By: Kipp Branch

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

I was listening recently and don’t ask me why I was tuned in to a regional radio show that suggested that the ACC was the best football conference in the country due to Clemson’s recent success on the gridiron.

These types of things interest me because I know the SEC is the king in football, so I looked up the stats to confirm what I already know. Here goes:

P5 Conference Bowl Records (All-Time)

SEC: 261-195-9 (.571)

ACC: 132-140-2 (.485)

BIG 12: 84-88-0 (.488)

B1G: 143-163-1 (.467)

PAC 12: 149-136-5 (.522)

The PAC 12 is the only other “Power 5” conference with a winning bowl record.

 

SEC All-Time vs. Other Conferences (current conferences)

SEC vs:

ACC: 319-171-10 (.648)

AAC: 19-8-0 (.704)

B1G: 96-65-2 (.595)

BIG 12: 98-79-6 (.552)

CUSA: 158-28 (.849)

MAC: 98-14 (.875)

Mountain West: 25-11 (.694)

PAC 12: 74-43-5 (.627)

Sun Belt: 154-11 (.933) –

 

Random tidbits:

SEC TEAMS VS. ACC

W     L     T   Win %    PFPG    PAPG

Alabama       26     5     0    83.9    28.3    13.3

Arkansas         0     2     0     0.0    17.0    27.5

Auburn         34    12     0    73.9    26.5    16.6

Florida          33    26     2    55.7    24.3    19.6

Georgia        77    27     5    72.9    25.4    17.1

Kentucky      15    15     1    50.0    19.5    18.5

LSU                24     2     0    92.3    28.5    10.8

Mississippi      1     4     0    20.0    18.0    31.4

Mississippi St  6     7     0    46.2    24.5    28.2

South Carolina 18    23     0    43.9    20.7    24.4

Tennessee             36    15     1    70.2    24.7    15.8

Texas A&M              2     4     0    33.3    35.5    32.5

Vanderbilt            31    25     0    55.4    21.4    21.3

 

Clemson is by far the best football program in the ACC currently, but their all-time record against the SEC is 56-99-5, and 6-9 in bowl games.

 

CLEMSON VS. SEC TEAMS

W     L     T   Win %    PFPG    PAPG

Alabama         2    11     0    15.4    13.2    31.5

Auburn            9    17     1    35.2    16.3    22.6

Florida             2     2     1    50.0    14.8    22.2

Georgia           9    28     2    25.6    12.8    22.8

Kentucky         5     6     0    45.5    13.7    13.0

LSU                   1     3     0    25.0    14.3    20.8

Mississippi       0     1     0     0.0     0.0    13.0

Mississippi St   1     1     1    50.0    11.7    10.3

South Carolina 18    10     0    64.3    28.0    21.2

Tennessee          1     4     0    20.0    17.6    22.0

Texas A&M         2     0     0   100.0    26.0    18.0

Vanderbilt           1     1     0    50.0    16.0    14.5

 

Note: Clemson is 18-42-4 all-time against Georgia but for this story only games against SEC are counted.

SEC was formed in 1933. Florida State is the only ACC team with a winning record against the SEC.

FSU has a losing all-time record against SEC teams, but a winning record against the SEC since they joined the ACC in the 1990’s.

 

SEC Bowl Records vs. P5 Opponents

The SEC is 47-29 (.618) against the ACC in bowl games.

The SEC is 57-32 (.640) against the B1G in bowl games.

The SEC is 46-36-1 (.560) against the BIG 12 in bowl games.

The SEC is 9-7-1 (.559) against the PAC 12 in bowl games.

 

Clemson does have a winning record against the SEC over the last decade thanks to their current ownership of South Carolina.

There you have it folks, proof in numbers that the SEC is the most dominant football conference in the country.

I respect the ACC as a football conference, but FSU, Miami and Virginia Tech need give the Tigers some help at the top.

LSU is the current king of College Football and flat out owns the ACC.

Clemson is probably the best overall program right now, but the SEC is the most powerful conference because the numbers don’t lie.