How good is your conference? Wrap up.

So after compiling all of the information on BCS conference teams versus non conference bowl teams what have we learned? The ACC was not so good. The Big 10 doesn't play many non conference bowl teams especially those not from the MAC. The Big 12 was solid. The Big East was a strong half of a conference with 4 teams performing well and four getting their face kicked in. The Pac-10 played a strong schedule well despite only 3 non-conference games per team. The SEC was pretty damn good.

More observations. Those that say the SEC doesn't play anyone outside of conference are dead wrong; that shame goes to the Big 10. Iowa, Iowa State, and Northwestern were the only teams that did not schedule any non-conference bowl teams and failed to make a bowl themselves. Seven teams played their only non-conference bowl team in their bowl. Of those seven teams four lost their bowl game. Lower end BCS teams played a surprisingly low number of bowl teams in their non-conference schedule. Duke, Baylor, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, and Stanford averaged 1 non-conference bowl team apiece. This means the bottom of the BCS conference teams are losing to their cupcakes and/or getting eaten alive in conference because they aren't losing to quality non-conference opponents. The nine BCS conference teams that made a BCS bowl (excluding Hawaii) averaged playing 2.33 non-conference bowl teams. When the bowl game is removed the average BCS team played less than 1.5 games against bowl competetion in the non-conference schedule (3-5 games). Cupcakes are alive and well in the NCAA.

Some of the biggest winners this year were Georgia (3-0), LSU (2-0 but both BCS bowl teams), WVU (4-0), and Texas (3-0), however, Oregon was the only team to play every non-conference game against a bowl team and also won all of those games. So congratulations to the Oregon Ducks for being either brave, stupid, or unlucky to have so many teams having a good year the year you play them (4 non-conference and 5 more in conference). And you did it all in goofy uniforms.