BCS National Championship: War of words - It’s not Big 12 vs. SEC

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — SEC broadcaster Gary Danielson compares Big 12 stats to pesos. Florida quarterback Tim Tebow did or didn’t say he couldn’t wait to go against a Big 12 defense. OU cornerback Dom Franks says Tebow would be no better than the fourth-best quarterback in the Sooners’ league.

The Oklahoma-Florida Big Bowl is becoming less a quest for that Waterford crystal football and more a barstool argument on conference bragging rights.

Which is just downright silly.

"It’s not the SEC vs. the Big 12,” said OU d-coordinator Brent Venables. "It’s not defense vs. offense.”

It’s Sooners vs. Gators, and whether the score is 13-2 or 41-38 makes no never mind. The winner will be remembered long after everyone has forgotten which conference won this spitting match.

I blame the SEC for the posturing. They are a provincial bunch down South. "SEC! SEC!” they chant at the end of bowl wins, just like their basketball cousins in the ACC.

It builds great conference love and serves as a dandy PR pulpit. It also can grate on anyone who wearies of partisan politics.

The Southeastern Conference does play some fine football, starting with these Gators, who are loaded in every way. But the SEC’s dominance stems in part from standing on Stone Mountain and yelling through a megaphone.

For instance, the Big Bowl theme that Big 12 defenses are not up to SEC standards. No duh.

The top-rated Big 12 defense, Texas’, ranks 49th nationally.

Nine Big 12 defenses rank between 77 and 117 in the 119-team division. Meanwhile, 11 SEC teams rank in the top 40 in total defense; eight rank in the top 30.

But turn it around. SEC offenses are el stinko. Half the league, six teams, rank between 97th and 117th.

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