Going into the final weekend in the college football regular season and with all the non-conference games out of the way (excluding the coming bowl games, of course), I thought I'd do my best to rank the six major conferences. The rankings could change depending on the bowl outcomes, of course. First off, I'll run down the conference standings. To the left of the team's standing in the conference will read one of the following symbols: * (bowl eligible), ? (bowl eligible with win this next week, bowl ineligible if they lose) or x (bowl ineligible). Here we go...
ACC
*1. Virginia Tech (11-1)
*2. Clemson (9-3)
*3. Florida State (8-4)
*3. Georgia Tech (8-4)
*3. Virginia (8-4)
*6. North Carolina (7-5)
*6. North Carolina State (7-5)
*8. Miami (Florida) (6-6)
*8. Wake Forest (6-6)
x10. Boston College (4-8)
x11. Duke (3-9)
x12. Maryland (2-10)
Big XII
*1. Oklahoma State (10-1)
*2. Kansas State (9-2)
*2. Oklahoma (9-2)
*4. Baylor (8-3)
*5. Texas (7-4)
*6. Missouri (7-5)
*7. Iowa State (6-5)
*8. Texas A&M (6-6)
x9. Texas Tech (5-7)
x10. Kansas (2-10)
Big East
*1. Cincinnati (8-3)
*1. West Virginia (8-3)
*3. Rutgers (8-4)
*4. Louisville (7-5)
?5. Connecticut (5-6)
?5. Pittsburgh (5-6)
?5. South Florida (5-6)
?5. Syracuse (5-6)
Big Ten
*1. Michigan (10-2)
*1. Michigan State (10-2)
*1. Wisconsin (10-2)
*4. Nebraska (9-3)
*4. Penn State (9-3)
*6. Iowa (7-5)
*7. Illinois (6-6)
*7. Northwestern (6-6)
*7. Ohio State (6-6)
*7. Purdue (6-6)
x11. Minnesota (3-9)
x12. Indiana (1-11)
Pac-12
*1. Stanford (11-1)
*2. Oregon (10-2)
*2. USC (10-2)
*4. California (7-5)
*4. Utah (7-5)
*4. Washington (7-5)
*7. Arizona State (6-6)
?7. UCLA (6-6)
x9. Arizona (4-8)
x9. Washington State (4-8)
x11. Oregon State (3-9)
x12. Colorado (3-10)
SEC
*1. LSU (12-0)
*2. Alabama (11-1)
*3. Arkansas (10-2)
*3. Georgia (10-2)
*3. South Carolina (10-2)
*6. Auburn (7-5)
*7. Florida (6-6)
*7. Mississippi State (6-6)
*7. Vanderbilt (6-6)
x10. Kentucky (5-7)
x10. Tennessee (5-7)
x12. Mississippi (2-10)
To rank the conferences, I've ranked the six conferences in five different categories:
1) Win/loss record versus the other AQ (automatic qualifier) conferences
2) Percentage of non-conference games versus AQ conference teams
3) Record of teams in wins versus AQ conferences
4) Record of teams in losses versus AQ conferences
5) Percentage of games versus I-AA teams
I sorted through all the statistics and ranked the six conferences in the before-mentioned five categories. I then devised a formula by ranking the categories by importance.
1) I saw the win/loss record versus the other AQ conferences as being the most important, so I multiplied the conferences' ranking by 2.50.
2) The record of teams in wins versus AQ conferences I saw as second most important and I'll multiply the conferences' ranking by 2.00.
3) The third most important category as far as I see it is the record of teams in losses versus AQ conferences. I multiply the ranking by 1.50.
4) The percentage of non-conference games versus AQ conference teams is fourth most important from my vantage point and I multiply the ranking by 1.00.
5) Lastly is the percentage of non-conference games against I-AA opponents. I multiply these rankings by 0.50.
I then added up the five scores, the lowest of which will rank #1 in term's of conference strength and the highest which will rank last or 6th in this case. I'll now run down the statistics category by category from one through five based on importance.
