Why The SEC is superior to the Big 10

[Weeble]

Why the SEC is superior to the Big Ten in football

By Bhoutros Bhoutros Guidry

I have some friends in the Chicago area that insist that the Big 10 is better than the SEC in football. Well, here is chance for us to duke it out.

I first started out by looking up all the Heisman Trophy winners and seeing from which conference they hailed. I didn't really think that this was a good indicator of conference strength, but my friends insisted on knowing the results.

Big 10 Heisman Winners
1999 Ron Dayne, Wisconsin TB
1997 Charles Woodson, Michigan DB/WR
1995 Eddie George, Ohio State RB
1991 Desmond Howard, Michigan WR
1975 Archie Griffin, Ohio State RB
1974 Archie Griffin, Ohio State RB
1955 Howard Cassady, Ohio State HB
1954 Alan Ameche, Wisconsin FB
1950 Vic Janowicz, Ohio State HB
1944 Les Horvath, Ohio State QB/HB
1941 Bruce Smith, Minnesota HB
1940 Tom Harmon, Michigan HB
1939 Nile Kinnick, Iowa HB

SEC Heisman Winners
1996 Danny Wuerffel, Florida QB
1985 Bo Jackson, Auburn RB
1982 Herschel Walker, Georgia RB
1971 Pat Sullivan, Auburn QB
1966 Steve Spurrier, Florida QB
1959 Billy Cannon, LSU HB
1942 Frank Sinkwich, Georgia HB


The Big 10 won this battle 13-7. Unfortunately, the Heisman is very over-hyped and way too subjective to be included in this discussion. I told them that the award is won in the media, not on the field. I also had to mention to them that Alabama has won more National Championships than any school in the Big 10, yet it doesn't have one Heisman winner. Nonetheless, they didn't buy my arguments and started to gloat over the results.

Next, I wanted to compare National Championships for each conference. My source would be the final AP rankings from 1936 to 1997, and the BCS Champion from 1998 to present.

Big 10 National Champions
2002 Ohio State
1997 Michigan
1968 Ohio State
1960 Minnesota
1954 Ohio State
1948 Michigan
1942 Ohio State
1941 Minnesota
1940 Minnesota
1936 Minnesota

SEC National Champions
2003 LSU
1998 Tennessee
1996 Florida
1992 Alabama
1980 Georgia
1979 Alabama
1978 Alabama
1965 Alabama
1964 Alabama
1961 Alabama
1958 LSU
1957 Auburn
1951 Tennessee

The SEC triumphed here 13-10. My friends from up north were a little taken aback by this information. To add insult to injury, I noted that five of the ten Big 10 National Championships came before 1950 and they have only won two National Championships in the last 35 years. I also noted that six different SEC teams have won a National Championship, whereas only three Big 10 teams have won a National Championship. They tried to claim Michigan State's National Championship in 1952, but I had to remind them that the Spartans didn't join the Big 10 until 1953. They also wanted to claim Penn State's championships in 1982 and 1986, but again I had to remind them that Penn State didn't join the Big 10 until 1993. I could sense they were getting desperate. I then went for the knock-out punch: Head-to-head matchups in bowl games.

Citrus/Capital One Bowl
2004 Iowa 30, LSU 25
2003 Georgia 34, Purdue 27 (OT)
2002 Auburn 13, Penn State 9
2001 Tennessee 45, Michigan 17
2000 Michigan 31, Auburn 28
1999 Michigan State 37, Florida 34
1998 Michigan 45, Arkansas 31
1997 Florida 21, Penn St 6
1996 Tennessee 48, Northwestern 28
1995 Tennessee 20, Ohio St 14
1994 Alabama 24, Ohio St 17
1993 Penn St 31, Tennessee 13
1992 Georgia 21, Ohio St 14

