NCAA Football Conference Power Rankings Week 2: Alabama Wins Big, SEC in 1st?

Let me explain the power rankings.

This is not an indication of how each conference will fare for the 2011 college football season. This is not a direct correlation to how these teams should be ranked in the polls.

To put it quite simply, this is a measurement of what each conference proved in Week 2.

Conference play proves nothing other than who the best teams within that conference are. Every conference has a .500 winning percentage in intra-conference play every year.

Non-conference matchups early in the season and end-of-season bowl games are needed to give us the best gauge of how each conference stacks up.

Each game from Week 2 will fall into one of four categories: The Good, The Blah, The Bad and The Ugly. Pretty self-explanatory.

Let the debating begin.

For reference, see Week 1 Power Rankings here. 

6. Big East

Overall Big East record from Week 2: 4-4

The Good: 0

The Blah: 2

West Virginia crushed an FCS opponent like they should have.

South Florida did slightly more to impress by beating a team from the MAC.

The Bad: 3

Connecticut lost a close game to Vanderbilt.

Rutgers lost a close game to North Carolina.

Cincinnati got smoked by Tennessee.

The Ugly: 3

Syracuse beat FCS opponent Rhode Island by merely seven points. Inexcusable.

Pittsburgh beat FCS opponent Maine by merely six points. See Syracuse only worse.

Louisville lost to Florida International from the Sun Belt. Cardinals fans threw up in their mouths after that one.

5. Big Ten

Overall Big Ten record from Week 2: 7-5

The Good: 2

Michigan beat Notre Dame in one of the most exciting college football endings you will ever watch. I yelled in excitement watching the game. It was that good.

Wisconsin tore apart Oregon State.

The Blah: 4

Illinois and Northwestern whipped FCS opponents like they should have.

Michigan State and Nebraska get slightly more credit for crushing opponents from either the WAC or Sun Belt conference.

The Bad: 4

Penn State lost to a superior team in Alabama.

Indiana lost a close game to Virginia.

Iowa lost to in-state rival Iowa State in 3OT.

Ohio State only beat Toledo by five points. A blocked punt, another missed FG and a failed two-point conversion caused this game to be closer than it should have been. Special teams is a concern. That was a bad win.

The Ugly: 2

Minnesota lost to New Mexico State. However, the health of coach Jerry Kill is their main concern right now. He collapsed late in the game due to an apparent seizure.

Purdue lost to Rice. They played with fire last week, and this week they got burned.

4. ACC

Overall ACC record from Week 2: 6-2

The Good: 2

North Carolina nipped Rutgers.

Virginia snuck by Indiana.

The Blah: 2

Florida State stomped an FCS opponent like they should have.

Georgia Tech gets slightly more credit for whipping a Sun Belt opponent.

The Bad: 2

Duke got obliterated by Andrew Luck and Stanford.

Virginia Tech only beat East Carolina by seven points. I know they are one of the scrappier non-AQ teams out there. However, when you are ranked 11th in the country, you need to win by more than 14.

The Ugly: 2

Clemson only beat FCS opponent Wofford by a measly eight points. Unacceptable.

Boston College got blown out of the water by Central Florida. They get ranked this low simply by how lopsided the game was.

3. Pac-12

Overall Pac-12 record from Week 2: 6-2

The Good: 2

Arizona State had the second best win of any BCS team in non-conference play by knocking out a ranked Missouri team at home in OT. This team should be ranked in the Top 25. LB Vontaze Burfict is an animal.

Stanford obliterated Duke. Andrew Luck continues to show why he is the best QB prospect since Peyton Manning or maybe ever.

The Blah: 2

Oregon crushed a WAC opponent.

Washington State crushed a MWC opponent.

The Bad: 4

Arizona lost to a very good Oklahoma State team.

Oregon State lost to a very good Wisconsin team.

Washington only beat Hawaii by eight points at home. Another TD and I would have bumped this up to Blah.

UCLA only beat San Jose State by 10 points at home. The margin simply is not enough.

The Ugly: 0

2. Big 12

Overall Big 12 record from Week 2: 4-1

The Good: 3

Oklahoma State whipped Arizona. WR Justin Blackmon is not 40, but still proved that he is a man.  He is one of the top two WR in college football and should be drafted in the top half of the first round.

Iowa State nipped Iowa in 3OT.

Texas squeaked past BYU with a one-point victory.

The Blah: 0

The Bad: 2

Kansas only beat Northern Illinois by three points. Definition of a bad win.

Missouri lost in OT to Arizona State.

The Ugly: 0

1. SEC

Overall SEC record from Week 2: 8-0

The Good: 3

Alabama picked up hands-down the best win of any team Week 2 when they whipped Penn State on the road.

Considering what they proved, I would have them ranked 3rd in the AP Poll if I had a vote. In case you were wondering that would be behind LSU and Boise State who both came into the season ranked in the top five and have even bigger wins on their resume at this point.

Tennessee annihilated Cincinnati at home.

Vanderbilt beat Connecticut.

The Blah: 5

LSU and Ole Miss both spanked FCS opponents like they should have.

Arkansas, Florida and Kentucky get a little more credit for beating up on opponents from Conference USA, MAC and MWC respectively.

The Bad: 0

The Ugly: 0