places everyone

Top 25

1. LSU +1
2. Georgia +2
3. USC+3
4. Missouri +3
5. Ohio State -4
6. West Virginia +5
7. Kansas +1
8. Oklahoma -5
9. Virginia Tech -4
10. Texas +7
11. Boston Co +3
12. Tennessee +4
13. Florida -4
14. BYU +5
15. Auburn +7
16. Arizona St -4
17. Cincinnati +3
18. Michigan -NR
19. Hawaii -9
20. Illinois -7
21. Clemson -6
22. Texas Tech -NR
23. Oregon NR
24. Wisconsin -6
25. Oregon St -NR

Conference Standings (according to AP standing unless noted)
Conference, Top 25 Teams, Points, +/- week previous, add or drop
SEC – 5 (87) +9 drop: Arkansas
Big 12 – 5 (79) +10 add: Texas Tech
Pac 10 – 4 (37) +3 add: Oregon, Oregon State
Big Ten – 4 (37) -9 add: Michigan
ACC – 3 (37) -12 drop: Virginia
Big East – 2 (29) +5 drop: South Florida
Mountain – 1 (12) +5
WAC – 1 (7) -11 drop: Boise State
Conf USA – 0 (0)
MAC – 0 (0)
Sun - 0 (0)

Conference Bowl Record
Conf Wins Losses Total Percentage
SEC 7 2 9 0.778
12 5 3 8 0.625
PAC 4 2 6 0.667
10 3 5 8 0.375
ACC 2 6 8 0.250
BE 3 2 5 0.600
MW 4 1 4 0.750
WAC 1 3 5 0.400
USA 2 4 6 0.333
MAC 0 3 3 0.000
SUN 1 0 1 1.000
Ind 0 1 1 0.000
Total 32 32 64 0.500



The college football season is officially over. LSU won the national championship. LSU beat Ohio State 38-24. Although Ohio State came out with a ten point lead, LSU scored the next thirty-one points. Ouch! Because I am a Michigan fan, I don’t like Ohio State. Although, I do like Ohio State to win, it makes a Michigan win all that much more impressive. Plus, it makes the Big Ten Conference look good. However, Ohio State lost and the Big Ten had another losing bowl season.

There is a lot of conference talk that goes on in college football. Who is the best conference? Who has the worst conference? And of course debate over all the other conferences. I find all the conference talk interesting. I like to see the Big Ten win and (for the most part) the MAC win. Much of this is because I like to see teams from the Midwest win. The Midwest isn’t seen as progressive. It doesn’t have any East Coast or West Coast appeal to it. It’s seen as plain, normal, and cold. So, to see something succeed in the Midwest and stand out is important to all the other stereotypes. Well, the Big Ten went 3-5 in bowls this year. The MAC went 0-3. Not much to cheer for.

Although this bowl season was not great it did lead to a few good games and some interesting statistics. With such a crazy season, the bowl season was a disappointment with its normalcy. Conference dominance was normal. The SEC and Big 12 dominated. The SEC record was 7-2, while the Big 12 was 5-3. Surprising though was the PAC 10 surge in the bowls and in the overall place in the conference standings moving from fifth to third. Although the PAC 10, Big 10, and ACC all tied, the PAC 10 was ruled third from the tie breaker. (The PAC 10 and Big 10 had four teams in the top 25 compared to the ACC with three. The PAC 10 not also went up in points with the Big 10 losing points, but the PAC 10 had a higher seed in #3 USC over #5 Ohio State.) The bottom conferences are intriguing to me.

The MAC sent three teams to the bowls. Losing all three. The Sun Belt Conference only sent one team, but won. Although the MAC has been better in the past, (hence why they have three bowls to their credit) over the past few years have played horribly, showing no signs of having a top 25 team. Maybe the Sun Belt and MAC could split between the four bowls with two teams each.

Conference USA had six teams in bowls with a 2-4 record. Although Conference USA showed sparks of goodness with Central Florida this year, the only bowl victory that is worth mentioning is East Carolina over Boise State. Although Conference USA had no teams in the top 25 they had more bowl games than both the Mountain West Conference and the WAC Conference which both have a team in the top 25 and showed better in the bowls. Especially the Mountain West with a 3-1 record. Conference USA had more teams play in bowls because they had more teams .500 or better with six, compared to the Mountain West with four, and the WAC with five.

So what about the Mountain West and WAC? Fresno State beat Georgia Tech for the WACs one-and-only win. The WACs’ best team, Hawaii, played Georgia. It was however a blowout win for Georgia. Hawaii, along with the rest of the conference didn’t live up to its hype (with exception of Fresno State). The Mountain West showed that they can win, with wins against UCLA, Navy, Nevada (a shut-out), and Houston. Air Force, the second place team in the Mountain West, was the only loss - to California.

The Big East continues to show that it can win at bowls while the ACC had a horrible 2-6 record. The Big Ten while only having a 3-5 record continues to be placed in bowls where they are huge underdogs. Much of this placement is set up from conferences having connections with specific bowls.

I would have like to see the PAC 10 play the SEC in a bowl. It didn’t happen this year. The Big East didn’t play anyone in the SEC either. The ACC and Big Ten continue to have problems with the SEC.

Overall, the SEC and Big 12 showed their dominance in the conference standings. While the PAC 10, Big 10, and ACC weighed out the middle, the Big East was not far behind, especially with West Virginia. The Mountain West and WAC conference continue to show greatness in an overall mediocre conference. Conference USA, the MAC, and the Sun Belt continue to bring up the rear for the Conference standings - with no sign of life.