Conference Rankings by the Experts

[Rockerbraves]

Ok the results of the grandaddy of all polls has been released and we have read numerous opinions by all of us "wannabe experts", so now let's see which conference the REAL "so called experts" think is the best in the nation. Not surprising the experts agree.

 

CBS college football analyst Gary Danielson knows a thing or two about conference debates. During last season's SEC championship game, he argued Florida, not Michigan, deserved a spot opposite Ohio State in the BCS title game. His argument was largely on the strength of the SEC vs. the Big Ten, and it created more than a few elevated heart rates in the Midwest.

 

"When people talk about which conference is best, they are usually just giving opinions and not really much else," Danielson said. "You have to put pencil to paper and really look at it. But you know what? When you do that, it gets even harder. It is really splitting hairs."

 

After giving my opinion over the first two months of the season on this topic, I decided to let a national panel of experts split the hairs this week, ranking the six BCS conferences. Assembled for this exercise are Danielson and Spencer Tillman (CBS), Mark Schlabach (ESPN), Tom Dienhart (Sporting News), Dan Wetzel (Yahoo! Sports), Mitch Light (Athlon Sports), Pete Fiutak (CollegeFootballNews.com) and Chris Dufresne (Los Angeles Times).

 

Each submitted a list and explained their thought process, and as you can see in the graphic, the SEC was unanimously named the nation's top conference. Here is every individual ballot and commentary:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writ...ings/index.html

 

Conference Clout

The combined BCS conference rankings of eight experts

Conference Points

1. SEC (8) 48

2. Pac-10 36

3. Big 12 31

4. ACC 20

5. Big Ten 17

6. Big East 16

 

** First place votes in parenthesis.

** Six points for each first place vote, five for second, etc.

** The Big 12, Big Ten and ACC were all given 3 points on Gary Danielson's ballot since he had them on the same 'tier'.

Edited November 9, 2007 by Rockerbraves

[Bushey]

Ok the results of the grandaddy of all polls has been released and we have read numerous opinions by all of us "wannabe experts", so now let's see which conference the REAL "so called experts" think is the best in the nation. Not surprising the experts agree.

 

CBS college football analyst Gary Danielson knows a thing or two about conference debates. During last season's SEC championship game, he argued Florida, not Michigan, deserved a spot opposite Ohio State in the BCS title game. His argument was largely on the strength of the SEC vs. the Big Ten, and it created more than a few elevated heart rates in the Midwest.

 

"When people talk about which conference is best, they are usually just giving opinions and not really much else," Danielson said. "You have to put pencil to paper and really look at it. But you know what? When you do that, it gets even harder. It is really splitting hairs."

 

After giving my opinion over the first two months of the season on this topic, I decided to let a national panel of experts split the hairs this week, ranking the six BCS conferences. Assembled for this exercise are Danielson and Spencer Tillman (CBS), Mark Schlabach (ESPN), Tom Dienhart (Sporting News), Dan Wetzel (Yahoo! Sports), Mitch Light (Athlon Sports), Pete Fiutak (CollegeFootballNews.com) and Chris Dufresne (Los Angeles Times).

 

Each submitted a list and explained their thought process, and as you can see in the graphic, the SEC was unanimously named the nation's top conference. Here is every individual ballot and commentary:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writ...ings/index.html

 

Conference Clout

The combined BCS conference rankings of eight experts

Conference Points

1. SEC (8) 48

2. Pac-10 36

3. Big 12 31

4. ACC 20

5. Big Ten 17

6. Big East 16

 

** First place votes in parenthesis.

** Six points for each first place vote, five for second, etc.

** The Big 12, Big Ten and ACC were all given 3 points on Gary Danielson's ballot since he had them on the same 'tier'.

 

 

Now if only these geniuses can figure out how to design a tournament.

[Rockerbraves]

Now if only these geniuses can figure out how to design a tournament.

Beleive it or not your glorious Rose Bowl is perhaps the main reason why we don't have a playoff today.

 

The Rose Bowl TV contract is negotiated separately from the rest of the BCS contract, which gives the Big Ten, Pac-10 and Rose Bowl valuable leverage if they oppose a move by the other BCS partners such as the adoption of a playoff.

 

Citing estimates that the BCS would generate 30 percent more money if it adopted the Plus-One model, Delany (Big 10 commissioner) said the risk doing so outweighs the potential reward. At least for now. "I would guess someday there would be a playoff," he said. "Someday."

 

Delany warned the one plus model would lead to a full-blown playoff and declared the Big Ten would abandon its BCS partners if they adopted such a system.

 

But for those who expect Delany to cave in to public pressure anytime soon, he cites an important aspect of the latest contract he helped broker between the Rose Bowl and ABC that officially begins this year. "We have an eight-year agreement with ABC in the Rose Bowl," he said. "So that speaks for itself."

 

That will give Delany, the Pac-10 and the Rose Bowl leverage to fight any move toward a playoff until 2014.

 

Until then, Delany sounds braced for the battle against Paterno, Carr, Florida's president and the growing public support for a college football playoff. It's a fight that might determine just how powerful Jim Delany is, and a fight he intends to win.

 

"Jim' Delany is very influential and the Big Ten is influential. And I think if they decided a playoff was the right thing, they would be very, very persuasive.'' – Dick Schultz, former NCAA executive director

 

That's one reason playoff advocates have ventured to Big Ten headquarters and trotted out plan after plan, all of which Delany has sacked. Never mind that a playoff is used to determine the football champion in Division I-AA, Division II and Division III, not to mention every other sport sanctioned by the NCAA. Never mind that the president of the University of Florida has vowed to press the issue with his colleagues.

 

"Don't be totally shocked if in a year or two or three Delany and these people reverse field and they said we've decided to bow to the public and do the playoff. If the money is there.'' – Murray Sperber, former English professor at the Indiana University and a notorious critic of the ills in college sports

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/news?slug=jo...o&type=lgns

Edited November 10, 2007 by Rockerbraves