Good article from Mark Schlabach of ESPN. In his article Ranking the conferences for 2010, he lists his top 10 college football conferences. Not surprisingly he lists Southeastern Conference as number one. Who can argue that with Alabama and a still potent Florida Gator teams leading the way.
Schlabach seems to rank the conferences by weighing how deep each conference is, which is quite reasonable in my opinion. His list looks like this.
1. SEC
2. Big Ten
3. Big 12
4. Pac 10
5. ACC
6. Big East
7. Mountain West
8. WAC
9. Conference USA
10. MAC
How would I rank the conferences at this time? I really can't disagree much with Schlabach. I think he's pretty much spot on.
1. SEC
Alabama is a legit national title threat. Florida is a top 10 team. LSU, UGA, Auburn and South Carolina could all be top 25 teams. Every team in the SEC including Vanderbilt has bowl potential.
2. Big 10
The BIg 10 is awfully close to the SEC. Ohio State and Iowa are capable of making a run for the national title. Wisconsin and Penn State are New Years day type bowl teams. Usually a Minnesota or a Michigan State turns out better than expected. Where's Michigan? Just thought I'd ask.
3. Big 12
This isn't a typical Big 12 year. There isn't a team that looks like it can win the national championship. Texas has the most potential. I think conference will be very balanced though. Nebraska will be tough and Oklahoma will be solid.
4. ACC
I like the ACC a little higher than Schlabach. Virginia Tech will be very good. Georgia Tech, UNC, Miami, and FSU are top 25 caliber teams. Clemson and BC have potential as well. Non conference games with the likes of LSU, Ohio State, Boise St, and Auburn will prove alot.
5. Pac 10
I don't see a dominant team in the Pac 10. Oregon has had a terrible off-season. USC is talented, but unproven, and overrated Lane Kiffen is their coach. Oregon St is decent and has the Rogers brothers on offense. After Stanford, the conference looks pretty mediocre. The Washington schools have been awful in recently.
6. Big East
I debated putting the Big East behind Mountain West, I'm not saying the Big East is weak as much as I'm saying the Mountain West is actually pretty good. The Big East has as many as 6 teams that can potentially win the conference and that's why I give them the edge. Syracuse has been one of Division 1 worst teams the last few years.
7. Mountain West
Utah, and TCU have proven they can beat anyone in the country. BYU has been solid in recent years and they did beat Oklahoma last year. Air Force is respectable every year.
8. WAC
Boise St. alone puts the WAC above the last two conferences on the list. They are a top 5 team this year. They have a monster matchup with Virginia Tech to start the year. Fresno St has a handful of good non-conference wins, but under Pat Hill they've never got over the hump the way I expected.
9. Conference USA
Probably the most underrated conference in the country. East Carolina came within an eyelash of beating SEC team Arkansas last year in the Liberty Bowl. Southern Mississippi is never that bad, and Houston features Heisman Trophy candidate Case Keenum. Air Force though smacked Houston around in their bowl game last year.
10. MAC
I almost put the Sun Belt here, but their bottom teams North Texas and Western Kentucky were horrible last season. QB Dan LeFevour is gone from Central Michigan. They've been the MAC's most consistent winner. Is it time for Temple to step up?
