Best conference: Three weeks in, is the Big Twelve better than the SEC?

The Big Twelve conference might not be around much longer, but early in the 2011 college football season it's fair to ask if it might be the best conference.

The last several years that honor has gone to the SEC, and last year the closest competitor was the Pac-10 (now the Pac-12). But as of right now, the Big Twelve has the best record in non-conference games, going 23-2 to the SEC's 22-4.

That doesn't tell the whole story, so let's dig deeper. (Unlike most articles which start with a conclusion they try to prove, I'm doing the research as I write this article, so I haven't formed an opinion yet. By the time I'm done writing, I might have a position to defend.)

Looking at all the leagues' non-conference records, we find the following:

1. Big Twelve: 23-2 (92%)
2. SEC: 22-4 (84.6%)
3. ACC: 19-7 (73.1%)
4. Big Ten: 26-10 (72.2%)
5. Big East: 16-7 (69.6%)
6. MWC: 12-6 (66.7%)
7. Pac-12: 20-11 (64.5%)
8. C-USA: 13-12 (52%)
9. MAC: 14-18 (43.8%)
10. WAC: 6-14 (30.0%)
11. Sun Belt: 6-16 (27.3%)

As mentioned, pure win/loss doesn't tell us everything, but the Big Twelve and SEC are so far ahead—and the SEC for so many years recognized as the toughest league—that we can probably save some time and just focus on those two from now on. Note that the Boise-less WAC is giving the Sun Belt a run for its money as the worst conference.

First let's filter out all games against I-AA (FCS) opponents.

The Big Twelve was 6-0 against the FCS, but with wildly disparate results:

• Texas Tech beat Texas State 50-10
• Iowa State beat Northern Iowa just 20-10
• Baylor beat Stephen F Austin 48-0
• Kansas State beat Eastern Kentucky just 10-7
• Missouri beat Western Illinois 69-0
• Kansas beat McNeese State 42-24

The SEC was also 6-0 against FCS teams, but had no close calls:

• Vanderbilt beat Elon 45-14
• Tennessee beat Montana 42-16
• Georgia beat Coastal Carolina 59-0
• LSU beat Northwestern State 49-3
• Arkansas beat Missouri State 51-7
• Mississippi beat Southern Illinois 42-24

So that means against strictly FBS teams, the Big Twelve was 17-2 (89.5%) and the SEC 16-4 (80%). Round Two to the Big Twelve, but let's keep going.

Now we'll look at wins over BCS conference teams. We'll also note top 25 teams that aren't BCS teams.

• Oklahoma State beat Arizona 37-14
• Texas beat UCLA 49-20
• Iowa State beat Iowa 44-41 3OT
• Iowa State beat UConn 24-20
• ***Baylor beat TCU, 50-48***
• Oklahoma beat FSU, 23-13

So that's 5 BCS teams, plus an additional top 25 teams. The SEC:

• Vanderbilt beat Connecticut 24-21
• Tennessee beat Cincinnati 45-23
• LSU beat Oregon 40-27
• Alabama beat Penn State 27-11

The SEC only has 4 BCS wins. LSU's win over Oregon is as impressive as any the Big Twelve had, though Oklahoma beating FSU on the road is close. Alabama was expected to beat Penn State, just as Oklahoma State was picked to beat Arizona. For surprises, Vanderbilt's win over UConn certainly was, but Iowa State beat them, too. Meanwhile Iowa State's win over Iowa, and Baylor's upset of TCU, are impressive skins for the league. A slight edge again for the Big Twelve.

Now the losses. How bad were they, and how do they reflect on the league?

The Big Twelve lost twice:

• Missouri lost at Arizona State (Pac-12) 37-30 in overtime
• Kansas lost at Georgia Tech (ACC) 66-24

Missouri was picked to finish 4th in the Big Twelve and ASU 4th in the Pac-12, so the overtime loss isn't a bad thing for the Big Twelve. At the bottom of the league, however, there's trouble. Georgia Tech's rout makes the very bottom look pretty awful; some already consider Kansas the worst BCS team. Now the SEC:

• Kentucky lost to Louisville 24-17
• Georgia lost to Boise State 35-21
• Auburn lost at Clemson 38-24
• Mississippi lost to BYU 14-13

None of these losses are that bad—not nearly as bad as Kansas' loss—so it's probably safe to assume that every SEC team is better than the worst Big Twelve team. From the top: Kentucky didn't represent the league well by losing at home to a Big East team, but Louisville is a BCS conference team. Georgia lost to a non-BCS team but there's no shame in falling to Boise, even at home. Auburn lost to a middle-of-the-pack ACC team, but the Tigers are probably lower than middle-of-the-pack in the SEC. And Ole Miss blew it against BYU, but Texas only beat the Cougars by a point and they're a middle of the road Big Twelve team while Mississippi is clearly the worst SEC team (having lost to Vanderbilt badly).

In all it's hard to make a definitive judgement (we didn't expect to after just 3 weeks). The Big Twelve has a lot of top 25 contenders—6 teams have been in the top 25 this year—and Iowa State has been surprisingly good. Only Kansas has underperformed dramatically, while Kansas State nearly lost to an FBS team (but recovered to beat Kent State in the same manner Alabama did).

The SEC started the year with 8 top 25 teams and three have fallen out, one due purely to in-conference losses (Mississippi State), and another (Georgia) by losing two games to top ten teams. At the bottom third of the league Tennessee hasn't been bad, Vanderbilt has been very good, Kentucky has been disappointing, and Mississippi looks bad.

What about the very top? It's too early to compare Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas A&M to Alabama, LSU, and South Carolina. In the past few years the Big Twelve has underperformed come bowl season after successful regular seasons, while the top SEC teams have done well.

But right now there's no clear verdict. Just using this year's results, you can't say the SEC looks like the best conference. It's also not possible to conclude that the Big Twelve is clearly better—but based on the evidence after three weeks if we had to choose, the Big Twelve would get the nod by a nose.

There is one interesting game on the horizon: Arkansas vs. Texas A&M on a neutral field on October 1st. The Razorbacks are currently #14 in the AP poll and the Aggies #8. Since the pre-conference season is almost over, we'll have to wait until the bowl season for more interplay between the leagues, but that game might tell us quite a bit. Ultimately, the question might not be settled until the national championship game, which is looking a lot like a meeting between the champion of these two leagues.