Which League's All Conference Team Would Win in a Playoff?

We are currently in the thick of superlative season: the time between the major conference championship games and the bowl games, during which all major national- and conference-specific honors are presented.

Among these honors are the All-Conference teams, which cobble together the best players at each position for a hypothetical depth chart in each of the 10 FBS leagues.

But what if those depth chart's weren't hypothetical?

Which league's All-Conference team would win?

For the sake of simplicity, the only leagues we looked at are the Power Five: the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC. If you think one of the other conferences can compete…that's your prerogative, I guess. But the depth of talent in the major leagues suggests otherwise.

Sound off below and let us know whom you think has the best team.

Methodology Explained

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Deciding which hypothetical All-Conference team would beat the other hypothetical All-Conference teams is an obviously imperfect science, a question intended for fun more than for serious debate.

The simplest way to grade each team was to sort by seven position groups—three offense, three defense, one special teams—and rank each conference against one another, based on a subjective call.

The best team in each group was given five points. The second-best team was given four. Third-best was given three, fourth-best was given two and the last-place team was given one.

At the end, all seven totals were added to determine which leagues have the "best" rosters, ranking from No. 1 to No. 5. They were then pitted against each other in another totally subjective "playoff."

The players used for each team came from the All-ACC, All-Big Ten, All-Big 12, All-Pac-12 and All-SECmedia first teams. In cases where one league included more players than the others, a subjective call was made by the author on which X players to include.

I also feel like it's important to add that this is not a ranking of the best conferences in the country. Depth of talent is just as important, if not more important, than first-team talent in terms of conference quality.

The team with the best talent on its first team is not necessarily the conference with the best teams in the country.

Don't read into this more than there actually is.

Offensive Backfield

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1. Big Ten (5 Points)

• QB J.T. Barrett, Ohio State
• RB Tevin Coleman, Indiana
• RB Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin

2. Pac-12 (4 Points)

• QB Marcus Mariota, Oregon
• RB Javorius Allen, USC
• RB Devontae Booker, Utah

3. ACC (3 Points)

• QB Jameis Winston, Florida State
• RB James Conner, Pittsburgh
• RB Duke Johnson, Miami

4. SEC (2 Points)

• QB Dak Prescott, Mississippi State
• RB Cameron Artis-Payne, Auburn
• RB Nick Chubb, Georgia

5. Big 12 (1 Point)

• QB Trevone Boykin, TCU
• RB Tyreek Hill, Oklahoma State*
• RB Samaje Perine, Oklahoma

The Big Ten wins the offensive backfield, and it isn't all that close. The two-back sets it could run with Melvin Gordon and Tevin Coleman—both of whom rushed for 2,000 yards this season—flanking mobile quarterback J.T. Barrett would give any defense problems. (Yes, this hypothetical assumes Barrett is still healthy.)

Marcus Mariota lifts the Pac-12 ahead of the ACC despite having slightly worse running backs, but running back depth lifts the SEC ahead of the Big 12 despite my (slight) preference of  Trevone Boykin over Dak Prescott under center.

**The Big 12 only has one first-team running back, but Tyreek Hill, who made the first team as an all-purpose player, had 102 carries for Oklahoma State, functioning as a change-of-pace running back.

Receivers and Tight End

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1. ACC (5 Points)

• WR Tyler Boyd, Pittsburgh
• WR Jamison Crowder, Duke
• WR Rashad Greene, Florida State
• TE Nick O'Leary, Florida State

2. Big 12 (4 Points)

• WR Corey Coleman, Baylor
• WR Tyler Lockett, Kansas State
• WR Kevin White, West Virginia
• TE E.J. Bibbs, Iowa State

3. Pac-12 (3 Points)

• WR Nelson Agholor, USC
• WR Nelson Spruce, Colorado*
• WR Jaelen Strong, Arizona State
• TE Pharaoh Brown, Oregon

4. SEC (2 Points)

• WR Amari Cooper, Alabama
• WR Pharoh Cooper, South Carolina
• WR Bud Sasser, Missouri
• TE Evan Engram, Ole Miss

5. Big Ten (1 Point)

• WR Leonte Carroo, Rutgers
• WR DaeSean Hamilton, Penn State*
• WR Tony Lippett, Michigan State
• TE Maxx Williams, Minnesota

I really like the shape of the All-ACC receivers. The pieces all seem to make sense. Rashad Greene and Tyler Boyd winning on the outside while Jamison Crowder and Nick O'Leary burn nickel backs and linebackers from the slot sounds like a winning formula.

