AP
The ACC was pretty much dead and buried after a horrendous Week 1, but I am here to proclaim that the conference is back on its feet. A spiffy 6-0 record in non-conference games last week brought its season record to 23-8, with just one "bad" loss, or a defeat to an unranked non-BCS team. The Big East and Big 12 have two, while the SEC, Big Ten and Pac-10 also have one.
The ACC is far from a supreme league, but what happens in Week 1 sometimes shapes views for the season because there is so much attention on opening weekend. And we will not forget, the ACC opened with a thud. But the league is 10-1 in the last two weeks with a 5-1 record against BCS+ opponents. With no team ranked higher than No. 16 in the AP poll, there isn't much excitement around the nation, but the ACC might be tougher than you think. Cal, Mississippi State and East Carolina all found that out recently.
And one more note before we dive in -- Mountain Westers, I hear thee. I have included your beloved and deserving conference in this week's Conference Power Rankings after last week's outcry in the comments.
NOTE: The BCS+ notation reflects BCS conference teams, plus other teams ranked in the current AP Top 25.
1. SEC (25-4, 5-3 vs. BCS+)
Last Rank: 1
The Good: Vanderbilt became the sixth member of the league to reside in the Top 25 and the eighth to be ranked this season after winning at Ole Miss. Georgia represented itself well at Arizona State.
The Bad: Mississippi State, one week after losing 3-2 to Auburn, was blown away at Georgia Tech 38-7.
The Verdict: It's been said countless times, but the defensive speed in the SEC is flat out scary. Georgia, Auburn and Florida all made plays on defense Saturday that left me staring in disbelief.
2. ACC (23-8, 7-7 vs. BCS+)
Last Rank: 3
The Good: The best of a very good weekend was Georgia Tech's rout of Mississippi State. The Yellow Jackets shredded a good Bulldogs defense with their triple-option attack, running for 438 yards and four touchdowns. Miami's blowout of Texas A&M at Kyle Field was also impressive, with the Hurricanes building a 41-10 lead before a couple of late Aggies scores.
The Bad: There really was no bad, so I'll mention another 'good' that I didn't have room for above. NC State showed some poise, beating everyone's darling East Carolina with a clutch fourth quarter and overtime.
The Verdict: Ahead of the Big 12? For this week, yup. The Wake Forest-Florida State game was ugly, but for what this league lacks in star power, it is making up for in depth.
3. Big 12 (33-8, 6-6 vs. BCS+)
Last Rank: 2
The Good: The league has four teams in the top 10, which is four more than the ACC (I know I'm arguing against myself).
The Bad: The Big 12 went 1-3 in BCS matchups -- losing to Louisville (Kansas State), UConn (Baylor) and Miami (Texas A&M) -- plus Iowa State lost to UNLV. Bad week for a good league.
The Verdict: I'm all for the Big 12, but the scheduling is rather weak. No conference has a higher percentage of games against FCS opponents, and only the SEC has had a smaller percentage of non-BCS games (28 percent to 27 percent). The league appears top-heavy and is just 2-3 against the Big East.
4. Mountain West (18-6, 7-3 vs. BCS+)
Last Rank: N/A
The Good: Three ranked teams (No. 11 BYU, No. 17 Utah and No. 24 TCU) a fourth team that should be getting some votes (UNLV) and a sparkling BCS+ record. League commissioner Craig Thompson could not have hoped for a better résumé.
The Bad: San Diego State has losses to Cal-Poly and San Jose State.
The Verdict: What's not to like? There have been some close calls to FCS teams, but the MWC has won all but one, and the winner of this league is almost surely headed for a BCS bowl.
5. Pac-10 (12-12, 5-9 vs. BCS+)
Last Rank: 4
The Good: Stanford (vs. San Jose State) and Washington State (vs. Portland St.) avoided upsets at home.
The Bad: Oregon's loss to Boise State dropped the league's record vs. Mountain West and WAC opponents to 0-6.
The Verdict: The Pac-10 has the guts to have the hardest non-conference slate of any BCS league, bar none. That is not paying off, however, with a 5-9 BCS+ record and one team ranked in the Top 25.
6. Big Ten (31-8, 6-7 vs. BCS+)
Last Rank: 5
The Good: Penn State continues to steamroll toward conference play with another rout. Ohio State looks like it found its stud quarterback. Michigan State pushed around Notre Dame.
The Bad: Iowa's loss to Pittsburgh was one the league should have picked up. And what is Indiana doing losing to Ball State by 22?
The Verdict: There are only five more non-conference Big Ten games the rest of the way, and they don't exactly stir the soul. Three involve MAC opponenets, one is an FCS opponent and the fifth is Notre Dame, which plays host to Purdue on Saturday. In other words, we won't learn much more about the Big Ten non-conference-wise until bowl season.
7. Big East (16-11, 5-9 vs. BCS+)
Last Rank: 6
The Good: Home wins over Kansas State (by Louisville), Baylor (UConn) and Iowa (Pittsburgh) highlighted the best week of the season for the Big East.
The Bad: West Virginia's fall from grace is a little too rapid for my taste. Rutgers quarterback Mike Teel is punching teammates after an 0-3 start.
The Verdict: South Florida, the league's only ranked team, needs a win at NC State on Saturday for the league to have its flag-bearer maintain some respect.
Kim Cloutier
Deanna Clover
Did You See That?
Back in Time: July 3
Comments (111) Add A Comment
Glad you included the MWC
riseandshout
Total Comments (34)
The Big 12 has 8 teams in the AP top 30. The ACC has 3. How in God's name can you say the Big 12 is top heavy, and the ACC is 'deeper'?
td25er
Oklahoma City , OK
Total Comments (1)
It's time for you to list all the Division 1 conferences according to how you see them. Six conferences (seven today) being listed only makes it that much more difficult for some teams to be acknowledged by the casual fan.
