eyekwah
Well-Known Member
If statistics are for losers, call me a loser. I’d like to shed some light on those that puff out their chest with pride over the overall win total of their favorite football team. Our friendly foe just across the Missouri river frequently points to their team’s great success being among the top ten all-time. I’m not saying it isn’t an accomplishment, but let’s put a little sunshine on that win total. I’m simplifying this to the last 50 years of play as there was a transition from limited substation football in the early 60’s to platoon football.
It strikes me that the degree of difficulty is different for each conference, present and past. Would it be more difficult for a smaller university in the Big Ten to achieve the level of success that Nebraska had in the defunct Big 8 and the initial Big XII? To answer that question, I settled on using a ranking based on the overall winning percentage from the website Winsipedia.Com. It includes teams from the Big 8, Big XII, as well as the Big Ten. I excluded the SEC and the ACC since none of the members are needed for the difficulty factor.
The greater the conference average winning percentage the less difficult it would be to get wins. It was easier for Nebraska to chalk up wins in the Big 8 conference (68.25) than it was in the Big XII Conference (60.42). It became even harder when they became members of the Big Ten (51.50) or (57.14). It got a bit easier when Rutgers and Maryland became members of the Conference (57.14). It is now more difficult than it has ever been with the addition of the four former PAC 12 Members (50.61).
The Nebraska fan, whose expectation is to compete for a national title annually, might want to temper that expectation a wee bit. After reviewing the football records over the last 50 years it has become a bit clearer what has transpired not only for Nebraska but also for every other small to medium-sized college. Some Iowa fans are not immune from delusion. From the graphic below you can see that the competitive level of conference membership has a big impact on the ability to chalk up wins.
As you would expect, as the level of difficulty grew the number of wins decreased. The Nebraska case shows how a change in conference membership may not be advantageous if Win’s are more important than dollars.
So, what are the difficulty rankings for the four remaining conferences as of 2024?
This graphic really highlights the difficulty differences between conferences. What is unusual is that Arizona State is playing Iowa State for the Big XII championship. It will be ISU’s first conference championship should they win. It just so happens this is the least difficult to win conference championship based on past history.
It strikes me that the degree of difficulty is different for each conference, present and past. Would it be more difficult for a smaller university in the Big Ten to achieve the level of success that Nebraska had in the defunct Big 8 and the initial Big XII? To answer that question, I settled on using a ranking based on the overall winning percentage from the website Winsipedia.Com. It includes teams from the Big 8, Big XII, as well as the Big Ten. I excluded the SEC and the ACC since none of the members are needed for the difficulty factor.
The greater the conference average winning percentage the less difficult it would be to get wins. It was easier for Nebraska to chalk up wins in the Big 8 conference (68.25) than it was in the Big XII Conference (60.42). It became even harder when they became members of the Big Ten (51.50) or (57.14). It got a bit easier when Rutgers and Maryland became members of the Conference (57.14). It is now more difficult than it has ever been with the addition of the four former PAC 12 Members (50.61).
The Nebraska fan, whose expectation is to compete for a national title annually, might want to temper that expectation a wee bit. After reviewing the football records over the last 50 years it has become a bit clearer what has transpired not only for Nebraska but also for every other small to medium-sized college. Some Iowa fans are not immune from delusion. From the graphic below you can see that the competitive level of conference membership has a big impact on the ability to chalk up wins.
As you would expect, as the level of difficulty grew the number of wins decreased. The Nebraska case shows how a change in conference membership may not be advantageous if Win’s are more important than dollars.
So, what are the difficulty rankings for the four remaining conferences as of 2024?
- SEC -42.19
- B1G – 50.61
- ACC -55.61
- XII – 71.69
- 2021 PAC -46.58
This graphic really highlights the difficulty differences between conferences. What is unusual is that Arizona State is playing Iowa State for the Big XII championship. It will be ISU’s first conference championship should they win. It just so happens this is the least difficult to win conference championship based on past history.
