Forget Percentages, SEC Was Toughest Conference in Bowl Season

The season is over, the headlines have all been read, the votes have all been cast and the champion has been crowned.  It is all over but the speculation over what this bowl season means.  In this article, let's look what it means as in conference power and bragging rights.

The SEC just won it's third national title in a row and that hasn't been done till, well the SEC did it with two Alabama wins and a Georgia triumph.   So the SEC proved it's case by winning it all at by going 6-2 over some of the nation's toughest teams. 

Only Alabama losing to and undefeated Utah and South Carolina simply being over matched by a very good Iowa team let the SEC down.

Florida of course beat the Big Twelve's best and helped dismiss that conference from any type of strongest conference talk.  Especially when you figure in that Old Miss simply beat the devil out Texas Tech and the Big 12 overall 4-3 record sure didn't help either.

The SEC also made a statement when lowly Vandy, who hadn't even been to a bowl since most readers have been reading, beat the BC Eagles.  This year's SEC disappointment, LSU proved to more than a match for the ACC's hottest team, Georgia Tech.  All this proved that the ACC did in fact just plain suck this year.

Speaking of conferences who just plain suck in the bowls year in and year out, the Big 10 kept up the embarrassment by posting a 1-6 record and having their "best" teams spanked by everyone from every conference.

Georgia's plastering of Michigan State proved a middle of the pack SEC team beats a top Big 10 team almost every time.  Ohio State's annual beating was at least less humiliating than usual as they kept it respectable longer that usual.

How Ohio State finished ranked ahead of ANY team with a the same or better record is beyond me, but that's another article for another time.  No conference lost more games than the Big 10.  Perhaps the BCS should drop them from automatic bowl bids and put in Conference USA who had a 4-2 winning percentage.

A struggling Kentucky team overcame a determined Conference USA East Carolina team.  That was an exciting game and was one win I sure wouldn't have seen coming.

So why have I not mentioned the Pac 10?  Didn't they go undefeated?  How can a conference with a 100 percent winning percentage not be the top bowl conference?

It was actually pretty simple.  The SEC had 6 win versus the Pac 10's 5.  The quality of the opponents was much higher as well for the SEC teams.  The Pac ten simply had to only beat the Big 10 champion in the Rose Bowl, but don't they always?

Arizona had to beat a less powerful than usual BYU, Cal had to beat a 7-5 down and out Miami team, (and barely beat them) and Oregon State bored us all with a less that inspiring 3-0 win over Pittsburgh.

Only Oregon surprised anyone by beating Oklahoma State in a wild offensive shoot out 42-31.  So percentage wise, yes the Pac 10 did as good as they could.  But winning against quality opponents or winning decisively they fall short overall as a group to the SEC.

No other conference other than the SEC and Pac 10 had more that a one game over .500 mark and no other conference could dare make an argument to rival the SEC.

Until the SEC and Pac 10 have more games, this is an argument that is sure to rage, but on the field, at least this year, the question was settled.