Mark Goldman/Icon SMI
The USC-Ohio State game offered the Conference Power Rankings its biggest matchup of the season, and the Trojans sent a pretty loud message over a three-hour period in Los Angeles.
To describe the far-reaching effects of USC's 35-3 victory, I'll turn to former Ohio State quarterback Kirk Herbstreit, who called the game for ABC. Toward the end of the telecast, Herbstreit let the Big Ten have it for OSU's underwhelming performance.
"When you get outside of the Midwest, the Big Ten has kind of become a punch line to the people around the country," Herbstreit told his audience. "When [fans] talk about how overexposed and overhyped and a bit of a fraud the conference is overall ... the team captain of that, of course, is Ohio State. This hurts the Big Ten as much as it hurts Ohio State."
Herbstreit didn't exactly sugarcoat it for his alma mater. The Buckeyes could have legitimized the conference in a big way and lost by 32. The league better hope Penn State ends up representing it in the BCS this year.
NOTE: The BCS+ notation reflects BCS conference teams, plus other teams ranked in the current AP Top 25.
1. SEC (23-3 overall, 4-2 vs. BCS+)
Last Rank: 1
The Good: A 6-0 non-conference mark with an average margin of victory of more than 24 points.
The Bad: Kentucky needed a tackle at the one-yard line after a Hail Mary completion on the final play to beat Middle Tennessee State 20-14. South Carolina, Georgia, Auburn and Mississippi State combined for a whopping two touchdowns in two league games.
The Verdict: The SEC is barely holding on. In fact, if the Texas-Arkansas game had not been postponed and the Longhorns won, the Big 12 would have the best BCS+ record and may have taken the top spot.
2. Big 12 (28-4, 5-3 vs. BCS+)
Last Rank: 2
The Good: All six non-conference wins came by at least 28 points. Oklahoma continues to look like a legit national title contender, and Chase Daniel appears headed for New York as a Heisman finalist.
The Bad: Iowa State couldn't make it two straight over Iowa, and Kansas lost a heartbreaker to South Florida on the road.
The Verdict: Next week's schedule includes four non-conference BCS games (Kansas State at Louisville, West Virginia at Colorado, Baylor at Connecticut and Miami at Texas A&M). An unbeaten run could propel the Big 12 right to the top.
3. ACC (17-8, 4-8 vs. BCS+)
Last Rank: 5
The Good: North Carolina looked much improved in smoking Rutgers on the road. Maryland scored a very nice win over Cal. Clemson and Florida State moved into the Top 25, bumping out Pac-10ers Cal and Arizona State.
The Bad: Virginia stunk it up at UConn, the conference's lone loss this week.
The Verdict: Sorry, Pac-10. The ACC had to sneak by you this week thanks to Maryland-Cal. Not sure the ACC would be 0-5 against the Mountain West.
4. Pac-10 (10-10, 5-7 vs. BCS+)
Last Rank: 3
The Good: USC looked like an unstoppable force against Ohio State, even leaving a few points on the field in its 35-3 win. That was about the only good news for the conference.
The Bad: The league went 3-7, with four losses to the Mountain West (bringing the season record to 0-5). Oregon barely beat a mid-level Big Ten team (Purdue). Stanford was crushed by TCU. UCLA lost by 59 at BYU. Arizona State lost at home to UNLV. Washington lost by 41 to Oklahoma. Washington State lost by 28 to Baylor. There was carnage up and down the coast.
The Verdict: You have to credit the Pac-10 for scheduling tough, but a .500 non-conference record doesn't cut it. The league has just two Top 25 teams, one of which (Oregon) probably would have lost its spot had Purdue made a 44-yard field goal on the final play of regulation. The league can get a boost next week if Arizona State beats Georgia in Tempe.
5. Big Ten (25-6, 6-6 vs. BCS+)
Last Rank: 4
The Good: Penn State has looked fantastic ON the field this season and is on its way to the Top 10. Wisconsin picked up a quality win at Fresno State.
