SEC stands for Speed Earns Championships. Actually, it stands for Southeastern Conference, but the former is just about as true. If you think I'm kidding, just ask the Ohio State Buckeyes, back-to-back national runners-up to the University of Florida Gators (2006) and Lousiana State University Tigers (2007). Though the SEC is college football's flagship conference now, it also has a storied history.

The SEC began play in 1933, founded by 13 universities that broke off from the old Southern Conference in order to shine on their own. Three original members have since left (Sewanee in 1940, Georgia Tech in 1964 and Tulane in 1966) and two others (Arkansas and South Carolina) joined for play starting in 1992. After that expansion, the conference divided its twelve teams into two divisions (Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee and Vanderbilt in the East and Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Lousiana State, Mississippi and Mississippi State in the West) with the winners of each matching-up for a championship game in Atlanta's Georgia Dome prior to the bowl season every year. This rich tradition, fueled by passionate support, leads to top-notch competition.

In the South, college football is the unofficial religion. Saturday is the true Sabbath, stadiums are their temples and sinners are separated from saints by the scoreboard and the standings. Average capacity at an SEC home stadium is 78,115 and they sell out with ease. They have TV ties to CBS on a national level and various other local channels throughout the region. There are 25 official rivalries involving SEC teams, some of which are inactive or not very competitive at the moment, but most of which are red-hot. I'll delve into them more in detail at a later date, either before the games are played or in a single, separate post prior to the start of the season. Sufficed to say for now: the SEC is home to some of the most intense rivalries in all of sports. Teams and players that make it out of this conference are among the best in the land and they often prove just that in the postseason and beyond.

SEC schools have laid claim to 24 national championships in football, including six since 1992 and three since 2003. The conference was dominated by Florida, Tennessee and Georgia in the 90's and by LSU, Florida, Georgia and Auburn so far this decade. Though the dredges have at times been among the weakest squads in the nation, the conference is typically very deep and nothing short of elite at the top. Great teams are usually lead by great players and the SEC has had no shortage of either. In 2007, for instance, four star athletes (QB Tim Tebow of Florida, RB Darren McFadden of Arkansas, OC Jonathan Luigs of Arkansas and DT Glenn Dorsey of LSU) combined to win 9 of college football's 25 prestigious individual awards; meanwhile, Dorsey and his Tigers won the conference's second consecutive national title. The SEC has also fared well at the next level, in both the NFL draft and on the playing field.

Since expanding to its current size in 1992, the SEC has had, on average, over six (6.19) players selected in the first round of 16 NFL Drafts. They've had four players chosen in the top 11 picks in three of the last four years. On the NFL's Opening Day in 2007, the SEC had more players (263) on active rosters than any other conference. The Denver Broncos currently have 19 players from the SEC on their roster, including at least 11 that will garner significant playing time in 2008 and beyond. Jason Witten (TE, Cowboys/Tennessee), Alan Faneca (OG, Steelers/LSU), Albert Haynesworth (DT, Titans/Tennessee), Patrick Willis (ILB, 49ers/Ole Miss), Fred Taylor (RB, Jaguars/Florida), Jason Peters (OT, Arkansas), DeMeco Ryans (ILB, Texans/Alabama) and our own Champ Bailey (CB, Broncos/Georgia) were former SEC standouts that were named to the NFL's 2007 All-Pro teams. Keep in mind that that list doesn't even include other stars like Chris Samuels (OT, Redskins/Alabama), Tony Ugoh (OT, Colts/Arkansas), Marcus McNeill (OT, Chargers/Auburn), Lito Shepard (CB, Eagles/Florida), Will Witherspoon (LB, Rams/Georgia), Marlon McCree (S, Broncos/Kentucky), Jospeh Addai (RB, Colts/LSU), Eli Manning (QB, Giants/Ole Miss), Eric Moulds (WR, Titans/Mississippi State), John Abraham (DE, South Carolina), Peyton Manning (QB, Colts/Tennessee) and our own Jay Cutler (QB, Broncos/Vanderbilt), as well as dozens of others who played their college ball in the SEC.

I have been a fan of the Florida Gators, and by extension SEC football, since the 1994 season or so. It will be my pleasure to share my knowledge of this college football conference with you all in 2008 and perhaps even beyond. Moreover, I am currently a sophomore at the University of Florida, so I may even be able to scout some of the Gators games in person as well. I will analyze the SEC's games, stats and highlights, in order to uncover potential future Broncos in the making. Hopefully you will find this interesting and entertaining, because it will certainly be that for me. Welcome to the SEC, my friends: this is college football. Cheers!