John Schow
Total Comments (1)
Bill,
Class move to include the Mountain West in your rankings.
They must be doing something right out there: 3 teams ranked in the top 25 = 33% of the entire conference.
Do you think maybe if they manage somehow to get all 9 teams into the polls, the MWC can talk the BCS into an automatic invitation for the conference champion?
Nah......
Franeker
Montrose , CA
Total Comments (18)
Complete idiot.
Baylor= annually the worst team in the Big 12. Uconn= the big East's second best team right now. Baylor barely lost.
A&M=Big 12's worst team RIGHT NOW. Miami= not great, but has talent and showed some moxy vs. #4 Florida. Of course A&M's gonna lose.
Colorado's not even in the top half of the Big 12 and they beat WVU who was supposed to be a national title contender, and who still has Pat White and Noel Devine.
ISU is a horrible horrible team. They lost to UNLV who's already beaten a BCS conference team that was supposed to be pretty decent (ASU).
Now I can't defend the KSU loss, that was a bit embarrasing. But you're completely misjudging the rest of the games this weekend, and you'v already admitted the other facts (#of teams in the top 25 and top 10) that make the Big 12 so much better than any league besides the SEC.
vedderisbetter
Atlanta, GA
Total Comments (388)
Thanks for including the MWC. But there are still eleven conferences. The WAC and C-USA could both make a claim to being better than the Big East right now.
Also, I hope you continue to keep the MWC high even when they get into the meat of the conference schedule. Since every team plays every other team, only one team can possibly remain undefeated, and the champion might not achieve that feat. But, as the nonconference record shows, this is a tough league this year.
fubecao
Alexandria , VA
Total Comments (7)
Well done. The Mountain West has worked hard to be included and its fans (me included) appreciate the recognition from a member of the national press.
pic
Denver , CO
Total Comments (5)
There was an article recently showing that the SEC has many teams with a history of the weakest out of conference games. Sure, the top teams are good but the poll's love affair with the SEC means their top teams beat other so-called top teams (in the SEC), the loser doesn't get knocked down for losing, and the end result is the SEC teams get rated with the toughest schedules. To me 1) SEC plays tough schedules and 2) the SEC plays mostly weak out of conference games does not add up.
Ralf in China
Falls Church , VA
Total Comments (13)
I guess the real question is, is the MWC really THAT good, or is the PAC-10 sans USC THAT bad? I think its the latter, no way the MWC has better teams top to bottom than SEC, BIG12/10 ACC
OhioDore
Total Comments (125)
The SEC is the best conference in the nation, but they aren't as good this year as they were the last two years.
OhioDore
Total Comments (125)
I too will complain. I like the MWC in it, but why not just go all out and do all the conferences? You've created a monster. The WAC had a win over a BCS team, too.
Luke Fleeman
Visalia, CA
Total Comments (83)
How can you talk about SEC defensive greatness when the same MSU that lost 3-2 to Auburn, then got blown out by GT? Once again, I think we are all overlooking how week SEC offenses are, making their defenses look better than they otherwise would
BeD
Total Comments (1)
The ACC is finally getting some well deserved recognition. I am not sure that it is better than the Big 12, but it is clear that the Big 12 is overrated. A&M has fallen off the planet. Kansas is confirming that last year's triumphs were a result of a horribly weak schedule and Kansas St is slipping. Texas Tech was ranked by ESPN as a Top Ten team for scheduling powderpuffs in the BCS era and I refuse to grant them any respect until they stop embarrassing themselves with cupcake scheduling. On the positive side Colorado is showing improvement.
CharMit
Las Vegas , NM
Total Comments (1717)
Nice to see the ACC's depth recognized, but I don't think there's enough there to merit ranking them above the Big 12.
I also think the Big-10 should be above the Pac-10. Nobody is as good as USC, clearly, but OSU, Penn State and Wisconsin are all probably better than the P10's 2nd best team.
Cirrus42
Arlington, VA
Total Comments (10)
OMG..... People still want to take cracks at the SEC. We have 6 teams right now that will line up and beat any six in the nation. USC is a great team, they would compete every year for an sec championship and probably win a bunch. They are the only team that could come in and play SEC football. The rest of you are second level and would lose 2 - 3 games with an SEC schedule...... Bottom line
AUtiger1987
Birmingham , AL
Total Comments (2)
The SEC is clearly tops right now, but it's hard for me to see the Big 12 NOT being #2...put them in their rankings against the ACC and you're telling me you see the ACC winning out? I'd also have the Big 10 higher than the Pac-10 for the reasons that Cirrus42 articulated. But of course, none of this matters...what matters will be what comes with bowl season.
Rockhound
Total Comments (419)
4 teams in the Top 10. Only two conferences can boast that. Those should be your top 2 conferences.
Big 10 is playing better football than the Pac-10.
Kudos to the MWC. As said though, slippery slope...where's the other conferences with BCS wins?
Disclaimer: USC/Pac-10 fan.
silars
Total Comments (1644)
The Big Ten 6th??????? You are a fool
suppackman
Superior, WI
Total Comments (2)
The P-10 does not have it easy. The remaining non-conference schedule of 7 games is 3 games against Notre Dame (USC, Stanford, UW), Fresno St (UCLA), Hawaii (Wazu), Utah (OSU), Colo St. (Cal). They should be favored in only 2 of those games.
Stewart L
Oakland , CA
Total Comments (41)
"The rest of you are second level and would lose 2 - 3 games with an SEC schedule...... Bottom line "
I don't know about that.........Wisconsin seems to kick the crap out of Auburn every time we play them
suppackman
Superior, WI
Total Comments (2)
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