BCS Standings

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by JayP

The winner of Kansas/Missouri.

Good to see over-rated LSU go down. The SEC is so over-rated and that's the only reason LSU was #1. Any other team fails to win almost every conference games in the manner LSU did and they're at the bottom of the one-loss team list.

McFadden = Heisman IMO after that game.

Overrated compared to whom? The Big 12 is the only other conference that has been consistently better than the SEC this year, and I would argue that from top to bottom the SEC is still a tougher conference.

[JayP]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Overrated compared to whom? The Big 12 is the only other conference that has been consistently better than the SEC this year, and I would argue that from top to bottom the SEC is still a tougher conference.

Everyone acts like the SEC is so much tougher than any other conference. They may be the toughest conference, but it's not by the margin SEC homers make it out to be. I'd say it's pretty close between the Big 12, Pac-10 and SEC, but the key word is CLOSE.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by JayP

Everyone acts like the SEC is so much tougher than any other conference. They may be the toughest conference, but it's not by the margin SEC homers make it out to be. I'd say it's pretty close between the Big 12, Pac-10 and SEC, but the key word is CLOSE.

Fair enough. I would say the SEC is miles ahead of the ACC, Big East, and the Big 10.

[moon]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Fair enough. I would say the SEC is miles ahead of the ACC, Big East, and the Big 10.

Over the past two years the WAC has been miles ahead of the Big East.

I think the Pac 10 at worst has to be considered as good as the SEC this year and probably over the past couple years as well. I would say this year it is clearly better than the SEC though. USC, Oregon, ASU and Cal are all very good teams. If not for injuries USC would be undefeated and clearly number 1. even after losing most of their starting line, defensive backfield and other injuries throughout the year they still managed to put together a top ten season. (Although injuries to their O-Line, QB and DB's or not they still should have easily beat Stanford)

[Montana Moe]

If Vanderbilt wins tomorrow, 11 of 12 SEC teams will be bowl eligible.

Overrated?

[ricoFlame]

Originally Posted by Montana Moe

If Vanderbilt wins tomorrow, 11 of 12 SEC teams will be bowl eligible.

Overrated?

SEC has 8 bowl tie-ins.

[moon]

Originally Posted by Montana Moe

If Vanderbilt wins tomorrow, 11 of 12 SEC teams will be bowl eligible.

Overrated?

If they beat Wake Forest (which it is doubtful they will) they will have become bowl eligible by beating a total of three teams above .500 including a Miami (OH) team that is 6-5 in the MAC, with two games they could easily lose left. They also beat a Division 1-AA team. So I'm not sure that them being bowl eligible makes the SEC any less overrated.

For the SEC in general it is pretty easy to become bowl eligible when you guarantee yourself 4 wins by not only scheduling cupcakes for OOC games but rarely leaving home to play them and almost never leaving the State. That means that all you have to do is get two wins in conference.

Out of the 48 OOC games for the SEC, 5 were played out of state including four games played in the far of lands of Florida, Tennessee, Louisiana, West Virginia.

I am not saying the SEC sucks but to use how many bowl eligible teams they have to say that they are not overrated when it is clear that they are able to easily reach that mark doesn't really prove anything in my view.

I think that the SEC also has to start having a lot more success against schools from the other big conferences if they want to maintain the idea that they don't need to schedule tough OOC games because the SEC is so tough. Sure the big Florida win was good but overall the SEC has been kicked around to often recently (particularly by the Pac 10) to say that it is clearly the top dog in the land.

[Flames in 07]

I don't get why everyone swaps the quality of conferences every year in terms of their quality vs each other.

The conferences are made of of many hundreds of kids, and over that size a sample they are basically the same year after year.

And I really don't get the criteria used to rank them. How on earth could the WAC be viewed as by miles better than the ACC, they have two respectable teams and a boatload of cupcakes.

OSU loses to Illinois and everyone thinks that the Big 10 is brutal. I think it makes the conference stronger, it shows the depth of the conference. If one team was always running everyone else over like BSU or Hawaii does, it doesn't mean its a strong conference, you could easily conclude that it has no depth.

I think people need to be less fixated on if a team is running the table, and focus on the depth and also consider where they are recruiting from. Some parts of the country just produce better players, due to bigger population bases, importance of the game and frankly the weather.

It's hard to do, but to me the conference rankings would be:
SEC
Big XII
Pac 10 / Big 10
ACC
'big gap'
Big East
'big gap'
all the mid majors

[transplant99]

It's hard to do, but to me the conference rankings would be:
SEC
Big XII
Pac 10 / Big 10
ACC
'big gap'
Big East
'big gap'
all the mid majors

I think that in an "average" season this would be close to what most think.

this year however? Completely different story.

