College football has one Power 5 conference that is better than an NFL division.
The SEC is college football’s crown jewel, while the NFC East is the NFL‘s loathsome burden.
Yes, I am absolutely going there. Through two weeks of SEC-only play, I am certain my favorite Power 5 conference is far superior than whatever we’ve seen out of the NFC East this year. Four SEC teams are undefeated and in the top 15. The Philadelphia Eagles are in first place though four weeks at 1-2-1. That utterly toothless division epitomizes what Jeff Fisher 7-9 B.S. is all about.
Four Power 5 conferences are worse than the NFC East, but one is better.
The first half of the 2020 college football season has not been kind to the Big 12. Having some of its marquee teams lose in non-conference games to Group of 5 teams was a terrible look. To only make matters worse, teams like the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns are losing to teams like the Iowa State Cyclones, the Kansas State Wildcats and the TCU Horned Frogs.
Entering Week 6, the only undefeated team left in the Big 12 is the No. 10 Oklahoma State Cowboys. Though this team may have the talent to win the Big 12 for the first time since 2011, it feels more likely that the Power 5 conference gets left out of the College Football Playoff picture entirely. The conference champion is probably going to the Cotton Bowl Classic this year.
The Pac-12 did nothing except half-ass its schedule release and got rewarded for it. This is the type of mailing-it-in effort that merits another bonus check for league commissioner Larry Scott to cash in. Though they only have one team ranked in the top 25 of the latest AP Poll, the No. 12 Oregon Ducks may be a top-10 team before they even take a snap. Scott must love this so much.
The only reason the Pac-12 is not in the basement this week is because it hasn’t self-destructed on the gridiron quite like the Big 12 has. Oh, we know it’s inevitably coming, but for now, teams like Oregon, the USC Trojans, the Utah Utes and maybe even the Arizona State Sun Devils or the Washington Huskies have a shot at navigating a seven-game conference schedule to perfection.
It’s neck and neck for second and third place. However, there are three reasons why I have the Big Ten in third place this week, as opposed to second like I did a week ago. One, the Big Ten still hasn’t played a game yet, so any team being ranked is strictly based on past reputation. Two, they have the third most teams ranked in the top 10. And three, the bottom of the Big Ten is so awful.
We can expect teams like the Ohio State Buckeyes, the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Wisconsin Badgers to make Midwesterners proud. Perhaps the Michigan Wolverines and the Minnesota Golden Gophers will do the same? But once you get past those five, do you want to put your faith in the Iowa Hawkeyes, the Michigan State Spartans or the Nebraska Cornhuskers?
Coming in at No. 2 this week is the ACC. Though getting the added benefit of having the national independent Notre Dame Fighting Irish factored into their ranking certainly helps, I must give credit to the ACC for having the most top-10 teams in the country with four: The No. 1 Clemson Tigers, No. 5 Notre Dame, the No. 7 Miami Hurricanes and the No. 8 North Carolina Tar Heels.
The signature game this week features No. 7 going to No. 1. The loser won’t drop further than what the Auburn Tigers did from No. 7 to No. 13 this past week. We know Clemson is outstanding. We believe Notre Dame is a top-10 team. We think Miami is back finally. But once you get past those three, how much do you buy into what North Carolina or the Virginia Tech Hokies are selling?
Until proven otherwise, the SEC is in a class of its own in Power 5 college football. Though teams like Clemson, Ohio State or Notre Dame can hold their own against SEC competition, the only real competition from top to bottom for supremacy within the SEC is if it’s better than the atrocious NFC East. Could the Alabama Crimson Tide beat Philadelphia on a neutral site?
Probably not, but the SEC has three of the top four teams in the country in No. 2 Alabama, the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs and the No. 4 Florida Gators. There is a great chance that both teams playing in the 2020 SEC Championship game in Atlanta will be College Football Playoff teams before the title bout even kicks off. The Tennessee Volunteers are making things interesting at No. 14 as well.
Right now, the gap between No. 1 and No. 2 is gaping, as is the gap between No. 3 and No. 4. However, we may see the Big 12 and the Pac-12 duke it out in the Power 5 basement throughout the year, as well as the ACC and the Big Ten fighting for who will be viewed as the second best conference in the Power 5 behind only the juggernaut SEC. What will Week 6’s games bring us?
Alabama may not beat Philadelphia, but the Crimson Tide could so beat the New York Giants.
For more NCAA football news, analysis, opinion and unique coverage by FanSided, including Heisman Trophy and College Football Playoff rankings, be sure to bookmark these pages.