Southern Conference: The Original Super Conference

As French novelist Alphonse Karr once pointed out, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

Such is true in the world of college football.

Conference realignment is nothing new after recent years saw the Big East conference raided by the ACC, which in turn led to the Big East raiding other leagues to fill out their membership.

Now we appear to be at the beginning of the “super conference” era in college sports.

What most panicked observers are probably unaware of is that these bloated leagues weren’t forged in the nineties and early 2000’s, but in 1922.

That was when the Southern Conference was formed in Atlanta, Ga. with 14 universities joining together.

Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi State, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Tennessee, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Washington & Lee were the charter members of the conference.

A year later six more schools joined the fray as Florida, LSU, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tulane and Vanderbilt signed on.

In following years, Sewanee, Virginia Military Institute and Duke also joined pushing the league total to 23 schools.

Obviously, this arrangement didn’t take and in 1933 thirteen schools split off to form the SEC and in 1953 seven more schools took off to found the ACC.

Now over a half-century later we sit squarely in the same scenario.

Universities from across the country are rescinding longtime partnerships, burning bridges and bolting for pastures perceived to be greener.

And that’s ultimately what it’s all about, green.

You’ll hear conferences put up appearances by lauding the good academic fits of new member institutions, but we all know the truth behind the matter.

Bigger leagues mean bigger television contracts, more conference championship games and more revenue generated than ever before.

This current process isn’t unlike watching one of those cheesy radio contests where they lock a contestant in a booth filled with money blown around by fans. Grab as much as you can in two minutes, no holds barred.

Just as in that scenario, college athletic departments appear poised to nab as much cash as they can and it’s no big deal if they make fools of themselves doing it.

Where will it end?

When the dust settles, the fans cease blowing and the money flutters to rest on the floor of the booth, conferences will no longer exist as we knew them and we’ll be left with behemoths of collegiate sports.

The Big 12 may exist but in a completely different form. We’ll have a Pac-10 bursting at the seams with 16 members and the always mathematically-challenged Big 10 will be comprised of 12 teams and maybe more.

Everyone’s alma mater will be impacted in this reshuffling scheme. The numbers of conference members will soon once again rival the old Southern conference.

The old SoCon was just ahead of the curve.

Chick-Fil-A Bowl Preview: No.11 Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee

The 2009 Virginia Tech Hokies will finish their season where it began, playing an SEC team in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

Since they last met in the 1994 Gator Bowl when a young quarterback named Peyton Manning led Tennessee to a decisive victory, fans of the Hokies and Volunteers have been clamoring for a rematch.

The two fan bases have been intermingling for years and Hokies everywhere would love nothing more than regional bragging rights heading into the new year.

On paper, this may or may not appear to be an exciting match up. That all depends on your preferred brand of football.

This game matches two of the best defensive minds in football in Monte Kiffin and Bud Foster.

Despite Kiffin’s NFL background, the two coaches employ very similar defensive styles.

Both have aggressive, attacking defenses designed to hit the ball-carrier with multiple defenders with the goal of creating a turnover. They both use a myriad of coverage looks that have confused more than a few opposing quarterbacks.

Obviously the big name of Tennessee’s unit is All-everything safety Eric Berry.

The 2009 Thorpe award winner is the nation’s top defensive back, but he doesn’t really play like one.

Berry will drop back in coverage, but he also will play up near the line like an extra linebacker and if Tyrod Taylor has any success running the football, don’t be surprised to see Berry spy him.

Berry isn’t the only one Tech has to look out for on defense.

Senior Dan Williams is a 6’3”, 327-pound handful at tackle. He’s by far the largest defender on an undersized defensive line. What the Vols lack in size, they make up for in speed.

Chris Walker is a playmaker at defensive end, leading the team with 8.5 tackles for loss and six sacks.

Despite those players, the Volunteer defense isn’t without weakness.

Tennessee is on their third middle linebacker of the season, losing the first two to injury.

Redshirt freshman Herman Lathers has been filling the middle down the stretch. In his four games as a starter the Vols have allowed just over 213 rushing yards per game.

That likely has the Hokie offensive lineman and tailback Ryan Williams licking their collective chops.

The Hokies should be able to run the football with Williams and Taylor, and there will be opportunities in the passing game.

The Volunteer schemes lend themselves to allowing short passes, something the Hokies have been improving as the season has progressed. A few well-timed screen passes would serve Tech well.

The Hokies will also look to challenge Tennessee down the field when Berry is playing close to the line. If Tech can hit a couple of big-gainers, they stand a terrific shot at winning the game.

The Volunteer offense has its share of weapons as well.

Senior quarterback Jonathan Crompton struggled at the start of the year, but recovered to have a very strong season. Crompton threw for over 2,500 yards with 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Crompton’s favorite target is who has 41 catches for 610 yards on the season, but the Vols have eight players with at least 10 catches on the year. Crompton clearly likes to spread the ball around.

Montario Hardesty is a strong runner who exhibits both power and speed. On the year, Hardesty rushed for 1,306 yards and 12 touchdowns.

If there’s anyone happy about the bowl game break, it’s Hardesty. In Tennessee’s final two games of the regular season, he carried the ball 71 times.

The Hokie run defense improved dramatically as the year progressed. Pass defense has been a bit more inconsistent and won’t be helped by the absence of starting corner Stephan Virgil who was declared academically ineligible for the game.

Either Cris Hill or freshman punt returner Jayron Hosely will fill in for Virgil. It’s also possible both will play as Hill struggled in the game he started earlier this season against Marshall.

Look for Crompton to test the Hokie pass defense early and often. The weak spot is right down the middle as Alabama can tell you. The Crimson Tide attacked free safety Kam Chancellor time after time and exploited the weakness quite effectively.




PREDICTION

Under Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech is a miserable 2-11 playing in domes. Tech is 0-2 in Atlanta this season and has never won back-to-back bowl games during the Beamer era. Of course, Lane Kiffin hasn’t won any bowl games and it’s difficult not to weigh his lack of experience in bowl preparations when picking a winner here.

The Hokies have laid a few eggs in their last couple games against an SEC opponent, and even though the Hokies are a better team on paper, Tennessee is a much better club than their 7-5 record would indicate.

My heart, my college degree and the majority of my wardrobe tell me the I love Virginia Tech and the Hokies can pull this one out. My brain on the other hand tells me that until they prove they can beat an SEC team on a big stage, it’s a risky pick.


Tennessee 24

Virginia Tech 21