Pac 10 versus the SEC "a bet has been launched"

by Steve Hofford
(Cincinnati, OH)

I'm a football fan who wants to settle the debate of which conference is better. We all know the PAC 10 over the last ten years has a higher winning percentage and that last year the SEC won bragging rights. This year I challenged two guys in Memphis who think the only fair way is the final standings and I disagree. I suggested the below bet and they countered back. I know I'm in SEC territory but read on and give us your opinion.

PAC TEN FAN "I will concede that the SEC faired better than the PAC 10 in ’07 in overall record and bowl appearances etc. I don’t recall that the debate was solely on the ’07 season but be that as it may this is a new season. To the victor go the spoils.

I propose the loser or losers of this season must sing the opponents favorite PAC 10 or SEC teams fight song prefaced by statement acknowledging the other conferences superiority and wear a shirt hat or button displaying the team chosen when in the presence of the winners. The rules need to be established now however. I suggest the following."

Head to head match ups count for two points for a victory. “This includes Bowl games.”

Victory or defeat over a team that also faced a SEC team or PAC Ten team count as 1 point for a victory when the other conference lost. A win and a win or a loss and a loss are a draw. “This includes Bowl games.”

The Final average rankings for the schedule strength count as a point for the winner
Final ranking average for BSC count as a point.

The SEC fans said "I am up for a bet. Not smart enough to calculate which conference is the best. The goal is not to grade head to head competition. An example is UCLA vs. TN. What does that prove? It proves UCLA beat a bad TN, not the strength of the conference. What if USC played Arkansas that again proves nothing? Let take the BCS final year standings for the teams in the conference, assign a negative value to the final rankings, add the number and see who has the highest number. Best conference wins."

My response was WHIMPS- Nothing shows the superiority better than head to head combat! An SEC team beating a PAC ten team is in your face bragging rights and visa versa. So what if USC kicked their rear end. Pre-season Tenn. was ranked 18th and USC 3rd.and USC won. Georgia was ranked #1 and Arizona State was ranked 15th and Georgia beat ASU.

And when it gets down to bowl games you don’t want to rank potential face to face games with more value? I’m not afraid of it and one more thing, since the PAC 10 and SEC only play maybe two games this year against each other the real tell tale sign is when an SEC team plays a team the PAC ten played and vice-versa. What are you guys afraid of?

By the way BCS final rankings is important but the final power ratings in addition to the above criteria will help capture the total strength of the entire conference.

Oh and by the way the loser buys their own hats and stuff.