorback football season is really the first season I have vivid memories of nearly every game. When week 11 rolled around, Arkansas was sitting at #11 in the polls with an 8-1 record and no losses since week one (against #6 Southern Cal) and had #13 Tennessee up next. ESPN selected this game as the best game of the week, meaning College Gameday would visit Fayetteville. I was stoked. My hatred toward Ohio St.-loving Kirk Herbstreit hadn’t begun yet, and I wanted nothing more than to see him pick Arkansas and Lee Corso put on a Razorback mascot head. I also wanted to come up with a sign that got on ESPN. All of these things happened, as Arkansas rolled to their ninth consecutive victory, while Darren McFadden ran for 181 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries. He also threw a 12-yard touchdown out of the famous “Wildcat formation.”

5. 2012 Cotton Bowl- January 6, 2012: #7 Arkansas- 29, #11 Kansas St.- 16 (Dallas, TX)

• The Cotton Bowl wasn’t the bowl I wanted at the end of the 2011 football season, but it’s still a huge bowl game. When I heard my parents, brothers, Nana, Papa, and I were going, I was excited. I sat in the upper deck, watching Arkansas pick apart Kansas St. Joe Adams had another spectacular punt return and the Hogs celebrated their first Cotton Bowl victory since they beat the Texas Longhorns in the 2000 Cotton Bowl.

4. Double Overtime- September 23, 2006: Arkansas- 24, #22 Alabama- 23 (2OT)

• There weren’t too many expectations for the Razorbacks heading into the 2006 season, especially after being throttled by #6 USC in the first game 50-14, struggling in the second game against Utah St. before winning 20-0, and barely getting a 21-19 win at Vanderbilt. Going into the Alabama game, the Hogs were only 2-1, and were starting a highly touted freshman named Mitch Mustain. I have lived in Springdale my whole life and remember watching in awe as Mustain led the 2005 Springdale High School Bulldogs to an undefeated state championship and #2 national ranking. So when Mustain threw a touchdown to Ben Cleveland (also a member of the 2005 Springdale Bulldogs) to win in double overtime, I wasn’t surprised. Nonetheless, I went crazy. I was soaking in the moment, all while seeing visions of the future. The future was HERE. Mustain, Cleveland, Damian Williams, and Offensive Coordinator Gus Malzahn were going to win a national championship for the Hogs…so I thought then.

3. Miracle on Markham II- November 29, 2008: Arkansas- 31, LSU- 30 (Little Rock)

• I never give up on the Razorbacks, but sometimes I get really close. The 2008 season really tested me. The Hogs were only 4-7 in Bobby Petrino’s first season, and trailed rival and defending national champion LSU by 16 in the last game of the year. I was feeling pretty down, but it was my first LSU game and I was NOT going to leave early. Good thing I didn’t, because senior Casey Dick came in to play quarterback and led a rally that Arkansas fans will remember for years. Dick capped the rally with a 24-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-one with 21 seconds left. I was on edge the entire drive as Arkansas had to convert a third-and-four and fourth-and-six, but it was all good in the end and I witnessed my greatest LSU win yet (key word: yet).

2. Storming the Field- November 13, 1999: Arkansas- 28, #3 Tennessee- 24

• My earliest memory of Razorback football came in 1999. I was only five years old, so I didn’t know much about football yet, but I knew that the Tennessee game that year was a big deal. Again, I don’t remember much about the game or the fact that we took away Tennessee’s chance at back-to-back national championships. All I remember is after the game; the fans stormed the field, tearing down the goalposts in the process. I begged and begged my parents to let me go down and join in on the fun, despite our seats in Hog Heaven (the upper deck). I was ready to jump down there and party with all of the students!

1. Sugar Bowl Bound- November 27, 2010: #12 Arkansas- 31, #6 LSU- 23 (Little Rock)

• I have never been so nervous before. The stakes were simple: the winner of the game would almost certainly earn a berth to the Sugar Bowl. Arkansas had never been to a BCS game, and I wanted this year to be the year. I blew up twitter, sending well over 100 tweets in the hours leading up to the game; I have never wanted a win so bad. The game definitely lived up to the hype. Just before halftime, it appeared that Arkansas would run out the final six seconds and go into the locker room with the game tied at 14. However, I wasn’t thinking that; I saw six seconds as an opportunity to score six points, and I even told my papa and the fans around us that I expected the Hogs to take a shot. Sure enough, Mallett connected with Cobi Hamilton on an 80-yard touchdown. Arkansas carried this momentum through the second half and won the game. War Memorial (and I) went NUTS. The Sugar Bowl was ours! Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar On Me” blasted over the PA and sugar cubes flew through the air. I was glassy-eyed as the scene unfolded in front of me. It was truly the greatest Razorback football game I had ever been to.

Bentonville's Gage Crosby Shot in Eye, Swims at Olympic Trials

            Growing up, Gage Crosby was just like a normal American boy, playing baseball and soccer. However, a “one in a million” accident caused the rising Bentonville senior to stray from the norm.

