swardboy
9/28/2015, 01:53 PM
THE BEST CONFERENCE IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL ISN’T THE SEC, BIG TEN, OR PAC-12
The Associated Press (http://api.addthis.com/oexchange/0.8/forward/facebook/offer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.breitbart.com%2Fsports% 2F2015%2F09%2F28%2Fbest-conference-college-football-isnt-sec-big-ten-pac-12%2F&pubid=ra-536db77a775cf072)
by JOHN PUDNER (http://www.breitbart.com/author/john-pudner/)28 Sep 2015Auburn, AL2 (http://www.breitbart.com/sports/2015/09/28/best-conference-college-football-isnt-sec-big-ten-pac-12/#disqus_thread)
The CBS emblem during SEC games includes the words, “The Best Conference.” But the SEC lacks the edge crucial in final decision on college playoff invites.
Early last year the SEC ranked a touchdown better than every conference and talk centered on two or even three teams receiving invites. But it became acceptable to pick Ohio State after the SEC faltered and the Big Ten closed the gap (see Indiana’s win at Missouri).
Teams are graded from an “A” for performances that help their conference’s rating dramatically to “F” for a performance that hurts conference credibility. An “I” by their score means in intra-conference game that does not impact the conference rating.
This year the Big Ten ranks fourth and not far behind any conference, but the conference did not do enough to justify two playoff teams. Either No. 1 or No. 2 Michigan State or some other Big Ten team will make it but not both. The Big 12 is the top conference, and in an eight-team playoff they would be the one to deserve two teams in Baylor and TCU.
This is the last week with the big scoreboard in the final week of the conferences jockeying for position in games crucial to resumes of potential playoff teams.
ACC drops one to +7, 5th best conference
Indiana led the Big Ten past the ACC with a win over Wake Forest coupled with Boise State’s humiliation of Virginia and East Carolina beating Virginia Tech. At this stage, an ACC champ must go undefeated to have a chance to emerge from the fifth best conference and grab a playoff spot, but a Clemson win over Notre Dame next week would give the conference a better shot.
ACC
Pred
Pwin
Score/Conf Grade
Opponent
Opp Conf
Boston College
3
57%
17-14 C
N Illinois
Mid-Am -6
Clemson
0%
Idle
Duke
-7
28%
34-20 I
Georgia Tech
ACC +8
Florida St
0%
Idle
Georgia Tech
7
72%
20-34 I
Duke
ACC +8
Louisville
28
97%
45-3 C+
Samford
Big Ten +8
Miami FL
0%
Idle
NC State
11
77%
63-13 A
South Alabama
SunB -14
North Carolina
31
99%
41-14 C
Delaware
FCS
Pittsburgh
0%
Idle
Syracuse
-18
11%
24-34 C+
LSU
SEC +10
Virginia
0
50%
14-56 F-
Boise St
Mt West -13
Virginia Tech
3
60%
28-35 D
East Carolina
Amer +0
Wake Forest
-3
43%
24-31 D
Indiana
Big Ten +8
6-4, +55 points
55
5.9
ACC Proj
American stays +0, 6th best conference
East Carolina’s second straight win over Virginia Tech of the ACC was enough for the American to hold onto a strong +0 as easily the best Group of 5 conference and only a touchdown worse than the ACC overall. This gives the eventual champ a great shot to be the one team from the Group of 5 conferences to get a major bowl bid, and a separate post makes the case that an undefeated Memphis or Temple actually would deserve a playoff spot.
American
Pred
Pwin
Score/Conf Grade
Opponent
Opp Conf
Cincinnati
-8
33%
46-53 I
Memphis
Amer +0
Connecticut
-11
23%
18-28 I
Navy
Amer +0
East Carolina
-3
40%
35-28 B
Virginia Tech
ACC +8
Houston
17
84%
59-14 B
Texas St
SunB -14
Memphis
8
67%
53-46 I
Cincinnati
Amer +0
Navy
11
77%
28-18 I
Connecticut
Amer +0
SMU
9
68%
45-48 D-
James Madison
FCS
South Florida
0%
Idle
Temple
0%
Idle
Tulane
0%
Idle
Tulsa
0%
Idle
UCF
-7
35%
14-31 C-
South Carolina
SEC +10
4-4, +16 points
16
4.3
Amer Proj
Big 12 stays +11, Best Conference
In the only inter-conference game West Virginia destroyed Maryland to keep the Big 12 as the No. 1 Conference in the final week for most conferences to prove themselves before conference play.
