SI.com 2003 College Football Preview



   

Power shift

As conference landscape changes, so does balance of power

Posted: Sunday August 03, 2003 7:47 PM

  Chris Myers Miami's and Virginia Tech's defections from the Big East will make the ACC the nation's most powerful conference. Andy Lyons/Getty Images

By Stewart Mandel, SI.com

College football's conference landscape has changed dramatically since the beginning of the 1990s. With changing addresses also comes a change in the balance of power.

Below, SI.com uses a statistical evaluation to compare the game's power structure in 1990 -- the year before the inception of the Big East, the first of many conference changes -- to that expected in 2004, when Miami and Virginia Tech move to the ACC.

A conference was awarded points for each of its teams' finishes in the AP Top 25 poll* -- 25 for No. 1, 24 for No. 2, 23 for No. 3, etc. -- during the five-year periods immediately prior to the two aforementioned dates (1986-90 and 1998-02). This method presumes that, with rare exception (see Notre Dame), a school's accomplishments from more than five years ago hold little sway over recruits, television networks and bowl games. Therefore, in the eyes of this formula, a team that has gone more than five years without appearing in the polls does not contribute to its conference's prestige.

There is also, not unexpectedly, a substantial drop-off from the BCS conferences to the non-BCS conferences. While not representative of their competitiveness on the field, few would disagree with the reality of this disparity in terms of power held within the sport.

* -- For 1986-88, when AP still used a Top 20 poll, points were awarded to the top five teams in the "others receiving votes" category.

