College Football - Best conference

[Ogg]

We have the thread for favorite team but what is the best NCAA football conference out there? Best can be most wins, most players drafted, toughest players etc. Any way you see fit. And apologies to the WAC, Mountain West, etc. I am only including 6 conferences.

[JKilgore44]

Well, I placed my vote for the Big 12 (Becasue I attend one of their schools, so I gotta support my own conference) but in all honesty, the SEC is the strongest football conference in the nation. Yeah, sure, the Big 10 had an awesome year last year, but the SEC is consistently better than every other conference.

LSU, Tennessee, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Arkansas, Alabama.... I don't even need to list the rest, these teams alone prove my point.

[Matt P]

I think the Big Ten and the SEC are the best confereces hands down, although I would give the edge to the Big Ten, I know I am somewhat of a homer here. I think the ACC and Big 12 are down, although each has its powerhouses, they are changing which tends to lead to a down year. The Pac 10 is usually pretty good (they do have USC), but they don't get much publicity in the mid-west/east.


As to Kilgore's list how bout, Michigan, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Penn State, Iowa and Purdue.

[JKilgore44]

Don't get me wrong, the Big 10 is a strong conference also, especially this past year. But still, when you look at National Championships over the past 20 years, the SEC has 6, the Big 10 has 2. I'm pretty sure that's all the Big 10 had anyway (Ohio State and Michigan when they split with Nebraska). And then look at BCS bowl games since 2000, SEC is 7-2 whereas Big 10 is 4-5. The stats speak for themselves.

[p_funk]

My team is WVU, but my vote goes to the SEC. If you even have to think about this you are crazy. The SEC is the best hands down. No other conference even comes close, not even the Big 10.

[Matt P]

Don't get me wrong, the Big 10 is a strong conference also, especially this past year. But still, when you look at National Championships over the past 20 years, the SEC has 6, the Big 10 has 2. I'm pretty sure that's all the Big 10 had anyway (Ohio State and Michigan when they split with Nebraska). And then look at BCS bowl games since 2000, SEC is 7-2 whereas Big 10 is 4-5. The stats speak for themselves.

We can argue about stats all day long, however, in regard to National Championships the Big Ten teams usually beat up on each other and have two perenially title contenders and a third team (Wisconsin, Penn State, Michigan State) that rises up to challenge each year. In the SEC there is usually one (sometimes two) team that is far and away better than the rest of the league eg. Florida during the Spurrier years, Auburn during the Bowden years. Plus if you look at the records of Michigan and Ohio State you will see that one team usually, to the delight of the other, ruins the NC/undefeated run at the other, plus the SEC gets an extra game to sway voters.

As to BCS bowl games, the stats are what they are and I know them well, after all Michigan represents 3 of the losses, Ohio State being another this year. All three Michigan losses came in the rose bowl two to USC and the other to Texas, clearly the best teams of two out of the three years and while Florida did beat Ohio State this year, there is still some debate about whether Michigan should have been there instead (Florida got the benefit of an extra game), and on a neutral site, I believe Michigan would have taken them as well. Also the confereces play two different styles, have an SEC team play in Michigan Stadium or the Shoe or Madison in November and the SEC teams won't stand up, unfortunately in this day and age of College Football I don't think we will see many big time out of conferece matchups late in the season.

[JKilgore44]

One thing is for sure, the big house and the shoe are two of the best stadiums in the nation. Only second to my home field, Kyle field. And the style of play is much different. In the SEC, you're going to see hard-nosed, smashmouth football, whereas the Big 10 is more of a balanced pass/run ratio.

And Ann Arbor and Madison are probably two of the coolest towns in America.

We just play better football in the South.

[Ogg]

That is why I chose the Big 10 - simply for the bruising smash mouth football that they play. I think the bowl game stat is misleading simply becasue the Big 10 has the most time off between their last game and the bowl game. Not the SEC's fault for that one - but the powers that be in the Big 10 need to make some changes.

Persoanlly I think the SEC has the most talent but the best style of football is in the Big 10 and while the rivalries are good in the SEC, they are better in the Big 10.

[p_funk]

LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!You guys are crazy.

[Matt P]

LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!You guys are crazy.

That's why I love college football...it is simply 10 times better than the NFL.

[JKilgore44]

That's why I love college football...it is simply 10 times better than the NFL.

Agreed, college football is what keeps me alive during the fall

[Guest]

ACC is where my school is at...

[rolltideroll]

Clearly...clearly the SEC is head and shoulders above the rest. Talent, "smashmouth" football, and...DEFENSE. SEC defenses are faster, more aggressive and more effective than defenses in other conferences. I think the Big 10 is top heavy...Pac 10 as well. The depth of talent and speed in the SEC puts it over the top.

