I thought it might be interesting to consider how the conferences fared during the bowl season, not just on W-L records but also expectations v. reality.....Here's my take on things for the P5 conferences other than the SEC, which is so dominant it has separated itself from comparison....
In looking at this I use the following point system:
+1 Win
+2 Impressive Win
-1 Loss
-2 Bad Loss
I'm treating each bowl game equally. I also realize I could factor in 'bad wins' (Pitt over E. Michigan) and 'good losses' (IU v. Tenn), but i want to keep it simple.
I. Big 10.......4-5 overall
--MSU W v. Wake 27-21.....+1
--Iowa W v. USC 49-24.......+2
--PSU W v. Memphis 53-39....+2
--OSU L v. Clemson.....-1
--ILL L v. CAL 35-20....-2
--MICH L v. Bama 35-16....-2
--MINN W v. Auburn 31-24....+2
--WIS L v. Oregon 28-27.....-1
--IU L v. TENN 23-22....-1
Big 10 points.....0
One thing Delany has done in setting up the BIG 10 Bowl schedule is to have Big 10 teams "play up" in nearly every game.....thus you have games like Michigan-Bama and IU-Tennessee, where lesser talented teams are playing better teams AND playing them in hostile stadiums. Makes things interesting but tough for Big 10 teams.....I think this year BT teams fared fairly well on the field if not on the SB, and very easily could have been 7-2 (IU, WIS, OSU), which would have been an outstanding outcome.
II. ACC.......4-7 overall
--Miami L v. L. Tech 14-0.....-2
--Pitt W v. E. Michigan....+1
--NC W v. Temple 55-13....+2
--Wake L v. MSU 27-21....-1
--Clemson W v. OSU 29-23....+1
--Clemson L v. LSU 42-25.....-2
--Virginia L v. Florida 36-28....-1
--VT L v. UK 37-30.....-1
--FSU L v. ASU 20 -14...-1
--BC L. v. Cincy 38-6....-2
ACC points.....-6
In contrast to the BT, the ACC teams generally schedule even or down in their bowl games. NC's win over Temple and Miami's loss v. L. Tech were the extremes. The ACC was really bad this year and did not surprise in the bowls.
III. PAC 12.......4-3 overall
--WASH W v. Boise St. 38-7....+2
--USC L v. Iowa 49-24......-2
--WSU L v. AF 31-21....-1
--CAL W v. ILL 35-20.....+2
--ASU W v. FSU 20-14....+1
--Utah L v. Texas 38-10....-2
--Oregon W. v. WIS 28-27....+1
Pac 12 points.....+1
Overall a good showing....big win v. BSU.....huge loss to Texas
IV. Big 12.....1-5 overall
--OK ST L 24-21 v. A&M.....-1
--Iowa St. L 33-9 v. ND...-2
--OK L 63-28 v. LSU....-2
--KSU L 20-17 v. Navy....-1
--Texas W v. Utah 38-10.....+2
--Baylor L v. GA 26-14.....-1
Big 12 points.....-7
Overall a disaster, but no shockers except the size of Texas' win v. Utah.
Overall conclusions....BT appears to have separated itself from the ACC and the Big 12, but the Pac 12 remains competitive overall despite having fewer fans and less $....and that's with USC & UCLA being down..........the gulf between the SEC and BT is probably wider than that between the BT and the ACC & Big 12. One thing that must be emphasized in comparing bowl results is that the SEC almost always have the home field advantage v. the BT......I believe the BT would reverse its fortunes with SEC teams if the bowls were played outside in the cold NFL-style......
Thoughts?
In looking at this I use the following point system:
+1 Win
+2 Impressive Win
-1 Loss
-2 Bad Loss
I'm treating each bowl game equally. I also realize I could factor in 'bad wins' (Pitt over E. Michigan) and 'good losses' (IU v. Tenn), but i want to keep it simple.
I. Big 10.......4-5 overall
--MSU W v. Wake 27-21.....+1
--Iowa W v. USC 49-24.......+2
--PSU W v. Memphis 53-39....+2
--OSU L v. Clemson.....-1
--ILL L v. CAL 35-20....-2
--MICH L v. Bama 35-16....-2
--MINN W v. Auburn 31-24....+2
--WIS L v. Oregon 28-27.....-1
--IU L v. TENN 23-22....-1
Big 10 points.....0
One thing Delany has done in setting up the BIG 10 Bowl schedule is to have Big 10 teams "play up" in nearly every game.....thus you have games like Michigan-Bama and IU-Tennessee, where lesser talented teams are playing better teams AND playing them in hostile stadiums. Makes things interesting but tough for Big 10 teams.....I think this year BT teams fared fairly well on the field if not on the SB, and very easily could have been 7-2 (IU, WIS, OSU), which would have been an outstanding outcome.
II. ACC.......4-7 overall
--Miami L v. L. Tech 14-0.....-2
--Pitt W v. E. Michigan....+1
--NC W v. Temple 55-13....+2
--Wake L v. MSU 27-21....-1
--Clemson W v. OSU 29-23....+1
--Clemson L v. LSU 42-25.....-2
--Virginia L v. Florida 36-28....-1
--VT L v. UK 37-30.....-1
--FSU L v. ASU 20 -14...-1
--BC L. v. Cincy 38-6....-2
ACC points.....-6
In contrast to the BT, the ACC teams generally schedule even or down in their bowl games. NC's win over Temple and Miami's loss v. L. Tech were the extremes. The ACC was really bad this year and did not surprise in the bowls.
III. PAC 12.......4-3 overall
--WASH W v. Boise St. 38-7....+2
--USC L v. Iowa 49-24......-2
--WSU L v. AF 31-21....-1
--CAL W v. ILL 35-20.....+2
--ASU W v. FSU 20-14....+1
--Utah L v. Texas 38-10....-2
--Oregon W. v. WIS 28-27....+1
Pac 12 points.....+1
Overall a good showing....big win v. BSU.....huge loss to Texas
IV. Big 12.....1-5 overall
--OK ST L 24-21 v. A&M.....-1
--Iowa St. L 33-9 v. ND...-2
--OK L 63-28 v. LSU....-2
--KSU L 20-17 v. Navy....-1
--Texas W v. Utah 38-10.....+2
--Baylor L v. GA 26-14.....-1
Big 12 points.....-7
Overall a disaster, but no shockers except the size of Texas' win v. Utah.
Overall conclusions....BT appears to have separated itself from the ACC and the Big 12, but the Pac 12 remains competitive overall despite having fewer fans and less $....and that's with USC & UCLA being down..........the gulf between the SEC and BT is probably wider than that between the BT and the ACC & Big 12. One thing that must be emphasized in comparing bowl results is that the SEC almost always have the home field advantage v. the BT......I believe the BT would reverse its fortunes with SEC teams if the bowls were played outside in the cold NFL-style......
Thoughts?