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Bowl season brings interconference matchups and the chance to truly gauge the strength of college football's top conferences. And no league has done better than the Pac-12, which has won six of its eight matchups, highlighted by Oregon's demolition of Florida State in the Rose Bowl.
The SEC is the only other Power 5 league above .500, but it needed lower-tier teams Tennessee and Florida to win minor bowls after the new year to surpass .500 after the conference's rough Jan. 1 performance. The Pac-12 had just eight bowl-eligible teams, making it percentage-wise the clear winner of the postseason. And the Ducks reaching the title game makes the league's work all the more impressive.
The Big Ten also deserves props for an outstanding New Year's Day performance, as it saw Wisconsin, Michigan State and Ohio State claim victories while seeing only Minnesota fall. The Buckeyes beat top-ranked Alabama 42-35 for the right to play the Ducks on Jan. 12 for the national title.
The Big 12 had the most disappointing postseason of all the Power 5 leagues with a record of 2-5.
We look at how all the Football Bowl Subdivision conferences have fared this postseason.
(Through Jan. 4 games)
POWER 5 CONFERENCES
Pac-12: 6-2 (wins by Utah, Arizona State, USC, Stanford, Oregon, UCLA)
SEC: 7-5 (wins by South Carolina, Texas A&M, Arkansas, Missouri, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida)
Big Ten: 5-5 (wins by Rutgers, Penn State, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Ohio State)
ACC: 4-7 (wins by NC State, Virginia Tech, Clemson, Georgia Tech)
Big 12: 2-5 (wins by TCU, Oklahoma State)
THE REST
Conference USA: 4-1 (wins by Marshall, Western Kentucky, Rice, Louisiana Tech)
Independents: 2-1 (wins by Navy, Notre Dame)
Sun Belt: 1-2 (win by Louisiana-Lafayette)
American: 2-3 (wins by Memphis, Houston)
Mountain West: 3-4 (wins by Utah State, Air Force, Boise State)
MAC: 2-3 (wins by Bowling Green, Toledo)