Record vs. AQ Conference Teams
1. SEC: 9-3 (.750)
2. Big XII: 6-3 (.667)
3. Big Ten: 6-5 (.545)
4. Pac-12: 6-7 (.463)
5. ACC: 8-10 (.444)
6. Big East: 4-10 (.286)
Record of Teams in Wins vs. AQ Conferences
1. SEC: 69-36 (.657)
2. Big XII: 36-35 (.507)
3. ACC: 42-53 (.442)
4. Big East: 20-28 (.417)
5. Big Ten: 28-44 (.389)
6. Pac-12: 26-45 (.366)
Record of Teams in Losses vs. AQ Conferences
1. Pac-12: 62-21 (.747)
2. ACC: 83-33 (.716)
3. Big Ten: 41-18 (.695)
4. Big XII: 24-12 (.667)
4. SEC: 24-12 (.667)
6. Big East: 73-46 (.613)
Percentage of Non-Conference Games vs. AQ Conference Teams
1. ACC: 18/48 (37.5%)
2. Pac-12: 13/36 (36.1%)
3. Big East: 14/40 (35.0%)
4. Big XII: 9/30 (30.0%)
5. SEC: 12/48 (25.0%)
6. Big Ten: 11/48 (22.9%)
Percentage of Games vs. 1-AA Teams
1. Big XII: 6/30 (20.0%)
1. Big East: 8/40 (20.0%)
3. Big Ten: 10/48 (20.8%)
4. Pac-12: 8/36 (22.2%)
5. SEC: 12/48 (25.0%)
6. ACC: 13/48 (27.1%)
Here are how I attained the final sums:
ACC: 12.50 (5 * 2.50) + 6.00 (3 * 2.00) + 3.00 (2 * 1.50) + 1.00 (1 * 1.00) + 3.00 (6 * 0.50) = 25.50
Big XII: 5.00 (2 * 2.50) + 4.00 (2 * 2.00) + 6.00 (4 * 1.50) + 4.00 (4 * 1.00) + 0.50 (1 * 0.50) = 20.50
Big East: 15.00 (6 * 2.50) + 8.00 (4 * 2.00) + 9.00 (6 * 1.50) + 3.00 (3 * 1.00) + 0.50 (1 * 0.50) = 35.50
Big Ten: 7.50 (3 * 2.50) + 10.00 (5 * 2.00) + 4.50 (3 * 1.50) + 6.00 (6 * 1.00) + 1.50 (3 * 0.50) = 29.50
Pac-12: 10.00 (4 * 2.50) + 12.00 (6 * 2.00) + 1.50 (1 * 1.50) + 2.00 (2 * 1.00) + 2.00 (4 * 0.50) = 27.50
SEC: 2.50 (1 * 2.50) + 2.00 (1 * 2.00) + 6.00 (4 * 1.50) + 5.00 (5 * 1.00) + 2.50 (5 * 0.50) = 18.00
The final rankings are as follows:
1. SEC (18.00)
2. Big XII (20.50)
3. ACC (25.50)
4. Pac-12 (27.50)
5. Big Ten (29.50)
6. Big East (35.50)
I'm pretty satisfied with the rankings. Due to the great non-conference record and the quality teams they defeated, I think the SEC deserves the top ranking, but also didn't feel that the Big XII is too far behind, which would probably surprise most college football gurus. I had no doubt that the Big East would finish sixth. Outside of maybe West Virginia, the Big East is the conference of mediocrity. What I had the greatest difficulty distinguishing in terms of conference strength was between the ACC, Pac-12 and Big Ten and the numbers give good reason for that, as there's a fairly large gap between 2 and 3 (Big XII and ACC) and an even larger gap between 5 and 6 (Big Ten and Big East). The gap between 3 and 5 is smaller than the two before-mentioned ones. What helped the ACC was playing a good number of AQ opponents, winning 8 such games and beating some decent competition. The Pac-12 didn't defeat too many quality AQ opponents, but played a good number of them and their losses came against great competition. The Big Ten has a decent record against AQ teams, but in both their wins and losses, didn't carry with them too impressive of a resume and in addition to that, played their fair share of I-AA teams. Overall, I think I stand by these rankings and will be curious to see if there are any alterations in position following the bowl games. I think the #6 spot is set and think the SEC and Big XII will be 1 and 2 (or vice versa). I'll be the most curious to see how the ACC, Pac-12 and Big Ten finish.
