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How do the BCS conferences stack up from top to bottom?

By Eddie Griffin ⋅ April 22, 2008 ⋅ Subscribe to The Red Zone Report

Missouri's Chase Daniel While doing a search for information for another upcoming article, I found a piece by Chick Ludwig of the Dayton Daily News, rating the six BCS conferences from top to bottom.

You can see his rankings here, and if you don’t feel like clicking the link, he has the SEC first, followed by the Pac-10, Big 10, Big 12, Big East, and ACC.

I decided I’d do my own BCS conference rankings, and just because, do a separate one for the non-BCS conferences as well. For the BCS conference rankings, I rated each conference based on their overall strength from last season, how strong they project to be in the 2008 season, and how well they’ve done in BCS games.

The non-BCS conference rankings will come in the next couple of days, and will follow much the same criteria.

1. SEC

Current Overall Strength: 9.5 - Ten teams had at least six wins, nine made bowls, and seven won their bowl games. The only team that didn’t have at least five wins was Ole Miss, who went 3-9.

Next Year’s Projected Strength: 9.5 - Not much should change this season, though there is some reloading/rebuilding to be done by a few teams. Georgia is being considered by some as the preseason #1, while Florida, with Tim Tebow and all of their offensive weapons, should be in the mix, and LSU, despite a lot of key losses, certainly could make a run at a repeat.

BCS Performance: 10 - They get there, and they show up, especially in the last several years. Two straight national titles, four straight BCS bowl wins, and nine wins in their last 10 BCS bowl appearances. Georgia’s 38-35 loss to West Virginia in the 2006 Sugar Bowl was the only BCS bowl loss by an SEC team in the last seven seasons. Overall, the SEC has the most national championships (4 in four tries - Tennessee in ‘98, LSU in ‘03 and ‘07, Florida in ‘06), most BCS wins (11), and best winning percentage (11-4, .733 winning percentage) of the BCS conferences.

2. Big 12

Current Strength: 9 - Iowa St. and Baylor both finished 3-9, while Kansas St. and Nebraska both finished 5-7. But, eight teams made bowls, and five teams won, including Kansas over Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl. Kansas (12), Missouri (12), Oklahoma (10), and Texas (10) all had double-digit wins, while Texas Tech finished with nine.

Next Year’s Projected Strength: 9.5 - Kansas and Missouri aren’t going anywhere, and in the South, Texas and Oklahoma will both duke it out as usual, and this could finally be the year Texas Tech reaches the upper echelon.

Oklahoma State will also have another bowl-caliber team, and Texas A&M and Nebraska should both be in the postseason picture, along with Colorado and Kansas State, who return talented QBs. There shouldn’t be any pushovers, especially if Iowa St. improves, and Art Briles can get Baylor moving in the right direction.

BCS Performances: 8.5 - The conference has sent seven schools to BCS bowls, with six wins in 14 appearances, two national championships (Oklahoma in 2000, Texas in 2005), and three other appearances in the title game. Unfortunately, there’s that not-so-pretty recent showing by Oklahoma, who’s lost four straight.

3. Pac-10

Current Strength: 8.5 - USC won the conference title and won the Rose Bowl, but Arizona State tied them with a 7-2 conference record and won 10 games. Had Dennis Dixon not torn his ACL, Oregon’s national title bid may have stayed on track, and like the Ducks, Cal was #2 at one time in ‘07.

Both Oregon schools finished with nine wins and a bowl victory, and the Bears also won their bowl, giving the Pac-10 a 4-2 bowl record. And while Stanford and Arizona finished under .500, both had top-five upsets, Washington State upset Boise St. and nearly did the same to Hawaii, and Washington State finished a win shy of bowl eligibility.

Next Year’s Projected Strength: 9 - USC will be in the national title picture, and Dennis Erickson’s second year in Tempe could very well equal a potential BCS bowl. At the bottom, Stanford should see even more improvement in Jim Harbaugh’s second year, and Washington and Arizona have experienced quarterbacks that could lead them to the postseason. The only team that may really struggle is Washington State, who has to replace prolific QB Alex Brink.