Further down the list, even Heisman-finalist Amari Cooper couldn't lift the SEC ahead of the Big 12 and Pac-12, although all three of those units are tight. The top four receiving groups are basically interchangeable, with the Big Ten finishing a distant—distant—fifth.

*The Big Ten and Pac-12 only have two first-team receivers, so a subjective call was made to use second-teamer DaeSean Hamilton of Penn State over Mike Dudek of Illinois and second-teamer Nelson Spruce of Colorado over Vince Mayle of Washington State.

Offensive Line

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1. SEC (5 Points)

• OL Ben Beckwith, Mississippi State
• OL La'el Collins, LSU
• OL Arie Kouandjio, Alabama
• OL Laremy Tunsil, Ole Miss
• C Reese Dismukes, Auburn

2. Pac-12 (4 Points)

• OL Jamil Douglas, Arizona State
• OL Jake Fisher, Oregon
• OL Hroniss Grasu, Oregon
• OL Andrus Peat, Stanford
• OL Max Tuerk, USC

3. Big Ten (3 Points)

• OT Rob Havenstein, Wisconsin
• OT Brandon Scherff, Iowa
• OG Kyle Costigan, Wisconsin
• OG Zac Epping, Minnesota
• OC Jack Allen, Michigan State

4. ACC (2 Points)

• OT T.J. Clemmings, Pittsburgh
• OT Cam Erving, Florida State
• OG Tre' Jackson, Florida State
• OG Laken Tomlinson, Duke
• OC Andy Gallik, Boston College

5. Big 12 (1 Point)

• OL Le'Raven Clark, Texas Tech
• OL Spencer Drango, Baylor
• OL Mark Glowinski, West Virginia
• OL Daryl Williams, Oklahoma
• OC B.J. Finney, Kansas State

The SEC would open a can of you-know-what in the trenches with an offensive line that made picking the No. 1 unit seem easy. It has the best tackles, guards and arguably the best center. (Personally, I like Oregon's Hroniss Grasu, but Auburn's Reese Dismukes is a close second who did just win the Rimington Trophy.)

The Big Ten media couldn't get out of its own way by picking Wisconsin tackle Rob Havenstein over Michigan State tackle Jack Conklin. Havenstein is great and all, but Conklin, in my mind, is better.

If the Big Ten team included Conklin next to Brandon Scherff, I likely would have ranked it No. 2 despite average guard play.

Defensive Line

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1. Pac-12 (5 Points)

• DL Henry Anderson, Stanford
• DL Nate Orchard, Utah
• DL Danny Shelton, Washington
• DL Leonard Williams, USC

2. Big Ten (4 Points)

• DL Joey Bosa, Ohio State
• DL Shilique Calhoun, Michigan State
• DL Randy Gregory, Nebraska
• DL Anthony Zettel, Penn State

3. SEC (3 Points)

• DE Bud Dupree, Kentucky
• DE Shane Ray, Missouri
• DT Robert Nkemdiche, Ole Miss
• DT Jonathan Allen, Alabama

4. Big 12 (2 Points)

• DL Andrew Billings, Baylor
• DL Malcom Brown, Texas
• DL Shawn Oakman, Baylor
• DL Emmanuel Ogbah, Oklahoma State

5. ACC (1 Points)

• DE Vic Beasley, Clemson
• DE Mario Edwards, Florida State
• DT Eddie Goldman, Florida State
• DT Grady Jarrett, Clemson

Good lord, that Pac-12 defensive line is scary. Henry Anderson is 6'6", 287 pounds. Nate Orchard is 6'4", 255 pounds. Danny Shelton is 6'2", 339 pounds. Leonard Williams is 6'5", 300 pounds.

Good luck trying to get a push.

The Big Ten line is a little undersized and might not be the best against the run. But with Joey Bosa and Anthony Zettel playing inside and Shilique Calhoun and Randy Gregory playing outside, no All-Conference defense would get a better pass rush with four.

