OK, who was the dolt chirping last night about the SEC tossing up a big doughnut thus far this bowl season?
Well, whoever it was should’ve remembered that the conference had three very winnable games New Year’s Day. Against the Big Ten, no less.
Less than 24 hours after putting the finishing touches on a less-than-tidy 0-3 start, the SEC roared back to an even .500 with a trio of impressive wins. OK, at least two of them were impressive but, as a whole, the SEC made the Big Ten look like, well, the Little Sisters of the Poor.
By far the most spectacular of the three wins was Alabama’s complete and utter evisceration of Michigan State. The Tide, which finished fourth in the SEC West, took the Big Ten co-champions to the woodshed, dragged the battered body out and beat it with various heavy objects, then took it back into the woodshed in a resounding 49-7 butt thumpin’ for the ages. Alabama outgained MSU 546-271, including a staggering 323 yard edge in rushing -- 275 to -48.
Additionally, Mississippi State effectively ended Rich Rodriguez‘s longer-than-it-should’ve-been tenure at Michigan with a 52-14 pantsing in the Gator Bowl, while Florida handed Urban Meyer a retirement present in the form of a 37-24 win over Penn State in the Outback Bowl in the coach’s final game at the school.
Speaking of the latter game, what a great, great scene at the end, with Meyer surrounded by his family on the sidelines as time counted down on Meyer’s time at Florida. Very powerful, very emotional stuff, and a fitting end to a phenomenal six-year run in Gainesville for Meyer.
On the flip side of the joy being felt in the Southeast, of course, was the Big Ten. Wow. The woeful, woeful land of Leaders and Legends not only suffered a trio of losses at the hands of the SEC, but Northwestern also fell to Texas Tech 45-38 in the TicketCity Bowl.
Add it all up, and the Big Ten has started the new year with an embarrassing 0-4 mark in bowls -- combined scores of the losses to the SEC? 138-45 -- and put the 2-0 start to the bowl season in the rear view mirror.
There is a shot at some face-saving later on today, though, as Wisconsin takes on TCU in the Rose Bowl. Of course, the Badgers could also lose to the non-automatic qualifier and have another chunk of the conference’s manhood lopped off.
No pressure at all, Badgers. None.