For those whom missed it, the SEC went 0-4 against the ACC this past weekend, which will negate them the opportunity of having two representatives in the four-team playoff. In fact, if Missouri upsets Alabama in the SEC Championship on Saturday, the conference could go without having any representatives in the playoff. If that happened, that'd be perfectly fine with me. While the media has appeared to fall in love with the SEC in recent years, never has that been more the case than this season, when at one point, some analysts were calling for the four-team playoff to be comprised of nothing but SEC West teams. Yes, I realize the SEC has dominated as far as national championships are concerned over the past several years. However, I still don't think it's right for the media to assume a conference is superior due to history, as opposed to treating each season as a different one and forcing each and every conference to prove themselves year in and year out. We can best judge a conference's quality based on how they fare against other major conferences. So, since we won't see any more of these Power 5 conference match-ups until bowl season, let's compare how the Power 5 conferences fared against one another this year.
Record (against other four major conferences and Notre Dame)
1) Pac-12: 8-3 (.727)
2) ACC: 10-7 (.588)
3) SEC: 5-6 (.455)
4) Big XII: 4-6 (.400)
5) Big Ten: 6-11 (.353)
The SEC finished in the middle of the pack at one game under .500. That's not all too impressive for as much hype as the conference has received all season. Also, it's pretty amazing how few games SEC teams played against the other Power 5 conferences (and Notre Dame). With 14 teams in conference and 4 non-conference games per team, the SEC played a total of 56 non-conference games, only 11 of which were against the other Power 5 conferences (and Notre Dame), which comes out to be just 19.6% of their non-conference games. In comparison, 11 of the Pac-12's 36 non-conference games were against the other Power 5 (and Notre Dame), or 30.6%. Of the ACC's 56 non-conference games, 17 of them were against the other Power 5 (and Notre Dame), or 30.4%. Of the Big XII's 30 non-conference games, 10 of them were against the other Power 5 (and Notre Dame), or 33.3%. Lastly, of the Big Ten's 56 non-conference games, 17 of them were against the other Power 5 (and Notre Dame), or 30.4%. Here's how those numbers break down again: 1) Big XII (33.0%), 2) Pac-12 (30.6%), 3) ACC (30.4%), 3) Big Ten (30.4%), and 5) SEC (19.6%).
Opponents record in wins (against the other four major conferences and Notre Dame)
1) SEC: 39-20 (.661)
2) Big XII: 28-20 (.583)
3) ACC: 67-51 (.568)
4) Pac-12: 51-45 (.531)
5) Big Ten: 35-37 (.486)
Okay, so the SEC finished first in this category. At the same time, though, outside of the Big XII, the SEC also finished with the fewest wins against the Power 5 (and Notre Dame), and while the SEC finished with just one more win than the Big XII against the Power 5 (and Notre Dame), they also had 26 more non-conference games under their belt.
Point differential in wins (against the other four major conferences and Notre Dame)
1) Pac-12: +137/8 (+17.1)
2) Big XII: +53/4 (+13.3)
3) SEC: +65/5 (+13.0)
4) ACC: +115/10 (+11.5)
5) Big Ten: +38/6 (+6.3)
This isn't the most important of categories, in my opinion, but once again, the SEC finished in the middle of the pack.
Opponents record in losses (against the other four major conferences and Notre Dame)
1) Big XII: 55-17 (.764)
2) SEC: 52-19 (.732)
3) ACC: 65-29 (.691)
4) Big Ten: 79-52 (.603)
5) Pac-12: 21-15 (.583)
The SEC did lose to some good teams, but one loss in particular stands out to me. Missouri, who is 10-2 and will be playing Alabama on Saturday for the SEC Championship, lost to 4-8 Indiana earlier this year. So if Missouri wins on Saturday, it'll be all but a given that the SEC won't have one representative in the playoff. Even Ohio State's loss to 6-6 Virginia Tech pales in comparison to Missouri's loss to 4-8 Indiana.
Point differential in losses (against the other four major conferences and Notre Dame)
1) Pac-12: -12/3 (-4.0)
2) SEC: -61/6 (-10.2)
3) ACC: -83/7 (-11.9)
4) Big XII: -84/6 (-14.0)
5) Big Ten: -155/11 (-14.1)
The Pac-12 kind of stands out in this category, as the other four are jumbled together quite closely. In any case, the SEC still doesn't stand out as the supreme conference here.
