Last Saturday, I watched Arizona, which finished 2-7 in the Pac-12 last year, crush defending Big 12 champion Oklahoma State by three touchdowns.
On Monday, I was asked to write that the Pac-12 is the second-best conference — behind, of course, the SEC — ahead of the Big 12.
This isn’t the hardest mission I’ve ever had. And I feel bad for Big 12 blogger David Ubben.
Let’s start with what should matter most: the resume. As in: What have you done this season?
The Pac-12 is 6-1 against other BCS conference teams. Three of those victories came against then-ranked teams: Oregon State held defending Big Ten champion and 13th-ranked Wisconsin to 207 total yards in a 10-7 victory, the UCLA rushed for 653 yards in a 36-30 victory over No. 16 Nebraska. and those Wildcats beat the No. 18 Cowboys 59-38.
Note: These Pac-12 winners are not expected to finish atop the conference. It’s the middle class.
Really, we could stop there. No need to mention the wins against Illinois (Arizona State), Syracuse (USC) and Duke (Stanford).
Of course, there’s a counterargument in favor of the Big 12. They beat ranked teams too, right?
No. Zero. The Big 12 doesn’t play that kind of schedule, as Ubben observed here:
Kansas State whipped rebuilding Miami — an impressive performance, yes — and Iowa State beat what looks like a dismal Iowa team. That’s it for the BCS conference teams.
Oh, Kansas State could have played Oregon in a home-and-home series in 2011-12. But the Mildcats ran away like a scared kitten.
Meow.
So in terms of actual football there is no debate. The Pac-12 is the most successful league so far.
Then there are the elite. Although both conferences currently have five ranked teams, you check off two ranked Pac-12 teams — No. 2 USC and No. 4 Oregon — before arriving at a Big 12 team.
We can all agree that USC or Oregon would take any Big 12 team to the woodshed, right? GOOD. Glad you’re not venturing down unrealistic paths just for the sake of false rhetoric. I mean, really, would you rather have Oklahoma or USC try to win the SEC national title, knowing that a seventh straight title would make our southern friends even more insufferable?
Now, to be fair, you could make the “depth” argument in favor of the Big 12: Oklahoma, West Virginia, Texas, Kansas State and TCU are undoubtedly quality programs . And Baylor recovered, as did Iowa State. That leaves only mediocre-to-bad Texas Tech and Kansas, your doormat, Colorado’s equivalent in the Pac-12.
Cough cough. I bet you miss the Buffaloes.
But in terms of on-field accomplishments and multiple elite teams, the Pac-12 shines. And so this is the conference that will knock off the SEC in the national title game on Jan. 7 and inspire sighs of relief nationally.
