Conference Strength Rankings - Pac 12 is not 2nd

south78

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Sep 18, 2011
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A couple games don't change the fact that the SEC is definitively the best conference. But I've seen some on here suggesting the second best conference is the Pac 12 and to that I say huh?? The Big 12 is generally the second best conference and its been that way for a while. And the reason it is that way is for the same reason the SEC is the best...Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, TCU, Baylor are all southern teams (new south). There just isn't enough of a recruiting base out West to support all those teams. And research shows that states that put the most NFL talent out per capita are in the deepth south and the new south (Oklahoma and Texas). Not a single Western state is included and only one northern state (Ohio).

Baylor absolutely destroyed UCLA
And a very down Texas team beat Oregon State
And as far as the B1G? Be serious. Purdue was destroyed by Okie State and Minnesota couldn't even beat a Tech team whose coach walked out on them.

And outside of the SEC the Big 12 has the second most BCS NCs and NC appearances in BCS era. Remember that the only team outside of a southern state (traditional or new south that legitimately won a BCS NC was Ohio State). The rankings are SEC (by quite a margin because of top end talent and depth), the Big 12 and then who knows? Just one man's opinion.
 

selmaborntidefan

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Not to rock the applecart but the Big XII and SEC should make more bowl appearances; until recently they had the most teams. Plus, I don't think bowl games are the best barometer of reality. Some teams wish they were elsewhere and some coaches use the game to prepare for the next season. One year the MWC went 2-0 against the SEC. You don't seriously believe the MWC is better do you? But you can't have it both ways. One year the PAC 10 was a cesspool of mediocrity; they went 5-0 in the bowls.

Let's make clear what we are saying: if ND beats us, they will be the champs. But that does not mean they could go 11-1 in the SEC. The combined pressures of those games add up. USC could go 4-0 against the SEC in their heyday. Easy when you only play one. It's that going to Georgia this week, hosting the Vols next week, hosting a rested Floruda and then going to LSU that can't be done.
 

south78

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Sep 18, 2011
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Sorry not sure I caught your point SelmaBorn. To be clear mine is that all things considered the SEC is the best conference but I dont see the Pac 12 as being the second best conference and I think it has a lot to do with their recruiting base. Oregon may very well smash K. State tomorrow but overall its the teams in the old Big 12 south division that have always propped up the Big 12. And they are basically a region that is culturally and historically tied to the south.

Take a look at the 2nd map titled "Supply of football talent - Blue Chips" in this article: http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id...in-big-ten-expanding-include-maryland-rutgers
 

bamaga

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it is ridiculous that any meaningful game is played 30- 40 days after the season. anything can and does happen during that time span.
 

JeffAtlanta

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Take a look at the 2nd map titled "Supply of football talent - Blue Chips" in this article: http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id...in-big-ten-expanding-include-maryland-rutgers
The problem is that recruiting isn't done on a per-capita basis - it's done on a total availability basis. For most schools, that means the number of prospects within a 4 hour drive.

California doesn't have the per-capita numbers that Mississippi does, but California has 251 NFL players while Mississippi has 38. This year, Mississippi has 6 HS players that are ranked 4 or 5 stars by Scout - California has 41.
 
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south78

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Sep 18, 2011
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The problem is that recruiting isn't done on a per-capita basis - it's done on a total availability basis. For most schools, that means the number of prospects within a 4 hour drive.

California doesn't have the per-capita numbers that Mississippi does, but California has 251 NFL players while Mississippi has 38. This year, Mississippi has 6 HS players that are ranked 4 or 5 stars by Scout - California has 41.
This is true Jeff but the point is the state of California is supplying recruits to all the colleges in the Pac 12 and the western region of the country. And geographically it is a large area. The south and the new south (Texas and Oklahoma or the old Big 12 south region) collectively is not only well populated (Georgia, Florida, Texas) but also has the highest number of talented recruits per capita. The results of the BCS games and NC games since the beginning of the BCS era is just one of the many pieces of evidence that demonstrate the vast superiority in the recruiting base in terms of size and quality IMO. Again, outside of the SEC who has won an NC? Texas (new/old south). Oklahoma (new south). FSU (old south). Miami (old south). Its no coincidence that the Ohio State won 1. They are the only northern state with a premier recruiting base.
 

JeffAtlanta

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Again, outside of the SEC who has won an NC? Texas (new/old south). Oklahoma (new south). FSU (old south). Miami (old south). Its no coincidence that the Ohio State won 1. They are the only northern state with a premier recruiting base.
Southern Cal (2004). Also, if you go back to the 1990's (which you have to do for a FSU championship), you have Nebraska, Penn State, & Michigan. Remember, to win their national titles, Nebraska beat #3 Miami, #2 Florida and #3 Tennessee in their bowl games. Florida & Tennessee were both SEC champions and got absolutely destroyed by Nebraska. The SEC that was dominated by Spurrier & Fulmer just wasn't that good.

The south has always had a per-capita advantage over the northern and western states, but the SEC had a pretty long drought from the early 1980s until the early 2000s. During that period, no SEC team beat a non-southern team to win a national title.

It wasn't until the early 2000's that SEC teams were able to match up physically with the bigger, stronger elite midwest teams. The Stallings teams were the only SEC teams during that period that could have matched up physically against those Nebraska teams.
 

south78

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Sep 18, 2011
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Southern Cal (2004). Also, if you go back to the 1990's (which you have to do for a FSU championship), you have Nebraska, Penn State, & Michigan. Remember, to win their national titles, Nebraska beat #3 Miami, #2 Florida and #3 Tennessee in their bowl games. Florida & Tennessee were both SEC champions and got absolutely destroyed by Nebraska. The SEC that was dominated by Spurrier & Fulmer just wasn't that good.

The south has always had a per-capita advantage over the northern and western states, but the SEC had a pretty long drought from the early 1980s until the early 2000s. During that period, no SEC team beat a non-southern team to win a national title.

It wasn't until the early 2000's that SEC teams were able to match up physically with the bigger, stronger elite midwest teams. The Stallings teams were the only SEC teams during that period that could have matched up physically against those Nebraska teams.
I didn't count the USC game because it was vacated. And USC is a bit of an anomoly because much of the California talent is concentrated in LA where USC gets the first pick of talent there.

Also, going back to the 90s is a bit of a problem because CFB just wasn't as lucrative so there were all kinds of differences in programs...coaching being the primary difference. But now that programs don't tolerate poor coaching because of the financial need to win one of the few remaining distinctions is recruiting which is directly effected by recruiting base.

Lastly, keep in mind that if you stretch from Oklahoma to Florida you're still talking about the majority of the NCs with very few exceptions quite some time ago. The Midwest has a sizeable population. So does the West. So what gives? You really see this highlighted in the old Big 12 north/south divide. The difference was tremendous.
 

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