By the Numbers: “Built Like an SEC Team” is an Insult to FSU

Alabama head coach Nick Saban created a bit of an uproar among Florida State fans last week when he said the Seminoles were “built like an SEC team”.

Saban’s comments came during the annual SEC media days as the Crimson Tide get set to open the season against FSU on Sept. 2 in Atlanta. Saban’s comments were intended to be complimentary. In fact, for SEC fans, players and coaches alike, comparing any entity to the SEC is about as high a praise as there is:

At churches in the south, “Now, Samson was built like an SEC team”…

At weddings, “To the bride and groom, I hope your love for one another is every bit as strong as an SEC team”…

At the eye doctor, “Mr. Fletcher, your vision is as good as an SEC team”…

While Saban’s comments were meant to be nothing short of flattering for the Seminoles, just lumping FSU in with 14 other teams sort of does it a disservice — never mind the fact that Florida State and Miami laid the blueprint for putting together modern powerhouse programs.

With all that said, we decided to look at how FSU compares to every current SEC school over the last 25 years. That goes back to 1992, which was the year South Carolina and Arkansas joined the conference. That was also the year that the SEC held its first conference championship:

In the chart listed above, blue represents the best while green represents the most. When it came to major bowls, we used the caveat of having at least five appearances.

The record vs. FSU/SEC column is Florida State’s record against SEC schools and each SEC school’s record against Florida State. Since no school other than Florida had more than one contest with FSU over the last 25 years, we omitted determining a best.

Also of note is that Florida State’s 23-14 win over Texas A&M to open the 1998 season was not included in the “vs. FSU/SEC” column, because Texas A&M was a member of the Big 12. The Aggies were also a member of either the Southwest Conference or the Big 12 for each of their three major bowl appearances.

Looking at the chart, the Seminoles have been the best or at least tied for the best over the last 25 years in four of the seven categories. FSU is the only team listed without a losing season. Vacated wins were omitted for every team on the chart. Overall, FSU has eight more wins than the next closest team (Alabama) and 12 fewer losses than the next closest team (Florida).

Florida State has six more major bowl appearances (Alliance, New Year’s Six, BCS) than the next school (Alabama and Florida). If you remove Alabama, Florida and LSU from the equation, FSU has more major bowl wins and as many appearances as the rest of the SEC combined. Take into account that the SEC as a whole is guaranteed at least one major bowl appearance every year.

When it comes to national championships, only Alabama has more and only Florida has as many. The Seminoles, Gators and Crimson Tide are even when it comes to top-10 finishes in the AP Poll. The only years over the past 25 where FSU did not finish ranked were 2006, 2007 and 2009.

While an SEC fan may be quick to point out that Florida State’s record against the SEC is worse than it is against its own conference, the ACC, many of those games were contests against highly-ranked Florida teams during the 1990s and late-2000s.

Of the 34 SEC teams to take on the Seminoles since 1992, only Florida in 2013 and Ole Miss last season finished with losing records. 16 of those teams finished in the top 10 and 25 finished ranked in the final AP Poll. It’s also worth noting that against the SEC West — often considered to be the stronger of the two divisions — FSU is a perfect 3-0 and 4-0 if you include the Texas A&M win from 1998.

None of what has been mentioned above is intended to demean the SEC. When you look at conference success over the last 25 years, teams from the SEC have claimed 15 of 25 national championships and the league has the nation’s preeminent national power in Alabama.

When talking about Florida State however, it is unfair to just lump the Seminoles in with teams from a conference. Few teams have the pedigree that FSU has attained over the last 40 years and sizing up the program with some of the SEC’s heavyweights shows most from the mighty SEC have a resume’ not remotely comparable to the Seminoles’.

When looking at SEC teams over the last 25 years, three have losing records while FSU hasn’t had a losing season. Nine have not won a national championship while Florida State has three. Seven teams haven’t won a major bowl game and four have not played in one while FSU has appeared in five straight, winning three.

It’s true that some perennial SEC powers such as Alabama, Florida and LSU have some similarities to Florida State in terms of talent, atmosphere and national appeal. The vast majority of the conference however, would love to be mentioned in the same breath with the Seminoles.

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson