I ran across some very interesting statistics the other day and I wanted to share those results with you today to show why the SEC has been and is the best football conference in the country. Notice I said football, ACC fans. I will admit that you may have the edge when it comes to roundball but we’re catching up there, too.
First of all, congratulations to Auburn. Their successful season last year pushed them over 700 all-time wins, making them the 13th program in the country to accumulate this lofty achievement.
Who are the other 12? Before you read ahead, take a minute and make a guess. All right, here’s the list in order of total wins: Michigan, Texas, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State, Oklahoma, Alabama, Tennessee, Southern Cal, Georgia, LSU, and now, Auburn. That’s a pretty good start- five out of thirteen with no other conference having more than three and that’s if you count Penn State in the Big 10 (or is it 11 or 12 or 13) since they played an independent schedule until a few years ago.
But here’s where it really gets interesting. Let’s take those 13 teams that have more than 700 wins and see how they have done against the Top 30 teams in the nation in total wins. First off, which of the 13 have played the most games against the Top 30? The answer is, Georgia, with 598 games followed closely by the new member, Auburn. Alabama, is next with 528 and LSU is fourth with 445. Tennessee comes in sixth. So, five out of the top six spots go to SEC teams.
OK — you say. How do those totals compare to their total games played? Or put another way, how many of Georgia’s total games played were played against Top 30 teams, for example? The answer is 50.8%, ranking them second behind Auburn’s 51.5%. Again, Alabama is third; LSU is fourth; and Tennessee is sixth. Michigan and Ohio State, who rank first and fifth in total wins come in 12th and 13th, respectively in this category.
Perhaps, the reason the totals for the SEC teams are so much higher than the other teams with 700 wins is that we’re playing top caliber teams year after year within our own conference- teams that are in the Top 30 echelon. Florida, Arkansas, and Ole Miss, along with the five listed above are also in the Top 30. So, don’t let me hear the grumbling that SEC teams play so many patsies. Those totals tell a different story.
It is one thing to play a Top 30 team, but the crucial aspect is how many of them did you win? Here, again, the statistics don’t lie. All right Tigers, or War Eagles, or Plainsmen or whatever you are this week, here’s your chance to brag.
Auburn leads the way with 305 wins, one more than Georgia and Alabama at 304. Tennessee is seventh and LSU is ninth. Once again, the teams from the other conferences don’t stack up as well as the SEC.
What do those wins by the 700-win club against Top 30 teams look like on a percentage basis versus total games played? I’m glad you asked. Again, Auburn leads the way at 43%. Georgia is second at 41.2%; Alabama third at 37.9%; LSU at 28.7% is sixth; and Tennessee comes in ninth at 27%.
I’m sure the skeptics out there are still questioning the mighty SEC. Well, let’s look at how the major conferences do in bowl games. I think you’d have to agree that, most of the time, the bowl games pit a pretty good team against another pretty good team.
Well, we used to be able to say that until there became such a glut of bowl games that many undeserving teams play now; but for argument sake, let’s see those totals.
The SEC has played in a total of 368 bowl games and has won 201, a winning percentage of .546. No other conference is above .500.
Here are the other majors with total bowl games on the left and wins on the right:
Big 10 224 104
Pac 10 218 107
Big 12 108 52
ACC 182 88
To be fair, it should be noted that the Big 10, for many years, only allowed one team to play in a bowl with the conference winner going to the Rose Bowl, so their win total might be higher if other qualified Big 10 teams had played in bowl games. That is, unless, they played an SEC team. The Big 10’s record against SEC teams is well below .500. Just ask Ohio State.
The SEC has won more National Championships, with 19, than any other conference and since the BCS has come into existence, the SEC has won seven championships. That’s more than all the other conferences put together. As they say, statistics don’t lie and I think the ones presented here make a clear case that year in, year out, the SEC is the strongest, toughest, and most difficult conference to play in. So, for you diehard mid-westerners who think the Big 10 is supreme or bragging Texas or Oklahoma fans who tout the Big 12, forget it! The SEC is the best.
A couple of weeks ago I ran a column about the death of Duke Snider and in the column I referred to the song by Terry Cashman, Talkin’ Baseball, which refers to the great centerfield tandem of Willie, Mickey, and The Duke.
I was pleased to see that the Hall of Fame also recognizes the importance of this song to the game of baseball as they did last year with John Fogerty’s, Centerfield, by honoring it this year and including it at Cooperstown. Congratulations Mr. Cashman!
Randy Blalock is a columnist for The Barrow Journal. Send comments about this column to rblalock@mindspring.com.
