One Last Set of Conference Rankings prior to bowl season.
Let me point out on my philosophy on these rankings – your most recent OOC results count a lot, and you’ll see me reference that throughout the season.
We’ll give each conference a relative strength value 1-10.
Let me explain my relative rankings
0-5 : Conference lacks depth no elite teams
6-7: Conference lacks depth, and there are 1-2 elite teams, and 1-2 quality teams
7-8: At least 2 elite teams, and at least 2 quality teams.
8-9: 3 elite teams, and at least 2 quality teams
9-10: 1/2 of conference is elite and/or quality teams.
1) Big 10 – 7.7
The Big 10 was great in the regular season. Ohio State made the playoffs, and Penn State and Michigan were close. Wisconsin was also a strong. The Big 10 had 4 legit top 10 teams, as the season came to a close. By the way I have no problem with Ohio State making the playoff over Big 10 champ Penn State. Penn State had a near 40 point loss to Michigan and lost to Pittsburgh. Overcoming both was too much.
Ohio State should have been in the playoffs, but they should have been ranked #4. They still didn’t win their conference.
Playoff Contenders
Ohio State
In the Playoff Picture
NONE
2) ACC – 7.4
Clemson made the playoffs by winning the ACC Championship over Virginia Tech. Despite Louisville’s late season swoon, the ACC had 3 top 15 teams- Clemson, FSU and Louisville. Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh finished the year in top 25 of the College Football Playoff rankings.
That was 5 ranked teams – tied for most of any conference.
Playoff Contenders
Clemson
In the Playoff Picture
NONE
3) Pac 12 – 7.2
Washington will represent the Pac 12 in the playoffs after defeating Colorado in the Pac 12 Championship Game. The Pac 12 came on strong at the end of the year, and had 3 top 10 teams – Washington, USC, and Colorado. Stanford and Utah also finished the regular season ranked.
Playoff Contenders
Washington
In the Playoff Picture
NONE
4) Alabama/SEC – 6.7
It was just a rotten year for the SEC outside of Alabama. The Tide cruised into the playoffs as the number 1 seed, but the rest of the conference was a disappointment. The conference had 2 top 15 teams – Alabama and Auburn.
Tennessee and LSU also finished the year ranked, but the SEC trailed the ACC and Pac 12 in that category. The SEC needs a good bowl season to restore some of it’s damaged reputation.
Playoff Contenders
Alabama
In the Playoff Picture
NONE
5) Big 12 – 5.6
It was just a disaster of a season for the Big 12. Oklahoma finished the season as the Big 12’s best team, but poor OOC results for conference limited the Sooner’s ceiling.
West Virginia and Oklahoma State were good teams, but the rest of the conference was a mess. This is second time in three years that the Big 12 will miss the playoffs. The Big 12 is the only Power 5 conference that in the first 3 years of the playoff era that will be without a playoff win. This conference is reeling right now reputation wise.
Playoff Contenders
NONE
In the Playoff Picture
NONE
The Rest
There were no games outside the Power 5, that have any bearing on the playoff chase.
Playoff Contenders
NONE
In the Playoff Picture
NONE
My Current Playoff Teams
As my personal criticism of the playoff committee, I don’t think the top 4 seeds order should be released until the final rankings. The playoff committee’s inconsistent and ever changing criteria is causing unnecessary frustration and confusion. It’s one of the improvement points I’d have for them.
If I had a vote this is who I would put in the playoff and how I’d rank them.
In – 1) Alabama 2) Clemson 3) Washington 4) Ohio State
Just Missed – 5) Penn State 6) Michigan 7) Oklahoma 8) Wisconsin
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