How Do the Power Five Conferences Perform Academically According to the World University Rankings?

How do the Power Five Conferences perform academically?

Football season has begun with a bang, and once again fans from around the country are in heated debate as to which schools and conferences are the best in the land.

Of course, most of those debates are centered around football. Especially down in SEC country, where football is much more important than academics.

The World University Rankings were released today and this article will look at where Power Five Conference schools landed on the Top 100 of the charts. 

This is a tough ranking because the Power Five schools are competing not only with each other but also other top universities from around the world.

In Grand Countdown Fashion, the list of Power Five Conferences from Worst to First. 

 

#5 -- The Southeastern Conference (SEC) -- ZERO

The SEC landed a big fat ZERO for schools on the "Wonderful One Hundred" list of top universities in the world. The closest to making the Top 100 was Vanderbilt at #105.

#4 -- The Big 12 Conference -- ONE

The Big 12 beat the SEC by one by landing the University of Texas on the Top 100. The Longhorns came in at #49 worldwide.

#3 -- The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) --  FOUR

The ACC landed FOUR schools on the "Wonderful One Hundred" that was released today. Those schools were:
-- #17 - Duke University
-- #33 - Georgia Tech University
-- #56 - North Carolina University
-- #100 - University of Pittsburgh 

#2 -- The Pac-12 Conference -- SIX

The Pac-12 landed SIX schools on the Worldwide Top 100, including four on the ultra prestigious Top 25. Those four were more than any other Power 5 conference.
-- #3 - Stanford
-- #15 - UCLA
-- #18 - California
-- #25 - Washington
-- #66 - USC
-- #100 - Colorado (tied with ACC's Pittsburgh)

#1 -- The Big Ten Conference -- TEN

The overall academic excellence award surely goes to the Big Ten, which placed 10 of their conference schools on the Worldwide Top 100. The Pac-12 may have had a few higher up in the rankings, but the Big Ten pounded the rankings like no other conference.
-- #20 - Northwestern
-- #21 - Michigan
-- #37 - Illinois
-- #43 - Wisconsin
-- #56 - Minnesota
-- #60 - Purdue
-- #69 - Maryland
-- #70 - Ohio State
-- #77 - Penn State
-- #83 - Michigan State


The verdict is in and three of the Power Five conferences put a total of 20 schools on the Top 100 worldwide. Those were the Big Ten with 10, the Pac-12 with six, and the ACC with four. The SEC, the self-proclaimed kings of college football had a total of zero.

As Predicted Yesterday, the Colorado Buffs hand the CSU Rams a Beating of Epic Proportions 44-7

You have to go all the way back to October 13, 1956 to find a game between Colorado and Colorado State in which the winning margin was as large as the one the Buffaloes walked away with tonight. By a final score of 44-7, the Buffs hammered the Rams in the Rocky Mountain Showdown and most likely put the final nails in the coffin of CSU's delusional fantasy of being invited to join the Big 12 conference.

To add insult to injury for the Lambies from Fort Collins, there's nothing quite like being embarrassed on national television by an in-state rival who walked away from the Big 12 for the more exclusive and academically inclined Pac-12. The Rams can be certain that the Big 12 Poobahs were none-too-impressed.

The defense put together by Jim Leavitt and his staff more than lived up to expectations from the outset. The Rams first six possessions all went three and out. By the end of the first quarter, the Rams had run 18 plays for a total of 16 yards, while the Buffs had more points than the Rams had offensive plays. 

Long before the first half was over, the Rams knew they were in for their worst loss to Colorado in 60 years. By the third quarter, the coaches and players from the Fort were just hoping to score a point and not be further embarrassed by ending the game with a goose-egg on the scoreboard.

More posts to come as stats and interviews become available.



 

Could Jordan Webb be the Key to Third Downs for the Colorado Buffaloes?

Colorado Buff Connor Wood's passing is an absolute beast to contend with... as long as it's first down. Not quite so much on second down. But the real problem surfaces on third downs, where the problem is that it's either move the chains or get rid of the ball (punt, FG attempt, or go for it on 4th down).

During the first two games of the season, the CU Buffs were clicking along by converting 40% of their 3rd downs into first down. The result? Two wins. The last two games have been quite different. The Buffs have converted only two out of thirty (6-7%) of their third downs, and the Buffs have been blown out twice.

Those still clinging to the idea that the Buffs might make it to a bowl game at the end of THIS year should consider that Jordan Webb is now healthy again and is now likely the backup to Connor Wood (mostly to save the redshirt for Sefo Liufau), according to head coach Mike MacIntyre.

What does Jordan Webb offer? Mostly this: He has started or played major minutes in 31 college games at the FBS level. He has seen a lot of third downs, a lot of different defenses, and he's a gamer. He gives it his all every snap from the beginning to the end of each game. And he's seen just about everything that defenses from the Big 12 and Pac-12 have to offer.

Many Buff fans are horrified by the idea of Webb taking any more snaps at Colorado. Why? Because he was unfortunate enough to be the starting quarterback under the worst coaching staff in the country the last two years. It was not Webb's fault that the Buff D under Brown and Embree was the worst in the country. And it was not Webb's fault that OC Eric Bieniemy was a horrible play caller who had trouble even getting plays into his team with more than 6-7 seconds left on the clock.

But many so-called Buff fans continue to blame Jordan Webb for the lack of prowess by his coaches. Give him a break. Under the right play calling and a hurry up offense, Webb gives CU a much tougher scheme to defend, especially on third down. He is quicker than Wood if running becomes necessary, but more importantly, he has a softer touch on his short to medium passes. And this will allow the Buffs to move the chains.

No one is suggesting that Connor Wood be replaced as the starter, but it seems that using Webb on occasion for third and short (5 yards or less) would give opposing defenses fits because he is such a different type of player than Wood. If Connor and the rest of team are committed to winning above all (and I think they are) then strategic use of Jordan Webb would give Colorado their best chance at winning six games and making themselves bowl eligible this year.

Maybe I'm alone, but it seems the Buffs should use whatever assets are at their disposal in order to win. Using Jordan Webb on third downs once in a while (or more often if it works well) gives the Buffs a better chance to win than simply sticking with a young QB with only 4 real games under his belt.

Connor's arm makes him a threat to hit the long ball, for sure, but his greatest success by far has been on first down. Allow him to grow and learn from someone with lots and lots of experience. And allow him to learn in a winning environment. It's a lot easier to learn and remember your lessons after you get to sing your fight song in victory after the game.

Go Buffs!