The Pac 10 IMO is the single strongest conference of the bunch this year. The SEC simply isnt what it normally is and certainly the Big 12 with the OK and Texas teams being no more than average would fall in the same boat,

Honestly...Missouri and Kansas are the two best teams in that conference? Brutal when you look at it. Mizz is a good ball team often, but Kansas is an aberation and I wonder that todays game will show this in spades.

The Big 10 this season was WEAK...period. Beyond OSU they had nothing that is impressive. In fact the Big East (cant believe im saying this actually) is a better conference this year.

The ACC was just god awful between Clemson/Fla St./ VT/and others all choking away semi-big games.

As for bowl games, if Mizz wins today and next week they deserve a shot in the championshiip game, no question. I have a feeling however that a HUGE letdown after the game today will be the undoing of whomever wins.

WVU is in the best position right now. Beat the cinderella Conneticuit team today and they cruise to the championship game. IF the Big 12 winner is OK and not Mizz nor Kansas, then that lets OSU waltz into that game as well. (OSU really needs to alter their schedule IMo and at least start later or play another non-conference game)

My preference though is to see OSU and USC line up in the Rose Bowl so the country can see that although USC screwed up early this season against Stanford, they are still among the top 3 teams in the nation.

[JayP]

Originally Posted by Montana Moe

If Vanderbilt wins tomorrow, 11 of 12 SEC teams will be bowl eligible.

Overrated?

10 of 11 Big Ten teams are bowl eligible too.

It's pretty hard for SEC teams to not be bowl eligible. They definitely have had some of the softest non-conference schedules over the past few seasons.

[JayP]

Originally Posted by transplant99

As for bowl games, if Mizz wins today and next week they deserve a shot in the championshiip game, no question. I have a feeling however that a HUGE letdown after the game today will be the undoing of whomever wins.

WVU is in the best position right now. Beat the cinderella Conneticuit team today and they cruise to the championship game. IF the Big 12 winner is OK and not Mizz nor Kansas, then that lets OSU waltz into that game as well. (OSU really needs to alter their schedule IMo and at least start later or play another non-conference game)

My preference though is to see OSU and USC line up in the Rose Bowl so the country can see that although USC screwed up early this season against Stanford, they are still among the top 3 teams in the nation.

The winner of KU/Mizzou still has to beat OU in the Big 12 Championship. That game is definitely going to be no push-over.

WVU is in the best position of anyone. They control their destiny and only have UConn (who is a very good team, but compared to everyone else's remaining games it's favorable).

On another note, Hawaii damn well better get a BCS bid if they close against Washington. In a year where there's so much mediocrity at the top there's no excuse for not giving them a chance. Hawaii's definitely proven a lot more than some two or three loss team.

[Flames in 07]

Originally Posted by JayP

The winner of KU/Mizzou still has to beat OU in the Big 12 Championship. That game is definitely going to be no push-over.

WVU is in the best position of anyone. They control their destiny and only have UConn (who is a very good team, but compared to everyone else's remaining games it's favorable).

On another note, Hawaii damn well better get a BCS bid if they close against Washington. In a year where there's so much mediocrity at the top there's no excuse for not giving them a chance. Hawaii's definitely proven a lot more than some two or three loss team.

They likely will, all they need to do is be in the top 12, and they will be in the sugar bowl.

[transplant99]

Hawaii's definitely proven a lot more than some two or three loss team.

The argument, and it has some merit, is who did they beat?

Not saying one way or the other myself, but their schedule is brutally weak. Not that it's their fault because many teams dont want to travel and play them, but the facts remain the same.

However, the BCS openedthe door last year with Boise St and Hawaii will get their BCS game if they win next week.

[troutman]

The only way to end all this needless debate is a playoff system. No excuses - the time has come.

[Montana Moe]

USA Today compiled a relatively wide bank of information to determine which conference has been the best over the past 10 seasons:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/colle...s_N.htm?csp=34

The Wednesday/Thursday edition looked at several categories that would determine which conference has been the best over the BCS era. Here's how it worked:

7 comparative factors for the 6 leagues/conferences that have automatic berths in the BCS starting in 1998. "We looked at 7 elements we think give a picture of a well rounded football league. The SEC is at the top of five, marking success over the past 10 seasons. Analsysts and many fans who were polled agreed:

1) Fan Poll
USA Today/Gallup of 509 Americans who identified themselves as college football fans were asked, "In your view, which college football conference has been the strongest over the past 10 years - the Atlantic Coast, the Big East, the Big Ten, the Big 12, the Pacific-10, the Southeastern or some other conference?
30% - SEC
23% - Big 10
16% - Pac-10
10% - Big 12
05% - ACC
04% - Big East
02% - Other
10% - No Opinion

