HOOVER, Ala.—There is not a Best Quote of the Day Award given at SEC Football Media Days, but if there were, Missouri wide receiver T.J. Moe would get it.
Continually asked about the SEC's perceived football superiority over the old league he played in — the Big 12 — the Tigers' outspoken senior offered this summary: "They've also got prettier girls, the air's fresher and the toilet paper's thicker."
That was just one of a string of pearls that Moe offered Tuesday on the first day of this annual SEC talk-fest. After his session, he received a standing ovation from the media throng gathered in the main ballroom of the Wynfrey Hotel, which he tweeted about shortly afterward.
Both Missouri and Texas A&M, the newest members of the now-expanded 14-team conference, were two of the first four teams up at this year's event, attended by more than 1,100 media members and SEC sponsor guests. Moe said what all the new representatives were saying, just not as subtly.
"We played in a pretty good football league ourselves," said Moe's coach, Gary Pinkel, who has coached Missouri since 2001. "We understand the great league we're coming into. How are Missouri and Texas A&M going to do in the SEC? We know that's going to be analyzed every week. But we have to go out and compete and prove ourselves, and that's the way it should be."
Both teams will get their first tests early. Missouri plays host to Georgia in its SEC opener Sept. 8. On the same day, Texas A&M will play host to Florida in College Station, Texas.
Pinkel said the Bulldogs can expect an "electric atmosphere" at Memorial Stadium. The school has nicknamed its venue "The Zou" for the raucous environment the students and fans create there.
"It's a great place to play college football," Pinkel said. "I think the Georgia game will bring a whole new dimension to that. To say our fans are excited about being in the SEC, that'd be an understatement."
Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin described a similar reception that will await the Gators at Kyle Field, anointed once by ESPN as the best game-day atmosphere in America.
"We have the largest student body [attendance] at any venue for a college football game in the country," said Sumlin, who came to Texas A&M from Houston in December. "There will be 30,000 students standing. It's the home of the 12th Man, one of the loudest places in the country."
Certainly the former Big 12 schools can match the SEC in game-day atmosphere. But it's matching the SEC's athletic ability that fuels skeptics. The SEC has produced the past six BCS champions and countless NFL draft picks.
"My team loves to compete, and this league has some of the best players in the country," Texas A&M senior linebacker Sean Porter said. "So we want to be able to gauge ourselves against those guys and compare ourselves to those guys and be on the field with them at the same time."
At least one SEC coaching veteran believes the league's newest additions might sneak up on some people.
"I think A&M and Missouri are going to be extremely competitive," said South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier, whose team will play host to the Tigers on Sept. 22. "I think they're going to win a bunch of games. I wouldn't be surprised if they wound up being a division champion or something.
"I think those first two games are very interesting. I hope our games are at different times that so I can watch some of them."
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