Conference Power Rankings (Oct. 2)
Your conference is not very good.
Does not matter who, because no conference has not exhibited greatness worthy of a No. 1 ranking after just five weeks of play.
The truth of the matter is that most college football teams are not very good at this point in the season. There is very little from five weeks that can be drawn to determine overall status in the hierarchy of college football. Right now every team has flaws and weaknesses, some greater than others. No teams are meeting expectations right now, because even at Alabama the expectations are not met until there is a crystal ball above Nick Saban's head.
Because conferences are filled with teams, and most teams are not very good - your conference is not very good.
There are two sets of rankings that matter for the 2012 football season - 1) the BCS rankings to determine the title game participants and 2) the final polls. They matter because they are calculated after 3+ months of action on the field; after the good teams have separated themselves.
So in this the Hate Week edition of the Conference Power Rankings, where I give you the team(s) to blame for your conference's ranking. I actually wanted to start the rankings at No. 2 (I don't think anyone deserves No. 1 yet), but that idea was not well-received. Enjoy your undeserved No. 1, SEC.
| Conference Power Rankings | |||
| 1 |  SEC (previous: 2) | Top 25 Teams: 6 (both polls) Nonconference record (vs. FBS): 21-8 Nonconference record (Total): 29-8 Cumulative ATS record: 30-34-1 Team to Blame: Arkansas. In addition to being disappointments in the normal record books, they haven't covered a single point spread all season. I consider that a repeated failure to meet or exceed expectations. SEC Power Rankings | |
| 2 |  Big 12 (previous: 1) | Top 25 Teams: AP: 5, Coaches: 6 Nonconference record (vs. FBS): 17-3 Nonconference record (Total): 26-3 Cumulative ATS record: 22-17 Team to Blame: Oklahoma. Unless West Virginia or Kansas State survive a few weeks of undefeated Big 12 play, the league has no representative in the BCS title discussion. Both teams can be, but they are still considered long shots by most. Big 12 Power Rankings | |
| 3 |  Pac-12 (previous: 3) | Top 25 Teams: AP: 6, Coaches: 4 Nonconference record (vs. FBS): 16-8 Nonconference record (Total): 23-9 Cumulative ATS record: 23-30-1 Team to Blame: Southern California, Utah, Cal, Washington State. Oregon State - one of the pleasant surprises of 2012 - is keeping this conference in the Top 3 Pac-12 Power Rankings | |
| 4 |  Big Ten (previous: 4) | Top 25 Teams: 3 (both polls) Nonconference record (vs. FBS): 25-13 Nonconference record (Total): 33-10 Cumulative ATS record: 27-30 Team to Blame: Wisconsin. The Leaders was there for the taking, but now the division is led by teams that cannot compete in the postseason. Big Ten Power Rankings | |
| 5 |  Big East (previous: T-5) | Top 25 Teams: AP: 2, Coaches: 3 Nonconference record (vs. FBS): 12-9 Nonconference record (Total): 19-10 Cumulative ATS record:14-18-1 Team to Blame: South Florida. Week 5 is always about the time the Bulls make everyone eat their "conference title contender" words. Big East Power Rankings | |
| 6 |  ACC (previous: T-5) | Top 25 Teams: 2 Nonconference record (vs. FBS): 13-12 Nonconference record (Total): 26-12 Cumulative ATS record:25-31-2 Team to Blame: Virginia Tech. Their second loss this season to a Big East team brought the head-to-head to 4-3 in favor of the Big East. Now all the ACC can do is hope for a Miami win against USF for the 4-4 split. ACC Power Rankings | |
| 7 |  Mountain West (previous: 9) | Top 25 Teams: AP: 0, Coaches: 1 Nonconference record (vs. FBS): 9-18 Nonconference record (Total): 15-21 Cumulative ATS record: 24-22 Team to Blame: Boise State. Dropped from the AP poll after Week 5's narrow victory over New Mexico. More performances like that - even in wins - could get them bumped from the Coaches' Poll as well. | |
| 8 |  WAC (previous: 10) | Top 25 Teams: 0 Nonconference record (vs. FBS): 12-11 Nonconference record (Total): 19-12 Cumulative ATS record: 22-9 Team to Blame: Idaho? I don't know, hard to pin blame on the last seven members of a soon-to-be dissolved FBS football conference. Louisiana Tech should be ranked soon, which will help boost the WAC's stock. | |
| 9 |  Sun Belt (previous: 8) | Top 25 Teams: 0 Nonconference record (vs. FBS): 9-17 Nonconference record (Total): 15-18 Cumulative ATS record: 28-14 Team to Blame: The schedule making administrators. The Sun Belt and the WAC have far exceeded expectations, but a 9-17 record against FBS competition does not deserve a high ranking. Even in my twisted world of upsets and against-the-spread calculations, it just won't cut it. | |
| 10 |  MAC (previous: 7) | Top 25 Teams: 0 Nonconference record (vs. FBS): 11-21 Nonconference record (Total): 21-22 Cumulative ATS record: 31-30 Team to Blame: Eastern Michigan. Can't blame UMass just yet, they just showed up to the FBS party. MAC isn't really the "second worst" conference, they just are the fourth "third tier" conference this week. | |
| 11 |  C-USA (previous: 11) | Top 25 Teams: 0 Nonconference record (vs. FBS): 5-31 Nonconference record (Total): 9-32 Cumulative ATS record: 21-30-2 Team to Blame: Mostly Houston and Southern Miss. All of conference's teams deserve blame, but those two teams won their division in 2011 and have not bounced back since losing their head coaches in the offseason. | |
Got beef? Let us know in the comment section below or hit us up on Twitter @EyeOnCFB! or Facebook.
Keep up with the latest college football news from around the country. From the opening kick of the year all the way through the offseason, CBSSports.com has you covered with this daily newsletter. View a preview.
Get CBSSports.com College Football updates on Facebook
