I guess 2024 should be called the year of the Big 10! They currently have 4 out of the top 5 in the AP rankings. 4 out of 5! That conference must be stacked!
Well let's take a closer look.
Sagarin ranks conferences and here is how the conferences are ranked:
1. SEC
2. Big 12
3. Big 10
Wait what? The conference with 4 out of the best 5 teams in college football is the 3rd best conference?
Strength of Schedule (from Sagarin):
Oregon 46
Ohio St 58
Penn St 33
Indiana 76
For reference BYU is currently #34.
Who have they beaten?
Oregon: Beat Ohio St by 1 and Boise St by 3 at home-so on a neutral field they aren't as good as Boise St?
Ohio St: Beat Penn St by 7, lost to Oregon by 1...next best win is unranked Iowa?
Penn St: Beat unranked Illinois by 14 and lost to Ohio St by 7
Indiana: Best win is a 5 point home win against 5-5 Michigan? You are joking, right?
So the two best wins by the 4 teams in the top 5 from the one conference are against themselves? And there is only one other top 25 win out of the top 5 teams in the county and it was a 3 point home win?
What are we doing voters? Rewarding teams that played 3 home games vs the MAC in non-conference?
Stacking the deck for a conference that has 4 out of its 18 teams ranked? Stacking it for teams who have no top 25 wins?
It is just crazy to me. How is SMU at #14 and Penn State at #4? SMU has played a harder schedule! SMU also lost to an undefeated team unlike the team that beat Penn St.