Big 12
Pred
Pwin
Score/Conf Grade
Opponent
Opp Conf
Baylor
28
97%
70-17 B
Rice
CUSA – 8
Iowa St
0%
Idle
Kansas
-4
40%
14-27 C-
Rutgers
Big Ten +8
Kansas St
0%
Idle
Oklahoma
0%
Idle
Oklahoma St
1
51%
30-27 I
Texas
Big 12 +11
TCU
10
78%
53-48 I
Texas Tech
Big 12 +11
Texas
-1
49%
27-30 I
Oklahoma St
Big 12 +11
Texas Tech
-10
22%
48-53 I
TCU
Big 12 +11
West Virginia
16
82%
45-6 B
Maryland
Big Ten +8
4-3, +40 points
40
4.2
Big 12 Proj
Big Ten improves one to +8, 4th best conference
Illinois, Minnesota, Northwestern, and Nebraska survived scares from non-Power 5 teams, but they won all three and Michigan thrashing BYU and Indiana beating Wake Forest of the ACC helped them nudge ahead of the ACC by a point for 4th place.
Big Ten
Pred
Pwin
Score/Conf Grade
Opponent
Opp Conf
Illinois
12
76%
27-25 C-
MTSU
CUSA – 8
Indiana
3
57%
31-24 B
Wake Forest
ACC +8
Iowa
31
99%
62-16 C+
North Texas
CUSA – 8
Maryland
-16
18%
6-45 D
West Virginia
Big 12 +11
Michigan
-2
47%
31-0 A
BYU
ind +0
Michigan St
25
95%
30-10 C
C Michigan
Mid-Am -6
Minnesota
9
68%
27-24 C-
Ohio
Mid-Am -6
Nebraska
27
96%
36-28 D
Southern Miss
CUSA – 8
Northwestern
21
94%
24-19 C-
Ball St
Mid-Am -6
Ohio St
28
97%
38-12 C
W Michigan
Mid-Am -6
Penn St
17
87%
37-21 C
San Diego St
Mt West -13
Purdue
-2
47%
28-35 C-
Bowling Green
Mid-Am -6
Rutgers
4
60%
27-14 C+
Kansas
Big 12 +11
Wisconsin
30
98%
28-0 C
Hawaii
Mt West -13
10-4, +187 points
187
10.4
Indiana road huge
The Associated Press (http://api.addthis.com/oexchange/0.8/forward/facebook/offer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.breitbart.com%2Fsports% 2F2015%2F09%2F28%2Fbest-conference-college-football-isnt-sec-big-ten-pac-12%2F&pubid=ra-536db77a775cf072)
by JOHN PUDNER (http://www.breitbart.com/author/john-pudner/)28 Sep 2015Auburn, AL2 (http://www.breitbart.com/sports/2015/09/28/best-conference-college-football-isnt-sec-big-ten-pac-12/#disqus_thread)
The CBS emblem during SEC games includes the words, “The Best Conference.” But the SEC lacks the edge crucial in final decision on college playoff invites.
Early last year the SEC ranked a touchdown better than every conference and talk centered on two or even three teams receiving invites. But it became acceptable to pick Ohio State after the SEC faltered and the Big Ten closed the gap (see Indiana’s win at Missouri).
Teams are graded from an “A” for performances that help their conference’s rating dramatically to “F” for a performance that hurts conference credibility. An “I” by their score means in intra-conference game that does not impact the conference rating.
This year the Big Ten ranks fourth and not far behind any conference, but the conference did not do enough to justify two playoff teams. Either No. 1 or No. 2 Michigan State or some other Big Ten team will make it but not both. The Big 12 is the top conference, and in an eight-team playoff they would be the one to deserve two teams in Baylor and TCU.
This is the last week with the big scoreboard in the final week of the conferences jockeying for position in games crucial to resumes of potential playoff teams.
ACC drops one to +7, 5th best conference
Indiana led the Big Ten past the ACC with a win over Wake Forest coupled with Boise State’s humiliation of Virginia and East Carolina beating Virginia Tech. At this stage, an ACC champ must go undefeated to have a chance to emerge from the fifth best conference and grab a playoff spot, but a Clemson win over Notre Dame next week would give the conference a better shot.
