One phrase sums up SEC football in 2024: You’re going to need a bigger boat

Oklahoma football fired its offensive coordinator on Monday. No shock there. Play-callers are push-button scapegoats. The Sooners have scored 12 total points in their last two games. They are 1-3 in the SEC. They lost by 26 points last Saturday. At home. To South Carolina.

Texas was the nation’s No. 1-ranked team. Until last Saturday. Georgia visited Austin. By the time the Bulldogs departed, beer bottles littered the field at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, a $250,000 fine was headed to the UT administration’s mailbox and there was a number one in the Longhorns’ loss column. Come Sunday afternoon, Texas was No. 5 in the polls.

Question: What do those two traditional powerhouses and former Big 12 rivals have in common? Answer: They’re no longer in the Big 12. They’re in the SEC. This is their first year in the SEC, in fact. And well, SEC football just hits different.

“It’s really ridiculous,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said Monday.

Stoops has the bruises to prove it. At 12 seasons on the job, he’s the longest-tenured coach in the nation’s best football conference. His program has been to eight straight bowl games, produced two 10-win seasons and in 2018 recorded UK’s first winning conference record since 1977. The Cats repeated that feat in 2021.

Here in 2024, Kentucky is 1-4 in league play. Stoops has lost nine of his last 11 SEC games and 10 of his last 15 games overall. His last conference home win came Sept. 30, 2023, when Kentucky defeated Florida 33-14. Saturday night in Gainesville, Florida defeated Kentucky 48-20.

As Stoops likes to say, “There’s no crying on the yacht.” He’s extremely well-compensated. His $9 million annual salary ranks among the sport’s top 10. For every coach who complains about NIL’s effect on the profession — Stoops among them — there’s a thousand more who would gladly take on the task.

Still, there’s no denying that the SEC is a brutal football league. Always has been, even more so now. With no restrictions on facilities or guardrails for NIL, the league’s football degree of difficult continues to grow and grow to a point where you can’t really acquire a feel for that unless you’re in it yourself.

Take Oklahoma. The Sooners clearly own one of the sport’s richest traditions. They’ve won seven national championships. They’ve captured a combined 16 Big 8 and Big 12 championships. They boast such iconic names as Bud Wilkinson, Barry Switzer, Bob Stoops, Brian Bosworth, Billy Sims, Baker Mayfield, Adrian Peterson. They’ve produced seven Heisman Trophy winners.

Now they’re on the wrong end of a rude awakening. In three league losses, OU has been outscored 94-27. Yes, one of those defeats came at the hands of Texas by a 34-3 count. But last Saturday versus visiting and unranked South Carolina, Oklahoma turned the ball over four times, averaged 1.3 yards per rushing attempt, trailed 32-3 at the half and suffered its worst home loss by margin since 2014.

Texas is in a bit better shape. The Longhorns handled Mississippi State 35-13 in their SEC opener before routing Oklahoma in the annual Red River Shootout. Based on their College Football Playoff semifinal appearance last year, combined with an early September win at Michigan and unbeaten record through six games, Texas sat atop the polls.

Georgia put a quick end to that. Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs led 23-0 at the half. By the final horn, Georgia had forced four Texas turnovers, held Steve Sarkisian’s offense to 29 yards rushing and 259 total yards and sent a clear “Welcome to the SEC” message deep in the heart of Texas.

None of this is to excuse Kentucky’s 3-4 record. The Cats belly-flopped against South Carolina. They were too busy filling their feet full of holes to beat a much-improved Vanderbilt. And they spent much of last Saturday chasing various receivers running free through the Florida night. You are what your record says you are.

Still, this league isn’t for the faint of heart. There might be no crying on the yachts, but the SEC boasts a fleet of yachts. Just ask Texas. Better yet, Oklahoma. And, yes, Kentucky. In this league, you definitely need a bigger boat.

This story was originally published October 22, 2024 at 6:45 AM.

John Clay

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-472-4218

John Clay is a sports columnist for the Lexington Herald-Leader. A native of Central Kentucky, he covered UK football from 1987 until being named sports columnist in 2000. He has covered 20 Final Fours and 42 consecutive Kentucky Derbys. Support my work with a digital subscription