[DM4UGA]

I don't think anybody really has any doubts about where my vote lies....

[Matt P]

Well since the is head and shoulders above the rest lets look at it then, here is some infor from a forum I read about U o M football concerning this very topic, the " South Easy Conference ":

Guess when the last time Georgia played a non-conference road game outside of the South (ie, other than rival Georgia Tech)? Would you believe at MICHIGAN in 1965!!!! Forty-two years ago! Moreover, the last time Georgia played a regular-season game on the west coast was in 1931 -- its one and only all-time reg-season game out there (at USC, and they lost 60-0).

Similarly, Florida has played exactly two non-conference road games outside of the South in the past FORTY years: at Syracuse in 1991 and at USC in 1983. Now we know what the Gator Chop is chopping -- difficult regular-season non-conference games.

What's more, Tennessee's first trip to the Midwest came in 1978 -- after 87 years of playing football. And the Vols never have visited a Big Ten school. Ever.

Michigan in the past 40 years has played SEVENTEEN non-conference road games outside of its region, the Midwest -- on average almost every other year! That includes 11 on the west coast, 2 in the south, 3 in the east, and 1 in the mountains -- and EXCLUDES the 12 games at Notre Dame. No SEC power other than Alabama has anywhere close to such an ambitious schedule in the past 40 years.

If the stats are correct, and the checking I have done (not all of it) seems to corroborate, it is certainly telling about the how they become "head and shoulders" the best conferece in the County. Don't get me wrong, I think the SEC is one of the best confereces, but they are not head and shoulders above the rest.

Go Blue!!!!

[outrider2288]

damn, nice stats... now granted i hate all that is Michigan and i would never support anything they say... haha:) but seriously, the SEC may have the more impressive stats when it comes to bowls, but i think that the Big 10 is a much tougher conference not only because we play outside of our region but because when we do play within the conference it is a great game, whether it be OSU vs UM, OSU vs PSU, UM vs PSU, or any other combination of rivalries. So i agree w/ u all saying that because of the wins/stats the SEC is a better conference, but if u look at it in form of entertainment and hard-nosed traditional football, the Big Ten takes the cake

[DM4UGA]

Well since the is head and shoulders above the rest lets look at it then, here is some infor from a forum I read about U o M football concerning this very topic, the "

You're using stats but it's misleading. Sure, Georgia and Florida may not like to travel, but Tennessee will play ANYBODY. Or did you not notice the away games they played at Notre Dame and Cal? Vanderbilt, one of the lesser teams of the conference, WILL play anybody. They routinely play big non-conference teams... more than any other team in the SEC. And most importantly...... We don't need to travel out of conference to find a worthy opponent, because the teams in our conference are all so tough. Michigan? You guys nearly have to leave the conference just to find a practice squad to play against. Aside from Ohio State, there's nobody for you to contend with. We all listened to all the crap buildup about the Michigan-Ohio state game, and for all the drama and talk about what a powerhouse Ohio state was, we all saw what happened when they played the best the SEC has to offer. In case you forgot: Absolute domination. Case closed. End of story.

[Matt P]

You're using stats but it's misleading. Sure, Georgia and Florida may not like to travel, but Tennessee will play ANYBODY. Or did you not notice the away games they played at Notre Dame and Cal?

Did you forget about, Penn State, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Purdue (on and off years). Besides all of the SEC teams are not good, I will give you Florida, LSU, Georgia, and Auburn are perrenially good teams, while Arkansas, and Tennessee off and on are good teams but Miss, Ole Miss, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Alabama and South Carolina (getting better with Spurrier) are not good teams. The Michigan vs. Ohio State Drama is that b/c it is one of the biggest, if not the biggest rivalry in the sport. Every year both teams are good, and the game generally decides who wins the big ten and who goes to the Rose Bowl. The build-up to the game was not crap, and if not for the extra two games that Florida got to play after Michigan finished its season, we may have seen a rematch. Florida deserved a chance as much as Michigan did, Florida got picked and took advantage of it. Ohio State got thrashed in the NC game b/c their best player (Teddy Ginn) was hurt on the first play of the game taking away their quick strike ability plus they didn't adjust to Florida's great rush, which is unsual of the sweatervest. As for traveling, you can't just throw Vanderbilt out there as support, they have to play big out of conferece games. The bigger teams in the SEC won't travel, probably becuase of money (more money earned staying home playing FAMU than going to a big away game) and becuase if they lose, which is likely depending on the competition, they are behind the 8-ball in the rankings.