ACC
*1. Virginia Tech (11-1)
*2. Clemson (9-3)
*3. Florida State (8-4)
*3. Georgia Tech (8-4)
*3. Virginia (8-4)
*6. North Carolina (7-5)
*6. North Carolina State (7-5)
*8. Miami (Florida) (6-6)
*8. Wake Forest (6-6)
x10. Boston College (4-8)
x11. Duke (3-9)
x12. Maryland (2-10)
Big XII
*1. Oklahoma State (10-1)
*2. Kansas State (9-2)
*2. Oklahoma (9-2)
*4. Baylor (8-3)
*5. Texas (7-4)
*6. Missouri (7-5)
*7. Iowa State (6-5)
*8. Texas A&M (6-6)
x9. Texas Tech (5-7)
x10. Kansas (2-10)
Big East
*1. Cincinnati (8-3)
*1. West Virginia (8-3)
*3. Rutgers (8-4)
*4. Louisville (7-5)
?5. Connecticut (5-6)
?5. Pittsburgh (5-6)
?5. South Florida (5-6)
?5. Syracuse (5-6)
Big Ten
*1. Michigan (10-2)
*1. Michigan State (10-2)
*1. Wisconsin (10-2)
*4. Nebraska (9-3)
*4. Penn State (9-3)
*6. Iowa (7-5)
*7. Illinois (6-6)
*7. Northwestern (6-6)
*7. Ohio State (6-6)
*7. Purdue (6-6)
x11. Minnesota (3-9)
x12. Indiana (1-11)
Pac-12
*1. Stanford (11-1)
*2. Oregon (10-2)
*2. USC (10-2)
*4. California (7-5)
*4. Utah (7-5)
*4. Washington (7-5)
*7. Arizona State (6-6)
?7. UCLA (6-6)
x9. Arizona (4-8)
x9. Washington State (4-8)
x11. Oregon State (3-9)
x12. Colorado (3-10)
SEC
*1. LSU (12-0)
*2. Alabama (11-1)
*3. Arkansas (10-2)
*3. Georgia (10-2)
*3. South Carolina (10-2)
*6. Auburn (7-5)
*7. Florida (6-6)
*7. Mississippi State (6-6)
*7. Vanderbilt (6-6)
x10. Kentucky (5-7)
x10. Tennessee (5-7)
x12. Mississippi (2-10)
To rank the conferences, I've ranked the six conferences in five different categories:
1) Win/loss record versus the other AQ (automatic qualifier) conferences
2) Percentage of non-conference games versus AQ conference teams
3) Record of teams in wins versus AQ conferences
4) Record of teams in losses versus AQ conferences
5) Percentage of games versus I-AA teams
I sorted through all the statistics and ranked the six conferences in the before-mentioned five categories. I then devised a formula by ranking the categories by importance.
1) I saw the win/loss record versus the other AQ conferences as being the most important, so I multiplied the conferences' ranking by 2.50.
2) The record of teams in wins versus AQ conferences I saw as second most important and I'll multiply the conferences' ranking by 2.00.
3) The third most important category as far as I see it is the record of teams in losses versus AQ conferences. I multiply the ranking by 1.50.
4) The percentage of non-conference games versus AQ conference teams is fourth most important from my vantage point and I multiply the ranking by 1.00.
5) Lastly is the percentage of non-conference games against I-AA opponents. I multiply these rankings by 0.50.
I then added up the five scores, the lowest of which will rank #1 in term's of conference strength and the highest which will rank last or 6th in this case. I'll now run down the statistics category by category from one through five based on importance.
