Another bogus "SEC Speed" argument

◊ Year, after year, after year they do it. This time it's Stewart Mandel. On SI's front page, Mandel wrote a feature story on first-year Purdue coach Danny Hope's recruiting adventures. It's a nice piece, but one that is flawed. Towards the end of the story, Mandel (I assure you, he's not the only culprit) tries to argue that if a team wants to be successful, it must recruit and sign players from the South, specifically Florida, like Hope is this season. The problem is, Mandel contradicts what he's writing... blatantly.

"...Ohio State has been [recruiting Florida players] for years, luring recent standouts Chris Gamble, Michael Jenkins, Santonio Holmes and Nate Salley, among others..."

Mandel wrote that towards the top of his story, and for the most part, it is true, as those were all very, very good, if not great football players. Then, in the fourth-from-last graph in the story, Mandel observes what Penn State has done, to contrast against his argument. It's a fully admirable (and responsible) way of writing this kind of story, providing the exception to the rule, while arguing your own point.

"Not everyone in the Big Ten is jumping on the Florida bandwagon. Penn State's current crop of 26 commitments is, like most classes in the program's recent history, heavy on Pennsylvania, Maryland and New York/New Jersey players. Not a single player hails from Florida or any other SEC state... That being said, Penn State has won four of its past five bowl games, including games against Florida State and Tennessee."

Holy crap, did he just make a sensible, honest counterpoint to the "SOUTHERNSPEEDISSOAMAZING!!!!" lie? It seemed like it. But then, it happened. You almost wish Mandel left it there. The article would have been more than worth reading, if not praising. Nope, Mandel had to regress back to his roots in the main stream media.

"However, the discrepancy in athleticism (particularly on defense) between Penn State and USC was plainly obvious in last month's Rose Bowl, as it was for Illinois the year before. To help erase that gap, Big Ten schools will need to continue looking beyond their backyards when it comes to recruiting."

Yes, Penn State was beaten soundly by USC, as was Illinois. HOWEVER, let's revisit what Mandel wrote earlier in the story, and quoted at the top of this post.

"...Ohio State has been [recruiting Florida players] for years, luring recent standouts Chris Gamble, Michael Jenkins, Santonio Holmes and Nate Salley, among others..."

Didn't Ohio State, with all that fantastic Florida talent, get BLOWN OUT by Florida in '06, LSU in '07 and USC this year, then lost to Texas?

That there is the problem with this entire premise. Where your talent comes from means NOTHING. Stewart Mandel just proved it to everyone, even if that wasn't (of course it wasn't) his intention. Sorry, but you can't hold up a pencil and tell me it's a pen, just because you want me to think it's a pen. Florida and USC, among other really good teams, aren't blowing out northern and midwestern teams because they recruit kids from Florida.

Why is it that, even though Mandel did mention PSU's wins over Florida State and Tennessee, these guys always fall victim to selective memory? Michigan over Florida in 2007? Wisconsin over Arkansas in 2006? Wisconsin over Auburn in 2005? Iowa over LSU in 2004? Iowa over Florida in 2003? Ohio State over Miami in 2002?

Those must have all been just flukes, right? Just like Utah over 'Bama this year? West Virginia over Georgia in 2005?

And didn't Penn State just beat Ohio State in Columbus?

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!