2) Sagarin's Ratings
Average computer rating based on Jeff Sagarin's confernece rankings since 1998:
78.11 - SEC
78.03 - Big 10
77.72 - Pac 10
77.66 - Big 12
77.04 - ACC
75.07 - Big East

3) Bowl Records by Conference since 1998 Season
.595 25-17 - Big East
.544 37-31 - SEC
.536 30-26 - ACC
.508 30-29 - Big Ten
.478 32-35 - Big 12
.449 22-27 - Pac 10

4) National Champions by Conference
3 - SEC (Tennessee, LSU co-2003, Florida)
2 - Pac-10 (Southern Cal co-2003, 2004)
2 - Big 12 (Oklahoma, Texas)
1 - ACC (Florida State)
1 - Big 10 (Ohio State)
1 - Big East (Miami)

5) Most First-Round NFL Draft Picks
60 - SEC
53 - Big 10
48 - ACC
35 - Pac 10
31 - Big 12
29 - Big East

6) Consensus All Americans
50 - Big 10
43 - Big 12
40 - SEC
39 - Pac 10
29 - ACC
21 - Big East

7) Final USA Today Coaches Polls:
A) Top 10 Teams
18 - SEC
18 - Big 10
17 - Big 12
14 - Pac 10
10 - Big East
07 - ACC

B) Top 25 Teams
45 - SEC
36 - Big 10
33 - Big 12
25 - Pac 10
25 - ACC
23 - Big East

I agree that this season, as a few have stated before is a bit of an anomaly.

One question, how many losses would undefeated (as of this moment) Kansas have if they played in the SEC? 2, 3, 4?

+1 on the playoff suggestion Troutman!

[Montana Moe]

Sorry to repost after a post...

The University of Montana lost to Wofford in the I-AA playoffs today. Montana was undefeated in the regular season, and their schedule was seen by many as soft due to weak non-conference opponents.

Wofford exposed the Grizzlies and should be exhibit A for why a playoff system should happen in Division I. Gritty teams with lesser records can go in to hostile environments and defeat overblown teams that play cupcakes.

Would that be detrimental to the SEC, a conference in which a few think is overrated? Possibly, though I would think it may be the other way around. I could definitely see a 3 loss Florida going to West Virginia, or Oregon and being victorious.

[JayP]

Originally Posted by transplant99

The argument, and it has some merit, is who did they beat?

Not saying one way or the other myself, but their schedule is brutally weak. Not that it's their fault because many teams dont want to travel and play them, but the facts remain the same.

However, the BCS openedthe door last year with Boise St and Hawaii will get their BCS game if they win next week.

Yes, their schedule is weak. But that's why they're fighting for a BCS bowl and not the chance for a National Championship.

The precedent was set last year with Boise St. and in a year of mediocrity there's no reason for Hawaii to not get their shot.

My argument to the weak schedule is this - Hawaii hasn't proven they can hang with the elite teams, but it hasn't been disproven either. However, those two and three loss teams have proven to me they're not elite and therefore Hawaii deserves the nod ahead of them.

[transplant99]

However, those two and three loss teams have proven to me they're not elite and therefore Hawaii deserves the nod ahead of them.

USC is an elite team, dont kid yourself. So are LSU and Georgia and AZ St and BC and Oregon (with a healthy Dixon) and others.

Look at it this way...if any one of those teams have the scedule that Hawaii has had, do you think any of them would have any different record than Hawaii?

[Displaced Flames fan]

Originally Posted by Montana Moe

Sorry to repost after a post...

The University of Montana lost to Wofford in the I-AA playoffs today. Montana was undefeated in the regular season, and their schedule was seen by many as soft due to weak non-conference opponents.

Wofford exposed the Grizzlies and should be exhibit A for why a playoff system should happen in Division I. Gritty teams with lesser records can go in to hostile environments and defeat overblown teams that play cupcakes.

Would that be detrimental to the SEC, a conference in which a few think is overrated? Possibly, though I would think it may be the other way around. I could definitely see a 3 loss Florida going to West Virginia, or Oregon and being victorious.

Montana needs to get some talent at QB back in the system. They haven't had a great QB since Brian Ah-yat, and that's been a while.

I was worried about them in the playoffs because they didn't exactly walk through the conference schedule, and I'd say the conference was down a bit this year.

They will always be a powerhouse, but Hauck needs to start scheduling like they used to in the glory days.

[transplant99]

Meant to say something about Wofford earlier this week...I get a pretty good dose of them because of my location. They have been a pretty good team all year.

And did anyone see the ending to the James Madison/ App. St game?

Bizarre.