Conference Data Update
Here's an update taking into account the bowl games.
Check here for an explanation of the data.
The Pac-10 still appears to be the top conference, with the best record and the best margin of victory. A case could be made for the SEC with it's tougher schedule. The one match up between the two saw California beat Tennessee. I still saying the Pac-10 has been the best conference in games between BCS conferences.
After the top two, it looks safe to say the Big 12's impressive bowl run has brought it up to third place. The Big East gets fourth - because of the Big 10's (fifth place) still favorable schedule. The ACC looks to be locked in the cellar.
Check here for an explanation of the data.
The Pac-10 still appears to be the top conference, with the best record and the best margin of victory. A case could be made for the SEC with it's tougher schedule. The one match up between the two saw California beat Tennessee. I still saying the Pac-10 has been the best conference in games between BCS conferences.
After the top two, it looks safe to say the Big 12's impressive bowl run has brought it up to third place. The Big East gets fourth - because of the Big 10's (fifth place) still favorable schedule. The ACC looks to be locked in the cellar.
posted by Freethinker at 11:32:00 PM
5 Comments:
After watching the bowl games, this is what I learned:
1. I (and almost everyone else) overrated the SEC. Arkansas and Florida looked really bad.
2. The Big 12 is better than everyone gives them credit for, OU's loss notwithstanding. A down year Texas crushed an extremely overrated Arizona State team, Kansas pulled off a monumental upset, and Missouri obliterated a team that had run all over LSU. And Texas Tech did their yearly 4th quarter bowl comeback.
3. West Virginia is not overrated. While OU didn't show up to play and should have won the Fiesta Bowl with ease, the Mountaineers speed and game planning was impressive. OU was nowhere as flat as they were last year against Boise State, but West Va just never let off the gas.
4. The Big 10 is down right now, but they're not far from being back in the mix.
5. The Pac 10 (outside of USC) is still the awful conference it's been for the last 15+ years.
1. Arkansas is only an average SEC team (4-4 in conference) and was playing the 2nd best team in the Big 12. They should have been beat easily (although not quite that much). As for Florida, I think that had more to do with Michigan finally being healthy and looking like the team people thought the would be before the season started.
2. The Big 12 did have a very impressive bowl season. I wouldn't call Kansas' win over Virginia Tech an upset.
3. West Virginia is a very good team, they laid an egg against Pittsburgh, but every team in the country had one of those this season.
4. Yep.
5. I disagree obviously.
1. Florida was expected to win handily, and their defense looked slow against Michigan.
2. Kansas was expected to lose by almost every college football expert. The minds at collegefootballnews.com, who know college football better than most of the analysts... 5 of 6 picked VT with very strong confidence, and they predicted a 27-16 VT win.
3. Yep. Had OU shown up with healthy players, they probably would have won. Missing 3 of their top starters on defense (including 2 future 1st round draft picks) and Malcolm Kelly and Murray on offense killed them.
5. Throughout the season, you said that Arizona State was underrated. The Cotton Bowl proved that they were anything but underrated. Beyond USC (and the Dennis Dixon Ducks), who is really worth anything in the Pac-10? Oregon State, maybe.
Kansas was ranked 8th, Virginia Tech 5th - that's not enough different to consider it an upset. People might have been underrating Kansas, but they shouldn't have.
Arizona St. wasn't as good as I thought they were, but they are still a top 20 team. USC and Oregon (with Dixon) are as good as anyone in the country. The rest of the teams aren't great (although California was at the beginning of the year), but they don't have any really bad teams either (Duke, Baylor, etc.)
They might not be the best conference, but they are the conference that has fared the best in BCS inter-conference games.
And I forgot to say, the SEC will probably always be overrated because of its fans, even when it is the best conference (which it might be).
http://cfn.scout.com/2/718607.html
Interesting and apropos article...
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