BCS National Championship: Will Oregon Vs. Auburn Tell Us About Pac-10 Vs. SEC?
The BCS Championship game will decide who the best team in the country is.
The Auburn Tigers of the SEC and the Oregon Ducks of the PAC-10 are both undefeated on the season.
The winner of the championship game will be the only team left in the country that can say they did not lose a game in the college football season.
There will be no question as to who the best team is, but will it tell us who the best college football conference is?
SEC Dominance?
1 of 10
Fans of the Pac-10 will call it an east coast bias, but as of right now the SEC is seemingly the best conference.
With Auburn going to the championship game, it marks the fifth straight time that an SEC team is playing for the national championship.
So what ways can we compare these two conferences to determine if the outcome of this game will matter?
Here is a look at some of the differences, comparisons and similarities between these two conferences that could change with the outcome of this game.
SEC Vs. Pac-10
2 of 10
How about using the records of the two conference in head-to-head meetings?
The SEC leads the Pac-10 62-39-5 (.608). However, over the past 12 years (1998 - 2009), the Pac-10 actually leads the SEC 11-9 (.550).
This does not include this year and actually can be twisted to provide a better record depending on the time frame that is used and the source.
For example the above record comes from the SEC Sports fan.
A Pac-10 Fan would be quick to note that the Pac-10 has had the upper hand in head-to-head matchups, winning 12 of the last 21 matchups between the two conferences dating back to 2000.
ESPN mentions that Oregon, UCLA and USC are 11-0 against the SEC since the start of the 2000 season.
Since 1992 the SEC and the Pac-10 have played one another 25 times. The Pac-10 has won 13 of those meetings and the only one this year.
This could go on all day.
So let's set aside the records from the past and look at things that play a role with this year.
Coach of the Year
3 of 10
Some would argue that the best coach of the year will be from the best conference in the country.
If that is the case, than the best conference in the country is the Pac-10. That is because the AP Coach of the Year was announced and Oregon’s Chip Kelly won the award.
Kelly led the Oregon Ducks to the National Championship in just his second year with the Ducks and beat out an SEC coach for the award.
Kelly received 24 votes from the 60-member AP football poll panel to beat out Gene Chizik of Auburn, by a seven vote margin.
If that does not make the difference in the best conference, what about the best football player?
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Cam Newton Wins the Heisman
4 of 10
The Heisman ceremony had no suspense as it was obvious that the best player in the country is Auburn quarterback Cameron Newton.
He spent most of the year surrounded by controversy, but always emerged looking better than ever with his spectacular play on the field. Although several voters removed him from the ballot, Newton won in a landslide.
In the process he beat two candidates from the Pac-10 in quarterback Andrew Luck from Stanford, and running back LaMichael James from Oregon.
Is the argument that Newton won the award so the SEC is the better conference, or that the Pac-10 had two representatives in the voting, so they are better?
Of course most people would argue that this voting is bogus and not relevant to what conference is the best. So then what about the BCS Rankings?
BCS Standings
5 of 10
The current BCS Standings has the Auburn Tigers ranked No. 1, closely followed by the Oregon Ducks at No. 2.
These teams have both swapped positions in the poll throughout the year but let’s look at how the rest of the conference fares.
The next highest ranked team is the Stanford Cardinal out of the Pac-10 coming in at the No. 4 spot. If both Oregon and Stanford win their respective bowl games the Pac-10 could have two teams in the top three in the final BCS standings.
The SEC rounds out the top 10 with Arkansas at No. 8 and quickly follows up with LSU at No. 11.
The SEC has more teams in the top 25, but the Pac-10 has two teams in the top five.
The BCS Standings is one of the most confusing processes in college football, so it’s hard to use these standings to determine the best conference in the country.
Strength of Schedule
6 of 10
I hate this stat. Although it may have some validity in determining what kind of trek a team had to make during the season, it does not mean another team is not as good because they faced a weaker opponent.
It can also be manipulated in different formats to fit your argument. This is the trump card of the BCS backers that like the polls and not the playoffs because it always starts an argument.
For example in 2010 the Pac-10 had a stronger out of conference schedule when looking at ranked opponents. That makes sense and looks formidable, but that whole concept is based on teams that are ranked in the top 25 which in turn is based on voters.
So let’s throw this stat out the window and just look at the teams. For the record Auburn did not play in the Pac-10 this year and Oregon trounced the Volunteers on the road 48-13.
Moving On
7 of 10
So let’s throw the history out and instead look to forward to the big game and why it should be the only determining factor in deciding what conference is the best.
The reasons why the BCS National Championship game should decide the best conference are far more concrete than basing it off awards, rankings or history.
The Two Best Teams in Each Conference
8 of 10
The BCS Championship game is not only pitting the best teams in the country together but they are putting the best teams in each conference against one another.
Oregon is the champion of the Pac-10 and easily defeated all of the opposition. The only game that was close was when they went on the road to face California. If the Pac-10 was going to choose a representative to play one game to decide what the best conference in the country is, Oregon would be that team.
Auburn is the SEC champion and although they had some close games, they showed an uncanny ability to come back from any deficit in any location. Quarterback Cam newton is arguably the best player in college football and if the SEC were to choose a team to represent the conference it would be Auburn.
Intangibles
9 of 10
This one will be highly debated but the Tigers and the Ducks are the two most exciting teams in football.
Oregon boasts a high octane offense with play-makers at more than one possession. The Ducks posted more than 50 points in six games on the season and is hard for any defense to contain.
The Tigers have one of the best rushing attacks in all of football. They can run against anyone in the country and have an underrated defense.
This game will have two of the best coaches in football and two (if not more) of the best players in football.
Let the Game Decide the Best Conference
10 of 10
It’s not fair to say the winner of the championship game should decide what conference is the best, but why not?
After all everything else that is discussed here and in other articles is pure speculation and based on individual performance or scenarios.
Everyone in college football is always demanding a playoff to determine what team is the best, well now we have it.
The winner of the BCS National Championship Game will decide the best team and the best conference in the country, the Pac-10 or the SEC.
Auburn Tigers vs. Oregon Ducks, winner takes all.
Matt Regaw is a B/R Featured Columnist and the founder of BookieBlitz.com, your one-stop shop for sports articles, previews and predictions. Feel free to contact Matt at mregaw@gmail.com.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
