Bcs Conference Call

The Pac-10 may be closing the gap, but from top to bottom the SEC can't be beat. And, oh, how the Big Ten has fallen

SEC
Kathy Miles recently presented her husband, Les, with a gag gift—a hat that says PAC-10 RULES. Not quite. After last weekend—Kentucky knocked off No. 9 Louisville, Florida hung 59 points on Tennessee, and LSU blanked Middle Tennessee 44--0 (the same Blue Raiders squad that gave Louisville all it could handle)—the SEC rules.

PAC-10
With marquee wins over the SEC (Cal 45, Tennessee 31), Big Ten ( Oregon 39, Michigan 7) and Big 12 ( USC 49, Nebraska 31), the so-called finesse league is clearly on the rise. Three weekend losses—Washington to Ohio State, UCLA to Utah, Arizona to New Mexico—undermined the claim on Miles's new hat.

BIG EAST
Even with Louisville's defeat by Kentucky, this arriviste conference had three very strong weeks. West Virginia is a bona fide national title contender. Rutgers' worst enemy is its student section. With an OT win at Auburn, South Florida owns the league's most impressive victory.

BIG 12
With five ranked teams, it's not fair to call it Oklahoma and the 11 Dwarfs, but none of the others are in the Sooners' class. Texas isn't as good as its No. 7 ranking. Nebraska was exposed by USC. Texas A&M was lucky to beat Fresno State in OT. Missouri scores points in bunches but has serious issues on defense.

ACC
Virginia Tech was flat-out embarrassed at LSU. Nor did Miami, in losing by 38 at Oklahoma, do the ACC any favors. Tom O'Brien kicked off his N.C. State tenure with a loss to Central Florida. Silver lining: Boston College's 24--10 win at Georgia Tech, driven by Matt Ryan's 435 passing yards, was one of the week's best showings.

BIG TEN
Michigan finally got over its Carr-sickness, plucking the wings off helpless Notre Dame. Bad news: That modest uptick was offset by humiliations galore: Iowa lost at Iowa State, Minnesota at Florida Atlantic, and Northwestern to Duke, snapping at 22 games the nation's longest losing streak.