ESPN Ranks the Conferences

[hatvol96]

In his ESPN Insider column, Bruce Feldman ranks the conferences as he see them this year. His rankings are as follows:
1)SEC
2)Big 10
3)ACC
4)Big 12
5)PAC 10
6)Big East
7)MWC
8)WAC
9)MAC
10)C-USA
11)Sun Belt

Discuss.

 

[vols2345]

big east at number 6??? yeah right. they shouldn't even be top 10.

 

[jakez4ut]

Intersting... i could see a case being made for the ACC being better than the Big 10, and i would rank the Pac 10 ahead of the big 12....

I think the SEC gets the nod, cause there's no clear cut favorite to win it....it should be a 5-6 team battle for it this season....

 

[hatvol96]

Intersting... i could see a case being made for the ACC being better than the Big 10, and i would rank the Pac 10 ahead of the big 12....

I think the SEC gets the nod, cause there's no clear cut favorite to win it....it should be a 5-6 team battle for it this season....

Feldman is a Miami guy. He wrote "Cane Mutiny," which is actually a very good history of Miami's rise to prominence. I would have thought he might rate the ACC a little higher.

 

[jakez4ut]

yeah, the way i see it, the ACC is easily, at least nowadays, one of the top 3 conferences in football...and going thru recent history, the ACC acutally holds a winning record in head to head games against teams from the SEC....unfortunately that includes TN's flops against MD and Clemson in the peach bowls.

the big 10, i dont' see it...Michigan won't be terrible, and OSU could be great....but after that...Iowa, MSU, Purdue, Wisc....all very average with little or no shot to win the Big 10, much less a NT.

the ACC has FSU and Miami who will obviously be competitive for the ACC title and possible NT consideration if things go right....Va Tech won't suck either....and i look for Clemson, UNC and BC to all be pretty good. MD, NCSU are questions in my mind, could go either way.

the Pac 10 could actually be fairly intersting this year...Oregon, CAl, USC, UCLA and AZ St. all should be pretty good.

the big 12 is laughable. TX, OU.....and....................................

 

[hatvol96]

yeah, the way i see it, the ACC is easily, at least nowadays, one of the top 3 conferences in football...and going thru recent history, the ACC acutally holds a winning record in head to head games against teams from the SEC....unfortunately that includes TN's flops against MD and Clemson in the peach bowls.

the big 10, i dont' see it...Michigan won't be terrible, and OSU could be great....but after that...Iowa, MSU, Purdue, Wisc....all very average with little or no shot to win the Big 10, much less a NT.

the ACC has FSU and Miami who will obviously be competitive for the ACC title and possible NT consideration if things go right....Va Tech won't suck either....and i look for Clemson, UNC and BC to all be pretty good. MD, NCSU are questions in my mind, could go either way.

the Pac 10 could actually be fairly intersting this year...Oregon, CAl, USC, UCLA and AZ St. all should be pretty good.

the big 12 is laughable. TX, OU.....and....................................

Watch Nebraska. I think they'll be one of the most improved teams in the country.

 

[milohimself]

He made a good note about the ACC, with the unrealized potential thing. I also have Insider.

5. Pac-10 (Team Rating Average: 3.80): Turbulence or not, USC still has enough All-American talent to consistently be a top-five program. I'm high on ASU and bumped the Sun Devils up to heavyweight status. It came down to either them or Cal, and I like the ASU QB situation much better. I like 'Zona too, but there are too many lightweights in the mix right now with Washington, Washington State, Oregon State and Stanford all struggling.

The biggest thing hurting the perception of the Pac-10 nationally is that the top dog, USC, always seems to be flying solo. A couple of years ago, Cal was a very good one-loss team. People out west felt as though Cal got screwed when Texas got the BCS bid over the Bears, who promptly went out and gave up a ton of points to Texas Tech and lost. A similar situation happened last season to one-loss Oregon, which lost to Oklahoma in a low-scoring game. It almost invalidates those teams the next year -- and the conference to a certain extent --because most people need to see it to believe it. The thinking is "Oh, that's just another puffed-up Pac-10 team." I'm not sure it's fair, but it is what it is. The Ducks do get another big shot to give the conference a major boost if they can beat OU at Autzen Stadium on Sept. 16.