Record vs. AQ Conference Teams
1. SEC: 9-3 (.750)
2. Big XII: 6-3 (.667)
3. Big Ten: 6-5 (.545)
4. Pac-12: 6-7 (.463)
5. ACC: 8-10 (.444)
6. Big East: 4-10 (.286)
Record of Teams in Wins vs. AQ Conferences
1. SEC: 69-36 (.657)
2. Big XII: 36-35 (.507)
3. ACC: 42-53 (.442)
4. Big East: 20-28 (.417)
5. Big Ten: 28-44 (.389)
6. Pac-12: 26-45 (.366)
Record of Teams in Losses vs. AQ Conferences
1. Pac-12: 62-21 (.747)
2. ACC: 83-33 (.716)
3. Big Ten: 41-18 (.695)
4. Big XII: 24-12 (.667)
4. SEC: 24-12 (.667)
6. Big East: 73-46 (.613)
Percentage of Non-Conference Games vs. AQ Conference Teams
1. ACC: 18/48 (37.5%)
2. Pac-12: 13/36 (36.1%)
3. Big East: 14/40 (35.0%)
4. Big XII: 9/30 (30.0%)
5. SEC: 12/48 (25.0%)
6. Big Ten: 11/48 (22.9%)
Percentage of Games vs. 1-AA Teams
1. Big XII: 6/30 (20.0%)
1. Big East: 8/40 (20.0%)
3. Big Ten: 10/48 (20.8%)
4. Pac-12: 8/36 (22.2%)
5. SEC: 12/48 (25.0%)
6. ACC: 13/48 (27.1%)
Here are how I attained the final sums:
ACC: 12.50 (5 * 2.50) + 6.00 (3 * 2.00) + 3.00 (2 * 1.50) + 1.00 (1 * 1.00) + 3.00 (6 * 0.50) = 25.50
Big XII: 5.00 (2 * 2.50) + 4.00 (2 * 2.00) + 6.00 (4 * 1.50) + 4.00 (4 * 1.00) + 0.50 (1 * 0.50) = 20.50
Big East: 15.00 (6 * 2.50) + 8.00 (4 * 2.00) + 9.00 (6 * 1.50) + 3.00 (3 * 1.00) + 0.50 (1 * 0.50) = 35.50
Big Ten: 7.50 (3 * 2.50) + 10.00 (5 * 2.00) + 4.50 (3 * 1.50) + 6.00 (6 * 1.00) + 1.50 (3 * 0.50) = 29.50
Pac-12: 10.00 (4 * 2.50) + 12.00 (6 * 2.00) + 1.50 (1 * 1.50) + 2.00 (2 * 1.00) + 2.00 (4 * 0.50) = 27.50
SEC: 2.50 (1 * 2.50) + 2.00 (1 * 2.00) + 6.00 (4 * 1.50) + 5.00 (5 * 1.00) + 2.50 (5 * 0.50) = 18.00
The final rankings are as follows:
1. SEC (18.00)
2. Big XII (20.50)
3. ACC (25.50)
4. Pac-12 (27.50)
5. Big Ten (29.50)
6. Big East (35.50)
I'm pretty satisfied with the rankings. Due to the great non-conference record and the quality teams they defeated, I think the SEC deserves the top ranking, but also didn't feel that the Big XII is too far behind, which would probably surprise most college football gurus. I had no doubt that the Big East would finish sixth. Outside of maybe West Virginia, the Big East is the conference of mediocrity. What I had the greatest difficulty distinguishing in terms of conference strength was between the ACC, Pac-12 and Big Ten and the numbers give good reason for that, as there's a fairly large gap between 2 and 3 (Big XII and ACC) and an even larger gap between 5 and 6 (Big Ten and Big East). The gap between 3 and 5 is smaller than the two before-mentioned ones. What helped the ACC was playing a good number of AQ opponents, winning 8 such games and beating some decent competition. The Pac-12 didn't defeat too many quality AQ opponents, but played a good number of them and their losses came against great competition. The Big Ten has a decent record against AQ teams, but in both their wins and losses, didn't carry with them too impressive of a resume and in addition to that, played their fair share of I-AA teams. Overall, I think I stand by these rankings and will be curious to see if there are any alterations in position following the bowl games. I think the #6 spot is set and think the SEC and Big XII will be 1 and 2 (or vice versa). I'll be the most curious to see how the ACC, Pac-12 and Big Ten finish.
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