HERE’S HOW THEY DID

December 2, 2009

There are two times during a college football season when a conference has a chance to improve the nation’s perception of it. One is the bowl season.

The problem with that is, much like the NIT in college basketball, they don’t mean the same thing to both sides. If you were one win away from playing for the national title and then lost, or if you felt you deserved a BCS bid and didn’t get one, you won’t be as excited to play as your opponent. I still believe that if Alabama was told last year they’re Sugar Bowl game with Utah was a national quarterfinal, the outcome is different.

The other opportunity is the non-league portion of your schedule. Which league did the best? Which league did the worst? Here are the answers. With the help of my Happy Hour co-hosts Matt Markus and Mike Mreczko, we developed a point system for non-league games.

I’ll be the first to admit it’s not perfect. I took the six BCS conferences and the Mountain West and scored their results. It’s nice to challenge yourself with tough games, but if you don’t win, how much credibility did you actually bring your conference. So, a loss was worth nothing.

Here is how we broke it down…

A win over a ranked team = 5 points (Rankings are based on the time of the game. Since the early polls are based on what was predicted for teams, any wins in September used the first Harris poll. That came out after week 4.)

A win over a BCS conference team (or Notre Dame) that finished bowl eligible = 4 points

A win over a BCS conference team that did NOT finish bowl eligible = 3 points

A win over a non-BCS conference team (or Navy) that finished bowl eligible = 2 points

A win over a non-BCS conference team (or Army) that did NOT finish bowl eligible = 1 point

A win over an FCS school = no points

A loss to an FCS school = minus 2 points

A win over a 4 or 5 point team on the road earned an additional bonus of 1 point

A win over a 1, 2 or 3 point team on the road earned a bonus of a half point

If the win came at a neutral site, cut the bonus point (or half point) in half.

Finally, divide the conference’s point total by the number of non-league games played by that conference (since some leagues play 4, some 5 and the Pac 10 plays 3 each) to get a final score.

Here’s what we learned…

1) Pac 10 – 1.6833 – Top scores = USC, UCLA and Cal, Worst scores = Oregon State, the Arizona schools and Washington schools, Best wins = USC @ Ohio State and @ Notre Dame, UCLA @ Tennessee, Cal @ Minnesota &

Stanford v. Notre Dame

2) SEC – 1.4740 – Top scores = South Carolina, Georgia and Arkansas/Bama/LSU, Worst Scores = Vandy, Ole Miss and Miss St, Best wins = UGa @ Ga Tech, S. Car v. Clemson, Bama vs. Va Tech, Arkansas vs. Texas A&M

3) Big East – 1.4375 – Top scores = Cincy, UConn and Pitt, Worst scores = Louisville, Syracuse, Rutgers, Best wins = Cincy @ Oregon St, USF @ FSU, UConn @ Baylor & @ Notre Dame

4) ACC – 1.1354 – Top scores = Miami, Va Tech, UNC, Worst scores = Duke, Maryland, Virginia, Best wins = FSU @ BYU, UNC @ UConn, Miami v. Oklahoma and @ USF, Va Tech v. Nebraska

5) MWC – 0.9722 – Top scores = TCU, BYU, Utah/Colorado St, Worst scores = New Mexico, Air Force, San Diego St, Best wins = BYU v. Oklahoma, TCU @ Clemson and Virginia, Colorado State @ Colorado, Utah v. Louisville

6) Big 12 – 0.9531 – Top scores = Texas, Missouri, Kansas, Worst scores = Kansas State, Oklahoma, Colorado/Iowa St/Texas Tech, Best wins = Ok State v. Georgia, Baylor @ Wake Forest, Missouri v. Illinois

7) Big Ten – 0.9107 – Top scores = Iowa, Michigan Minnesota, Worst scores = Michigan State, Purdue, Illinois, Best wins = Iowa @ Iowa St and v. Arizona, Michigan v. Notre Dame, Minnesota @ Syracuse

-The ACC had some bad losses (two to FCS schools), but they had a bunch of quality wins too.

-The Big Ten's only win over a ranked team was Michigan beating Notre Dame. (ND was not in the first Harris poll.)

-Take USC out of the Pac 10, and the Pac 10 still finishes third.

My bowl projections…

BCS Title Game – Florida vs. Texas

Rose Bowl – Ohio State vs. Oregon

Sugar Bowl – Alabama vs. Cincinnati

Fiesta Bowl – Iowa vs. Boise State

Orange Bowl – TCU vs. Georgia Tech

Capital One Bowl – Penn State vs. LSU

Outback Bowl – Wisconsin vs. Tennessee

Cotton Bowl – Ole Miss vs. Oklahoma State

Gator Bowl – Pitt vs. Miami

Games of the Week:

Oregon State @ Oregon – This is the 113^th meeting of the “Civil War.” It’s also the first time in the rivalry’s history that it is a winner-take-all game for the Rose Bowl. Last year, the Beavers were one win away from Pasadena, and the Ducks destroyed them in Corvallis 65-38. The visiting team has won the last two meetings. I expect Jeremiah Masoli and the Quack Attack to be too much for the Beavers.

Cincinnati @ Pittsburgh – The Panthers come in off their loss in the Backyard Brawl. This too is a winner-take-all game, with the victor claiming the Big East crown and a likely spot in the Sugar Bowl. Cincy can still play for the national title with a win and a Nebraska upset of Texas. Considering the Bearcats had only one starter returning on defense, Brian Kelly should get coach of the year. I think he caps the perfect season with a win at Heinz Field. Why not? Cincy has been beating Pittsburgh on the gridiron all year.

Florida vs. Alabama – It’s the SEC Championship Game. It also may as well be a national semifinal. The rematch we’ve been waiting for is here. The loss of Carlos Dunlap by Florida will hurt. The Gators need to force Greg McElroy into mistakes. I see another tough game that comes down to the last five minutes. I had Florida and Texas playing for the title in August. I see no reason to back off that now.