With the first publication of the BCS standings this weekend, it has once again become apparent that the SEC is far and away the best conference in the land. When Les Miles called some members of the Pac-10 “juggernauts” before the season it was in jest, trying to point out that his LSU tigers were going to play a much harder conference schedule. He was right. The BCS standings have seven SEC teams in the top 25, by far the most of any conference. The Big-12 is second with four.
Perhaps more impressively is the how favorably the computers look at the top of the SEC. Three of the four best teams in the conference get big boosts by the computer rankings. LSU, South Carolina, and Kentucky are rated fifth, eighth, and 13th by the coaches, but second, third, and fourth by the computers. Auburn also receives a big boost improving from 19th in the human polls to 17th in the BCS based on a ranking of 12 in the computers. These rankings are based more on strength of schedule than anything else, proving that when objectively looking at the best teams in the country, the SEC sticks out.
The Pac-10 looked early on to be the SEC's biggest competition for the title of top conference, with USC, Cal, and Oregon all playing well, but all three have lost lately and as opposed to the SEC, the computers do not look kindly on these west coast teams. Despite all three being in the top 10 of the Harris and Coaches polls, none cracks the top 12 in the computer rankings.
These early rankings should give hope to the top squads in the SEC that the season is not over. Clearly a one loss SEC team would be taken over one loss teams from anywhere else and perhaps over an undefeated team. LSU, UK, and USC should all be taken seriously as not only conference champs, but as potential national champs.
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