# Power Conferences?



## Comrade Duck (Oct 24, 2007)

Who are the 6 power conferences this year? 

Is it really the six that have been designated by the BCS as being deserving of the automatic birth into the championship series bowl games?

Is the Big East really a better conference than the MWC or the WAC? How about the ACC? How about the PAC Ten that went 0-4 against Mountain West teams on Saturday?

As bad as some of these conferences are playing the potential is there for some of the teams that win their respective conference championship to get to a BCS bowl game unranked. In 2004 Pitt was ranked #19 for hells sake. How were they more deserving of the payoff than the 18 teams that were in front of them.

Here's how I would rate them (at least this year):

1. SEC- I think they are the best football conference. They pull in the best athletes and over the years have had great success. They need to travel a little more outside of the south to prove their worth, but I still would give them the nod as being #1.

2. Big Twelve- Another great football conference. With teams like Oklahoma, Texas and Missouri being members of their conference I think they are pretty solid. They have cellar dwellers like any other conference but they are real strong at the top. My #2.

3. Big Ten- This is where I think the conferences get a little overrated. I don't think OSU is worthy of the pub that they have been given. The Utes proved what type of team Michigan has, and the rest of the conference is descent but not great by any means.

4. MWC- Yeah, that's right. I said it. This is where I stray from the conventional thinking. The MWC has had good success this year against the BCS opponents that they have faced. They have two teams in the top 25 as well as a TCU team that is about to break in. The cellar dwellar of the MWC (UNLV) just knocked off what many people had predicted to be the second best team in the PAC Ten, ASU. With TCU, BYU and the Utes at the top of the conference playing good football, as well as the Air Force Academy, the conference is strong. If you want to argue otherwise, please do. Up to this point in the season though the MWC has owned the PAC Ten. The record is proof of that. Not to mention a win by the Utes in the Big House. I will be interested to see how TCU fairs against Oklahoma.

5. Pac Ten- USC is the cream of the crop. No question about it. In my opinion and nearly everyone else they are more than deserving of the #1 ranking that they have received. But aside from them, who does the PAC Ten have. Oregon maybe? Every other team sucks and most of them have been beaten by a MWC opponent. (Washington, UCLA, Stanford, ASU, Arizona, soon to be Oregon State) Washington State is no good, and CAL just lost to a weak Maryland team. How good is the Pac Ten? My #5.

6. This one is hard for me. I am going to say the ACC, but I could be easily swayed. The Big East is lousy, so I won't even consider them, but there are a few good teams from the WAC and Conf. USA that are making some noise. I think ECU, as well as Fresno State and Boise State are as good this year as most of the teams in either of the two remaining "power coferences."

This is just my opinion, based on what I have seen so far this year. I very well could be wrong in my way of thinking as some of you will probably try to point out. Either way, if you have an opinion of who and why, lets hear it.

Shane


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## Riverrat77 (Sep 7, 2007)

I think you're right with the top three and after that, it becomes a bunch of one or two good teams from a BUNCH of different conferences. The Big 10 is having an off year but they'll be back whuppin on everyone in the next year or two. I think the Pac-10 is just ok this year, not great like in years past with a bunch of teams fighting for control of that conference. Like you stated, there is one obvious steamroller in the west this year and I think only Oregon has a chance to keep up with them but if they do, it'll be by far less impressive margins. I think one bad week for the Pac-10 doesn't drop them below MWC. The MWC is still the MWC.... BYU, Utah and TCU are the top teams locally and there are a couple others having good years so I don't think they're a "power conference". I think that the Big Ten is another conference that is going through a "rebuilding" period.... Normally Michigan stomps anyone that comes near the big house but in the first year for a new coach, they're having a rough go of it. OSU... same thing. Look at recent years. The Pac-10 will have teams with good records, just like the MWC but if nothing else, their record against the MWC shows that the sun can shine on any dogs rear once in a while, as shown by BYU being given a run for their money by Washington. Washington was supposed to be an "easy" game. UNLV?? No way would anyone have expected them to beat ASU and everyone knows ASU is better than that... same with Arizona and UCLA. They're not that bad and that'll show by the end of the year. Cal.... well, thats one team I really do hate so I could care less what happens to them. This season has been odd so far, with upsets, unexpected wins (although not necessarily upsets), close games that folks thought would be blowouts, blowouts that folks thought would be close games..... I'd hate to really have my money spent betting on any college football games this year just because its been shown that anything can happen to anyone on any given week.


