Stephen A. Smith goes off on the SEC as national championship drought continues

The Southeastern Conference will not be represented in the College Football Playoff National Championship for the third consecutive year. No. 10 Miami defeated No. 6 Ole Miss 31-27 in the Fiesta Bowl on Thursday to eliminate the league’s final hope.

The Rebels surrendered a fourth-quarter lead and failed to execute in the final moments, sealing a fate that seemed impossible during the conference's peak dominance just a few years ago.

Miami quarterback Carson Beck, a transfer from Georgia, delivered the deciding blow with a touchdown pass in the closing seconds. Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss attempted to answer with a final deep throw to receiver De'Zhaun Stribling, but the pass fell incomplete as time expired. This result confirms that the SEC has not competed for a title since the Bulldogs won their second consecutive championship in 2022.

The sustained absence from the sport's biggest stage has drawn sharp reactions regarding the state of the league. Stephen A. Smith unleashed a harsh assessment of the conference shortly after the loss on First Take. The ESPN analyst contended that the aura of invincibility that once surrounded the SEC has evaporated due to internal mediocrity and a changing landscape.

Stephen A. Smith details why the SEC lost its recruiting, coaching advantage

Smith argues that the primary driver of the drought is that elite recruits no longer feel the necessity to play in the South to achieve NFL success. He believes the mindset of top talent has shifted significantly.

"What RC (Ryan Clark) didn't say about the SEC directly, and I'll do it for him, is that cats aren't 'feeling you' anymore," Smith said. "It isn't just the second-stringers anymore; you have some 'all-world' players saying, 'We don't have to be in the SEC anymore the way that we used to.'"

Smith pointed to the talent on the opposing sideline as proof of this migration. "We can go to the Big Ten, the Big 12, or the ACC," Smith continued. "You see some of these cats on Miami? Think about that for a second."

Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer was caught up in Stephen A. Smith's conversation about the SEC's decline, saying the 51-year-old coach doesn't compare to Nick Saban. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The conversation turned to coaching, specifically the transition at Alabama. Smith emphasized that the current leadership does not command the same level of fear as in previous eras. "Look at Kalen DeBoer. He is a good coach, but he isn't in the same class as Nick Saban," Smith said. "There is a precipitous drop-off there."

He also questioned the competitive depth of the league even during its recent high points. "One could easily argue that even when Georgia won back-to-back national titles, you found yourself looking at the rest of the SEC and saying, 'Where the hell are you all at?'" Smith asked.

Smith challenged the current prestige of legacy programs like Arkansas, Auburn and Florida, noting they lack the intimidation factor of the past. He also addressed the recent coaching change at LSU involving Lane Kiffin replacing Brian Kelly.

LSU Tigers coach Lane Kiffin was included in Stephen A. Smith's comments about the SEC. | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

"I've never seen anybody more happy about Lane Kiffin in my life than I saw Ryan Clark when Kiffin decided to go to LSU," Smith said. "They wanted to get that brother up out of there."

Smith's verdict is that the conference is suffering from internal mediocrity, previously masked by top-heavy dominance. "All of them look beatable," Smith concluded. "That is what is going on right now with the SEC: the allure is gone."

The Indiana Hoosiers will face the Miami Hurricanes in the College Football Playoff National Championship on Jan. 19.

Stephen A. Smith details why the SEC lost its recruiting, coaching advantage

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