BCS gets cleaned up a little

[Danny Hogan]

As far as the SEC this year, I have to agree with Sonny. While its big performers (LSU, Bama, and Auburn) sure get a lot of time in the Nat'l spotlight, the SEC's other so-called contenders are having less than competitive seasons. South Carolina? Arkansas? Florida? Vanderbuilt? These teams are barely scratching the surface of the radar.

I gotta put Big10, ACC, PAC10 and the Big12 all above the SEC.

How does the "any given saturday" rule apply to the acc and not the SEC. Miami and Florida state are having crappy seasons as well.

If you consider Vanderbilt, Arkansas, South Carolinas the SEC's other "so-called contenders", then i'm not sure why i'm even bothering to respond to your post.

The ACC Championship game is featuring teams with (at least) 4 combined losses. I don't see that happenning in any other conference.

[Sonny]

Danny,

You know I like you... but Duke is the only ACC team (out of 12) which hasn't been competitive, week in and week out in conference play. The bottom third of the SEC (Kentucky, Ole Miss, Miss State, & Arkansas) fit the bill in that department this season.

Miami and Florida state are having crappy seasons as well.

Crap season for the Canes? Miami has only two losses! The Canes had one loss at the last second in Tally on Labor Day evening up until Saturday night at the Orange Bowl. Maybe it's just me, but I will take all the crap seasons I can get, if it means I will go a guaranteed 9 - 2 each year. So would 90% of the rest of the 1-A teams/coaches/fans.

The ACC Championship game is featuring teams with (at least) 4 combined losses. I don't see that happenning in any other conference.

The likely SEC-C game will be LSU (1 loss with one more to play) vs. Georgia (2 losses, possibly one more). The SEC-C teams at the GA Dome will have at least three losses, maybe four combined losses. Doesn't seem that much different to me.

Head to head - the ACC is 2-1 against the SEC with two more games left this weekend (UGA at Georgia Tech, Florida State at Florda) - Clemson won at South Carolina and Georgia Tech won at Auburn. Vandy won at Wake Forest for the SEC's sole victory so far this season against the ACC. (WF's leading rusher Barclay (All ACC 1st teamer) was suspended for that game, FWIW.)

Read Colley's Bias Free College Football rankings of the 1-A conference for more insight. His poll is used in the BCS rankings:
http://www.colleyrankings.com/foot2005/conf12.html

[Danny Hogan]

i'll give you Clemson over USC and GT over auburn as quality wins. When discussing the strength of a conference, WFU and Vandy should not be in the discussion.

The colley rankings are interesting, but they are not rankings, simply a combination of the records of all the teams. which would work if everyone played everyone.

because arkansas lost to USC does not mean that the SEC is inferior to the pac 10.

Miami is not having a crappy season, they have chcoked on what could have been a great season.

i'm not going to argue the bottom half of the sec being any good, but the bottom half of the acc is no better just because fsu manages to make everyone look good.

[benji]

How does the "any given saturday" rule apply to the acc and not the SEC. Miami and Florida state are having crappy seasons as well.

How did you get the idea that it doesn't apply to the SEC? All I said was how Miami crushing VaTech, VaTech crushing GaTech, and GaTech beating Miami shows how this year's ACC teams explify a true testament to the "any given saturday" rule. There was no mention of the SEC until further in my post.

Miami having a "crappy" season? Well, if you're having a "crappy" season and still ranked No. 10 in the nation, I pity the team that has to play them when they're having a "decent" or even "good" season. Then there's that whole thing where UM obliterated VaTech in Virginia, I wonder if anyone else saw that game...?

Also Danny, what do you mean by saying "fsu manages to make everyone look good" ?

[JW]

1. SEC
2. ACC
3. Big 10
t4. Big 12
t4. USC

Sagarin does not share your view of the SEC this year. He has them as the 5th rated conference behind the Big 12 and Pac 10.

CONFERENCE CENTRAL MEAN SIMPLE AVERAGE TEAMS
1 BIG TEN (A) = 82.99 82.47 ( 1) 11
2 ATLANTIC COAST (A) = 79.08 78.56 ( 3) 12
3 PAC-10 (A) = 77.66 78.66 ( 2) 10
4 BIG 12 (A) = 77.22 78.37 ( 4) 12
5 SOUTHEASTERN (A) = 74.29 73.97 ( 6) 12
6 I-A INDEPENDENTS (A) = 72.98 74.46 ( 5) 3
7 BIG EAST (A) = 72.94 73.17 ( 7) 8
8 MOUNTAIN WEST (A) = 70.08 69.89 ( 9

Updated conference rankings (11/20) from USA Today:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/fbc05.htm

You guys are giving the SEC way too much credit. The bottom teams in the SEC are very, very, very weak: Kentucky, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Miss State. I guess you can add Tennessee (4 - 6) to that list too as they aren't going to a bowl game after losing at home to Vandy for the first time in 23 years.

