We tried to be positive. We tried to give you all of “the good” that happened for the SEC in 2024. Let’s be honest nobody wants to dance around a moral victory. Moral victories are hollow. While it might be good enough for other conferences, it’s different in the SEC. There is only one way we can characterize the 2024 season. It was nothing but a B1G miss. Before you write my editor and complain that we don’t know how to spell “Big,” let us take a moment to explain.
B1G stands for that conference up north, out west, and on the east coach (the whole map thing), the Big Ten. The B1G and SEC are in a fight for superiority. It is up to everyone else to feed on the crumbs. But let’s face it the SEC was stuck eating crumbs at the little kid’s table. Let’s take a closer look at how this disaster, B1G miss, happened.
2024 SEC Season Retrospective, B1G Miss
The Portal Taketh
The SEC won an impressive 13 national championships in the 17 years of the four-team playoff. The recipe remained the same whether it was Alabama, Georgia, LSU, or Auburn. Put out the most talented roster and let the others choke on your dust. NIL and the Transfer Portal have changed the calculus of college football. No longer can you hoard talent year after year and stock your two- and three-deep with four and five stars. Kids want to get paid and, more importantly, get paid. Look at the transfers from Ohio State and Notre Dame this year. You can tell it meant just a little bit more, and it helped provide them the edge to play for the national championship.
Ohio State
- Quinshon Judkins (RB) Ole Miss
- Seth McLaughlin (OL) Alabama
- Caleb Downs (S) Alabama
- Keenan Nelson Jr. (S) South Carolina
Three of these four players were difference-makers for the Buckeyes. Judkins gave the Buckeyes speed and power with a devastating one-two punch at running back. McLaughlin had 35 starts for the Tide before transferring to Ohio State. Downs was the jewel of the 2024 class, ask Georgia. He was dynamic in the return game, breaking up passes or coming up to lay a big hit.
Notre Dame
- Tyler Buchner (QB) Alabama
- Mitch Jeter (K) South Carolina
Notre Dame did a better job raiding the ACC than the SEC, but Jeter was shored up the Irish’s kicking game.
B1G Miss CFB Playoff
Four is more than three. The B1G Miss regarding the number of teams selected for the College Football Playoff was nobody’s fault but the SEC. Stop blaming the selection committee. They were not biased. The SEC just had some bad losses. And while it can be argued that the conference has better depth, what cannot be argued is the fact that three teams put themselves in a helluva hole.
Alabama
- Vanderbilt 40, Alabama 35
- Tennessee 24, Alabama 17
- Oklahoma 24, Alabama 3
One loss is acceptable. Two losses are tolerable (maybe). But, three losses? Seriously? Bring back The Process. Kalen Deboer and The Tide dropped the ball too often in 2024 and deserved to be on the outside looking come playoff time.
Ole Miss
A loss on a fourth-down miracle. Losing the first lead of the game and the Tiger’s only down in OT in Tiger Stadium. Losing to a Gators team that just looked like they spent most of their season spinning their wheels. Ole Miss might be the biggest disappointment of the 2024 season. Lane Kiffin and the gang had them primed for a home playoff game at The Grove. Instead, they settled for a nothing-burger blowout over Duke in the Gator Bowl.
South Carolina
- LSU 36, South Carolina 33
- Alabama 27, South Carolina 25
The Ole Miss loss wasn’t close. But, the Gamecocks had the Tigers and Tide on the ropes in both of their close losses. Shane Beamer made many strides in 2024, but not closing the deal in one or both games will leave him we regrats.
Double Digit B1G Miss
Tennessee, Texas, and Georgia were lone representatives for the SEC in the College Football Playoff. Only Texas actually got a home game. Tennessee and the Vol Navy had to head north to Columbus, and Georgia earned a bye week and a trip to the Big East to face the winner of Notre Dame and Indiana. Despite the draw, the dreams of the three SECs meeting each other at the national championship were still alive. Too bad nobody told the teams. Tenessee and Georgia failed to show up… win their contests. Texas won two games but a bridesmaid, losing in the semifinals for the second year in a row. It wasn’t just that they lost. The losses were B1G.
- First Round: Ohio State 42, Tennessee 17
- Quarterfinals: Notre Dame 23, Georgia 10
- Semifinals: Ohio State 28, Texas14
- Average margin of defeat: 17.33 points
Not great, Bob. That is unacceptable. Tennessee wasn’t competitive and seemed to forget to come off the bus. Georgia had trouble finishing drives and keeping Riley Leonard off the field. Ohio State knocked off two SEC teams on their way to the B1G’s first back-to-back national championship in 60 years. Sure, Texas gave Ohio State a fight, but still, the scoreboard doesn’t lie. The SEC was not up for the challenge in 2024. A B1G Miss.
Main Photo: Samantha Madar/USA Today Network via Imagn Images
The post SEC Tailgate Talk: 2024 SEC Season Retrospective, B1G Miss appeared first on Last Word on College Football.