How perceived conference strength impacts the polls
Let’s start with the disclaimer that THE most important factor in the rankings is not losing. Undefeated almost always trumps one-loss, one-loss almost always trumps two losses, etc., and while there are some exceptions now (undefeated Oklahoma State and Missouri, which have played weak schedules, are behind eight one-loss teams), those discrepancies will diminish by season’s end.
But there’s no denying the importance of perceived conference strength, in particular the SEC’s, which has been deservedly built up over the past four years. To me, the single biggest turning points of the BCS era were Auburn’s 2004 title-game snub and Florida’s 2006 title-game rout of season-long No. 1 Ohio State. Prior to ’04, the voters really didn’t differentiate much between the major conferences, but Auburn’s exclusion really started the “S-E-C, S-E-C” rallying cry from that league’s constituents, who screamed to anyone and everyone about how much tougher their league was than the Pac-10 or Big 12. Two years later, 12-1 Florida got in over 11-1 Michigan due in part to that growing reputation, then bolstered it by throttling the Big Ten’s much-hyped champ. LSU benefited from that enhanced reputation a year later to get into the game over several other two-loss teams, and so on and so on.
SI.com
10/21/10