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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/ ... west_N.htm

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/others/0-1-1 ... c-bid.html


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## Riverrat77 (Sep 7, 2007)

Joe from NY.... you're up in the night buddy. :lol: The rest of the country won't give the Mtn. West respect until they start beating teams ranked far above them in the polls (thanks ECU for showing us all how thats done). Teams like UNLV can cost ranked teams if that ranked team has a bad game, but thats about as far as that goes... doesn't earn UNLV any more respect, but it will bring down the higher ranked team a few spots. **Edit - I realize this sounds contradictory but the reason I say that is because UNLV might not win again or will win only one or two games so the impact isn't going to be that great. Beating a top ranked team and winning out will do a lot more for the conference than just a one shot winner** Thankfully the pollsters realize that a bad week is just that... a bad week. Beating bad teams, unranked teams or just your average Joe's which are a big deal on a local scale just doesn't do you much good, which is unfortunate for a conference like the Mtn. West because it just means running the table here locally isn't really going to do a whole lot unless you're killing everyone including conference opponents 59-0 or 58-10. You can still play your way in as long as you prove you can be there at the end.... which will wind up well for possibly one Mtn West team. The others with a loss, I just don't see it turning out well for them... bowling maybe but not the respect everyone seems to crave so badly. The USA article was spot on.... there are too many teams at the same level in the Mtn. West to ensure one team blowing out all the others in conference play and that'll actually wind up costing one or two of the locals along the way. Sells tickets?? Sure... but I don't see any of the teams making much noise toward the end of the season. Had a conversation with a guy here at work about it too.... if BYU and Utah were winning every game by a ton, they'd keep their rankings but losses and (this is pretty lame I guess) even close wins are going to wind up costing them as the season goes on.


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## Comrade Duck (Oct 24, 2007)

Riverrat77 said:


> if BYU and Utah were winning every game by a ton, they'd keep their rankings but losses and (this is pretty lame I guess) even *close wins* are going to wind up costing them as the season goes on.


Good point. We saw that with the Washington win. I still think though that an undefeated BYU or Utah team, no matter how close the margins of victory were, will make it into a BCS bowl.

Here's another link discussing the conferences:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/w ... ml?eref=T1

Shane


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## buggsz24 (Mar 18, 2008)

The pac-10 really needs to be higher on the list, they do after all have the nations most dominant team this year a team that has been a top 5 team for the last 5 years. The rest of the conf. has been so so, but USC has been a rock.

But, this entire ranking of conferences is based on the first three weeks of this year. An average year puts the MWC at either five or six with the ACC.


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## Comrade Duck (Oct 24, 2007)

buggsz24 said:


> The pac-10 really needs to be higher on the list, they do after all have the nations most dominant team this year a team that has been a top 5 team for the last 5 years. The rest of the conf. has been so so, but USC has been a rock.
> 
> But, this entire ranking of conferences is based on the first three weeks of this year. An average year puts the MWC at either five or six with the ACC.


No argument about USC. We're talking conference strength though and not just one team.

I'll take 5 or 6 rather than 7 or 8 where the MWC is placed now. At 5 or 6 they would be in line for the automatic birth into the BCS bowl game rather than an outsider looking in trying to crash the party.

The point of my post is that the MWC is more deserving than a few of the so called power conferences for the automatic birth into the BCS bowls.

I believe, based on your answer, that we at least agree on that point.

Shane


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## Nibble Nuts (Sep 12, 2007)

I would put the BIG 12 as number one this year. I don't think anyone in the SEC can take on Oklahoma this year. In fact, USC is the only team I think is better than Oklahoma right now. Missouri is also a very strong team. I put the BIG 12 above the SEC because offensively the SEC isn't that impressive this year. They are a solid conference though and I would certainly say they are number two. 

Beyond the BIG 12 and the SEC, I don't know where I would rank the rest of the conferences. The BIG 10 has not been that great for a long time now. How many times do they have to get killed by a west coast offense for people to see this? 

The PAC 10 is a one hit wonder with USC. They are the PAC's saving grace. Teams like Arizona State are not that great, and it seems like the years they are supposed to be a great team they prove to be only slightly better than average. The only years I was impressed with them were back when they had Jake Plumber at QB. I think Georgia is going to put the hurt on Az. State this weekend. 

The ACC has not lived up to its potential since they acquired Miami, BC, and Virginia Tech. 

The BIG EAST is not even worth a second glance.


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## shotgunwill (May 16, 2008)

I don't think the SEC "needs" to travel at all, but other conferences sure could benefit from playing their caliber of teams. 

I'm a Georgia fan, I used to usher their games as a boy scout when I still lived there. I do love our homegrown football here though. I remember one time that Georgia came out here and played the Aggies a few years ago. I remember them getting destroyed, but again, it's the Aggies. 

Utah and BYU could benefit from playing those teams. They both look really good this year, and even my brother in Georgia is paying attention to them. 

Just because you win by large amounts of points doesn't necessarily mean that your team rocks. To consistently do that, IMO, means your team rocks, or you got a crud mud conference. For that reason, I think the BCS is busted, because sometimes really good teams get over looked, because of their conference.


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