BCS Performances: 9 - There’s USC and…? I’m kidding. USC has represented the conference the most in BCS games (5 wins in six appearances, one national title, AP title in 2003), but six other Pac-10 members have been to a BCS bowl, with Washington (2001 Rose Bowl), Oregon State (2001 Fiesta Bowl), and Oregon (2002 Fiesta Bowl) all claiming wins.

4. Big Ten

Current Strength: 9 - Ten teams finished with at least six wins in 2007, with only 1-11 Minnesota not reaching the mark. Eight teams made bowls, though the 3-5 record isn’t sparkling.

Next Year’s Strength: 9 - Ohio State will be the favorite, with Illinois and Wisconsin as their closest challengers. Anywhere from seven to nine teams could make bowl appearances, one of which could be Minnesota, if the defense sees big improvement, and if sophomore QB Adam Weber (2,895 yards, 24 TD, 19 INT, 617 rushing yards, 5 TD in a Freshman All-American season in 2007) avoids a sophomore slump.

BCS Performances: 7.5 - The Big Ten has the most overall BCS bowl appearances, with 17 (8-9 record). Seven schools account for those trips, with Ohio State making three title game appearances and winning one, in that memorable 2003 Fiesta Bowl against the Miami juggernaut. But, you can’t look past the fact that Ohio State and Michigan have let the conference down recently, and the four straight losses in BCS bowls, none .

5. Big East

Current Strength: 8 - Thank goodness Temple is gone! Really though, dropping Temple isn’t the only reason that helps the Big East’s strength. Louisville dropped off in 2007, but that didn’t matter, as four teams finished with at least nine wins.

West Virginia came up short in their national title dream, but still won 11 games and the Fiesta Bowl, while Cincinnati (10-3), UConn (9-4), and South Florida (9-4) all surged towards the top, with Rutgers (8-5) not having the year that they could have, but they finished with a convincing bowl game victory.

Next Year’s Projected Strength: 8.5 - West Virginia should be strong once again, even with a new coach and some key departures, and overall, the conference should be pretty deep. Pittsburgh finished a 5-7 season on a high note by upsetting West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl, and there’s plenty of talent in place for them to make some noise. Now if only Syracuse could only start winning again…

BCS Performances: 8.5 - The Big East has won their last three BCS bowl appearances, and is 6-4 overall, including the appearances that Miami and Virginia Tech made while they were still in the conference. The Hurricanes have the only national championship for the Big East during the period, while they (in that 2003 Fiesta Bowl) and Virginia Tech (2000 Sugar Bowl) also came out on the short end in title games.

6. ACC

Current Strength: 7.5 - Five teams won at least nine games, with Virginia Tech and Boston College winning 11 games. Eight teams went to bowls, but only two came away victorious, and there wasn’t a real bona fide national title contender among the mix. It also doesn’t help that FSU (7-6) and Miami (5-7) have been off in the last few seasons.

Next Year’s Projected Strength: 8 - The likeliest BCS contenders look to be Clemson and Virginia Tech, but are either of them serious national title contenders? Behind them are a few teams that could do very well, as Virginia has top-25 potential, but can Miami and Florida State will both have plenty of talent, but will it translate into a push towards the top? There shouldn’t be any ‘bad’ teams, unless you count Duke, who at least has the right coach in offensive guru David Cutcliffe to help them turn things around.

BCS Performances: 6.5 - The ACC hasn’t won a BCS bowl since FSU’s title-clinching win over Michael Vick and Virginia Tech in the 2000 Sugar Bowl. Their recent losses haven’t been blowouts (by 2, 3, 3, 11, and 3 points), but you’d expect more than just one win in 10 appearances.

Think my rankings are good, or do you think I’m off my rocker? How would you rank the conferences?