Bowl performance by conference
We at Saurian Sagacity have broken down all you need (or want) to know about BCS conference performances in the bowl games. The conferences are ranked by average margin, from best to worst. Also, the number of top 25 AP teams played and defeated is noted.
The Big East in Bowls, from worst to best
Cincinnati 27 - Western Mich 24 +3
West Virginia 38 - Georgia Tech 35 +3
Louisville 24 - Wake Forest 13 +11
South Florida 24 - East Carolina 7 +17
Rutgers 37 - Kansas State 10 +27
Average Margin +12.2
Average Offense 30.0
Average Defense 17.8
Number of top final 25 AP teams played: 1
Number of top final 25 AP teams defeated: 1
Looks impressive, until you consider that of the 5 games, the only game over a top 25 team was Louisville over Wake. Two of the teams faced are not even BCS conferences. Yet, a pretty good year for the Big East.
The SEC in bowls, from worst to best -
Tennessee 10 - Penn State 20 -10
Arkansas 14 - Wisconsin 17 -3
Alabama 31 - Oklahoma St 34 -3
Auburn 17 - Nebraska 14 +3
Georgia 31 - Virginia Tech 24 +7
Kentucky 28 - Clemson 20 +8
South Carolina 44 - Houston 36 +8
LSU 41 - Notre Dame 14 +27
Florida 41 - Ohio State 14 +27
Average Margin +7.1
Average Offense 28.5
Average Defense 21.4
Number of top final 25 AP teams played: 5
Number of top final 25 AP teams defeated: 3
5 of the 9 teams the SEC played were top 25, and 3 of those 5 were wins. Plus, the top 2 teams in the SEC (Florida and LSU) dominated their opponents. A very nice bowl year for the SEC.
The ACC in Bowls, from worst to best
Wake Forest 13 - Louisville 24 -11
Clemson 20 - Kentucky 28 -8
Virginia Tech 24 - Georgia 31 -7
Georgia Tech 35 - West Virginia 38 -3
Boston College 25 - Navy 24 +1
Miami 21 - Nevada 20 +1
Maryland 24 - Purdue 7 +17
FSU 44 - UCLA 27 +17
Average Margin +0.9
Average Offense 25.8
Average Defense 24.9
Number of top final 25 AP teams played: 3
Number of top final 25 AP teams defeated: 0
Not a terrible year for the ACC considering how poorly they were regarded during the regular season. Yet, the only teams the ACC beat in bowls were unranked, dropping all 3 games to ranked teams.
The Pac 10 in Bowls, from worst to best
Oregon 8 - BYU 38 -30
Arizona State 24 - Hawaii 41 -17
UCLA 27 - FSU 44 -17
Oregon St 39 - Missouri 38 +1
USC 32 - Michigan 18 +14
Cal 45 - Texas A&M 10 +35
Average Margin -2.3
Average Offense 29.2
Average Defense 31.5
Number of top final 25 AP teams played: 1
Number of top final 25 AP teams defeated: 1
The powerhouses of the Pac 10 (USC and Cal) came up big. USC’s win was the only ranked team the conference played. The lower tier teams of the conference got spanked however. And by giving up 31.5 points per game, Pac 10 defenses were the worst.
The Big 10 in Bowls, from worst to best
Ohio State 14 - Florida 41 -27
Purdue 7 - Maryland 24 -17
Michigan 18 - USC 32 -14
Minnesota 41 - Texas Tech 44 -3
Iowa 24 - Texas 26 -2
Wisconsin 17 - Arkansas 14 +3
Penn State 20 - Tennessee 10 +10
Average Margin -7.2
Average Offense 20.1
Average Defense 27.3
Number of top final 25 AP teams played: 5
Number of top final 25 AP teams defeated: 2
The Big Ten played as many top 25 teams as the SEC, and in getting 2 of 5 wins, beat SEC teams both times. However, the “elite two” of the conference (Recall the GAME OF THE CENTURY?) got beaten badly. Not a bowl season to remember.
The Big 12 in Bowls, from worst to best
Texas A&M 10 - Cal 45 -35
Kansas St 10 - Rutgers 37 -27
Nebraska 14 - Auburn 17 -3
Oklahoma 42 - Boise St 43 -1
Missouri 38 - Oregon St 39 -1
Texas 26 - Iowa 24 +2
Texas Tech 44 - Minnesota 41 +3
Average Margin -8.8
Average Offense 26.3
Average Defense 35.1
Number of top final 25 AP teams played: 5
Number of top final 25 AP teams defeated: 0
The worst bowl performances overall, with the only 2 wins coming - barely - to the two unranked teams they played. An embarrassment for the conference.
In the various “Bowl Challenges” presented by the networks, conferences seemed to be ranked by either wins or percentage of wins. I think this is misleading, as although the Big East was 5-0, they didn’t play a very challenging bowl schedule.
In our own “Bowl Challenge” we tried to address that by ranking teams within conferences for comparison. As stated, it is a formula we will continue to work on.
For now, you can draw your on conclusions from the above as to the strongest conference in bowls this year.
Mentioned in Austin Murphy's book 
3 comments:
I was hoping for Arkansas to get it's act together and translate yards into points, but it didn't happen.
Next season I'd expect more of the same with the "surprise" team being, don't laugh, Kentucky. Woodsen is an NFL QB and they played a wicked tough schedule this year 3 top 10 teams. I'm looking forward to Saban coaching the 8th best SEC team next season.
I agree on the Kentucky thing, if they can just get any semblance of a defense. I think their offense may be near tops in the league, though.
As for 'Bama, without talent, you have nothing. And unless Saban pulls a recruting miracle, the talent won't be there.
I thought it would be interesting to compare the results versus the BCS final standings as well. There are a few differences:
For the SEC bowl game results, Penn St was not in the BCS final top 25 but Nebraska was, therefore:
Number of top final 25 BCS teams played: 5
Number of top final 25 BCS teams defeated: 4
For the ACC bowl game results, Georgia was not in the BCS final top 25 but UCLA was, therefore:
Number of top final 25 BCS teams played: 3
Number of top final 25 BCS teams defeated: 1
For the PAC 10, one additional opponent, Texas A&M, was in the BCS final 25 rankings, resulting in:
Number of top final 25 BCS teams played: 2
Number of top final 25 BCS teams defeated: 2
The conference results for the Big East, Big 10 and Big 12 were the same for both the BCS and AP final rankings.
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