College Football 2011: Power Ranking Every Conference by Strength of Schedule

The argument over the best conference in college football is short and simple.

For the past five to 10 years, it has always been the SEC.

That is not likely to change in 2011.

However, when you compare every conference by strength of schedule (SOS), is the SEC still on top?

Well, they do play each other so that helps.

But is it enough?

Read on and find out for yourself.

11. Sun Belt

When you look at Florida Atlantic's schedule, you start to think the Sun Belt is going to rank high.

The Owls open with five straight on the road with Florida, Michigan State, Auburn, Louisiana and North Texas.

But the overall conference strength is so low that the Sun Belt is stuck on the bottom.

On a positive note, every team in the league does play a BCS opponent at some point in the season.

So the schedules are dotted with Clemson, Louisville, Arkansas, Virginia Tech, Illinois, Florida State, Georgia Tech and so on.

10. Mid-American

Early on in the 2000s, the Mid-American Conference made a name for itself against some of the big boys.

There were even a few wins against SEC foes.

But lately, the MAC has regressed.

The MAC programs are still scheduling the big-time programs, but they aren't winning.

Here are some of the bigger non-conference games this season: Miami at Missouri and Minnesota; Eastern and Western Michigan at Michigan; Toledo at Ohio State; Boise State at Idaho; Wisconsin versus Northern Illinois; and Cincinnati at Miami.

9. Western Athletic

With Boise State off to the Mountain West Conference, the WAC is struggling with its overall strength of schedule.

So for at least another year, the conference will be led by Hawaii, Fresno State and Nevada.

Hawaii and Fresno have never been afraid to play anyone; however, both have lost more than they have won.

The Warriors face Colorado, Washington and BYU, while the Bulldogs will take on California, Nebraska, Ole Miss, Boise State and San Diego State. Nevada has two tough games with Oregon and Boise.

There are a few other SOS improving games.

It all starts the first weekend with Utah State at Auburn and San Jose State at Stanford.

8. Conference USA

It seems Conference USA is always the odd league out when folks talk about BCS busters.

CUSA shouldn't be overlooked, though.

UCF made a statement with a bowl win over Georgia last year, while Southern Miss, East Carolina and Houston have also had some impressive wins over the years.

The Knights' schedule is average with the strongest game coming against BYU. Southern Miss isn't getting much of a challenge out of conference either. Houston has UCLA.

Then there is East Carolina. The Pirates have always played a challenging schedule, and 2011 is the same. Ruffin McNeill's team plays South Carolina, Virginia Tech and North Carolina. That's some tough scheduling.

The only other good CUSA game is SMU at Texas A&M.

7. Big East

The Big East is the only BCS conference that doesn't have a team to crack Phil Steele's Top 25 on strength of schedule.

South Florida gets the nod for toughest schedule. The Bulls face Notre Dame and Miami. Pittsburgh has to be a close second with Notre Dame and Iowa.

West Virginia and Syracuse may play the toughest opponents. The Mountaineers host LSU and the Orange travel to USC. WVU also travels to Maryland.

Other notable games are: Cincinnati at Tennessee; Louisville at Kentucky; and Louisville at North Carolina State.

6. Mountain West

If BYU and Utah had not left the Mountain West, the conference could have been making a play to be even higher on this list.

Still, Boise State, TCU, San Diego State and Air Force are still doing an admirable job.

Which team has the toughest run is basically a toss up at this point.

Give Boise the nod because the Broncos open with SEC power Georgia, while TCU is playing Baylor and BYU.

Now consider San Diego State. The Aztecs face Michigan and Air Force.

5. Big Ten

The uncertainty surrounding Ohio State and the rebuilding project at Michigan has caused the Big Ten's SOS to drop.

Helping the conference is the addition of Nebraska.

Phil Steele is none too impressed as he does not have a single Big Ten team in his Top 10 for SOS. However, he still likes the toughness of Michigan's and Minnesota's schedules as they are ranked 17th and 21st, respectively.

