Parity

Dictionary.com defines parity as equality, as in amount, status, or character. For those of us hoping for the dethroning of sports dynastys when they are seated high upon their throne, parity is what we long for. It is great for a sport when it can constantly feature contests of evenly matched teams. Fans come to the parks/staduims/arenas or watch on TV.

Why, then, is parity not celebrated in college football?

The SEC has three ranked teams, all in the top 8: Florida (1), Alabama (2), and LSU (3). The Pac-10 has five ranked schools, 11 or lower: Oregon (11), Stanford (17), USC (18), Oregon St. (19), and California (25).

People will jump at the chance to tell you how great the SEC is (especially out this way) and laugh if you even ask about the legitimacy another conference. I believe that the Pac-10 is another legitimate conference that gets no love because the teams in their conference can -and do- beat up on each other every season. Not only do they play a tough conference schedule, they also play the toughest non-conference schedule in college football. While Alabama schedules Florida International, North Texas, and UT-Chattanooga (they also played #15 Va Tech at a neutral site), Florida schedules Charleston Southern, Florida International, Troy, and Florida State, and LSU schedules Washington, Louisiana-Lafayette, Tulane, and Louisianna Tech, Oregon plays at #6 Boise State, hosts Purdue and #21 Utah, Stanford plays at Wake Forest, hosts San Jose State and Notre Dame, USC hosts San Jose State and travels to #10 Ohio State and Notre Dame, Oregon State plays Portland State, UNLV, and #5 Cincinatti, and California plays an SEC-esque non-conference schedule with Maryland, Eastern Washington, and Minnesotta.

Obviously the Pac-10 ranked teams will have more games against ranked opponents than the SEC ranked teams due to their conference schedules, but the Pac-10 consistently goes East against ranked or 2nd tier programs which feature games that offer parity. I think Georgia is the only SEC team to play outside of the "south" when they lost their opener in Stillwater, OK against the Cowboys of OK State.

Do I think Florida and Alabama could beat these ranked Pac-10 Schools? Of Course. I give those teams the nod 8 out of 10 times against the ranked Pac-10 teams, except USC, who will win four out of ten.

The SEC championship game will be fun to watch because it features two evenly-matched teams vying for a spot in the BSC National Title Game (unless the MOCS knock off Bama this weekend in Tuscaloosa!!!). Aside from that I would much rather follow the Pac-10 regular season. Florida and Alabama fans have a 50% chance to win their conference and all of the marbles are laid down in one game. Pac-10 supporters of these 5 ranked teams have a 20% chance to win their conference. The odds are weaker, but the payoff is greater. Will their teams get to hoist the crystal ball? No. But they can be sure to play a FOOTBALL game EVERY Saturday because of the parity in their conference, something that should celebrated by all sports fans.

Just sayin...