With the conference championship games in the books, it’s time to look at the final regular season results. The 4 playoff teams — Clemson, Oklahoma, Georgia, and Alabama — rank in the top 7 of the final ratings. The other 3 teams? They’re all in the Big 10, a conference that sent zero teams.
The Big 10 has three dominant teams, but that doesn’t mean it was the best conference. It may well have been, but according to the SRS, the ACC Atlantic was the strongest division in college football and the ACC was the strongest conference. Take a look:
Why do Penn State, Ohio State, and Wisconsin fare so well in the SRS? Well, the Big 10 played just two games against the SEC, but both of those games were blowouts. The #5 team in the B10 (Michigan) stomped the #11 team in the SEC (Florida), while while the #8 team in the B10 (Purdue) crushed the #7 team in the SEC (Missouri) on the road, 35-3. Iowa also beat Iowa State, Maryland beat Texas, and Penn State beat Pitt, and Wisconsin beat FAU. The full non-conference results for the B10, below:
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