Throughout the course of the season, ESPN talking heads and sports columnists spoke (and wrote) at length about how superior the SEC was to every other conference this season. There was only one major problem with that argument - these commentators simply judged the conference based on inner-conference play, which means bias played a big part in their analysis. While the SEC dominated championship games before last season, Florida State of the ACC defeated Auburn of the SEC to end the conference's streak. This season, like last season, is an entirely new season, and to this point, the SEC has been anything but dominant. Both the Pac-12 and ACC have better records against the Power 5 (and Notre Dame) than the SEC, and of all the major conferences, the SEC played the weakest out-of-conference schedule. Perhaps, come bowl season (and the playoff), the SEC will once again prove itself to be the top conference in all of college football, but due to their less than convincing regular season and their extremely weak non-conference schedule, I almost hope Missouri pulls off the upset on Saturday against Alabama. The playoff committee would then have to make quite the difficult decision. Would they include SEC runner-up and 2-loss Alabama in the four-team playoff? Decide to include 2-loss Missouri in the playoff, even though one of their two losses was against 4-8 Indiana (and their other loss was a 34-0 shellacking at the hands of Georgia)? Or would they actually set aside the SEC bias and include the four teams most deserving of making the four-team playoff? Earlier this season, some ESPN talking heads (and radio show hosts) were adamantly declaring that the SEC should get 3 or 4 teams in the playoff. Upon hearing that for close to a full season, how lovely and ironic it would be for no SEC teams to make the playoff.
Before the playoff committee releases their new rankings, here are my rankings of teams which I feel should still have a legitimate shot at making the four-team playoff:
1) Florida State: Regardless of how they've won, they went unbeaten and won the National Championship a year ago, and are the only remaining undefeated team this year. Last I heard, that should count for something.
2) Oregon: Their one loss was to #8 Arizona (by 7), whom they'll face again in the Pac-12 title game. Their three wins against top 25 competition were against: #7 Michigan State (by 19), #16 UCLA (by 12), and #24 Utah (by 24).
3) Alabama: They have a very similar resume to Oregon, but to this point anyway, Oregon's is just slightly more impressive. The Crimson Tide's one loss was to #13 Mississippi by 6. Their three wins against top 25 competition were against: #23 LSU (by 6 in overtime), #10 Mississippi State (by 5), and #20 Auburn (by 11).
4) TCU: What sets them apart from Baylor at this current time is their win against Kansas State and their out-of-conference win against Minnesota.
5) Baylor: If the Bears defeat Kansas State on Saturday, they should probably leap-frog TCU due to their head-to-head win. If both Big XII teams win and Florida State, Oregon, or Alabama lose, the conference could wind up having two representatives in the playoff.
6) Ohio State: The Buckeyes sole win against a current top 25 team was against #7 Michigan State (by 12). Even if they beat Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game on Saturday night, the Buckeyes will likely need some help to make the playoff. They're down to their third-string quarterback, will have, at most, two wins against top 25 competition, and their one loss was to 6-6 Virginia Tech at home by two touchdowns.
7) Arizona: If Alabama loses on Saturday and Arizona wins the Pac-12 title on Friday, I think Arizona could find its way into the playoff as the only 2-loss team in it. They would have beaten #3 Oregon twice, along with #17 Arizona State, and #24 Utah. That's four wins against top 25 opponents, including two against Oregon, to go along with the Pac-12 championship. Their only two losses this year came by a combined 12 points to USC and UCLA, whom have combined to go 17-7. Regardless of what Ohio State does on Saturday, if Arizona beats Oregon again, I'd personally leap-frog Ohio State with Arizona in the polls, especially given the Buckeyes' unfortunate quarterback situation.
Record (against other four major conferences and Notre Dame)
1) Pac-12: 8-3 (.727)
2) ACC: 10-7 (.588)
3) SEC: 5-6 (.455)
4) Big XII: 4-6 (.400)
5) Big Ten: 6-11 (.353)
The SEC finished in the middle of the pack at one game under .500. That's not all too impressive for as much hype as the conference has received all season. Also, it's pretty amazing how few games SEC teams played against the other Power 5 conferences (and Notre Dame). With 14 teams in conference and 4 non-conference games per team, the SEC played a total of 56 non-conference games, only 11 of which were against the other Power 5 conferences (and Notre Dame), which comes out to be just 19.6% of their non-conference games. In comparison, 11 of the Pac-12's 36 non-conference games were against the other Power 5 (and Notre Dame), or 30.6%. Of the ACC's 56 non-conference games, 17 of them were against the other Power 5 (and Notre Dame), or 30.4%. Of the Big XII's 30 non-conference games, 10 of them were against the other Power 5 (and Notre Dame), or 33.3%. Lastly, of the Big Ten's 56 non-conference games, 17 of them were against the other Power 5 (and Notre Dame), or 30.4%. Here's how those numbers break down again: 1) Big XII (33.0%), 2) Pac-12 (30.6%), 3) ACC (30.4%), 3) Big Ten (30.4%), and 5) SEC (19.6%).
Opponents record in wins (against the other four major conferences and Notre Dame)
1) SEC: 39-20 (.661)
2) Big XII: 28-20 (.583)
3) ACC: 67-51 (.568)
4) Pac-12: 51-45 (.531)
5) Big Ten: 35-37 (.486)
Okay, so the SEC finished first in this category. At the same time, though, outside of the Big XII, the SEC also finished with the fewest wins against the Power 5 (and Notre Dame), and while the SEC finished with just one more win than the Big XII against the Power 5 (and Notre Dame), they also had 26 more non-conference games under their belt.