The good: The Pac-10 teams have no qualms about playing anyone, it seems. Also, the league has a ton of talented young defensive players who played a lot last year.

The bad: The two most polished QBs in the league play for the same team (ASU). Everywhere else, except perhaps Arizona and Washington State, has pretty big questions at QB. (And I know guys such as Oregon's Dennis Dixon, USC's J.D. Booty and a handful of others are considered elite prospects, but if you haven't established yourself as a starter and won consistently, you can be considered an issue.)

Decent Examination of my conference. Although I think there's going to be a lot more talent at QB in the Pac-10 than in any other conference by the end of the season, and the defenses are getting better bit by bit.

1. SEC
2. ACC
3. Big Ten
4. Pac-10
5. Big 12
6. Mountain West
7. Big East
8. WAC
9. C-USA
10. MAC
11. Sun Belt

Those are my conference ratings.

 

[milohimself]

Watch Nebraska. I think they'll be one of the most improved teams in the country.

Maybe. I wouldn't necesarily buy into their bowl game win over michigan though. You know the Wolverines and choking...

 

[jakez4ut]

oh, and the Big East...i'll give them this and only this...if Louisville and WVU can continue to win like they have, and if Pitt ever gets any where near comptetive again, at least they would have some top heavy pressence....but right now, minus WVU (that win against UGA did wonders for them last year), the conf. is a joke.

 

[milohimself]

Yeah but he put both West Virginia AND Louisville as heavyweights. Louisville is not an elite team. Potentially very good, but not elite.

 

[hatvol96]

He made a good note about the ACC, with the unrealized potential thing. I also have Insider.

5. Pac-10 (Team Rating Average: 3.80): Turbulence or not, USC still has enough All-American talent to consistently be a top-five program. I'm high on ASU and bumped the Sun Devils up to heavyweight status. It came down to either them or Cal, and I like the ASU QB situation much better. I like 'Zona too, but there are too many lightweights in the mix right now with Washington, Washington State, Oregon State and Stanford all struggling.

The biggest thing hurting the perception of the Pac-10 nationally is that the top dog, USC, always seems to be flying solo. A couple of years ago, Cal was a very good one-loss team. People out west felt as though Cal got screwed when Texas got the BCS bid over the Bears, who promptly went out and gave up a ton of points to Texas Tech and lost. A similar situation happened last season to one-loss Oregon, which lost to Oklahoma in a low-scoring game. It almost invalidates those teams the next year -- and the conference to a certain extent --because most people need to see it to believe it. The thinking is "Oh, that's just another puffed-up Pac-10 team." I'm not sure it's fair, but it is what it is. The Ducks do get another big shot to give the conference a major boost if they can beat OU at Autzen Stadium on Sept. 16.

The good: The Pac-10 teams have no qualms about playing anyone, it seems. Also, the league has a ton of talented young defensive players who played a lot last year.

The bad: The two most polished QBs in the league play for the same team (ASU). Everywhere else, except perhaps Arizona and Washington State, has pretty big questions at QB. (And I know guys such as Oregon's Dennis Dixon, USC's J.D. Booty and a handful of others are considered elite prospects, but if you haven't established yourself as a starter and won consistently, you can be considered an issue.)

Decent Examination of my conference. Although I think there's going to be a lot more talent at QB in the Pac-10 than in any other conference by the end of the season, and the defenses are getting better bit by bit.

1. SEC
2. ACC
3. Big Ten
4. Pac-10
5. Big 12
6. Mountain West
7. Big East
8. WAC
9. C-USA
10. MAC
11. Sun Belt

Those are my conference ratings.

In reading the article, I noticed that Feldman agrees with my assessment of Arkansas. I think anyone who overlooks them this season is going to look really bad.

 

[jakez4ut]

Watch Nebraska. I think they'll be one of the most improved teams in the country.

nah, that honor will go to the University of Tennessee. :blink:

 

[jakez4ut]

Yeah but he put both West Virginia AND Louisville as heavyweights. Louisville is not an elite team. Potentially very good, but not elite.

i agree...that's why i think if that conf is ever going to gain any credibility, teams like Louisville and WVU, and Pitt if they can ever get back to being competitive again, need to keep winning, esp. out of the conf. and in bowl games. If they don't (kind of like the percepiton of the Pac 10 in his article above) the stigma of the Big East being the Big Least will continue.

