Big 12 vs SEC Football -- 2008 - 2009

by Jimmy
(KC, Kansas )

I believe that the Big 12 is underrated and should be measured as an equal to the SEC in football - at least right now.

Last season (2008), the Big 12 conference was constantly in weekly weekend battles, as College Game Day seemed to make consecutive trips to Big 12 schools. In particular the Big Twelve South was incredibly strong this past season with Texas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma State all spending time in the top ten rankings.

The Big 12 North was also very strong. However teams like Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska were overshadowed by the media hype surrounding the teams in the Big 12 South. While Oklahoma did lose the National Championship to Florida, you could make a good case for Texas Tech, and Texas to also play for the national title. In a sense, three Big 12 teams at the end of the season had a legitimate shot at competing for the BCS National Championship.

Looking ahead to 2009 College Football, the SEC and Big 12 dominate ESPN's preseason polls and the winner of the Big 12 will likely play the winner of the SEC for the national crown as long as USC does not make a legitimate title run. Besides USC the strongest teams in the Nation reside in the Big 12 and SEC.

In the eleven years that we've had a the BCS National Championship Game, a Big 12 or SEC school has represented one or both of the teams playing in the game 9 times. The Big 12 has been represented in the BCS national title a total of 6 times (winning 2) while the SEC has been represented a total of 5 (winning all 5).

The SEC has big name coaches like Nick Saban; Urban Myer; and Les Miles.

But so does the Big 12 sporting names such as Mack Brown, Bob Stoops, and Mike Leach. All of these coaches have proven the ability to help their teams compete on a national championship level.

Whatever conference you support you have to admit that the Big 12 is just as competitive, if not more competitive, than the SEC. The evidence seems to speak for itself and the college football landscape will continue to be dominated by the Big 12 and the SEC for many years to come.