1990
 Conference Rankings  Pts.
 1  SEC  266
 2  Southern Independents  247
 3  Big 8  219
 4  Eastern Independents  211
 5  Big Ten  199
 6  Pac-10  187
 7  Southwest Conference  160
 8  ACC  113
 9  WAC  16
 10  Big West  4
 11  MAC  0
2004
 Conference Rankings  Pts.
 1  ACC  336
 2  SEC  327
 3  Big 12  322
 4  Big Ten  278
 5  Pac-10  206
 6  Conference USA  48
 7  Big East  26
 8  Mountain West  26
 9  Independents  24
 10  MAC  21
 11  WAC  11
 12  Sun Belt  0
 ACC  Pts.
 1  Clemson  71
 2  Georgia Tech  24
 3  Virginia  11
 4  N.C. State  7
 5  Duke  0
 5  Maryland  0
 5  North Carolina  0
 5  Wake Forest  0
   TOTAL  113
 ACC  Pts.
 1  Miami*  90
 2  Florida State  85
 3  Virginia Tech*  63
 4  Georgia Tech  34
 5  Maryland  28
 6  N.C. State  14
 7  Virginia  12
 8  Clemson  10
 9  Duke  0
 9  North Carolina  0
 9  Wake Forest  0
   TOTAL  336
 Big 8  Pts.
 1  Nebraska  74
 2  Oklahoma  67
 3  Colorado  48
 4  Oklahoma State  30
 5  Iowa State  0
 5  Kansas  0
 5  Kansas State  0
 5  Missouri  0
   TOTAL  219
 Big 12  Pts.
 1  Kansas State  72
 2  Texas  71
 3  Nebraska  66
 4  Oklahoma  66
 5  Colorado  23
 6  Texas A&M  18
 7  Missouri  5
 8  Iowa State  1
 9  Kansas  0
 9  Oklahoma State  0
 9  Texas Tech  0
 9  Baylor  0
   TOTAL  322
 Big Ten  Pts.
 1  Michigan  85
 2  Michigan State  38
 3  Iowa  28
 4  Ohio State  21
 5  Illinois  17
 6  Indiana  10
 7  Minnesota  0
 7  Northwestern  0
 7  Purdue  0
 7  Wisconsin  0
   TOTAL  199
 Big Ten  Pts.
 1  Michigan  73
 2  Ohio State  49
 3  Wisconsin  45
 4  Penn State  34
 5  Michigan State  19
 6  Iowa  18
 7  Illinois  16
 8  Purdue  16
 9  Minnesota  8
 10  Indiana  0
 10  Northwestern  0
   TOTAL  278
 Big West  Pts.
 1  San Jose State  4
 2  Cal State-Fullerton  0
 2  Fresno State  0
 2  Long Beach State  0
 2  New Mexico State  0
 2  Pacific  0
 2  UNLV  0
 2  Utah State  0
   TOTAL  4
 Sun Belt  Pts.
 -  Arkansas State  0
 -  Idaho  0
 -  Louisiana-Lafayette  0
 -  Louisiana-Monroe  0
 -  Middle Tennessee St.  0
 -  North Texas  0
 -  New Mexico State  0
 -  Troy State  0
 -  Utah State*  0
   TOTAL  0
 Eastern Independents  Pts.
 1  Notre Dame  78
 2  Penn State  53
 3  Syracuse  35
 4  West Virginia  26
 5  Pittsburgh  12
 6  Boston College  7
 7  Akron  0
 7  Army  0
 7  Cincinnati  0
 7  Navy  0
 7  Northern Illinois  0
 7  Rutgers  0
 7  Temple  0
   TOTAL  211
 Big East  Pts.
 1  Syracuse  13
 2  Pittsburgh  7
 3  Boston College  5
 4  West Virginia  1
 5  Connecticut*  0
 5  Rutgers  0
 5  Temple  0
   TOTAL  26
 MAC  Pts.
 -  Ball State  0
 -  Bowling Green  0
 -  Central Michigan  0
 -  Eastern Michigan  0
 -  Kent State  0
 -  Miami of Ohio  0
 -  Ohio  0
 -  Toledo  0
 -  Western Michigan  0
   TOTAL  0
 MAC  Pts.
 1  Marshall  18
 2  Toledo  3
 3  Akron  0
 3  Ball State  0
 3  Buffalo  0
 3  Bowling Green  0
 3  Central Michigan  0
 3  Eastern Michigan  0
 3  Kent State  0
 3  Miami of Ohio  0
 3  Northern Illinois  0
 3  Ohio  0
 3  UCF  0
 3  Western Michigan  0
   TOTAL  21
 Pac-10  Pts.
 1  USC  51
 2  UCLA  49
 3  Washington  32
 4  Arizona State  28
 5  Arizona  16
 6  Washington State  10
 7  Stanford  1
 8  Cal  0
 8  Oregon  0
 8  Oregon State  0
   TOTAL  187
 Pac-10  Pts.
 1  Oregon  50
 2  Washington State  32
 3  Washington  30
 4  USC  22
 4  Oregon State  22
 4  Arizona  22
 7  UCLA  18
 8  Stanford  10
 9  Arizona State  0
 9  California  0
   TOTAL  206
 SEC  Pts.
 1  Auburn  84
 2  Tennessee  51
 3  LSU  44
 4  Alabama  43
 5  Georgia  26
 6  Florida  13
 7  Ole Miss  5
 8  Kentucky  0
 8  Mississippi State  0
 8  Vanderbilt  0
   TOTAL  266
 SEC  Pts.
 1  Florida  74
 2  Tennessee  64
 3  Georgia  55
 4  Alabama  33
 5  LSU  23
 6  South Carolina  20
 6  Auburn  20
 8  Arkansas  19
 9  Mississippi State  15
 10  Ole Miss  4
 11  Kentucky  0
 12  Vanderbilt  0
   TOTAL  327
 Southern Independents  Pts.
 1  Miami  121
 2  Florida State  97
 3  Louisville  12
 4  South Carolina  11
 5  Virginia Tech  6
 6  Arkansas State  0
 6  East Carolina  0
 6  Louisiana-Lafayette  0
 6  Louisiana Tech  0
 6  Memphis  0
 6  Southern Miss  0
 6  Tulane  0
 6  Tulsa  0
   TOTAL  247
 Conference USA  Pts.
 1  Tulane  19
 2  Southern Miss  12
 3  Louisville  9
 4  TCU  8
 5  Army  0
 5  Cincinnati  0
 5  East Carolina  0
 5  Houston  0
 5  Memphis  0
 5  South Florida  0
 5  UAB  0
   TOTAL  48
 Southwest Conference  Pts.
 1  Texas A&M  46
 2  Arkansas  38
 3  Houston  36
 4  Texas  19
 5  Baylor  14
 6  Texas Tech  7
 7  Rice  0
 7  SMU  0
 7  TCU  0
   TOTAL  160
 WAC  Pts.
 1  Boise State  11
 2  Fresno State  0
 2  Hawaii  0
 2  Louisiana Tech  0
 2  Nevada  0
 2  Rice  0
 2  San Jose State  0
 2  SMU  0
 2  Tulsa  0
 2  UTEP  0
   TOTAL  11
 WAC  Pts.
 1  BYU  10
 2  Wyoming  6
 3  Air Force  0
 3  Colorado State  0
 3  Hawaii  0
 3  New Mexico  0
 3  San Diego State  0
 3  Utah  0
 3  UTEP  0
   TOTAL  16
 Mountain West  Pts.
 1  Air Force  13
 2  Colorado State  12
 3  BYU  1
 4  New Mexico  0
 4  San Diego State  0
 4  UNLV  0
 4  Utah  0
 4  Wyoming  0
   TOTAL  26
 
 Independents  Pts.
 1  Notre Dame  24
 2  Navy  0
 2  Florida A&M*  0
   TOTAL  24
* - Begins conference play in 2004.

 
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