The SEC is still the best conference in college football, but it’s clear now that the conference was overrated in the offseason, as statistically, it is much closer to its peers in the ACC and Big Ten than previously expected.
The SEC West is the best Power 5 division, but the SEC East might be the worst
The SEC East is closer to the AAC West than it is the Big Ten East.
John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
But the SEC West is incredible! Yes, that’s still true. But the SEC East is drastically pulling down the rest of the conference. In fact, according to Bill Connelly’s S&P+ ratings, the SEC East is the worst power five division, and it’s closer in strength to the AAC West than it is to even the Big Ten East.
| Rank | Division | S&P+ |
| 1 | SEC West | 11.9 |
| 2 | ACC Atlantic | 10 |
| 3 | B1G East | 8 |
| 4 | B1G West | 6.7 |
| 5 | Pac-12 South | 6.4 |
| 6 | ACC Coastal | 5.2 |
| 7 | Pac-12 North | 4.2 |
| 8 | SEC East | 4 |
| 9 | AAC West | 0.4 |
| 10 | MAC West | -0.2 |
| 11 | MWC Mountain | -1.9 |
| 12 | AAC East | -2.6 |
| 13 | CUSA East | -4.5 |
| 14 | MAC East | -5.3 |
| 15 | MWC West | -7.6 |
| 16 | CUSA West | -10.9 |
The disparity between the SEC divisions is striking, but it makes sense given the records between the two so far this season. The SEC West is 8-1 against the East so far this season.
The East only has non-conference losses to Western Kentucky and Oklahoma, but its teams have also played just about nobody -- they are 1-1 against power conference opponents -- and had close calls against Eastern Kentucky, UConn, East Carolina, Bowling Green and Middle Tennessee. Florida is the only team in the East that’s ranked in the AP poll, and Georgia is the only other one receiving votes.
But the SEC East can take solace in knowing that if the Big 12 North were still around, it would be far, far worse. Those teams -- Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa State, Kansas State, Missouri and Colorado -- would have an S&P+ of -4.7, according to Connelly, which would rank 14th. That’s worse than both AAC divisions, the MAC West, the MWC Mountain and Conference USA East.
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