SEC guru Paul Finebaum better be sitting down because another college football analyst has dubbed a different league as the best in college football in 2018, and he brings plenty of logic to the table to defend it.
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According to FOX Sports' lead college football analyst Joel Klatt, the Big Ten Conference, not the Southeastern Conference, is the best conference in college football this season.
So direct all of your hate on Twitter to @joelklatt, SEC fans, because you are not going to like what he has to say in this six-minute segment.
.@joelklatt's Power 5 Rankings heading into the 2018 CFB season:
1. Big Ten
2. SEC
3. Big 12
4. ACC
5. Pac-12 pic.twitter.com/2qrXqBgroN— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) August 16, 2018
Klatt definitely can't get past the Pac-12 going 1-7 in bowl games last season to move them out of the power rankings cellar, or the fact everyone in the ACC, not named Clemson, is rather average.
As for the Big 12 at No. 3, Klatt praises the top part of the league as well as the middle needing more credit, so they get the nod in the middle of the pack.
Despite putting the SEC at No. 2, Klatt praises Alabama as the best program in the country by a wide margin right now, and perhaps as the best program in his lifetime. Georgia is on pace for that, too, but the rest of the league is "not quite up to par" and it's mainly due to scheduling and success against other Power 5 teams in those rare non-conference games.
So, that leaves the Big Ten at No. 1, and this is what he had to say:
"This Big Ten Conference this year is as strong at the top as I've seen in quite some time. Just take in to consideration that if Wisconsin, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State and Ohio State all start in the Top 10 or maybe even Top 15 in the country, that would be the equivalent of Washington, Oklahoma, Clemson, Georgia, and Notre Dame all being in one conference. We would be going bonkers right now. That's exactly what is going on in the Big Ten. Four of those teams are in one division. The East Division in the Big Ten is the toughest division in all of football, and there's really no argument about it. You've got four teams that are all Top 10 caliber. You've got great coaches, very good recruiters and elite-level programs."
As the only conference with a winning percentage above .500 against Power 5 teams last season, the Big Ten not only has success on its side, but a slew of teams looking to compete for a spot in the 2019 College Football Playoff.
It's a logical argument. All that's left is for it to be proven on the gridiron this season, and for someone to dethrone the mighty Crimson Tide to make it plausible.
