Conference power rankings
Now that the college football regular season has wrapped up, college football fans need a few topics to fill the conversation gap until the bowl games begin. Since all the awards were handed out last week, they have to find another topic. The endless debate over the superiority of the conference always generates interest, if not heated arguments.
In an effort to determine the strength of the conferences against each other, I have devised a formula to objectively calculate how they rank. I’ve reviewed the non-conference matchups of the eleven members of the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly known as Division 1-A) conferences.
The formula consists of teams contributing points to their conference totals with each win against teams outside of their own conference. Teams do not receive credit for defeating members of the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly known as Division 1-AA). However, members of conferences are penalized for losing to FCS/Division 1-AA teams. Wins on the road or at neutral sites are worth more than home wins. Conferences earn bonus points if their members defeat the overall champions or divisional champions of other conferences. The score of 1,000 is the highest possible score for a conference whose members played all their non-conference games at home; in this case, the conference won them all, beating out only FBS’s opponents, neither of which won their conference or divisional championship.
After plugging all the numbers into my top secret formula, these are the results:
CONFERENCE NUMBER OF NON-CONFERENCE GAMES SCORING
Southeast: 48,891
Grand Orient: 40,788
Pacific Ten: 30,617
Big Twelve: 48,578
Big Ten: 44,574
West Mountain: 36,535
Atlantic Coast: 48,521
Western Athletic: 38,434
Conference USA: 48,250
Median American: 52,231
Sunbelt: 36,083
The Atlantic Coast Conference had monumental victories. Virginia Tech’s victories over Big Twelve North Division champion Nebraska and Conference USA champion East Carolina earned some respect for the ACC. Additionally, North Carolina also defeated ECU. Boston College defeated Mid-American Conference champion Central Michigan.
On the other hand, the ACC suffered several embarrassing losses. Virginia lost to William & Mary and Duke lost to Richmond; both winning teams play at the FCS level. The ACC fought mightily, 2-5, against the SEC. The only two wins came against the only two SEC teams to finish with losing records. The fact that both teams in the ACC title game lost to the SEC teams that finished 7-5 further tarnished the ACC’s image. Ultimately, BC lost a game in the imploded program in South Bend, Indiana.
The Southeastern Conference racked up notable wins, but could have easily scored higher. Florida and Arkansas defeated Troy, the Sun Belt champion. Georgia’s win at Georgia Tech combined with South Carolina defeating Clemson bolstered the SEC’s claim of superiority over the conference derisively regarded as “a basketball conference.” Also, Tennessee beat Ohio, the winner of the Mid-American Conference East Division. If nine of the members had played FBS instead of FCS opponents, including Mississippi beating two formerly Division 1-AA labeled programs, then the SEC’s point total could have easily topped 0.9, even if not all of those games were. victories for the SEC.
The Big Ten continued their cherished tradition of inviting members of the Mid-American Conference to serve as punching bags. Before starting intra-conference games or simply completing open dates later in the year, the Big 10 intimidated the MAC in eleven of thirteen head-to-head contests.
The Pacific Ten responded positively after last season’s embarrassing 1-6 regular season record against the Mountain West Conference. This year, the PAC 10 won all three games against the MWC. Fans might wonder if the fewer matchups between these two conferences contributed to the reversal. However, the PAC 10 seems more balanced and improved than it was in 2008.
For those top rated conferences, be proud of your rankings. As for the rest, redemption can always happen on winning bowl games.