Point differential in wins (against the other four major conferences and Notre Dame)
1) Pac-12: +137/8 (+17.1)
2) Big XII: +53/4 (+13.3)
3) SEC: +65/5 (+13.0)
4) ACC: +115/10 (+11.5)
5) Big Ten: +38/6 (+6.3)
This isn't the most important of categories, in my opinion, but once again, the SEC finished in the middle of the pack.
Opponents record in losses (against the other four major conferences and Notre Dame)
1) Big XII: 55-17 (.764)
2) SEC: 52-19 (.732)
3) ACC: 65-29 (.691)
4) Big Ten: 79-52 (.603)
5) Pac-12: 21-15 (.583)
The SEC did lose to some good teams, but one loss in particular stands out to me. Missouri, who is 10-2 and will be playing Alabama on Saturday for the SEC Championship, lost to 4-8 Indiana earlier this year. So if Missouri wins on Saturday, it'll be all but a given that the SEC won't have one representative in the playoff. Even Ohio State's loss to 6-6 Virginia Tech pales in comparison to Missouri's loss to 4-8 Indiana.
Point differential in losses (against the other four major conferences and Notre Dame)
1) Pac-12: -12/3 (-4.0)
2) SEC: -61/6 (-10.2)
3) ACC: -83/7 (-11.9)
4) Big XII: -84/6 (-14.0)
5) Big Ten: -155/11 (-14.1)
The Pac-12 kind of stands out in this category, as the other four are jumbled together quite closely. In any case, the SEC still doesn't stand out as the supreme conference here.
Throughout the course of the season, ESPN talking heads and sports columnists spoke (and wrote) at length about how superior the SEC was to every other conference this season. There was only one major problem with that argument - these commentators simply judged the conference based on inner-conference play, which means bias played a big part in their analysis. While the SEC dominated championship games before last season, Florida State of the ACC defeated Auburn of the SEC to end the conference's streak. This season, like last season, is an entirely new season, and to this point, the SEC has been anything but dominant. Both the Pac-12 and ACC have better records against the Power 5 (and Notre Dame) than the SEC, and of all the major conferences, the SEC played the weakest out-of-conference schedule. Perhaps, come bowl season (and the playoff), the SEC will once again prove itself to be the top conference in all of college football, but due to their less than convincing regular season and their extremely weak non-conference schedule, I almost hope Missouri pulls off the upset on Saturday against Alabama. The playoff committee would then have to make quite the difficult decision. Would they include SEC runner-up and 2-loss Alabama in the four-team playoff? Decide to include 2-loss Missouri in the playoff, even though one of their two losses was against 4-8 Indiana (and their other loss was a 34-0 shellacking at the hands of Georgia)? Or would they actually set aside the SEC bias and include the four teams most deserving of making the four-team playoff? Earlier this season, some ESPN talking heads (and radio show hosts) were adamantly declaring that the SEC should get 3 or 4 teams in the playoff. Upon hearing that for close to a full season, how lovely and ironic it would be for no SEC teams to make the playoff.
Before the playoff committee releases their new rankings, here are my rankings of teams which I feel should still have a legitimate shot at making the four-team playoff:
1) Florida State: Regardless of how they've won, they went unbeaten and won the National Championship a year ago, and are the only remaining undefeated team this year. Last I heard, that should count for something.
2) Oregon: Their one loss was to #8 Arizona (by 7), whom they'll face again in the Pac-12 title game. Their three wins against top 25 competition were against: #7 Michigan State (by 19), #16 UCLA (by 12), and #24 Utah (by 24).
3) Alabama: They have a very similar resume to Oregon, but to this point anyway, Oregon's is just slightly more impressive. The Crimson Tide's one loss was to #13 Mississippi by 6. Their three wins against top 25 competition were against: #23 LSU (by 6 in overtime), #10 Mississippi State (by 5), and #20 Auburn (by 11).
4) TCU: What sets them apart from Baylor at this current time is their win against Kansas State and their out-of-conference win against Minnesota.
5) Baylor: If the Bears defeat Kansas State on Saturday, they should probably leap-frog TCU due to their head-to-head win. If both Big XII teams win and Florida State, Oregon, or Alabama lose, the conference could wind up having two representatives in the playoff.
6) Ohio State: The Buckeyes sole win against a current top 25 team was against #7 Michigan State (by 12). Even if they beat Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game on Saturday night, the Buckeyes will likely need some help to make the playoff. They're down to their third-string quarterback, will have, at most, two wins against top 25 competition, and their one loss was to 6-6 Virginia Tech at home by two touchdowns.
7) Arizona: If Alabama loses on Saturday and Arizona wins the Pac-12 title on Friday, I think Arizona could find its way into the playoff as the only 2-loss team in it. They would have beaten #3 Oregon twice, along with #17 Arizona State, and #24 Utah. That's four wins against top 25 opponents, including two against Oregon, to go along with the Pac-12 championship. Their only two losses this year came by a combined 12 points to USC and UCLA, whom have combined to go 17-7. Regardless of what Ohio State does on Saturday, if Arizona beats Oregon again, I'd personally leap-frog Ohio State with Arizona in the polls, especially given the Buckeyes' unfortunate quarterback situation.
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