What if the conferences never changed? An NCAA Football Simulation of the 2012 Season - RaychelSnr's Blog

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What if the conferences never changed? An NCAA Football Simulation of the 2012 Season Stuck

Posted on November 19, 2012 at 05:45 PM.

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What if this were still an out of conference matchup?

Indulge me for a minute. Let's assume that the last few years of conference realignment never happened. Let's assume conferences are where they were in 2008.

You know, back when the Big XII had twelve teams, the Big Ten had that awkward 11, and the SEC was sitting around 12 teams strong.

Back when things made geographical sense for the most part, and when West Virginia played in a conference where they shared the same time zones with everyone else.

Using NCAA Football 13's custom conference feature, and by adjusting a few things that needed to be adjusting in terms of scheduling -- here's what the 2012 Season would've looked like (if you believe NCAA 13) in the old conference order:

SEC

East
Georgia -- 6-2 -- 10-2
Florida -- 6-2 -- 9-3
South Carolina -- 5-3 -- 8-4
Tennessee -- 2-6 -- 5-7
Vanderbilt -- 2-6 -- 5-7
Kentucky -- 0-8 -- 2-10

West
Alabama -- 6-2 -- 10-2
LSU -- 5-3 -- 9-3
Arkansas -- 5-3 -- 9-3
Mississippi State -- 4-4 -- 8-4
Auburn -- 4-4 -- 8-4
Mississippi -- 3-5 -- 7-5

Big Ten

Ohio State -- 7-1 -- 11-1
Wisconsin -- 6-2 -- 10-2
Penn State -- 6-2 -- 9-3
Michigan -- 6-2 -- 9-3
Michigan State -- 5-3 -- 6-6
Minnesota -- 4-4 -- 8-4
Iowa -- 4-4 -- 7-5
Northwestern -- 4-4 -- 6-6
Purdue -- 1-7 -- 4-8
Illinois -- 1-7 -- 2-10
Indiana -- 0-8 -- 1-11

ACC

Atlantic
Florida State -- 7-1 -- 11-1
Clemson -- 6-2 -- 10-2
Maryland -- 5-3 -- 7-5
NC State -- 5-3 -- 7-5
Wake Forest -- 2-6 -- 5-7
Boston College -- 0-8 -- 1-11

Coastal
North Carolina -- 7-1 -- 10-2
Georgia Tech -- 5-3 -- 7-5
Virginia Tech -- 5-3 -- 9-3
Miami (FL) -- 5-3 -- 7-5
Virginia -- 1-7 -- 1-11
Duke -- 0-8 -- 2-10

Big XII

North
Kansas State -- 6-2 -- 10-2
Nebraska -- 6-2 -- 9-3
Missouri -- 4-4 -- 7-5
Iowa State -- 2-6 -- 6-6
Kansas -- 1-7 -- 2-10
Colorado -- 0-8 -- 1-11

South
Oklahoma -- 7-1 -- 10-2
Texas -- 6-2 -- 10-2
Texas A&M -- 6-2 -- 10-2
Oklahoma State -- 4-4 -- 8-4
Texas Tech -- 4-4 -- 8-4
Baylor -- 3-5 -- 6-6

Pac-10

Oregon -- 8-1 -- 11-1
USC -- 8-1 -- 11-1
Stanford -- 6-3 -- 8-4
UCLA -- 5-4 -- 7-5
Washington -- 5-4 -- 6-6
Washington State -- 4-5 -- 7-5
Arizona -- 4-5 -- 6-6
Oregon State -- 3-6 -- 5-7
Cal -- 2-7 -- 5-7
Arizona State -- 1-8 -- 3-9

Big East

West Virginia -- 6-1 -- 9-3
Louisville -- 5-2 -- 7-5
Pitt -- 4-3 -- 8-4
Rutgers -- 4-3 -- 8-4
Cincinatti -- 4-3 -- 7-5
Syracuse -- 3-4 -- 6-6
South Florida -- 2-5 -- 5-7
UCONN -- 1-6 -- 2-10

Independent

Notre Dame -- 9-3

Final Regular Season Top 15

1. Florida State 11-1
2. Oregon 11-1
3. USC 11-1
4. Ohio State 11-1
5. Boise State 11-1
6. Georgia 10-2
7. Oklahoma 10-2
8. TCU 11-1
9. Texas 10-2
10. Texas A&M 10-2
11. Alabama 10-2
12. North Carolina 10-2
13. Wisconsin 10-2
14. Florida 9-3
15. LSU 9-3

Conference Championship Games

SEC: Alabama 24 Georgia 6
Big XII: Oklahoma 12 Kansas State 10
ACC: North Carolina 38 Florida State 21

BCS Bowl Games
Rose Bowl: Texas vs. Ohio State
Orange Bowl: North Carolina vs. Boise State
Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma vs. West Virginia
Sugar Bowl: Alabama vs. Florida State
BCS National Championship: Oregon vs. USC

A few takeaways:

-The SEC instantly became much more even and less top heavy with team's playing more of each other. There were a lot more marquee matchups too. Florida actually played Alabama in the regular season and Georgia had to play LSU. Was expansion good for the SEC? This sim says not so much from a matchup standpoint, but yes from a winning standpoint.

-West Virginia had a much better season in the Big East in this sim, but their talent level in NCAA is quite high as well...their defense is clearly overrated.

-None of the bowl banned teams (and there are lots of them) were banned from bowls. So some of those teams, like Ohio State, are in marquee positions. Other teams aren't going through tumult, as the NCAA simulation engine only takes talent into account. For instance, Arkansas had a quite good year -- losing their three games by a combined 20 points.

-TCU probably would have been much better in the Mountain West for sure, and Boise would have probably thrived even moreso in the WAC. Both of those team's continual ascension in conference quality is proving problematic in real-life terms. Digitally in the old system? Both thrived.

-The Big XII South and SEC West are clearly the toughest places to play football in this simulation. They're a close race on who was tougher. Which do you guys think was based upon this sim?

-The Big Ten was incredibly competitive. Ohio State would've likely benefited from an extra game though, and could've bumped USC in the BCS had they had a conference title game. So for the Big Ten, it seems having the extra game would've been a bonus in this sim.

-Florida State and the ACC benefited highly from the SEC being less top-heavy which allowed them to play each other, but the Seminoles ultimately dropped the ACC Championship, costing them everything National Title wise.

-Ultimately, the conference that won most from reverting was the Pac-12. With the loss of Utah and Colorado from the schedule, both Oregon and USC had amazingly strong SOS numbers. Oregon beat USC in the regular season but USC dropped a game to Stanford. However, both teams were ranked #1 and #2 at the end of the year in the BCS making the National Championship in Miami an all west coast affair.

What do you guys think? Which conferences have lost more than they gained in conference realignment? Sound off in the comments box below!!

Comments

# 1 txprivates @ Nov 19

I hate Texas A&M, but they would certainly win the Big 12 this year and Manziel is completely underrated in the game and will likely end up winning the Heisman this year. Quite funny.

# 2 Jimbo614 @ Nov 19

Clearly a West Coast Bias.. How else do you explain two teams from the same Conference playing for the National Championship?
USC didnt even win their Conference!
Signed
SEC Fan

# 3 psymin1 @ Nov 20

This was a fun read. I wish it were still this way, with some exceptions being okay. The fact that Maryland, and now potentially Rutgers, will be moving to the Big Ten makes me sick as a conference traditionalist, and this sim brings us back to a much better place.