Linebackers

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1. ACC (5 Points)

• Stephone Anthony, Clemson
• David Helton, Duke
• Denzel Perryman, Miami

4. Big 12 (4 Points)

• Paul Dawson, TCU
• Ben Heeney, Kansas
• Pete Robertson, Texas Tech*
• Eric Striker, Oklahoma

3. Pac-12 (3 Points)

• Hau'oli Kikaha, Washington
• Shaq Thompson, Washington
• Scooby Wright III, Arizona

4. SEC (2 Points)

• Amarlo Herrera, Georgia
• Reggie Ragland, Alabama
• Martrell Spaight, Arkansas

5. Big Ten (1 Point)

• Mike Hull, Penn State
• Jake Ryan, Michigan
• Damien Wilson, Minnesota

Linebackers were the hardest group to rank, bar none. The difference between No. 1 ACC and No. 5 Big Ten is negligible.

Ultimately, it came down to star power. Mike Hull is great, but he's not a real star. Same goes for Amarlo Herrera and Martrell Spaight.

Denzel Perryman is a star. Paul Dawson is a star. Scooby Wright and Hau'oli Kikaha are stars. The Pac-12 couldn't rank higher because I'm not sure how it would fare on the gournd—neither Wright, Kikaha nor Shaq Thompson are downhill, defend-the-run specialists—but it would be so good rushing the passer that it hardly matters.

*The Big 12 had four linebackers, so a subjective call was made to keep Eric Striker over Pete Robertson, even though the two are interchangeable. If Robertson was considered over Striker, he is good enough that the Big 12 would still place No. 2.

Secondary

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1. SEC (5 Points)

• CB Senquez Golson, Ole Miss
• CB Vernon Hargreaves III, Florida
• S Landon Collins, Alabama
• S Cody Prewitt, Ole Miss

2. ACC (4 Points)

• CB Kendall Fuller, Virginia Tech
• CB P.J. Williams, Florida State
• S Gerod Holliman, Louisville
• S Jalen Ramsey, Florida State

t3. Pac-12 (2 Points)

• DB Ishmael Adams, UCLA
• DB Su'a Cravens, USC
• DB Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, Oregon
• DB Damarious Randall, Arizona State*
• DB Jordan Richards, Stanford

t3. Big Ten (2 Points)

• DB Briean Boddy-Calhoun, Minnesota
• DB Kurtis Drummond, Michigan State
• DB Will Likely, Maryland
• DB Trae Waynes, Michigan State

t3. Big 12 (2 Points)

• DB Sam Carter, TCU
• DB Chris Hackett, TCU
• DB Zack Sanchez, Oklahoma
• DB Orion Stewart, Baylor

Man oh man, good luck against that SEC secondary. Vernon Hargreaves III and Senquez Golson are lockdown cornerbacks on the outside, and Cody Prewitt and Landon Collins are in-the-box players who can also make a difference in centerfield.

The ACC secondary is not far behind, although I found it impossible to pick between the Pac-12, Big Ten and Big 12. All three of those latter secondaries have their values, and all three have their flaws.

Best to just distribute the points evenly.

*The Pac-12 had five defensive backs, so a subjective call was made to keep Jordan Richards over Damarious Randall. Randall had a great season but is not as versatile defending the pass as Richards.

Specialists

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1. Pac-12 (5 Points)

• K Andy Phillips, Utah
• P Tom Hackett, Utah
• Ret. Kaelin Clay, Utah

2. ACC (4 Points)

• K Roberto Aguayo, Florida State
• P Wil Baumann, NC State
• Ret. Jamison Crowder, Duke

3. Big Ten (3 Points)

• K Brad Craddock, Maryland
• P Peter Mortell, Minnesota
• Ret. Will Likely, Maryland*

4. Big 12 (2 Points)

• K Josh Lambert, West Virginia
• P Trevor Pardula, Kansas
• Ret. Tyreek Hill, Oklahoma State

5. SEC (1 Point)

• K Austin MacGinnis, Kentucky
• P JK Scott, Alabama
• Ret. Marcus Murphy, Missouri

Yup. Utah's special teams were that good. Before (and after) his memorable gaffe against Oregon, Kaelin Clay was the best punt returner in college football, and Andy Phillips and Tom Hackett could make a case for being the best kicker and punter, respectively.

