The Georgia-Alabama game got me thinking that perhaps the SEC has finally been completely “Pac-12’d.”
Long gone are the days of SEC teams simply playing great defense paired with a conservative, run-heavy, ball-control offense where they could just bully opponents in the trenches and win a national title.
For decades, a lack of dominant linemen out west has always pushed the west coast teams into an evolution of wide-open, high-flying offenses in order to compensate for a lack of size and talent in the trenches. Ultimately, it culminated in the Chip Kelly revolution of blur offenses which was almost, yes almost, good enough to win a national title in 2010 over a powerhouse SEC team in Auburn that controlled the line of scrimmage.
The thinking out west was to concede the unwinnable trenches and challenge the big boys with sprinter-like speed on the edges. For Nick Saban, the writing was on the wall. Ditch the boring, old-school, “three yards and a cloud of dust” brand of football, or get left behind: “Hey, what if we play dominating defense AND score a lot of points?” The figurative lightbulb flashing above Saban’s head shone so brightly it could be seen from the International Space Station.
RIP Les Miles. (Les who? Exactly, he never made the transition.)
Personally, I had wondered for years why it took the southern boys so long to embrace the high-octane offense. But, I guess it stands to reason that while the South has always been loaded with talent in the trenches, nobody ever said it was loaded with high SAT scores. Apparently, gumbo, jambalaya and fried green tomatoes are not brain foods.
Who knew?!
Of course, leave it to a former Pac-12 coach, Kalen DeBoer, to make it official: The “SEC After Dark” is born!
Perhaps the real Pac-12 is not dead after all. The Beavers-Cougars and the Seven Dwarfs that will ultimately be the new Pac-12 will not carry the torch of the Pac-12, but crazy-ass football across the nation at night and under the lights will.
Long live the Pac-12 After Dark.
It often seemed as thought the Oregon defense was playing 3-on-1. (Photo by Erick Becker)
The Inept-12: Different Leadership, Same Result
I always found it odd that former Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff’s top lieutenant, former deputy commissioner Teresa Gould, became the new commissioner. You would have thought the powers that be would have wanted completely fresh leadership at the top. But, nah, let’s appoint the No. 2 person from arguably the conference’s worst administration.
And surprise, surprise — the Pac-12 continues to get outmaneuvered. This time, by the “all-powerful” Mountain West Conference that was left for dead. Gould and the Pac-12 got outflanked by a conference that was scratching and clawing for its life by not securing “powerhouses” UNLV and Air Force.
Getting those should have been layups.
Even if the Pac-12 did not consider those two schools as “must haves,” and they offered a who cares, shoulder-shrugging “take it or leave it” offer, it still looks bad and shows a total lack of self-awareness.
Taking Peek at Peaking
A phrase that is commonly used in sports, but rarely ever in college football, is “peaking at the right time.” Ya know, playing your best ball when it matters the most — usually toward the end of the season as a team is about to embark on the playoffs. Traditionally in college football though, a team must be “peaking” all season long as a single, solitary loss could eliminate a team from national title aspirations.
Fear no more.
With the new 12-team College Football Playoff, teams can finally save their best for last as two and even three-loss teams (hi, SEC) will make the playoff. In sports in general, a team never wants to peak too early and save their inconsistencies for the end of the season; a team wants to get the ups and downs out of the way early so by season’s end they are firing on all cylinders.
The good news here is clear: the 2024 Oregon Ducks are definitely not peaking too early.
Darren Perkins
Spokane, WA
Top photo credit: Eric Becker
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Darren Perkins is a sales professional and 1997 Oregon graduate. After finishing school, he escaped the rain and moved to sunny Southern California where he studied screenwriting for two years at UCLA. Darren grew up in Eugene and in 1980, at the tender age of five, he attended his first Oregon football game. His lasting memory from that experience was an enthusiastic Don Essig announcing to the crowd: “Reggie Ogburn, completes a pass to… Reggie Ogburn.” Captivated by such a thrilling play, Darren’s been hooked on Oregon football ever since. Currently living in Spokane, Darren enjoys flaunting his yellow and green superiority complex over friends and family in Cougar country.