The CheckerBoard

No he doesn't. Marcus Ball's only SEC offers are from us and Kentucky. If he had an Alabama offer, wouldn't he just take that if he only wants to play in the SEC?

Also, more to the point, how is SEC dominance really helping us if your only example is a 3* guy with no other meaningful SEC offers? Is that the recruiting synergy that we are bestowed with because everyone else in the league is winning like crazy? If so, I'd prefer for them to lose some games in hopes that we could more successfully go toe to toe with them for all of the elite guys they keep getting.

I should rephrase:

Show me an elite recruit with offers from SEC powers that choose to come here because the SEC wins a lot of games and championships. That's essentially what the logic of SEC solidarity is getting at.

Well as long as Nick Saban is at Bama they will have top 5 classes. Nothing we can do about it. They will always be good...

The key IMO is to move our focus to the Carolinas, and the DC/Virginia area. Build relationships there where there aren't dominant teams.

BINGO!

I think that's just Nick Saban. As long as he's there they will be good. He's a once in a generation type coach. Best college football coach since I've been alive.

They'll always be good, yes, but why would we cheer for them to win championships.

On top of the fact that it probably doesn't help us, they're the enemy!

I would say if Bama loses, there is a better chance of Bell thinking less of Bama and picking UT than there is of Green thinking less of the SEC and picking Michigan.

Just thought of another question which relates very closely to this discussion topic:

Would you rather UT be 10-2 in the 2nd or 3rd best conference or 5-7 in the best conference? If the top teams in the league take a hit and the conference quality overall suffers, UT has a better chance to compete with those top teams, but it doesn't come with the same prestige that it used to. What would you rather have?

And that's okay with you, while UT sits at home for the second season in a row?

Why does that make you feel better about our situation? I would prefer they all get beaten to death, which maybe makes them lose some recruits and opens the door for us to beat them in the next couple of years.

How about that? I want to beat our competitors, not watch them win championships while our season is over and we got embarrassed yet again.

I want to whip them, and no one has yet made a cogent argument as to how them winning helps us beat them. The only end that I care about is UT wins.

I think you will notice that I got a strong post going last night on this subject.

However, I would like to respond directly to your postings on this subject. There are only two ways that your argument makes sense:
1. Because Bama wins they get to sign as many players as they want.
2. Because Bama wins there are only 25 good prospects available and the rest aren't worth having.

There are 4 or 5 teams in this conference that have great recruiting pull because of a history of winning and geographical advantage. The SEC is a powerful pull for the rest of the programs to attract attention from national recruits. I would then argue that our heritage and the quality of our campus and infrastructure gives us a tremendous advantage over the remainder of the teams in the SEC. So yes, I do believe that there is value in other SEC teams in general and Bama specifically doing well against non-conference competition.

The SEC is the king and definitely helps all the teams in the league. Where do you find one loss SEC teams in the rankings? Ahead of all other one loss teams. Tennesee needs to win football games in order for the strength of schedule to help us. The lack of strength in the SEC may be revealed in the NCAA basketball field this year. It is best for all the teams in the conference to be in the strongest conference. We have not been able to enjoy these benefite because we have under achieved in our conference. Gooooo Bama.

Thanks for laying out a logical rationale and not just insisting again on the opinion.

I think it may raise the profile of the conference, but my point is that we're in an era of ultra-performance from an unprecedented number of teams in this conference. Never before has Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Miss. St., Texas A&M, etc. all been so good at once.

Again, I don't want the league to go to crap, but as long as all of those teams continue pulverizing everyone, we get penalized and not helped for it.

To prove your point, I need someone to show me very good to elite recruits that signed with Tennessee because other teams in the SEC have been very successful. It's the only way to prove the point, because I can sit here all day and show you example of recruits we have lost to other SEC teams because they have been very successful, therefore proving my point.

The biggest things that have hurt TN were a bad hire with Kiffin in retrospect because of the one and done and the hiring of Coach Dooley. The program has also not had a lot of luck with injuries over the past few years as well. In the past TN has been pretty damn good while Florida and or Bama have been successful. Back then it was going back and forth on who was better between us and them. And we were included in that. Other SEC teams don't have to fall for us to be successful. A well coached and recruited program in conjunction with our heritage and infrastructure should bring us back to the top!

Wanting the SEC to beat non- SEC teams does not mean I'm content with Tennessee staying at home with a 5-7 record. Alabama is not going to be any less competitive next year if they lose to Notre Dame. If anything, it gives the best coach in college football more motivation the following year and a recruiting pitch to uber prospects that they are the missing link to winning the next championship.

Rather, the dominance of the SEC forces the hands of all those associated with the program; AD, Chancellor, BoT, boosters, etc to committ to getting UT back on top. one example - We don't pull out all the stops in the new state- of- the- art training facility if we didn't feel the pressure to stay competitive. That facility is touted as being one of best in the nation - both college and the NFL- and definitely going to be a factor in recruiting.