SEC Football: Ranking Big Game Success

By Jeremy Hillman
SouthernPigskin.com

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Beat ranked teams and you will climb up the college football ladder. Lose against ranked teams and you will find your coach on the way out.

There are always debates and power rankings of the football programs in the SEC. Some are done by perception. Some by championships won and some just by looking at games won in total. Any of these may be a misleading approach.

However, when you dig a bit deeper into whom the teams in question actually beat and put strength of schedule into the picture, the rankings become a bit clearer.

It also gives you a good snap shot of the conference against top competition.  Did you know that only three SEC teams have a .500 or better record versus AP Top 25 teams over the past five years? However, nine SEC teams have a .500 or better record in that same time span against out-of-conference AP Top 25 ranked teams.  That tells you the SEC can beat up on itself quite a bit and excels on a national scene.  However, it also tells you that some SEC programs have work to do with their competitiveness in big games.

The rankings below are done by each team’s record over the past five seasons versus AP Top 25 ranked teams:

1. Alabama Crimson Tide

Record against AP Top 25 teams: 15-9

Record against Out-of-Conference AP Top 25 teams: 3-1

2. LSU Tigers

Record against AP Top 25 teams: 14-11

Record against Out-of-Conference AP Top 25 teams: 6-1

3. Auburn Tigers

Record against AP Top 25 teams: 13-13

Record against Out-of-Conference AP Top 25 teams: 3-2

4. South Carolina  Gamecocks

Record against AP Top 25 teams: 8-14

Record against Out-of-Conference AP Top 25 teams: 3-3

5. Florida Gators

Record against AP Top 25 teams: 7-16

Record against Out-of-Conference AP Top 25 teams: 3-3

6. Arkansas Razorbacks

Record against AP Top 25 teams: 7-16

Record against Out-of-Conference AP Top 25 teams: 2-2

7. Missouri Tigers

Record against AP Top 25 teams: 5-12

Record against Out-of-Conference AP Top 25 teams: 1-0

8. Georgia Bulldogs

Record against AP Top 25 teams: 5-15

Record against Out-of-Conference AP Top 25 teams: 3-4

9. Texas A&M Aggies

Record against AP Top 25 teams: 5-17

Record against Out-of-Conference AP Top 25 teams: 0-4

10. Ole Miss Rebels

Record against AP Top 25 teams: 3-16

Record against Out-of-Conference AP Top 25 teams: 1-1

11. Tennessee Volunteers

Record against AP Top 25 teams: 3-18

Record against Out-of-Conference AP Top 25 teams: 2-2

12. Kentucky Wildcats

Record against AP Top 25 teams: 2-14

Record against Out-of-Conference AP Top 25 teams: 0-1

13. Mississippi State Bulldogs

Record against AP Top 25 teams: 2-19

Record against Out-of-Conference AP Top 25 teams: 0-3

14. Vanderbilt Commodores

Record against AP Top 25 teams: 1-18

Record against Out-of-Conference AP Top 25 teams: 0-1

The Biggest Surprise:

Georgia. Most people would assume they had done better against top competition. However, after losing all four of the games they played against ranked teams last season; it dropped the Bulldogs to a poor 5-15 record against AP Top 25 teams over the past five seasons. If Mark Richt and the Dawgs can’t start winning more of the big games, you will continue to hear the word “hot seat” mentioned about Richt (whether he deserves it or not).

The Biggest Disappointment:

Mississippi State. With Dan Mullen working hard to build a winner in Starkville, the results just haven’t been there. In 21 attempts over the past five years, Mississippi State has won just twice over AP Top 25 ranked teams. Most disappointing is the 0-3 mark against top ranked out of conference opponents.  To truly make an impact at State, Mullen has to find a way to win against the big boys.

More Thoughts and Findings:

1. If Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and Kentucky truly want to climb out of the cellar in the Southeastern Conference, they better start scheduling some bigger games in the regular season. The three teams have combined for just four games between them against AP Top 25 ranked teams over the last five years. Not making major bowl games doesn’t help, but these athletic directors and coaches would be well served to get some big game matchups on the schedule. Programs like these are in need of more national exposure for money, recruiting and fan excitement.

2. LSU is an impressive 6-1 over the past five seasons against AP Top 25 ranked teams. They have truly helped carry the SEC banner against national competition. It is crazy to think that Les Miles' name has been mentioned in some hot seat discussions when you look at stats like this.

3. Florida was among the conference leaders in wins over ranked opponents until the past two seasons. The Gators have gone a dismal 0-10 against AP Top 25 teams over the past two years. Coach Muschamp will need to get that fixed in a hurry, as the people in Gainesville had gotten used to big wins in big games.

4. Texas A&M and Missouri, the new guys in the conference, came in in the middle of the pack. They have been a combined 10-29 against AP Top 25 ranked teams over the past five seasons. The potential bad news for the newbies is that Texas A&M is 0-4 in that time frame against top ranked teams and each of those four loses came against ranked SEC opponents.

With big games pitting SEC teams against top ranked out-of-conference opponents to start the upcoming 2012 football season, we will be able to see if these trends continue or if new trends are created.

We get Alabama versus Michigan, Auburn versus Clemson, and Vanderbilt getting a shot at ranked South Carolina, all in the first week of the season.

College football is all about the big game and any ranking of SEC programs should take that into consideration.

Beat ranked teams and you will climb up the college football ladder. Lose against ranked teams and you will find your program failing to reach the top and your coach on the way out.