 

[milohimself]

Yeah. The Pac-10 does do pretty well in bowl games... For the Big East, I think they should have taken away their BCS bid but then with WVU spanking Georgia last year, it's obviously worth reconsideration.

 

[jakez4ut]

In reading the article, I noticed that Feldman agrees with my assessment of Arkansas. I think anyone who overlooks them this season is going to look really bad.

:thumbsup: yep...here's their schedule:
USC, left coast
Utah St
@ Vandy
Bama
@Auburn
SE Mo St
Ole Miss
ULM
@USC, right coast
TN
@MSU
LSU

Looking that, very possible they could be 7-2/4-1 heading in to the TN game...should they win that, MSU should be a cake walk, and the LSU game could very well be for the SEC W crown.

 

[Lexvol]

Feldman is a Miami guy. He wrote "Cane Mutiny," which is actually a very good history of Miami's rise to prominence. I would have thought he might rate the ACC a little higher.

Probably found it hard to justify for three reasons:

1. Fla state is still looking for a QB
2. Larry Coker
3. Marcus Vick is gone

 

[therickbol]

:thumbsup: yep...here's their schedule:
USC, left coast
Utah St
@ Vandy
Bama
@Auburn
SE Mo St
Ole Miss
ULM
@USC, right coast
TN
@MSU
LSU

Looking that, very possible they could be 7-2/4-1 heading in to the TN game...should they win that, MSU should be a cake walk, and the LSU game could very well be for the SEC W crown.

Wow! Have you been smoking something illegeal? Arkansas is just not that good. Plain and simple. They will lose to USC, Bama, Auburn, Ole Miss (this lose will the the surprise), USC, TN, and LSU. That is 7 loses!

 

[hatvol96]

Wow! Have you been smoking something illegeal? Arkansas is just not that good. Plain and simple. They will lose to USC, Bama, Auburn, Ole Miss (this lose will the the surprise), USC, TN, and LSU. That is 7 loses!

Just keep telling yourself that.

 

[therickbol]

I am telling you that, not me. And telling doesn't mean squat. What does mean squat is when the season starts and we see that Arkansas is nothing more than a great RB along with subpar players at every other position. I'll just wait and see how the season turns out for them.

 

[orange+white=heaven]

I am telling you that, not me. And telling doesn't mean squat. What does mean squat is when the season starts and we see that Arkansas is nothing more than a great RB along with subpar players at every other position. I'll just wait and see how the season turns out for them.

Me too! With about half the Nation thinking they'll be good and the other half thinkin' they'll stink, I'm now really curious about a team that I really don't give a tinker's dam about...

 

[milohimself]

In the SEC, just like last year, it should have a lot of very good teams, but no real national title contenders for this reason: Each team in the upper third of the conference is very good but has an exploitable weakness. That said, an opposing team also needs the talent to exploit said weakness. I just don't think Arkasas has that talent. Yeah, they have some playmakers but I don't think the regular, cohesive talent to pull off upsets. I look for them to give some teams good games, maybe even upset a team or two, but when I think legit contenders for the SEC West, Arkansas doesn't come to mind.

 

[volfan2024]

The SEC and Big Ten should be fighting it out for BCS bowls along with FSU,Miami, and ND.Michigan may get back in the groove this year, first 4 games are cake walk.

 

[hatvol96]

The SEC and Big Ten should be fighting it out for BCS bowls along with FSU,Miami, and ND.Michigan may get back in the groove this year, first 4 games are cake walk.

Michigan's third game is at Notre Dame. I wouldn't call that a cake walk.

 

[jakez4ut]

Wow! Have you been smoking something illegeal? Arkansas is just not that good. Plain and simple. They will lose to USC, Bama, Auburn, Ole Miss (this lose will the the surprise), USC, TN, and LSU. That is 7 loses!

it's all about matchups...USC and Auburn are the only two teams that should beat them before the TN game. Ole Miss will be lucky to win 6 games this season. Bama will have a huge ? at qb, and they did lose some defenseive prowess in Ryans....Bama goes to Fayetteville this year, and with their ability to run the ball, i like their chances. I'm not saying ARK is goint to win the SEC or anything...i'm just saying that the schedule sets up for them to make a run in the West. I never said anything is GOING to happen, just that I can see where the team that led the SEC in rushing last season is bringing back a ton of players that should get better, and have a chance to challenge in the West....if you really think they're going to suck, fine. I don't.