Sagarin, May be right, I am offering my opinion. I believe that you take Texas and USC out of their respective conferences, and they are the WAC and Conference USA. After those two teams, the strength of their conferences are not that great. I like the way both USC and Texas play, i love watching their games. Both are very strong teams, but after them what do you have, Texas Tech and UCLA. In the SEC you have Georgia Alabama, Auburn LSU, Florida. ACC- VA Tech, Florida State, Miami. Big Ten- Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, Wisconsin.

Let's see what happens during Bowl season. Most years you usually see the SEC and Big 10 come with wins in bowl games.

I think it is a push between the Big 12 and Pac 10 as far as which conference is the best. I think USC and Texas will play a good game.

I will leave you with one question...

Would Texas have given up 42 points to Fresno State?

I guess we will see when they play A&M on Friday.

Wishing Va Tech and Marc Vick luck the rest of the way...

Hokie Hokie Hi!!!

[Sonny]

Let's see what happens during Bowl season. Most years you usually see the SEC and Big 10 come with wins in bowl games.

For what it's worth, the Big 10 is 6 - 8 over the last two bowl seasons.

2004-2005 Bowl Records by Conference
W-L/Games/ Pct.
Mountain West 2-1 3 .667
CUSA 3-2 5 .600
PAC-10 3-2 5 .600
Big Twelve 4-3 7 .571
ACC 3-3 6 .500
Big Ten 3-3 6 .500
Independents 1-1 2 .500
SEC 3-3 6 .500
WAC 2-2 4 .500
Big East 2-3 5 .400
MAC 2-3 5 .400
Sun Belt 0-2 2 .000

2003-2004 Bowl Records by Conference
W-L/Games/ Pct.
MAC 2-0 2 1.000
ACC 5-1 6 .833
WAC 3-1 4 .750
SEC 5-2 7 .714
PAC-10 4-2 6 .667
Big East 2-3 5 .400
Big 10 3-5 8 .375
Mountain West 1-2 3 .333
Big 12 2-6 8 .250
CUSA 1-4 5 .200
Independents 0-1 1 .000
Sun Belt 0-1 1 .000

[Danny Hogan]

How does the "any given saturday" rule apply to the acc and not the SEC. Miami and Florida state are having crappy seasons as well.

How did you get the idea that it doesn't apply to the SEC? All I said was how Miami crushing VaTech, VaTech crushing GaTech, and GaTech beating Miami shows how this year's ACC teams explify a true testament to the "any given saturday" rule. There was no mention of the SEC until further in my post.

Miami having a "crappy" season? Well, if you're having a "crappy" season and still ranked No. 10 in the nation, I pity the team that has to play them when they're having a "decent" or even "good" season. Then there's that whole thing where UM obliterated VaTech in Virginia, I wonder if anyone else saw that game...?

Also Danny, what do you mean by saying "fsu manages to make everyone look good" ?

look at the last post that i made before you responded. Miami choked on what could have been a great season. I don't think #10 with no shot at a conference title is where alumni, players, coaches @ miami expect to be at this point of every season.

FSU making everyone look good:
FSU 21
UVA 26

FSU 35
Maryland 27 (maryland should have won that game, but had no business being in it)

FSU 20
NCST 15 (NCSU has only 1 other acc win)

FSU 14
Clemson 35 (clemson is good, but not that good)

I realize i have probably just doomed my own team for this saturday.

[benji]

Sagarin, May be right, I am offering my opinion. I believe that you take Texas and USC out of their respective conferences, and they are the WAC and Conference USA. After those two teams, the strength of their conferences are not that great. I like the way both USC and Texas play, i love watching their games. Both are very strong teams, but after them what do you have, Texas Tech and UCLA. In the SEC you have Georgia Alabama, Auburn LSU, Florida. ACC- VA Tech, Florida State, Miami. Big Ten- Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, Wisconsin.

Let's see what happens during Bowl season. Most years you usually see the SEC and Big 10 come with wins in bowl games.

I think it is a push between the Big 12 and Pac 10 as far as which conference is the best. I think USC and Texas will play a good game.

I will leave you with one question...

Would Texas have given up 42 points to Fresno State?

I guess we will see when they play A&M on Friday.

Wishing Va Tech and Marc Vick luck the rest of the way...

Hokie Hokie Hi!!!

Uh... Texas is Big 12 and USC is Pac10. You might have Texas confused with UTexas at El Paso, which is conference USA.

By the way, Texas Tech has been to a bowl game ever since EDIT: Mike Leach became there coach, and has only lost either 1 or none of those games. I wouldn't be quick to discredit them just because Texas rocked their faces. Tech is a good team; Texas is a much better team.

I'm confused by your post, first you say Texas' and USC's conferences have no depth, and then you say they are most likely the strongest conferences. Well which is it?

