Conference power rankings: Week #2

Leading in to the season there were more questions surrounding which conferences deserved BCS bids than ever before.

The Mountain West, many said, should take the Big East’s place and earn an automatic bid for its conference champion.

Well, after two weeks things have changed. The Big Ten is still the Big Ten — just not good enough in big games. The ACC dropped two games to D-1AA teams as well as losing marquee matchups as well.

With what I’ve seen so far, this is how the conferences match up against each other after two weeks.

#1: SEC

Status: STEADY

With four teams in the top 10, including the nation’s No. 1 team in Florida, it’s hard for anyone to argue that the SEC is the country’s top conference. Florida, No. 4 Alabama, No. 5 Ole Miss and No. 9 LSU are all in the top 10 in the latest AP poll.

Add to that No. 23 Georgia and you’ve got a solid top five.

Auburn deserves a look as well, being 2-0 under new head coach Gene Chizik.

When you evaluate a conference’s power, you have to consider the conference as a whole.  As a whole, from top to bottom, there’s no other conference in the nation that’s better than the SEC.

#2: Big 12

Status: STEADY

Oklahoma’s loss of Sam Bradford against BYU hurt not only the Sooners, but the conference as a whole. Oklahoma is now No. 12, far behind No. 2 Texas.

Even though the Sooners weren’t doing much offensively against BYU before Bradford got hurt, you’ve got to imagine that his presence would have likely pulled out a win with an extra half of football to play. Nevertheless, they lost and dropped in the rankings.

Texas wears the conference’s fate on its shoulders this year. Behind the Longhorns and Sooners are No. 16 Oklahoma St., No. 19 Nebraska and No. 22 Kansas.

It’s hard to figure out how strong Oklahoma St. is after losing at home to Houston. Nebraska seems to be on its way up and the Jayhawks frankly still have a lot to prove with two wins over clearly inferior opponents (Northern Colorado and UTEP).

There are more questions revolving around this conference, which places the Big 12 below the SEC. However, depth with teams like Baylor and Texas Tech gives it a clear advantage over No. 3 in the power rankings thus far.

#3: Pac 10

Status: RISING

This one might come off controversial, but as a whole the Pac 10 has been outstanding in Weeks 1 and 2.

No. 3 USC is coming off a statement win at Ohio State. Add to that the steady and dynamic offensive/defensive approach from No. 8 Cal — 111 points in two games — and you’ve got possibly the strongest top two teams of any conference.

But where the Pac 10 strives is its depth. You’ve got a wealth of other 2-0 teams — Arizona, Oregon St., UCLA.

The Bruins win at Tennessee was another statement for the conference. Stanford is 1-0 in the conference and Oregon, despite the chaotic start, always has the potential to win any game.

#4: ACC

Status: SHAKY

Being No. 4 is nothing to have pride over for the ACC. From #3 down the rankings are a jumble.

The ACC has four teams — No. 13 Virginia Tech, No. 14 Georgia Tech, No. 20 Miami and No. 24 North Carolina — that are GOOD. The problem is, there is not one GREAT team in the conference. Someone has to separate itself from the pack and its a mystery as to who that team might be.

Often a conference has to prove itself in non-conference play. The Hokies failed to do that in Week 1 against Alabama — the marquee non-conference game for the ACC.

Miami beat Florida St. in Week 1, but no one really knows if Florida St. is any good.  Or the Canes for that matter.

The ACC must have a team pull away for any type of conference supremacy. The depth is there but it needs a clear-cut star.

#5: Big East

Status: RISING

Going under the radar for most of the opening weeks has been the Big East. The respect has been unidentified as well.

Cincinnati quickly proved it’s a powerful squad as well, moving up to No. 17 in two weeks and piling up 117 points.

Pitt is right behind the Bearcats, putting up 92 points. Granted, both teams have played rather inferior opponents. But they did what they were supposed to do — earn convincing wins.

The Big East as a whole is 11-4 in two weeks. Each team seems to be moving along quite convincingly, deserving some respect.

In comparison, no Big East team has lost surprising non-conference games like Michigan States, Virginia and Duke all have. That’s why this conference is on the rise.

Watch out for Pitt, West Virginia and South Florida, which are all knocking on the door to break in to the top 25. Preseason rankings are the reason none of these teams are ranked just yet.

This might be the year the Big East silences all the critics.

#6: Big Ten

Status: FALLING

This conference has failed almost every test so far this year.

No. 5 Penn State is now considered the marquee team for the Big Ten. After wins over Akron and Syracuse at home, I’m not so sure that they’ve proved anything so far.

No. 11 Ohio State had to beat USC at home to save the conference. All the Buckeyes did was show that they still can’t close the big games. Losing at home to USC was a huge loss for the conference.

Then there’s No. 25 Michigan, which beat Notre Dame at home in Week 2. It was a big win for the program and the conference, but we need to reevaluate what we think about Notre Dame so far. The Irish didn’t prove anything in beating Nevada. The media will always want to crown the Irish because they are who they are.

The fact is, it’s just too early to tell whether Michigan’s win was a quality one or not. It’s also too early to tell how good or bad Notre Dame is. With both coming off losing seasons in 2008, I’m not ready to crown either as elite just yet.

And let’s face it, Michigan State’s loss to Central Michigan hurt. So did Illinois’ loss to Missouri and Iowa’s near loss at home to Northern Iowa — both in Week 1.

#7: Mountain West

Status: STEADY

The Mountain West is top heavy, no doubt about it. However, for the time being the top of the the conference is only surpassed by the SEC, Big 12 and Pac 10.

No. 7 BYU, No. 15 TCU and No. 18 Utah get it done. Colorado St. has been a good surprise for the conference with a 2-0 start, which helps.

The problem is, BYU, TCU and Utah all benefit from beating up on everyone else. I’m convinced that every other conference previously listed has more power overall than Air Force, San Diego St., UNLV, Wyoming and New Mexico.

By the end of the year either one of the top three teams will prove superior and win out — likely BYU — or they’ll all beat up on each other and be ranked in the teens come season’s end.

Either way, the winner will have an inflated record. I’m not dishing a BCS bid to this conference yet.

–

Chris | TBP