College Football 2012 Rankings: SEC Still King of BCS

 

Every Tuesday about this time I'm going to be ranking your conferences. During the offseason that is going to take a little creativity as we will be looking at the leagues from a myriad of different angles. To kickoff this staple we'll go straight up and down on it by ranking your six BCS leagues for the spring. 

Coming out of the chute here at Your Best 11 and that means we need to set the tone for these conference rankings. First and foremost, these are spring rankings for the leagues. They are not last year's rankings. They're not projected season finishes or how the bowls will go rankings. These are, simply put, where the leagues rank going into spring. 

Now as far as ranking system goes there is one thing that must be stated outright; you get bonus points for being really good. That's right, teams that are elite get bonus points. Those bonus points help their league. Those leagues move up higher. On the flipside, I am not about giving "credit" for a gang of average teams. When your league's selling point is "everybody can beat everybody" that is not a conference I'm buying. Unless all the teams are really good. Except where parody is concerned, that never happens.

So, without further ado we'll go worst to first on the spring rankings:

6. Big East

Before everyone makes their lame Big East jokes just realize that being at the end of the line is not a bad thing for the Big East. They're a conference in transition as they trade out West Virginia for Temple and have several teams that enter spring looking for answers. Louisville is set to make a strong push in an effort to raise this league and folks in Pittsburgh have plenty to be excited about. Rutgers and Kyle Flood are saying the right things and have new young talent getting to campus over the summer, so that's a Big East positive.

The issue is that right now, looking at the spring, for all the excitement that might come to fruition down the road, the eight-team league is dropping their talent level as West Virginia departs and Temple enters the fray. To barrow a tired cliche, the sky is the limit as far as the Big East is concerned. There aren't really any actual "bad" teams in the league—just not any elite squads—and as spring goes forward we'll see how these players grow.

5. ACC

Truth be told if West Virginia was back in the Big East this year I'd probably put the ACC last just to do it. The league is not exactly bad but it most certainly is not elite in any respect. Perhaps Florida State and Clemson are closer to being great than any team in the Big East, so the ACC has that going for it. Beyond that Virginia Tech enters the spring hoping to pull another running back out of their stable to lead them on a run to a BCS bowl that, unless they play the Big East, they'll probably just lose. 

In all seriousness the league does have about as much room for improvement as the Big East. Throw in the aforementioned Tigers and Seminoles and the ACC comes out slightly ahead based largely upon the more pieces in place to get to an elite level. There is good talent back for spring 2012—a few injuries have players sidelined but the bulk of the league's teams are going to start their prep for the season this March.

4. Big Ten

Now here is where the controversy starts because while college football fans agree that the ACC and Big East are the worst, now is when they let their own pride really shine through. Does the Big Ten have more mediocre to decent/pretty good teams than most other leagues in the nation? Certainly. Do they have one team that's ready to step into the ring as an elite squad? Nope.

Not Wisconsin with their quarterback issues and defense that still has not mastered playing outside of the tackle box. Not Michigan who won a BCS bowl game with one of the worst offensive performances in recent history by a winner. Not Michigan State who will be breaking in a new quarterback, new receivers and finding some answers on defense.

Spring is going to be a great time in the Big Ten, the teams are set up better than those in the Big East and ACC but there is still ample work to be done. Replacing talent, learning new schemes, breaking in new coaches and filling holes is the name of the game in the Midwest this spring. Maybe after the spring Michigan or Wisconsin will be ready to join the ranks of the elite but as of now they're a step behind.

3. Big 12

They don't play much defense—there are some critical players headed to the NFL and there are some realignment ripples being sent through the landscape. Give them the three spot though heading into spring. Better at the essential position, quarterback, than the Big Ten as Casey Pachall and Geno Smith add themselves to the mix with Landry Jones and Collin Klein. While I don't expect this league to win a title, they will be fun to watch and that starts this spring as the balls fly all over the yard.

While defense is not the league's hallmark, Manny Diaz, Dick Bumpas and the return of Mike Stoops should give folks who enjoy the actual tackling part of tackle football something to watch. Throw in stability from top to bottom at the head coaching spot as far as the league goes and the Big 12 gets a bit of a nod. But, even with that nod, there is work to be done here to pull an elite squad out of the mix.

Kansas State is talent deprived, Oklahoma has to get out of their own way to return to true form, Texas is a ball of young potential, Oklahoma State lost the best thing they ever had while TCU and West Virginia will test out their chops against teams they have not played much at all.

2. Pac-12

This is the first time we get a glimpse of teams that enter the spring with the "elite" tag attached to their name. While the bottom of the league is dealing with coaching changes and comparing mediocre to mediocre just leaves everyone mediocre, the Pac-12 has a couple teams with a BCS championship squarely in their focus. We have excitement in Pullman for the first time since 2004 as this is Mike Leach's first spring since 2009. 

USC and Oregon enter this spring practice period with a Pac-12 and BCS title on their minds and unlike other teams we've discussed, these squads are plugging holes, not fixing problems. There is a tremendous difference between having a quarterback issue like Wisconsin, and filling in a spot or two the way the Trojans are doing with Matt Khalil. At Oregon we're looking at a team that has become used to the expectations. Excitement for them starts during the spring as the first senior class in Ducks history will go to four straight BCS bowl games. 

These two squads are good and they give the wildly mediocre Pac-12 a push over the rest of the wildly mediocre conference behind them. 

1. SEC

Was there ever any doubt? This is not about the conference having won six straight BCS titles. This is not even about the conference getting all sorts of recruiting victories. This is purely about entering the spring and the fact that four teams have eyes on a BCS championship appearance. LSU and Alabama are locked and loaded—again—but Arkansas and Georgia are teams that are both better than the best squads in just about every other conference out there. All four of these rosters are jam-packed with talent, returning starters and coaches who know that this spring is when they will draw the fight out of their boys.

South Carolina is another team with plenty to be excited about as Connor Shaw goes into year two as the clear starter. Shaw must use this spring to figure out who he is going to throw the football to as Alshon Jefferson is out of Columbia.

Between those five teams, we're looking at some absolute talent for the spring and very few issues to fix—just holes to fill and schemes to refine. The other seven teams in the league? Much like your favorite conference they are looking to fix issues like quarterback play or consistency on defense. For Mississippi State that means finding a quarterback, while at Tennessee it means line play and Derek Dooley putting his faith in Tyler Bray.

Right now the SEC is on top because they have teams ready to go. As spring moves forward and we see the development of players there will be some changes. Quarterbacks emerge, redshirt freshman step into spots on the defensive line and that safety who moved to linebacker last year finally gets it. We've got our ear to the ground this spring and as things progress we'll keep you updated. 

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