In the SEC, just like last year, it should have a lot of very good teams, but no real national title contenders for this reason: Each team in the upper third of the conference is very good but has an exploitable weakness. That said, an opposing team also needs the talent to exploit said weakness. I just don't think Arkasas has that talent. Yeah, they have some playmakers but I don't think the regular, cohesive talent to pull off upsets. I look for them to give some teams good games, maybe even upset a team or two, but when I think legit contenders for the SEC West, Arkansas doesn't come to mind.

THE SEC may not have a NT contender, but not for that reason, the reason i would tell you is that there are probably 3 teams capable of competing for a NT, the problem is they all play each other...LSU, UF and AUB will be very, very good....UF plays LSU and AUB back to back, and they have to go to Aub...LSU has to go to UF, and LSU has to go to AUB....then throw in the fact that over and above those games, UF also has to play @ TN, UGA, BAMA and @ FSU and LSU has to play @ TN and Bama, and AUB has to UGA and @ Bama....i would say the schedule is the only road block for those three teams. In addition, if any one of those three teams should go undefeated, you'd have a bonafied NT contender.

now, take USC, TX, OSU, ND...let them play that kind of schedule, and they wouldn't go undefeated either. There are no other teams in any of those conferences that will challenge the above teams for a NT. Granted USC plays ND and TX plays OSU...but outside of that, those 4 teams will likely be favored to win every other game on thier schedule. And the losers of those head to head games will all but be eliminated from NT contention anyway...The winners will be frontrunners for the NT because they won't play anyone else of that caliber the rest of the season...yeah, TX plays OU and OSU plays Michigan, but for this season the make or break game for both of those teams is the game they play against each other...and it's a non conference game.

can't say the same for AUB, LSU and UF.

 

[Atreus21]

it's all about matchups...USC and Auburn are the only two teams that should beat them before the TN game. Ole Miss will be lucky to win 6 games this season. Bama will have a huge ? at qb, and they did lose some defenseive prowess in Ryans....Bama goes to Fayetteville this year, and with their ability to run the ball, i like their chances. I'm not saying ARK is goint to win the SEC or anything...i'm just saying that the schedule sets up for them to make a run in the West. I never said anything is GOING to happen, just that I can see where the team that led the SEC in rushing last season is bringing back a ton of players that should get better, and have a chance to challenge in the West....if you really think they're going to suck, fine. I don't.
THE SEC may not have a NT contender, but not for that reason, the reason i would tell you is that there are probably 3 teams capable of competing for a NT, the problem is they all play each other...LSU, UF and AUB will be very, very good....UF plays LSU and AUB back to back, and they have to go to Aub...LSU has to go to UF, and LSU has to go to AUB....then throw in the fact that over and above those games, UF also has to play @ TN, UGA, BAMA and @ FSU and LSU has to play @ TN and Bama, and AUB has to UGA and @ Bama....i would say the schedule is the only road block for those three teams. In addition, if any one of those three teams should go undefeated, you'd have a bonafied NT contender.

now, take USC, TX, OSU, ND...let them play that kind of schedule, and they wouldn't go undefeated either. There are no other teams in any of those conferences that will challenge the above teams for a NT. Granted USC plays ND and TX plays OSU...but outside of that, those 4 teams will likely be favored to win every other game on thier schedule. And the losers of those head to head games will all but be eliminated from NT contention anyway...The winners will be frontrunners for the NT because they won't play anyone else of that caliber the rest of the season...yeah, TX plays OU and OSU plays Michigan, but for this season the make or break game for both of those teams is the game they play against each other...and it's a non conference game.

can't say the same for AUB, LSU and UF.

Bama will be good. They've retained alot of their defense, which was pretty nasty last year. ? at QB or no ? at QB, they'll be solid. Or at least their defense will be. Don't expect high scoring games against them, like last year. Unless someone pulls something crazy, I don't see anyone badass enough to go undefeated this year either. I think LSU will lose against either Auburn or Florida. I bet we'll make it to Atlanta tho, with a decent chance to win it.