Conference call: SEC or Big Ten? Depends whom you ask
By PETE YOUNG
Published December 31, 2003
[Times art: Steve Madden]
Do you like burgers, brats and beer, "big uglies" grappling in the trenches and a splash of snow and mud on the side?
You are Big Ten football material.
Do you favor barbecued ribs and bourbon, speed at every position and, on occasion, a lingering whiff of probation?
You belong in the SEC.
The SEC and Big Ten, or Big Ten and SEC, are considered the best, most tradition-laden conferences in the nation. Just ask them.
"Both conferences are great," said Michigan star running back Chris Perry, who helped the Wolverines to an Outback Bowl victory over SEC-foe Florida last year.
Yes, both are great, as Perry diplomatically said, but both also think they are the best, and only one can claim that honor. So which is it?
Before answering "Neither. It's the Big 12," remember that conference only has been around since 1994. The SEC is 70 years old; the Big Ten is 107. The leagues are entrenched, provincial and, they believe, superior. None of the eight current or former Big Ten or SEC players interviewed for this story would concede his league wasn't at least tied for the best.
"The Big Ten is better. I played in it," Bucs Pro Bowl defensive end Simeon Rice (Illinois) said with a smile. "It has better players."
Across the locker room, linemate Anthony McFarland (LSU) begged to differ.
"The SEC is better, no doubt, top to bottom," McFarland said.
The head-to-head bowl numbers show that over the past five years, the Big Ten holds the slight edge over the SEC, 7-6. All-time, however, the SEC has a clear advantage, 30-17.
The big loser? Ohio State, which is 0-7 vs. the SEC in bowls.
This year's Outback Bowl foes, Iowa (1-1 vs. SEC in bowls) and Florida (4-2 vs. Big Ten in bowls) have met in one bowl, with the Gators taking the 1983 Gator Bowl 14-6.
This is the ninth consecutive Outback Bowl pitting the SEC vs. the Big Ten. The SEC holds a 5-3 advantage.
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The leagues have long-held, distinct on-field reputations. The Big Ten is smash-mouth. The SEC is pure speed.
"They're known for their running, and we're known more for our hard-nosed, head-butting," Iowa tackle and Outland Trophy winner Robert Gallery said.
But do the reputations still hold true?
"It may have used to be that way, but I think really if you look at the Big Ten you see some smash-mouth run teams, but you also see guys that are pretty good that can throw it around as well," said Florida coach Ron Zook, who grew up in Big Ten country in Loudonville, Ohio. "I don't think that you could say that the Big Ten is just a power conference and the SEC is just a speed conference. There are teams in the SEC that are pretty strong as well, and there's teams in the Big Ten that have a lot of speed."
The SEC thinks it is too fast for the Big Ten.
"Better athletes, more speed," McFarland said. "When SEC and Big Ten schools play, there's a speed gap. If the Big Ten team doesn't get turnovers, if they don't get some help, it's tough for them to play with the SEC team, or a team that plays down south. The speed level is so different."
The "speed gap" would be news to fleet-footed NFL stars such as 49ers linebacker Julian Peterson (Michigan State), Raiders cornerback Charles Woodson (Michigan), Seahawks cornerback Shawn Springs (Ohio State), Redskins linebacker LaVar Arrington (Penn State) and Vikings running back Michael Bennett (Wisconsin), burners who have ranked among the fastest at their positions.
"Come on, man," Rice said when hearing McFarland's comments. "I played in the Big Ten, and I'm fast. I think I'm one of the fastest guys in the league at defensive end. Then you've got guys like (Cowboys receiver) Joey Galloway. That's not speed? And (Cowboys receiver) Terry Glenn. And (Chargers receiver) David Boston - and that's just Ohio State. We're talking about guys that make plays in the NFL with speed.
"(The speed gap) is a big myth. We can go position by position. The Big Ten produces fast players."
Bucs tight end Rickey Dudley (Ohio State) - surprise - agrees with Rice.
"The SEC is labeled the speed conference," Dudley said. "I said, labeled. Sure, there are some differences, and they probably rely on the wide-open game more, but it's mostly a label."
On the flip side, the SEC has plenty of maulers, such as four 2004 AFC Pro Bowl selections: Steelers tackle Alan Faneca (LSU), Bengals tackle Willie Anderson (Auburn), Patriots defensive end Richard Seymour (Georgia) and Jaguars defensive tackle Marcus Stroud (Georgia).
Dudley thinks any differences are less about players and more about the style of play necessitated by the oft-inclement weather in Big Ten country during the second half of the season.
"I think the coaches in both leagues utilize the talent that they have in the situations that they have," Zook said. "Sometimes the situation means you have to play a certain way and try to do certain things."
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The leagues clearly have much in common. They are, by and large, composed of huge state schools with enormous enrollments, gigantic fan-followings and rivalries dating back decades, perhaps a century.
In the Southeast, they say football might be akin to religion in the Big Ten, but in the SEC, it's more important than that.
Inside each league, the rivalries are fierce. Tennessee hates Florida, Florida disparages Georgia, and so on. But whenever asked to compare their conference with that other conference, the fraternal instinct kicks in.
"I would say the SEC is better from just playing in it, looking at the level of competition," said Bucs safety Jermaine Phillips (Georgia), who was a member of two Outback Bowl-winning teams over Wisconsin and Purdue. "Week in, week out, you have to come to play. Just look at the Top 25 or the Top 10, the teams that are in it - LSU, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida - you've got some really good teams up there."
Add "always defending league honor" to the list of things the Big Ten and SEC have in common. "I'm not going to say (the Big Ten is superior)," Gallery said. "I'll say the Big Ten is a great league, and I wouldn't want to play in any other league."
"(There is) extra incentive for you to beat a Big Ten team in the bowl," said Florida cornerback Keiwan Ratliff, who will get his second chance to do so. "You always want to represent your conference as well as your school when you play in a game like this. You want to go out and make a name for your conference."
- Staff writers Roger Mills and Brian Landman contributed to this story.
