Welcome back, college sports fans, to episode 731 which is all about football conference comparisons. This is something we do at the end of each month. We’ve been talking about taking some of the simplification of how we approach basketball into football in the future, but this is a football thing that we think is needed for basketball. Look for something (combined post? separate for each? would love some feedback on that) in early December.
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This episode is just about football, and we’ve added a little bit of information to the table we used for September. We’ve introduced the Celsius metric, which mirrors our standard Score metric, but eliminates negative values, sets the top team at 100 and the bottom at 0, then standardizes the other teams. It not only is easier to follow (no negative values), but it makes it a little easier to compare teams using a value that makes more sense than 12.21 vs 11.45. On these first two tables we’ve added the mean Celsius for each conference. Let’s look at the FBS first.
| Conference (Teams) | Record | Avg Wins | NC Record | Avg Rank | Avg SOS | Avg Celsius | Best Team | T25/B10 |
| SEC (16) | 82-46 (641) | 5.1 | 38-2 (950) | 35.44 | 30.06 | 73.19 | Alabama (6-2/7) | C4 (8/2) |
| Big Ten (18) | 89-57 (610) | 4.9 | 43-11 (796) | 43.61 | 34.56 | 70.08 | UCLA (8-0/3) | C4 (8/3) |
| Big 12 (16) | 80-48 (625) | 5.0 | 40-8 (833) | 44.81 | 39.69 | 69.89 | Utah (8-0/2) | C4 (5/2) |
| Indies (2) | 11-5 (688) | 5.5 | 11-5 (688) | 48.00 | 91.00 | 71.85 | Notre Dame (7-1/4) | C4 (1/0) G6 (–) |
| ACC (17) | 81-59 (579) | 4.8 | 34-12 (739) | 52.53 | 39.29 | 67.09 | Miami FL (8-0/1) | C4 (3/3) |
| Pac 12 (8) | 32-34 (485) | 4.0 | 15-17 (469) | 95.00 | 83.38 | 51.25 | Boise St (7-1/27) | G6 (4/1) |
| American (14) | 58-55 (513) | 4.1 | 28-25 (528) | 97.57 | 100.64 | 50.36 | Memphis (7-2/42) | G6 (6/2) |
| Sun Belt (14) | 57-57 (500) | 4.1 | 27-27 (500) | 102.50 | 107.64 | 48.74 | James Madison (7-2/41) | G6 (3/2) |
| Mtn West (10) | 40-42 (488) | 4.0 | 17-19 (472) | 103.80 | 101.30 | 49.51 | New Mexico (7-1/33) | G6 (5/2) |
| C-USA (10) | 36-44 (450) | 3.6 | 16-24 (400) | 109.90 | 108.10 | 46.28 | Liberty (7-1/23) | G6 (2/1) |
| MAC (13) | 50-59 (459) | 3.8 | 21-30 (412) | 110.69 | 103.92 | 45.99 | Ohio (6-2/60) | G6 (5/2) |
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With a 38-2 non-conference record, it should be little surprise that the SEC is the overall strongest conference. In an upset-laden year, it is common to see conferences cannibalize themselves as we are seeing across the board. That has already impacted teams that, at one point, looked like locks for the playoffs or bowls. Assuming the feast continues in November, this year will become a war of attrition. How much fun is that?
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Now let’s look at the same information on the FCS. You will notice the Celsius metrics is much lower for these conferences, but that’s to be expected. The Ivy League is at the top, which is somewhat normal, but the biggest surprise in this list is the Big Sky Conference dropping to 5th.
| Conference (Teams) | Record | Avg Wins | NC Record | Avg Rank | Avg SOS | Avg Celsius | Best Team | T25/B10 |
| Ivy League (8) | 33-23 (589) | 4.1 | 17-7 (708) | 161.75 | 240.63 | 30.58 | Harvard (6-1/122) | FCS (2/0) |
| Missouri Valley (9) | 45-37 (549) | 5.0 | 21-13 (618) | 180.00 | 174.11 | 26.13 | Illinois St (7-2/129) | FCS (4/1) |
| UAC (8) | 36-34 (514) | 4.5 | 20-18 (526) | 188.88 | 204.75 | 24.30 | Tarleton (9-0/109) | FCS (2/1) |
| Pioneer (11) | 46-51 (474) | 4.2 | 17-22 (436) | 189.73 | 251.09 | 24.51 | Dayton (7-1/146) | FCS (3/0) |
| Big Sky (13) | 57-62 (479) | 4.4 | 14-19 (424) | 191.23 | 186.54 | 23.89 | Montana St (8-1/99) | FCS (3/2) |
| SoCon (10) | 43-47 (478) | 4.3 | 15-19 (441) | 191.50 | 199.60 | 23.24 | TN Tech (8-1/121) | FCS (3/1) |
| CAA (13) | 52-64 (448) | 4.0 | 18-30 (375) | 201.92 | 200.15 | 21.05 | Albany (6-3/139) | FCS (3/1) |
| Southland (10) | 43-48 (473) | 4.3 | 13-18 (419) | 203.20 | 194.20 | 21.72 | Steph F Austin (9-0/108) | FCS (2/2) |
