I feel like a lot of people trashed the ACC, PAC, and Big 12 all year but in the end I don’t think there was that much separations between all P5.
The PAC was 3-4 in bowls and is kinda hard to defense because they really didn’t have an elite team. Wazzu was in the conversation for a few minutes and fell right back out. Nobody else was really worth talking about past mid season.
The Big 12 had a great performance by OU vs Bama that kinda reminded me of Clemson first Natty matchup with Bama. I feel like there was some intimidation factor and the lights were a little too bright. They needed more defense but had a chance. Texas beating down UGA was a quality win. I best most didn’t see this coming after the Maryland loss. WVU getting blown out without Grier should be a reminder to everyone that losing a QB can have a major impact on a game. Iowa St put up a good fight against Wazzu. Not a bad overall year with a 4-3 finish.
The ACC really beat up on itself all year and had some strange performance. Duke did well OOC (NW beatdown) but got destroyed in conference. Pitt did horrible OOC (PSU beatdown) but did decent in conference. I think the major letdowns by VT, Miami, and FSU influenced the narrative a bit too much. I think everyone assumed everyone sucked because Clemson beat everyone so badly but 12-0 Notre Dame and 14-0 Bama took the same exact beatings too. Seriously Clemson was +30ppg so those two were right under the average. The ACC finished 6-5 with a canceled game where BC was ahead of Boise. Clemson wins were elite but Cuse, Duke, Wake, and UVA had strong performances too. Shout out to UVA for blanking USCjr.
*Well done to ND.
The BIG 10 was 5-4 in the bowls but is solely riding the coattails of tOSU still. tOSU controlled the scoreboard but really was out performed by quite a bit in the boxscore by a mediocre Washington. Just when we thought Michigan might be back they are demolished by UF. PSU losing to Kentucky was pretty sad too. Iowa gets a gold star for beating MSU. NW gets a gold star for beating Utah. I’m impressed by how badly GT lost to Minn. Nobody is surprised Wisky destroyed Miami.
The SEC was 6-6. Bama had a solid win over OU but that win kinda sours when you get blown out the next week. UGA getting hooked by Bevo was quite the shock. After all the talk about the SEC needing two teams in their top two were a major letdown. Florida was the most impressive and I don’t buy for a second that Michigan didn’t want to be there. Harbaugh is coaching for his job and this loss is a big deal. As much as I appreciate LSU beating UCF by 1 possession it was kinda lackluster considering Milton was out. Good on Kentucky for beating PSU and getting to 10 wins. How Auburn beat Purdue was surprising. TA&M gets a solid win over NCST.
Overall I think the SEC deserves the top spot but I think the Pac is the only conference that has glaring weakness. There was A LOT of inconsistency across CFB this year and all conferences were guilty. I think the final rankings are WAY too generous to the SEC. There’s a lot of moving and shaking going on and next year should give us a much better idea of where teams are at. I wonder if this weird season is a byproduct of the high level of coaching turnover?