Now that they have regained the spotlight, the fine people of the Southeastern Conference would like to deliver a simple, heartfelt message.
Don’t hate us because we’re good.
In a season marked by upsets and turmoil, the SEC has once again emerged as top dog, with two teams — Alabama and Georgia — in Monday night’s College Football Playoff championship game.
That guarantees a ninth title in 12 years for the SEC and a second in the CFP’s four-year history.
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Think of it as more fuel for a part of the country that likes to boast about having the best athletes, the savviest coaches and the most ardent fans. As the conference’s recent advertising campaign declared: “It just means more.”
“I think sometimes people try to put a little hate on the SEC because of the success that we have,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “And I don’t think that is really fair.”
This was supposed to be a down year down South and, it’s true, the conference’s overall 4-5 record in bowl appearances was something less than stellar. Six of 14 member schools made coaching changes in recent weeks.
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Still, the Crimson Tide and the Bulldogs ultimately claimed the victories that counted most.
“I’d put our conference up against anybody’s,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “And I’m not doing that braggingly, I just believe in that.”
By contrast, the Pac-12 staggered through a disconcerting bowl season, losing in eight of nine games.
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There were mitigating circumstances as injuries forced UCLA and Washington State to play without their starting quarterbacks. Oregon faced a difficult scenario, going against Boise State in the Las Vegas Bowl after coach Willie Taggart bolted for Florida State.
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Bulldogs linebacker Lorenzo Carter (7) blocks the field-goal attempt by Sooners kicker Austin Seibert in the second overtime.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Georgia running back Sony Michel, left, holds the trophy alongside linebacker Roquan Smith after the Bulldogs defeated Oklahoma during the College Football Playoff seminfinal.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Georgia head coach Kirby Smart consoles Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield after the Bulldogs defeated the Sooners 54-48 in double overtime.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Georgia wide receiver Mecole Hardman hoists the winner’s trophy after the Bulldogs beat the Oklahoma Sooners, 54-48, in the Rose Bowl.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Okalaoma defensive back Steven Parker reacts after the Sooners lost in double overtime to Georgia.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Oklahoma kicker Austin Siebert (43) reacts after gettinghis field goal attempt blocked by Georgia in the second overtime.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Georgia running back Sony Michel beaks past the line of scimminge during the game-winning touchdown run against the Oklahoma defense in double overtime.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Oklahoma defensive back Will Johnson is too late to stop Georgia running back Sony Michel from scoring the game-winning touchdown on a 27-yard run.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Georgia Sony Michel breaks free for the winning touchdown as the Bulldogs beat the Oklahoma Sooners, 54-48, in double overtime.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Teammates swarm Bulldogs wide receiver Javon Wims (6) after he scored the go-ahead touchdown against the Sooners during the fourth quarter.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Bulldogs running back Nick Chubb (27) is lifted up by offensive tackle Isaiah Wynn after scoring the tying touchdown in the fourth quarter.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Oklahoma’s Kahlil Haughton chases Georgia running back Sony Michel (1) to no avail as Michel scores on a 38-yard touchdown run in the second half.
(Shotgun Spratling / Los Angeles Times)
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Georgia running back Nick Chubb (27) scores the tying touchdown in front of Oklahoma linebacker Caleb Kelly (19) during the fourth quarter.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Georgia running back Sony Michel outruns Oklahoma defenders for a 38-yard touchdown run during the third quarter.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Oklahoma defensive back Steven Parker picks up a fumble byGeorgia running back Sony Michel before returning it for a touchdown during the fourth quarter.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Sooners defensive back Steven Parker heads toward the end zone after recovering a fumble by Bulldogs running back Sony Michel during the fourth quarter.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Oklahoma running back Rodney Anderson beats the Georgia defense for a 41-yard touchdown run during the second quarter.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Georgia safety Dominick Sanders carries the ball after intercepting a Baker Mayfield pass in the second half.
(Shotgun Spratling / Los Angeles Times)
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Sooner quarterback Baker Mayfield is sacked by Georgia linebacker D’Andre Walker in the 3rd quarter.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield celebrates after the Sooners defense scored a touchdown late in the game.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Georgia running back Nick Chubb carries the ball for 45 yards in the first half against Oklahoma at the Rose Bowl.
(Shotgun Spratling / Los Angeles Times)
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Oklahoma Sooners running back Rodney Anderson is literally picked up on a tackle by Georgia Bulldogs nose tackle John Atkins and defensive back J.R. Reed in the second half.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Oklahoma defensive back Steven Parker (10) celebrates after sacking Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm during the second quarter.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm is pressured by Oklahoma linebacker Obgonnia Okoronkwo during first-half action.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Oklahoma lineman Bobby Evans (71) gives quarterback Baker Mayfield a hand up after he was sacked by Georgia defensive end Johnathan Ledbetter (13) in the third quarter.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield is hugged by lineman Bobby Evans after scoring a touchdown late in the first half.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield tosses the ball to an official after catching a touchdown pass from teammate CeeDee Lamb during the second quarter.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Oklahoma running back Rodney Anderson is wrapped up by the Georgia defense during the second quarter.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Oklahoma running back Rodney Anderson breaks through the line for a long run against the Georgia defense during the second quarter.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Georgia defensive back Deandre Baker can’t reach an errant pass from Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield intended for receiver CeeDee Lamb during a second-quarter drive.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield runs the ball with Georgia linebacker Lorenzo Carter pursuing from behind in the second half.