            When Crosby was in 5^th grade, his brother, rising freshman Jared, and him were playing with BB guns. Jared shot a BB into the air, and when it came back down to Earth, it hit Gage in the eye.

            “I screamed for my brother to get my mom. [The pain] was pretty bad,” Crosby said. “It was like my whole eye and head hurt.”

            He was rushed to the emergency room, where the BB fell out of his eye. Luckily, the only lasting damage caused by the accident is that his eyes are permanently dilated, meaning his pupil does not shrink or grow with more or less light.

            Also because of the accident, he had to give up contact sports.

            “If I get hit too hard, my iris could detach, which isn’t good,” Crosby said.

            The accident ended his baseball and soccer playing days, so his mom “forced” him to participate in swimming. Although he hated it initially, the sport grew on him.

            “Once I started going to meets and got to know everyone on the team, I started enjoying it more,” Crosby said.

            Now that Crosby has been swimming for seven years, he loves the sport more than ever.

            “It’s fun at times and it can be really painful. You have to like the pain,” Crosby said. “Also, everyone on the team is fun to be around. It’s a good atmosphere.”

            As well as being a member of the Bentonville swim team, where he has won four individual state championships and three team state championships in three years, he is also a member of the Razorback Aquatic Club AquaHawgs.

            Scott Berry, his coach with the AquaHawgs, puts him through brutal two-a-day practices every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday during the summer. Even during his off days, he must maintain a large, but healthy, diet.

            “You have to eat healthy,” Crosby said. “It’s just like putting gas in your car. If you put crappy gas in your car, it’s going to damage the engine.”

            All of his training and dieting came to a peak this June, when he went to Omaha, Neb. and competed at the Olympic Trials. He dropped his times in the 100 meter breaststroke (dropped one and a half seconds- 1:03.61) and in the 200 meter breaststroke (dropped two seconds- 2:17.66), finishing 52^nd out of 141 and 46^th out of 129, respectively.

            More than his improved times though, Crosby was excited to compete in a true swimming environment.

            “It was an amazing experience,” Crosby said. “I’ve never been to a meet like that, where it was kind of like a rock concert or a football game. Everyone was excited about swimming.”

            However, don’t expect him to be content with his performance in Omaha. After high school, Crosby plans to swim collegiately. Several top programs have already contacted him and he hopes to make a decision in order to sign during the early signing period in November.

            When he does make his decision, it will be based on one factor: which school will help him achieve his ultimate goal of competing in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

            “I don’t want your typical party school,” Crosby said. “I want a school that will get me to the next level.”

            In four years, Crosby will swim in the Olympic qualifier again, this time with his little brother, but he has a lot of time to get better before then.

            “I don’t want to think I’m good, because then you get tired of it,” Crosby said. “There’s always things you can improve.”

            With an attitude like that, as well as a very supportive family, don’t be surprised if you see Crosby wearing the red, white, and blue in 2016.

 Crosby finished 1st in his heat at the Olympic Trials in Omaha, Neb. He is pictured above on the JumboTron at CentryLink Center.

Crosby said the Olympic Trials were like a "rock concert" or "football game" atmosphere.

Mickey Mantle Field - Commerce, OK

            Yesterday, I had the privilege of going to Miami, Oklahoma to watch my best friend, Kaitlin Davis, sign her National Letter of Intent to play softball at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M. I am very proud of her and the trip would have been worthwhile with just that, but as I usually do when I travel, I decided to explore.

            Kaitlin’s dad, Gary, told me that up the road about 5-10 minutes was the small town of Commerce, Oklahoma. The town of just under 2,500 is famous for being where baseball legend Mickey Mantle grew up and went to school. Not surprisingly, the baseball field at Commerce High is named after Mantle, and Gary recommended that I at least go and take a picture of it (he, like me, is a huge baseball fan).

            So after lunch, my girlfriend, Kelcee, and I embarked on the short journey to the metropolis of Commerce. Sure enough, the first (and really the only) thing we saw was the high school and the sports facilities.

            Beyond the centerfield fence, there is a statue of Mantle, a 1949 graduate of CHS. We took pictures by the statue and then checked out the field. Mantle’s name, nickname (“The Commerce Commet,” “Mick”), or famous #7 was seemingly everywhere: the foul poles, the scoreboard, the score box behind home plate, and the advertisements on the outfield wall (see pictures below).

            Not even a long foul ball’s distance away from the baseball field was the football field, where Mantle’s career almost ended before it started.

            While at Commerce High, Mantle starred in baseball, as well as football (Oklahoma offered him a scholarship to play football) and basketball. During one football game, he was kicked in the shin and it got infected. Luckily, only a few years earlier, a new medicine called penicillin was discovered, and a late night drive to Tulsa saved his leg from being amputated.

            Of course, we know he ended up healing and returning to full strength, as he played 18 seasons for the New York Yankees, won three AL MVP awards and the 1956 Triple Crown, and swatted 536 homeruns.

            Sometimes you never know what treasures a small town has hidden. You just have to stray from the beaten path a little and explore.