From the Bench

SEC Was the Story of the Year in College Football

Robert Shields

This season was the year for the SEC -- even for the Arkansas Razorbacks. The AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic win over No. 8 Kansas State ran Arkansas’ bowl winning streak to three when you include the victory over NCAA-aided cheat Ohio State. So, Kevin Trainor, go ahead and start counting these other cheaters from previous seasons such as USC and Alabama as vacated wins.

The SEC went 5-2 in bowl games this year not including the Allstate BCS National Championship Game, and I don’t know how to count it other than to say the SEC wins regardless. So, I’m going to count it as a 7-2 bowl season, which is amazing considering all SEC teams had to play up a bowl because the two best teams in the SEC are in the BCS championship game.

It was quite a year for the SEC. In fact, it even stole two very good athletic programs from the Big 12. Texas A&M and Missouri left for the rich money fields and in doing so made a decision that it really doesn’t matter if you win, rather “It’s all about the Hamilton’s baby." The Big Ten and Pac 12 were only good enough to steal one from the Big 12 -- the SEC doubled their efforts.

The magic of the SEC even helped A&M and Missouri as they both won their bowl games running the unofficial From the Bench total for the SEC to 9-2 in bowl games. The two losses were by Vanderbilt, which nobody really takes seriously in the SEC except to want them on the schedule rotation.

I heard all bowl season about how there was no defense in any of those games. It’s true if you exclude SEC teams, but false otherwise. The SEC teams played defense in their bowl games. Every SEC team that won did not allow more than 20 points scored. OK, that’s also not true because Auburn allowed Virginia to score 24, but it was a blowout anyway as Auburn almost doubled Virginia’s score.

The two SEC teams that lost allowed their opponents to score 30 or more. Georgia lost it in overtime thanks to panic by its coach. With a little more than a minute left in that game, Georgia had held Michigan State to 20 points. Vanderbilt allowed its opponent, Big East co-champion Cincinnati, 31 points and probably would have won if it had it not allowed a kickoff return.

Meanwhile the Razorback defense destroyed its bowl opponent. It was the best the Arkansas defense looked all year. It knocked Calvin Kleine -- or at least that is probably what he thought his name was -- from sideline to sideline. He got up one time after being hit with that look of “what was that?”

Some outlets in Kansas State country claimed that the Wildcats had not seen that kind of defensive speed all season. You -think. Make no mistake, the Razorback defense dominated the game and won it as the offense squandered opportunity after opportunity. It made little difference as Kansas State’s offense only engineered one real touchdown drive the entire game.

In most games if you make five trips inside your opponent’s 40-yard line and only coming away with nine points, you’re probably going to lose. In two of those trips, the Hogs moved inside the 10 with one of those reaching the 2-yard line. It made no difference as the Razorback defense really only allowed seven points all night.

You can’t blame the defense for the two points returned on an extra point by Kansas State nor the offense setting up K-State at the 13-yard line after a quarterback fumble.

The SEC plays defense, and other leagues will continue to struggle against them until they change their ways. The old adage, and it continues to be true, is that you win games with defense. The SEC does as did the Hogs in their bowl game. Other leagues may offer a more exciting brand of football if you like arena-league style of play. I don’t know what sport that was in that Baylor bowl game, but it looked like something Pulaski Academy does during the summer in 7-on-7 tournaments.

It’s hard to win when you don’t score. The SEC had an incredible season as it rode this crest in its history all the way to the end with two of its schools playing for the national championship. Arkansas got to be part of that history as the three best teams in the country played in the SEC West. The Hogs were just third. The Razorbacks rode this crest with their conference and brought a much-needed bowl win home, which has been so difficult in the past.

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40 Minutes of Hell Yeah

I would be remiss not to mention Mike Anderson. It’s incredible what he is doing with this team that to be honest is very lacking in player personnel. Yet he is turning it into a real team and he is doing it the right way winning at home. It’s where you start. He will lose when he goes on the road, but he’s doing it right by making it tough on everyone else when they go on the road to come to our house. I believe the days of Coastal Carolina busing over to Bud Walton and beating the Razorbacks are done.


Send your experiences and photos from the Cotton Bowl to fromthebench@yahoo.com for my Facebook collage.



Robert Shields is the bestselling author of “Scarlet Fever: A Razorback House Divided” and “The Economics of Sex” and has written the weekly “From the Bench” sports column for the last 14 years. His newest novel, “Daphne and The Mysterious Girls Secret Bathroom Society” is part one in the series. The book is available on Kindle, the nook, and Lulu for $4.99. He is not the mime.


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