BYU football: Final conference rankings and why they matter
By Adam Gibby
Elite Tier
2. Southeastern Conference (SEC)
Record: 5-6
Summary: Sure, the SEC had a losing record in the bowl season, but they also had two teams in the National Championship game. Having a team win the National Championship automatically makes the conference a top five conference. Having both teams in Championship however makes it a top three conference. There were a lot of good wins throughout the bowl season as well for other teams. South Carolina beat Michigan (more on that later) and Mississippi State took down Lamar Jackson and Louisville without Nick Fitzgerald. Auburn’s loss to UCF was not good for the SEC or the Power Five in general, but besides that there were no bad losses.
What it means for BYU football: The SEC is still dominate. There have been rumors of a super conference with teams like Florida State, Texas and Oklahoma State. With a conference like that, teams left out will have to find a new home. Teams like Baylor, Texas Tech and Iowa State could end up teaming up with teams like BYU and Boise State to make another conference.
1. Big 10
Record: 7-1
Summary: No playoff teams normally means a bad ranking for Power Five conferences. Then the Big 10 finished 7-1. The Big 10 started 7-0 with wins over teams including USC, Miami, Washington, Washington State, Boston College and Arizona. Michigan was the last team to need to win to make the bowl season perfect. The Wolverines lost 26-19 to South Carolina. The Big 10 showed that the playoff needs to expand. Ohio State deserved a shot at the playoff. But it is hard to argue that they deserved to be in the top four because it was the No.3 seed Georgia and No.4 seed Alabama who ended up playing for the Championship.
What it means for BYU football: Currently, the Big 10 is being weighted down by Rutgers, Illinois and Maryland. In fact, for much of the season Wisconsin was on the outside of the top four because they played too many bad teams in conference play. Maybe one day the Big 10 will decide to have 10 teams and get rid of four teams which could lead to potential opportunities for BYU. The chance is slim though.