SEC Football (Rivalry Coaches): Stoops V Petrino

Rivalries are a part of what makes sports great. Carroll-Harbaugh. Messi-Ronaldo. Kane-Undertaker. Rex Ryan-The AFC East. Already I have offended people by not including their favorite rivalry. As posted in the first article in this series, however, each post will contain some new rivalries in the introduction, so feel free to make a suggestion in the comments or tweet @southbounddown or @jcrichardson12 (still not great with “the twitter”) with your suggestions.

Recommended Musial Accompaniment: Eminem ft. Nate Dogg- Till I Collapse

If you have been following along with this series, you can skip to the voting portion. I have continued to include the following for first-time readers of this series. It is especially important to fans of programs that have not yet been mentioned or are being mentioned for the first time.

Originally I intended for this to be strictly SEC Football rivalries and coaches. Fortunately I realized my folly. If I were to limit this series to only SEC games, some great rivalries would get left out. Additionally, the SEC East would be done a huge disservice.

Many SEC West teams have the (dis)advantage of having one of their biggest rivals be not only in the same division, but also in-state (Alabama-Auburn, Ole Miss-Mississippi State). Many teams in the SEC East, however, have one of their biggest rivalries with an in-state team that is not a part of the SEC (Georgia-Georgia Tech, Florida-Florida State, South Carolina-Clemson, Kentucky-Louisville…it counts).

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I also thought the wording of the questions was key. “Who would you rather have take over your program right now” eliminates coaches who may not be in the game very much longer. “Who would you rather have for one season” negates recruiting expertise to an extent. So it was settled that the question would be “Who would you rather have for the next 4 years?” That encompasses coaching and recruiting. It implies that the coach cannot retire after one season.

If you have a preference, you already know which way you are going to vote. The introductions and overview here will be kept at a minimum.

So without further ado, let us introduce our fourth contestants for our ‘Rivalry Coaches’ series . . .

The Venue: Governor’s Cup

Mark Stoops:

*cue announcer voice* Fighting out of the Blue and White corner and being accompanied by a host of college coaches that look just like him….check that….they are all his brothers and they all coach college football…Stoops has been on the rise the last two seasons but has yet to win a state championship by beating Louisville…he has not yet made it to a bowl game but he’s trying to help the Wildcats claw their way there…He is alleged to be a defensive guru, but it has yet to shine through in his current weight class (SEC)…no one is quite sure where his offense will come from…his supporters say he was born for this…his haters are think his defensive hype was just talk …MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMAAARRKK “THE UNKNOOOOOOOOOOOWN” STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPPPS.

Bobby Petrino:

*throat clear, cue announcer voice* Fighting out of the Black and Red corner and being escorted by a motorcycle brigade paid for by Kentucky boosters…Petrino’s skill has never been questioned…his commitment to the sport has been the topic of conversation for nearly a decade now…he started in this program (Louisville) years ago and is trying to regain the momentum he had when he left…His offense will come from a variety of attacks…we’re not quite sure where his defense will come from…at least not right now…this could be an excellent stylistic matchup with few national implications….His supporters say he has reformed…his haters are hiding their wives…. BOOOOOOBBBBYYYYY “THE REFOOOOORRRMMMED OOOOOOONNNE” PEEEETRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNOOOOOOOOO

Take your pick. Share with friends. Make sure your coach comes out on top. Results for round 2 purposes will be taken a week after the publish date (8/27/2015). The poll will remain open and like LL Cool J said, “Don’t Call it a Comeback”

For more on SEC Rivalries, check out Barrett Sallee’s article: ‘SEC Football: Ranking the Conference’s Best Rivalries’

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