The Bad: The league's two signature programs, Ohio State and Michigan, flopped on the same Saturday. The Wolverines didn't give themselves a chance against a suspect Notre Dame squad.
The Verdict: You could make an argument for the Big Ten to be in the four slot, but not 48 hours after the undressing at the Coliseum that Stewart Mandel documented.
6. Big East (10-9, 2-8 BCS+)
Last Rank: 6
The Good: With the help of a clutch kicker, South Florida avoided what would have been a damaging loss to the conference with a narrow victory against Kansas. The Bulls can carry the torch for the league with a respectable AP ranking (12).
The Bad: Rutgers has clearly lost its way with two home losses of at least 17 points, which is as many as Rutgers has had over the last five years.
The Verdict: The league has some work to do to get out of the cellar, but four BCS opponents this week offers the opportunity.
Lucia Dvorska
Jessica White
Steals of Home since 2000
Steve McNair: 1973-2009
Comments (146) Add A Comment
Once again, you appear to be forgetting that there are ELEVEN conferences. By continuing to only consider six of them for your rankings, you lose credibility. If you were to include the Mountain West, I suppose it wouldn't be any lower than #4 (since the Pac-10's fall was principally precipitated by the MWC's 4-0 weekend against them), and more likely #3 (since the MWC's 18-8 overall and 6-3 BCS+ record is better than everyone else's except the SEC and Big 12). The WAC is probably better than at least the Big East, too.
Or can you not count to eleven?
fubecao
Alexandria , VA
Total Comments (7)
This is stupid. The ACC and the Big Easy are terrible right now. Consider this: you have the PAC-10 as #3. In the last couple of weeks they have lost to the Mountain West five times. New Mexico beat Arizona, UNLV beat a ranked Arizona State team, BYU historically trounced UCLA and beat Washington at home, and TCU plowed Stanford. If you are simply going to shuffle these six conferences, based on the play of its best teams, why waste the time. Top to bottom, the MWC is better than both the ACC and the Big Easy. Take Southern Cal out of the equation and the PAC-10 and MWC would line up across the board pretty evenly. TCU, BYU and Utah can play across the board with the PAC-10 and would tromp through most of the ACC and the Big East.
pic
Denver , CO
Total Comments (5)
Wow, why do you even submit an article. Do you realize that in the past couple of weeks the Mountain West has won five games over the PAC-10: New Mexico beat Arizona, UNLV beat a ranked Arizona State, BYU beat both UCLA (historically) and Washington and TCU trounced Stanford. If you are only going to shuffle the "BCS" conferences, why even take the time to submit your article. Obviously the PAC-10 has 1 elite team and Oregon is looking pretty good. However, take SoCal out of the equation and the Moutain West lines up pretty well, with TCU, BYU and Utah taking the lead. The ACC is terrible and the Big Easy is nothing near a legitimate conference this year. I also don't think you can count to eleven.
pic
Denver , CO
Total Comments (5)
I think its time for you to look beyond your "BCS bias". The Mountain West Conference needs to enter the discussion here. The MWC is now 5-0 vs. the Pac 10, and is 6-2 against BCS conference teams overall. Top to bottom, the conference is better than at least the Big East, maybe others. Find me one team from any conference that wants to visit Provo right now.
cougarfan
Bountiful , UT
Total Comments (5)
How would Texas beating Arkansas "vault" the Big 12 over the SEC? Either the Big 12 is better or they aren't (In my opinion the SEC is tops, but that's not my point), but a win by one of the pre-season Big 12 favorites over a team picked by the SEC media to finish last in its division shouldn't have much impact either way.
mxc110
Novi , MI
Total Comments (2)
I would just like to point out that if you just go solely on non conference record and record vs bcs the big ten's 25-6 record and 6-6 vs bcs is much better than the Pac -10's and Big East's record. Just because the Pac-10's best team is better (alot better) than the big ten's doesn't mean it's a better conference. Top to bottom the big ten has racked up way more wins than the pac-10 so far.
