Who would win the SEC championship if it weren't based on football
You've read all the expert picks for the SEC Championship game this weekend between Alabama and Missouri, but you know what's even better? Predicting who will win based on factors other than football.
Celebrity Alumni
Ari Perilstein & Rommel Demano/Getty
Winner: Missouri
There's an impressive group of actors and actresses that attended the University of Missouri, and although not all of them graduated, the quartet of Jon Hamm, Brad Pitt, Tom Berenger and George C. Scott easily defeats Bama's entertainment alums, which include Michael Emerson, Ashley Crow and Sela Ward.
Highest Freshman Burnout Rate
Jamie Squire/Getty
Winner (or Loser?): Missouri
According to U.S News & World Report, 14 percent of Alabama freshmen don't make it back for their sophomore year, whereas 16 percent of Mizzou first-year students don't return to Columbia the following fall. Included in these percentages are those that enrolled at other higher education institutions or simply dropped out of school. For comparison, Stanford and Notre Dame have the lowest attrition rate among power conference teams, with a 2 percent clip.
Best Movie Filmed in Town
You're Next website
Winner: Missouri
The most well-known film shot in Tuscaloosa is Hooper, a 1978 movie starring the one and only Burt Reynolds as aging stuntman Sonny Hooper. While Columbia doesn't boast an overwhelmingly noteworthy film history either, 2011 horror movie You're Next was written by Columbia native Simon Barrett and filmed in town. Neither flick should send you clamoring to Netflix, but You're Next is significantly more well-known and is arguably a better film.
Best Pizza Joint
Winner: Alabama
Every college town has to have a killer pizza joint. In this case, Tuscaloosa's Broadway Pizzeria emerges victorious over the likes of Shakespeare's and Wise Guys in Columbia. Broadway's tasty assortment of wood-fired pizzas and calzones is unmatched in Tuscaloosa.
NCAA National Championships
Kevin C. Cox/Getty
Winner: Alabama
The Crimson Tide have as many football national titles (3) since 2009 as the Tigers have total national titles (2) in school history. Alabama's incredible football success makes this competition a runaway victory. The school has 25 total NCAA national championships in an illustrious history that also includes successful programs in men's golf and women's gymnastics.
Andrew Doughty is a writer for Next Impulse Sports