Also note that All-SEC kicker Austin MacGinnis is a freshman who went 21-of-27 on field goals. A conference famous—or infamous—for having questionable special teams lived up to its billing this season.

*The Big Ten doesn't list an all-conference kick returner, but Will Likely, who doubled as a first-team cornerback, is a logical candidate to fill the void.

Overall Standings and Playoff Seeds

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1. Pac-12

• Offensive Backfield (4)
• Receivers and Tight End (3)
• Offensive Line (4)
• Defensive Line (5)
• Linebackers (3)
• Secondary (2)
• Specialists (5)
• TOTAL (26)

2. ACC

• Offensive Backfield (3)
• Receivers and Tight End (5)
• Offensive Line (2)
• Defensive Line (1)
• Linebackers (5)
• Secondary (4)
• Specialists (4)
• TOTAL (24)

3. SEC

• Offensive Backfield (2)
• Receivers and Tight End (2)
• Offensive Line (5)
• Defensive Line (3)
• Linebackers (2)
• Secondary (5)
• Specialists (1)
• TOTAL (20)

4. Big Ten

• Offensive Backfield (5)
• Receivers and Tight End (1)
• Offensive Line (3)
• Defensive Line (4)
• Linebackers (1)
• Secondary (2)
• Specialists (3)
• TOTAL (19)

5. Big 12

• Offensive Backfield (1)
• Receivers and Tight End (4)
• Offensive Line (1)
• Defensive Line (2)
• Linebackers (4)
• Secondary (2)
• Specialists (2)
• TOTAL (16)

Sorry, Big 12.

It happened again.

It wasn't on purpose, it just…happened.

Perhaps we needed more Texans on the committee.

Playoff Prediction

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Rose Bowl: (1) Pac-12 vs. (4) Big Ten

The Pac-12 could hide its biggest defensive weakness, a good-but-not-great secondary, against a below-par group of Big Ten receivers. Then it could use its dominant defensive line to make the Big Ten media regret leaving Michigan State tackle Jack Conklin off the first team.

He is the best pass blocker in the conference. 

On the other side of the ball, the Big Ten would get some pressure on Marcus Mariota with its all-world pass rush. But Mariota is the hardest quarterback in the country to contain. He already proved against one of the best Big Ten defensive lines (Michigan State) that he can turn a game upside down with his escapability.

Projected Winner: Pac-12 

Sugar Bowl: (2) ACC vs. (3) SEC

The SEC ranks worse than but matches up well against the ACC.

It would own the trenches against an All-Clemson and -Florida State defensive line that is good but far from great, likely finding some success on the ground. The ACC's linebackers, though, would do a good job cleaning up on Cameron Arits-Payne and Nick Chubb, limiting highlight yardage once they broke though the line.

The other side of the ball would be strength vs. strength with the ACC's receivers going against the SEC's secondary. The difference might be the ACC's balance. The thunder-and-lightning backfield of Duke Johnson and James Conner would provide a nice complement to Jameis Winston and his deep cast of pass-catchers.

Ultimately, I predict this game would end in fitting fashion. Tied in the fourth quarter, the SEC misses a field goal that would have given it the lead. Winston drives the ACC down the field, and Roberto Aguayo wins it with a 48-yarder as time expires.

Projected Winner: ACC

CFP National Championship: (1) Pac-12 vs. (2) ACC

All roads lead to Mariota vs. Winston—real and hypothetical.

In a matchup of mostly even teams, I think that would prove decisive. Winston has thrown 17 interceptions on his past 422 attempts. Mariota has thrown seven interceptions on his past 945 (!!!) attempts.

ACC safeties Jalen Ramsey and Gerod Holliman thrive at causing chaos. But Mariota thrives at avoiding chaos. And without forcing turnovers, that ACC secondary goes from great to very good.

The Pac-12 front seven would also find success against a decent-but-not-great ACC offensive line. According to Christian Caple of the Tacoma News Tribune, six members of the Pac-12 front seven (everyone except Shaq Thompson) landed on the first or second All-America teams at USA Today. Six out of seven! That is 86 percent.

All Mariota Everything.

Projected Winner: Pac-12