Carter4906
Platteville , WI
Total Comments (12)
Pic and fubecao- nicely put...
curmudgeon79
Fairfax, VA
Total Comments (3)
Its time to get the MWC in the BCS!!!
UWCOWBOY
Laramie , WY
Total Comments (18)
The PAC-10 is 0-5 vs the MWC this year and yet you don't even rank them. You just put a comment in your PAC-10 ranking saying they have gone 0-5 vs the MWC. That doesn't really add to your credibility or ranking system. Besides USC the MWC is by far a better confrence. 5-0 vs the PAC-10 this year. The previous comment was spot on, there are 11 confrences and you only shuffle the BCS confrences. The Big East and ACC are horrible. Do you even watch any games on Saturdays? If you think USC is the PAC-10 then I can see you raking them 4th. We all know the PAC-10 has TEN teams and therefore the whole confrence should be ranked according to their record vs the OTHER confrences they play. 0-5 vs the MWC shouldn't really be in any ranking system. But then again you are the all knowing sports writer.
Cubs19
American Fork , UT
Total Comments (2)
It's good to see my efforts in promoting the ACC are finally bearing fruit. I stated last week that the ACC was clearly superior to the Big 10. Whether the ACC is better than the PAC 10 is still a judgement call, but when your best team (Ohio St) is rear ended again it raises questions about the entire conf. The Mountain West may have three good teams although Utah has done nothing to establish that they are solid. But two or three good teams does not a conference make. omeone suggested adding Utah & BYU to the PAC 10. Excellent idea.
CharMit
Las Vegas , NM
Total Comments (1717)
Ohio State sucks!
ceteris paribus
Athens , GA
Total Comments (172)
BYU destroys UCLA (who beat Tennesse when they were #18) 59-0, UNLV shocks #15 Arizona State, Utah pummels Michigan, two teams in the top 20 and one knocking on the door, BYU has a potential hiesman winner, in 2005 Utah went undefeated and TCU beat OU, and last year Wyoming beat Virginia. When will the MWC get some recognition? Will the proof be in the pooding after this year? The BCS needs to pay some attention.
UWCOWBOY
Laramie , WY
Total Comments (18)
for ceteris - Thank you for another thoughtful comment.
CharMit
Las Vegas , NM
Total Comments (1717)
for UWCOWBOY - If the win over Virginia was so great why is it that the Wyoming coach is in danger of being fired?
CharMit
Las Vegas , NM
Total Comments (1717)
Its not about Wyoming its about the MWC
UWCOWBOY
Laramie , WY
Total Comments (18)
If it makes you feel better CharMit New Mexico beating Arizona was another indication of the MWC dominance.
UWCOWBOY
Laramie , WY
Total Comments (18)
Pac-10 should be lower.
Disclaimer: I'm a USC/Pac-10 fan.
silars
Total Comments (1644)
Are you kidding? Why is it such a big deal that the MWC beat the Pac 10? It isn't like they beat USC. The Pac 10 is in a down year. Most of the teams are rebuilding. BYU barely beat a Washington team that Oklahoma took to the woodshed. Their signature win is a rout of a bad UCLA team that is injured to boot. Utah beat a winless Utah State team. New Mexico was beaten by one of the Big 12 teams that is in a rebuilding effort. Why should anyone be dreading Provo? TCU will have an opportunity to represent their conference in Norman in two weeks.
SoonerBob
Total Comments (141)
If the MWC was in the BCS they would have more opportunities to recruit 4 and 5 star athletes. At this point they are beating teams that already have that ability. "Rebuilding" is a term that isnt as meaningful as it is in the NFL, because of the nature of the draft.
UWCOWBOY
Laramie , WY
Total Comments (18)
That Michigan win by Utah is starting to look like less and less of a big deal. Didn't they get beat at home last year by Appalachian State?
SoonerBob
Total Comments (141)
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