November 19, 2009

Rivals.com Staff

At the College Football Roundtable each week, we ask members of the coverage staff for their opinions about a topic in the sport.

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: Which league is the best this season?

I don't think there's great separation between the leagues this season, which wasn't the case in 2008. Still, there is one constant from last season: The SEC is best. No league can match the SEC's power at the top, with Florida and Alabama setting the pace in the nation. And LSU has been a top-10 team this season, as well. The only other Big Six leagues with legit national title contenders are the Big 12 (Texas) and Big East (Cincinnati). Enough said. The SEC also stands out for its depth. Is there any easy out in the league? No. There isn't a conference in the nation that can match the SEC from 1-12, with the strength at top setting it apart from every other conference.

- TOM DIENHART

It's still the SEC, although the chasm between the SEC and the other leagues isn't as great as some want to believe. Still, the strength of any conference with the top two teams in the BCS standings cannot be refuted, especially when those teams had to survive challenges (Florida by Arkansas, Alabama by Tennessee). The SEC is indeed top-heavy, with three teams in the top 10 and the rest unranked. But the SEC is 7-4 in non-conference games against teams from other Big Six leagues; two of the losses came against ACC leader Georgia Tech, and another was to Oklahoma State - which is second in the Big 12 South.

- OLIN BUCHANAN

I was tempted to pick the Pac-10. That conference certainly has taken the SEC's position of having the most parity among the top eight teams in the conference. The Pac-10 has some nice non-conference wins, too, but the numbers show the SEC is having a better season. For one, the SEC has a 2-1 record against the Pac-10 this season. Overall, the SEC is 7-4 against teams from other Big Six conferences. Meanwhile the Pac-10 is 7-7 against major conferences and Notre Dame. At the top, either Alabama or Florida will play for the national title, while the Pac-10 has no hope for a national championship. Beyond Florida and Alabama, the rest of the SEC has been compelling. Defensive struggles have been replaced with shootouts on a weekly basis. Oregon, Stanford, California, Oregon State and Arizona have made the Pac-10 a deep league, but the SEC is just as deep.

- DAVID FOX

I'll go with the Pac-10 because of its depth. There is no team in the Pac-10 that measures up to the SEC's Alabama or Florida. But is there anybody else in the SEC that truly is scary? And I said "scary," not good. There's a difference. The Pac-10, like the SEC, has a lot of good teams - and I would argue that the Pac-10 actually has more. Yes, the Pac-10 also has an awful Washington State team. But the SEC has Vanderbilt, which lost to Army and is going to finish with one win over a FCS member. That's the same number as Washington State - and Washington State's one win (six-win SMU from Conference USA) is better than Vandy's (one-win Rice from C-USA). Alabama and Florida mean the SEC is better at the top - the very top. But the Pac-10 has better depth. In addition, the Pac-10 and SEC are far ahead of everyone else this season.

- MIKE HUGUENIN

If Washington State were a member of the WAC or Mountain West, I'd be tempted to pick the Pac-10. Although USC's struggles this season has left the Pac-10 without a true national title contender that could stack up to the SEC's dynamic duo of Florida and Alabama, the Pac-10 makes up for it with balance. I don't think the SEC can match the Pac-10's depth. Florida, Alabama and LSU give the SEC a formidable top three, but the league is watered down once you get past those three. Consider that UCLA and Arizona State are tied for seventh in the Pac-10 standings, yet UCLA won at Tennessee and Arizona State gave Georgia everything it could handle between the hedges this season. USC beat Big Ten champion Ohio State on the road this season but already has lost three conference games. Still, it's tough to crow too much about the Pac-10's depth when each of the league members gets to feast on Washington State, the worst team from any of the six major conferences. The lack of a title contender at the top of the standings and the presence of Washington State at the bottom of the standings keeps the Pac-10 from measuring up to the SEC.

- STEVE MEGARGEE