ACC
Pred
Pwin
Score/Conf Grade
Opponent
Opp Conf
Boston College
3
57%
17-14 C
N Illinois
Mid-Am -6
Clemson
0%
Idle
Duke
-7
28%
34-20 I
Georgia Tech
ACC +8
Florida St
0%
Idle
Georgia Tech
7
72%
20-34 I
Duke
ACC +8
Louisville
28
97%
45-3 C+
Samford
Big Ten +8
Miami FL
0%
Idle
NC State
11
77%
63-13 A
South Alabama
SunB -14
North Carolina
31
99%
41-14 C
Delaware
FCS
Pittsburgh
0%
Idle
Syracuse
-18
11%
24-34 C+
LSU
SEC +10
Virginia
0
50%
14-56 F-
Boise St
Mt West -13
Virginia Tech
3
60%
28-35 D
East Carolina
Amer +0
Wake Forest
-3
43%
24-31 D
Indiana
Big Ten +8
6-4, +55 points
55
5.9
ACC Proj
American stays +0, 6th best conference
East Carolina’s second straight win over Virginia Tech of the ACC was enough for the American to hold onto a strong +0 as easily the best Group of 5 conference and only a touchdown worse than the ACC overall. This gives the eventual champ a great shot to be the one team from the Group of 5 conferences to get a major bowl bid, and a separate post makes the case that an undefeated Memphis or Temple actually would deserve a playoff spot.
American
Pred
Pwin
Score/Conf Grade
Opponent
Opp Conf
Cincinnati
-8
33%
46-53 I
Memphis
Amer +0
Connecticut
-11
23%
18-28 I
Navy
Amer +0
East Carolina
-3
40%
35-28 B
Virginia Tech
ACC +8
Houston
17
84%
59-14 B
Texas St
SunB -14
Memphis
8
67%
53-46 I
Cincinnati
Amer +0
Navy
11
77%
28-18 I
Connecticut
Amer +0
SMU
9
68%
45-48 D-
James Madison
FCS
South Florida
0%
Idle
Temple
0%
Idle
Tulane
0%
Idle
Tulsa
0%
Idle
UCF
-7
35%
14-31 C-
South Carolina
SEC +10
4-4, +16 points
16
4.3
Amer Proj
Big 12 stays +11, Best Conference
In the only inter-conference game West Virginia destroyed Maryland to keep the Big 12 as the No. 1 Conference in the final week for most conferences to prove themselves before conference play.
Big 12
Pred
Pwin
Score/Conf Grade
Opponent
Opp Conf
Baylor
28
97%
70-17 B
Rice
CUSA – 8
Iowa St
0%
Idle
Kansas
-4
40%
14-27 C-
Rutgers
Big Ten +8
Kansas St
0%
Idle
Oklahoma
0%
Idle
Oklahoma St
1
51%
30-27 I
Texas
Big 12 +11
TCU
10
78%
53-48 I
Texas Tech
Big 12 +11
Texas
-1
49%
27-30 I
Oklahoma St
Big 12 +11
Texas Tech
-10
22%
48-53 I
TCU
Big 12 +11
West Virginia
16
82%
45-6 B
Maryland
Big Ten +8
4-3, +40 points
40
4.2
Big 12 Proj
Big Ten improves one to +8, 4th best conference
Illinois, Minnesota, Northwestern, and Nebraska survived scares from non-Power 5 teams, but they won all three and Michigan thrashing BYU and Indiana beating Wake Forest of the ACC helped them nudge ahead of the ACC by a point for 4th place.
Big Ten
Pred
Pwin
Score/Conf Grade
Opponent
Opp Conf
Illinois
12
76%
27-25 C-
MTSU
CUSA – 8
Indiana
3
57%
31-24 B
Wake Forest
ACC +8
Iowa
31
99%
62-16 C+
North Texas
CUSA – 8
Maryland
-16
18%
6-45 D
West Virginia
Big 12 +11
Michigan
-2
47%
31-0 A
BYU
ind +0
Michigan St
25
95%
30-10 C
C Michigan
Mid-Am -6
Minnesota
9
68%
27-24 C-
Ohio
Mid-Am -6
Nebraska
27
96%
36-28 D
Southern Miss
CUSA – 8
Northwestern
21
94%
24-19 C-
Ball St
Mid-Am -6
Ohio St
28
97%
38-12 C
W Michigan
Mid-Am -6
Penn St
17
87%
37-21 C
San Diego St
Mt West -13
Purdue
-2
47%
28-35 C-
Bowling Green
Mid-Am -6
Rutgers
4
60%
27-14 C+
Kansas
Big 12 +11
Wisconsin
30
98%
28-0 C
Hawaii
Mt West -13
10-4, +187 points
187
10.4
Indiana road huge