Outback/Hall of Fame Bowl
2004 Georgia 24, Wisconsin 21
2003 Iowa 37, Florida 17
2002 Michigan 38, Florida 30
2001 South Carolina 31, Ohio State 28
2000 South Carolina 24, Ohio State 7
1999 Georgia 28, Purdue 25 (OT)
1998 Penn State 26, Kentucky 14
1997 Georgia 33, Wisconsin 6
1996 Alabama 17, Michigan 14
1995 Penn St. 43, Auburn 14
1989 Auburn 31, Ohio St. 14
1987 Michigan 28, Alabama 24
1984 Kentucky 20, Wisconsin 19

Music City Bowl
2004 Minnesota 20, Alabama 16
2003 Auburn 28, Wisconsin 14
2002 Minnesota 29, Arkansas 14

Independence Bowl
1995 LSU 45, Michigan St 26

Sugar Bowl
2001 LSU 47, Illinois 34
1983 Auburn 9, Michigan 7
1977 Alabama 35, Ohio State 6

Gator Bowl
1991 Michigan 35, Mississippi 3
1989 Georgia 34, Michigan St 27
1983 Florida 14, Iowa 6

Orange Bowl
1999 Michigan 35, Alabama 34 (OT)

Peach Bowl
1990 Auburn 27, Indiana 23
1987 Tennessee 27, Indiana 22
1982 Iowa 28, Tennessee 22

Liberty Bowl
1985 Tennessee 21, Minnesota 14
1981 Alabama 21, Illinois 15

All-American Bowl
1988 Florida 14, Illinois 10

Bluebonnet Bowl
1979 Purdue 27, Tennessee 22

Garden State Bowl
1981 Tennessee 28, Wisconsin 21

By my count, the SEC was 29-16 over the Big 10 in head-to-head bowl matchups. My friends from up north were stunned and speechless. They didn't know what had hit them.

My friends aren't ready to concede victory, but one of them was already quoted as saying "Man, we are so brainwashed up here in the Midwest...I didn't realize that the SEC was this superior to the Big 10."

The excuses that will flow from the Big 10 fans will be endless and mind-numbing. Not having the luxury of falling back on statistics to support their case, they will complain that the SEC teams have home-field advantage in bowl games played in the South. Or since Big 10 teams beat up on each other, it is difficult for them to produce a National Champion. They ignore the fact that the SEC Champion has to play 8 conference games, plus win the SEC Championship game. The Big 10 doesn't have a championship game.

The facts speak for themselves. Unless a Big 10 fan can produce tangible evidence in support of their argument, I am satisfied with the conclusion that the SEC historically is a better football
conference than the Big 10.

[Bon Voyage]

Are you posting this because you know the Big 10 is the best conference in football this year, and you can't live with it?

[Bon Voyage]

duplicate

[Weeble]

Jerry,

 Please explain to me how the Big 10 is a better football conference than the SEC.

[Bon Voyage]

The Big Ten is better, it is the order of things.

[Weeble]

Alphabetically, or going from least to most (11 teams in the Big 10 and 12 in the SEC). To what order are you referring?

[Barry]

Unless a Big 10 fan can produce tangible evidence in support of their argument, I am satisfied with the conclusion that the SEC historically is a better football conference than the Big 10.

Four words:

THE Ohio State University[/color]

[Lost Highway]

1. I think football national championships are a joke because they are really a beauty pagent.

2. Michigan has 10 national championships. 1901, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1918, 1923, 1932, 1933, 1948, 1997. All with the Big Ten. They were independant from 1879 - 1895 and 1907 - 1916. All other years they were with the Big Ten. Michigan Football History Database

One area where the SEC beats the Big 10 by a wide margin (47 to 18) is the number of times it's football programs have been busted for major infractions by the NCAA.

A quick look at the NCAA Major Infractions Database shows:

Since Jan 1, 1953 (when the database begins)

Big-10:
Illinois - 5
Wisconsin - 3
Michigan State - 3
Minnesota - 3
Ohio State - 2
Indiana - 2

SEC: (Every team except Vanderbilt)
South Carolina - 2
Mississippi State - 3
Arkansas - 2
Alabama - 3
Kentucky - 3
Georgia - 4
Mississippi - 3
Auburn - 5
Tennessee - 2
Florida - 3
LSU - 1