Last thing, in answer to your question. NO. Texas would never let Fresno put up 42 on them. Texas Tech beat A&M like 52-17, Texas should have no problem whatsoever. But then again, there's a reason they play the games...

[Brent Burns]

I guess we will see when they play A&M on Friday.

Yawn. The teasippers will win the game without any doubt. Although I will be at my mom's house, she will have the game on, and I will just read my book. No need for me to watch the game.

[Dan Wishengrad]

Coach Williams, I'm still trying to figure out your post above regarding USC and Texas based on comparisons between Texas A&M and Fresno State.

A&M (5-5), is ranked #60 in the latest College Football News rankings, behind such powerhouses (not) as Washington State.

Fresno State (8-2) is ranked #13. Fresno has only lost two road games at Top 10 teams this year -- by three (37-34) at Oregon and by 8 (50-42) at USC. Anybody who has watched them play this year would or should acknowledge they are an awfully strong football team.

[Kyle Berggren]

Dan, I agree with you. Fresno is not A&M. Watching that game was great, Fresno excecuted well, and 95% of the time had players make plays when needed. A friend of mine warned me about that game earlier. He let me know that 35K tickets were sold to Fresno for that game, and they pride themselves on being Pac-10 killers in all sports (which I was aware of).

My concern with USC is not whether they are better than Texas, its whether or not they'll actually play 4 quarters. Texas doesn't have an answer for the USC offense and Bush... sorry Longhorns, when they decide to play, there is not a tougher group to stop. As athletic as both teams are, the USC O has the advantage. Sure Texas hasn't scored lower than 40 since week 3 or so, but who have the played? They were down 28-10 at the half against Oklahoma State, who had no problem moving the ball against Texas... If OSU can do it, I believe USC can do that and more. They've also been tested to a greater extent this season, but I guess that's all just my opinion... They did get to beat up on the PAC-10 Washington schools...

[Danny Hogan]

espn power 16:

RANK TEAM RECORD POINTS COMMENTS
1 USC (16) 11-0 316 Reggie Bush deserves an Oscar -- or Heisman -- for his portrayal of Superman against Fresno State.
2 Texas (4) 10-0 304 Vince Young gets his next chance for a Heisman moment against the Aggies on Friday.
3 Penn State 10-1 274 JoePa and the boys are Big Ten champs and headed to a BCS game. Still think it's time for him to go?
4 LSU 9-1 264 All that stands between the Tigers and the SEC title game is a visit from the struggling Hogs.
5 Virginia Tech 9-1 218 The Hokies took out their Miami frustrations on the Cavaliers. Again. And again. And ...
6 Ohio State 9-2 217 These aren't John Cooper's Buckeyes. Jim Tressel is now 4-1 against the Wolverines.
7 Notre Dame 8-2 192 Miami or Tempe must sound pretty good to the Irish, but they can't overlook Stanford.
8 Auburn 9-2 179 Nothing left for the Tigers to do but sit back and root for Arkansas against LSU.
9 Oregon 10-1 178 The only loss for the 10-1 Ducks was to No. 1 USC, but they still might miss out on a BCS game.
10 Miami 8-2 136 The Hurricanes are a long shot to hit the BCS charts after getting rapped by the Yellow Jackets.
11 UCLA 9-1 110 The Bruins' defense got to sit at home and watch Reggie Bush's latest show. Think the nightmares have started yet?
12 Georgia 8-2 91 The Dawgs are preparing for a two-week run in Atlanta. First up is the Yellow Jackets, followed by the SEC title game.
13 West Virginia 8-1 82 After feasting on turkey, tune in to ESPN at 8 p.m. ET to see the Mountaineers and Panthers in the Backyard Brawl.
14 Fresno State 8-2 60 The Bulldogs came thisclose to pulling off the upset in the Coliseum.
15 Alabama 9-2 49 The Tide couldn't get their offensive woes ironed out in time for the Auburn game.
16 TCU 10-1 27 The Frogs were one perplexing loss to SMU from being this year's Utah.

[bste_lax]

For what it's worth, the Big 10 is 6 - 8 over the last two bowl seasons.

Just like to point out that Iowa is 2-0 in the last two years over SEC teams in bowl games including a thumping of Danny's Gators. 3-1 in their last four bowl games with their lone loss coming to USC and Heisman winner Carson Palmer.

That is all for now.

[Danny Hogan]

thumping, ouch.

[Sonny]

For what it's worth, the Big 10 is 6 - 8 over the last two bowl seasons.

Just like to point out that Iowa is 2-0 in the last two years over SEC teams in bowl games including a thumping of Danny's Gators. 3-1 in their last four bowl games with their lone loss coming to USC and Heisman winner Carson Palmer.

That is all for now.

And Iowa remains one single team in the Big 10 + 1 conference.

The rest of the Big Ten doesn't get a pass because your Hawkeyes beat the SEC in bowl games twice in a row.