The Wolverines always face Ohio State, so they earn some serious points there. Brady Hoke's team also plays Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan State, Northwestern, Notre Dame and San Diego State (Hoke's old team).

Thankfully, Michigan gets Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan.

The Gophers' toughest non-league game is the opener at USC, and Jerry Kill's team must also play the Big Ten's best minus Ohio State.

Nebraska was also loaded down with the Big Ten's top teams, as well as non-conference tilts with Fresno State and Washington.

Ohio State has tough games at Miami and at home with Colorado.

Other notable non-conference games are: Wisconsin versus Oregon State; Michigan State versus Notre Dame; Penn State versus Alabama; Iowa versus Pittsburgh; Northwestern versus Boston College; Purdue versus Notre Dame; Illinois versus Arizona State; and Indiana versus Virginia.

4. ACC

It has been forever since the ACC had a serious national title contender, but the conference is probably higher on this list than most of you thought it would be.

Why?

For starters, Boston College and Miami have brutal schedules.

The Eagles travel to Notre Dame and UCF in their toughest non-league matchups. Frank Spaziani's team must also play road games with Clemson, Virginia Tech, Maryland and Miami.

The Hurricanes get Ohio State, Kansas State and South Florida in Al Golden's first season at Miami. The Canes also have road games with Maryland, Virginia Tech, North Carolina and Florida State.

The Seminoles have two of the toughest non-conference games with Oklahoma and Florida, while Phil Steele also believes Clemson plays one of the nation's toughest schedules. The Tigers play Auburn, South Carolina, FSU, Virginia Tech, Maryland, North Carolina, Georgia Tech and North Carolina State.

Other top non-conference games are: Maryland versus West Virginia and Notre Dame; Georgia Tech versus Georgia; Duke versus Stanford; and Wake Forest versus Syracuse.

3. Big 12

The Big 12's toughest SOS comes from Iowa State and Baylor. Phil Steele ranks them Nos. 2 and 3 in his current standings.

The Cyclones host Northern Iowa, rival Iowa and also travel to last year's Big East champion Connecticut before embarking on nine straight Big 12 games.

Baylor's non-league foes are TCU, Stephen F. Austin and Rice.

Oklahoma, which has been a preseason No. 1 by many publications, adds to the overall conference strength with a road game with Florida State.

Other notable games are Oklahoma State versus Arizona; Texas A&M versus Arkansas; Missouri versus Arizona State; Texas versus UCLA; Kansas State versus Miami; and Kansas versus Georgia Tech.

2. SEC

We've all heard how treacherous the SEC schedule is each fall, so most of the league avoids playing quality non-conference opponents.

That is not totally accurate, but there is some truth to the statement.

The SEC's best strength of schedule belong to LSU and defending BCS champ Auburn.

LSU opens with Top 5 opponent Oregon in Arlington, Texas. Les Miles' team also plays at West Virginia a few weeks later.

The Tigers also play tough SEC foes Mississippi State, Florida, Tennessee, Auburn, Alabama and Arkansas.

Auburn's only serious non-conference game comes at Clemson, but the Tigers get every top team in the SEC.

Other notable non-conference games include: Georgia versus Boise State; Alabama versus Penn State; Florida versus Florida State; Arkansas versus Texas A&M; Ole Miss versus BYU; and Kentucky versus Louisville.

1. Pac-12

So the new Pac-12 can boast about one thing right now...the newly re-aligned conference is the best based on overall strength of schedule.

Of course the strength of those schedules will likely change throughout the season, but as of early summer it's all about Larry Scott's conference.

The Pac-12 gets a huge boost from one of its newest members.

According to college football guru Phil Steele, Colorado enters the season with the toughest schedule.

The Buffaloes make the long road trip to open the season at Hawaii, then return to Boulder to take on California in a non-conference game. There's also the road game at Ohio State and then nine consecutive conference games against the likes of Stanford, Washington, Oregon, Arizona State, USC, Arizona, UCLA and Utah.

Oregon State, USC and Washington also rank in Steele's Top 10 toughest schedules for 2011, while Arizona is in his Top 20.

There's also that Oregon-LSU game to open the season.