The ACC still sits in last place. On the surface, not good...but there's more to the story.
Conf. Record Pct. SEC 25-4 .862 Big 10 28-7 .800 Pac 10 20-6 .769 Big 12 36-11 .766 Big East 24-8 .750 ACC 23-11 .676
ON THE ROAD
The ACC still has the second highest percentage of non-conference games in unfriendly environments...
Chicken-or-egg....does the SEC get gaudy non-conference records because they never go on the road, or do their gaudy non-conference records give them the gravitas to schedule how they please? Discuss.
Conference Road Games/OOC Games Pct. Big East 13/32 .406 ACC 12/34 .353 Big 12 15/47 .319 Pac 10 8/26 .308 Big 10 9/35 .257 SEC 5/29 .172
THE COMPETITION
Of all their non-conference games, 41% of the ACC's matchups so far have been against power-league competition, tops among the BCS conferences. See below:
And each conference's record against other power-league competition:
Conference BCS Foes/OOC Games Pct. ACC 14/34 .412 Big East 12/32 .406 Big 10 13/35 .371 Pac 10 8/26 .308 SEC 8/29 .276 Big 12 11/47 .234
Before we get all googly-eyed at the Big 10's record, it must be noted that 6 of the 9 wins have come against Notre Dame and Syracuse, and two of the four losses are to Iowa State and Duke. The ACC's record is impressive in the quality of opponent in many of the wins (Rutgers, Alabama, Colorado, Texas A&M), as well as most of the losses (LSU, Oklahoma, USF, West Virginia, Nebraska).
Conf. Record Pct. Big 10 9-4 .692 Pac 10 5-3 .625 ACC 7-7 .500 SEC 4-4 .500 Big East 6-7 .462 Big 12 5-6 .455
THE 1-AA (OR "FCS" IF YOU WANT TO BE ALL TECHNICAL) FACTOR
The percentage of non-conference games against 1-AA competition...
Bravo to the Pac 10. That is all.
Conference 1-AA Foes/OOC Games Pct. SEC 6/29 .207 ACC 7/34 .206 Big 10 7/35 .200 Big East 6/32 .180 Big 12 8/47 .170 Pac 10 2/26 .008
THOUGHTS & CONCLUSION
Given everything outlined above, it's evident to me that the ACC made a dramatic move this weekend in restoring lost credibility. So much so that they've moved into a 3rd-place tie in my rankings of the BCS conferences. These rankings are heavily based on the above criteria, but I also use some common sense. The Big East suffers from the fact that entering October, their lone national title contender is USF (sorry Cincy). Ditto for the ACC with Boston College. The Big 12 suffers the most from having no national title contenders at all (sorry Mizzou).
1. Pac 10The Pac 10 is far and away the best, with the SEC somewhat comfortably in second. The gap between three and six is tiny and placements can shift with just a game or two.
2. SEC
3. (tie) Big 10 & ACC
5. Big East
6. Big 12
1 comment:
An alert reader just pointed out that my percentage for the Big East under "The Competition" was a bit off...12 into 32 = .375, not .406. Doesn't change their placement in the category, however.
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