(Shotgun Spratling / Los Angeles Times)
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Sooners linebacker Josh Schenck (36) reacts after a defensive stop against Georgia.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Georgia tailback Sony Michel beats Oklahoma linebacker Kenneth Murray to the end zone during the first quarter.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Georgia’s Tyler Clark upends Oklahoma fullback Dimitri Flowers in the backfield for a four-yard loss in the first half.
(Shotgun Spratling / Los Angeles Times)
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Oklahoma running back Rodney Anderson scores against Georgia during the first half.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Oklahoma and Georgia fans file into the Rose Bowl in Pasadena for the College Football Playoffs semifinal game.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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An Oklahoma player walks through the tunnel at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena hours before the game.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Georgia mascot “Uga IX” patrols the sidelines before the Rose Bowl against Oklahoma.
(Shotgun Spratling / Los Angeles Times)
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Pompoms wait for Georgia band members to shake them in the South end zone hours before the Georgia Bulldogs and the Oklahoma Sooners game.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Members of the University of Oklahoma marching band walk through the tunnel of the Rose Bowl.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Georgia head coach Kirby Smart walks the field hours before the College Football Playoff Semifinal game at the Rose Bowl.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Referees prepare for the Rose Bowl game.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Still, one for nine is dismal considering that several of the losses involved listless performances and blowout scores.
It was a sadly fitting capper to a season in which the Pac-12 once again struggled to market its in-house network, publicly sparred with ESPN and suffered through internal strife over the scheduling of weeknight games.
After Washington lost to Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl, Huskies coach Chris Petersen acknowledged that the conference’s postseason record was “nothing that we’re excited about, for sure.”
Arguments about East Coast bias and intraleague parity — Pac-12 teams beating up on each other during the regular season — have lost steam in the years since USC won the Associated Press national championship in 2004. Yet Petersen tried to inject perspective.
“Sometimes you have those years and everybody says ‘That’s a bad conference,’” the coach said. “And I don’t really think that.”
The Big 12, supposedly on the ropes last season, placed Oklahoma in a CFP semifinal at the Rose Bowl.
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Back in 2008-09, Big Ten teams went 1-6 in bowl games. This season, they were 7-1 and might have run the table if coach Jim Harbaugh hadn’t continued to struggle in big games, his Michigan team blowing a 16-point lead against South Carolina in the Outback Bowl.
As for questions surrounding the SEC, the conference was coming off a mediocre 2016-17 bowl season that ended with Alabama losing to Clemson in the title game. Though the Tide rebounded to spend most of this season atop the polls, Alabama was a controversial choice to make the playoffs.
The problem was, the Tide lost their regular-season finale to Auburn and didn’t even qualify for the conference title game. Some people thought that Big Ten champion Ohio State was more deserving of the CFP’s final slot.
That perception shifted Monday night.
After Georgia upset Oklahoma at the Rose Bowl, chants of “SEC, SEC” echoed through the Superdome where Alabama was taking command of its semifinal rematch against Clemson in the Sugar Bowl.
“Couldn’t have scripted it better in some ways,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey told the Associated Press.
Pending the final accounting, Sankey can point to three teams in top 10 and two more in the top 25. The early signing period provided more good news with Alabama, Georgia, Auburn and Florida among the programs with the highest-rated recruits.
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The Crimson Tide now head to the title game as a 3 1/2-point favorite, having reasserted themselves as the scariest defensive team in the country. If the offense remains conservative, sophomore quarterback Jalen Hurts is clearly a year steadier.
Georgia holds at least one edge in this matchup: the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta is only 72 miles from campus.
The Bulldogs are no slouch on defense, only five spots below No. 1 Alabama in yards allowed per game. Their rushing offense ranks No. 8 and freshman Jake Fromm is the fourth-most efficient passer in the nation.
“We both are very physical football teams,” Georgia linebacker Roquan Smith said. “Both protect the ball on the offensive side of the ball and play stingy defense.”
And both, it seems, have bolstered claims of SEC supremacy.
“Regardless of what’s been said, I think everything happened the way it was supposed to happen,” Hurts said, adding: “I don’t think this league is ever down.”
Hard to argue his point. Even if you don’t like it.
David Wharton has filled an array of roles – covering the courts, entertainment, sports and the second Persian Gulf War – since starting as a Los Angeles Times intern in 1982. His work has been honored by organizations such as the Society for Features Journalism and Associated Press Sports Editors and has been anthologized in “Best American Sports Writing.” He has also been nominated for an Emmy and has written two books, including “Conquest,” an inside look at USC football during the Pete Carroll era.