| Patriot (10) | 39-48 (448) | 3.9 | 10-19 (345) | 204.20 | 197.40 | 21.13 | Lehigh (7-2/125) | FCS (1/0) |
| SWAC (12) | 52-51 (505) | 4.3 | 21-20 (512) | 206.25 | 206.83 | 20.71 | Alabama A&M (7-2/136) | FCS (1/0) |
| MEAC (6) | 29-25 (537) | 4.8 | 23-19 (548) | 207.50 | 208.00 | 20.93 | SC St (7-2/138) | FCS (1/0) |
| BSOV (8) | 29-42 (408) | 3.6 | 13-26 (333) | 214.88 | 169.50 | 18.92 | Gardner Webb (3-6/174) | FCS (0/0) |
| NEC (8) | 24-46 (343) | 3.0 | 8-30 (211) | 225.38 | 187.88 | 15.11 | C Connecticut (5-3/175) | FCS (0/2) |
| FCS Indies (2) | 6-12 (333) | 3.0 | 6-12 (333) | 231.00 | 237.50 | 16.16 | Merrimack (4-5/224) | FCS (0/0) |
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Imbedded in the above tables are the various Top 25 and Bottom 10 lists we are tracking. When we look at the Top 266, the upper teams are almost always Core 4. Sometimes (like right now) there are a couple of G6 teams in the Top 25, but that arbitrary number for all of FBS “hides” a lot of good teams. The FCS does have their own AP Top 25 and it’s only fair that they do in the GCR as well. Here are the Top 25 for each category, side by side for comparison:
| Category Rank | Core 4 | Group of 6 | FCS |
| 1 | Miami FL (ACC) | Liberty (C-USA) | Montana St (Big Sky) |
| 2 | Utah (Big 12) | Boise St (Pac 12) | Steph F Austin (Southland) |
| 3 | UCLA (Big Ten) | New Mexico (Mtn West) | Tarleton (UAC) |
| 4 | Notre Dame (IND) | North Dakota St (Mtn West) | TN Tech (SoCon) |
| 5 | Ohio St (Big Ten) | James Madison (Sun Belt) | Harvard (Ivy) |
| 6 | Wake Forest (ACC) | Memphis (American) | Idaho St (Big Sky) |
| 7 | Alabama (SEC) | UTSA (American) | Lehigh (Patriot) |
| 8 | Indiana (Big Ten) | North Texas (American) | Illinois St (MVC) |
| 9 | Georgia (SEC) | LA Tech (Sun Belt) | South Dakota St (MVC) |
| 10 | LSU (SEC) | South Florida (American) | Chattanooga (SoCon) |
| 11 | Texas Tech (Big 12) | Fresno St (Pac 12) | Alabama A&M (SWAC) |
| 12 | Arizona (Big 12) | Ohio (MAC) | SC St (MEAC) |
| 13 | BYU (Big 12) | Oregon St (Pac 12) | Albany (Coastal) |
| 14 | Mississippi (SEC) | Jax St (C-USA) | Lamar (Southland) |
| 15 | Houston (Big 12) | Toledo (MAC) | South Dakota (MVC) |
| 16 | Texas (SEC) | Air Force (Mtn West) | Austin Peay (UAC) |
| 17 | Kentucky (SEC) | Louisiana (Sun Belt) | Princeton (Ivy) |
| 18 | Northwestern (Big Ten) | UNLV (Mtn West) | Youngstown St (MVC) |
| 19 | Missouri (SEC) | W Michigan (MAC) | Dayton (Pioneer) |
| 20 | Tennessee (SEC) | Army (American) | St Thomas (Pioneer) |
| 21 | Iowa (Big Ten) | Wyoming (Mtn West) | Butler (Pioneer) |
| 22 | Southern Cal (Big Ten) | FAU (American) | Campbell (Coastal) |
| 23 | Oregon (Big Ten) | Texas St (Pac 12) | Mercer (SoCon) |
| 24 | Wisconsin (Big Ten) | Miami OH (MAC) | Montana (Big Sky) |
| 25 | Duke (ACC) | Buffalo (MAC) | Monmouth (Coastal) |
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Sadly, in any ranking, some will settle to the bottom. In the Top 266, every Bottom 10 is an FCS school. But the C4 and G6 both have bad teams. Here is a list of those teams, again side-by-side for comparison, with the worst teams listed first.
| Category Rank | Core 4 | Group of 6 | FCS |
| 10 | Rutgers (Big Ten) | N Illinois (Mtn West) | Murray St (MVC) |
| 9 | Georgia Tech (ACC) | UTEP (Mtn West) | VMI (SoCon) |
| 8 | Maryland (Big Ten) | ULM (Sun Belt) | Hampton (Coastal) |
| 7 | California (ACC) | Charlotte (American) | Wagner (NEC) |
| 6 | Vanderbilt (SEC) | Washington St (Pac 12) | West Georgia (UAC) |
| 5 | Arkansas (SEC) | Sacramento St (MAC) | Mercyhurst (NEC) |
| 4 | Colorado (Big 12) | Akron (MAC) | Portland St (Big Sky) |
| 3 | Michigan St (Big Ten) | Sam Houston (C-USA) | Nicholls (Southland) |
| 2 | Kansas (Big 12) | Rice (American) | Nwestern St (Southland) |
| 1 | Stanford (ACC) | Old Dominion (Sun Belt) | Utah Tech (Big Sky) |
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That’s it for tonight. Tune in tomorrow for another triple feature Expectation. Thank you for taking the time to read our content, providing comments or suggestions to help us improve, and helping us out when you don’t have to by sharing with others, JoJo and G.
