Bowl Challenge Cup:

Auburn lost to Florida State in a game so close it may as well have been a coin toss.  Does this mean the SEC sucks?  Was it overrated?  Should the state of Alabama hang its head in shame?

Not so fast.  Check out the results of the bowl challenge cup:

http://www.montag.org/Football/cups/bowl_challenge_cup.php

As of now the site hasn't yet been updated to take into account Auburn's loss or Florida State's win.  Therefore, the SEC should read as 7 wins and 3 losses, not 2 losses.  And the ACC should read as 5 wins and 6 losses, not 4 wins.  Regardless, the evidence is in.  When teams from outside the SEC try to rumble with teams from the SEC, the result is a lopsided slaughter.

The SEC won the bowl challenge cup handily, with a 70% win rate.  The Pac 12 came in 2nd with a 67% win rate.  The Big 12 did okay with a 50% win rate.  The ACC underperformed with a 45% win rate.  The American conference managed a 40% win rate.  The Big 10 embarrassed itself with a 29% win rate.  The non-AQ conferences didn't distinguish themselves well either, with Conference USA getting 50%, the Mountain West getting 50%, and the MAC getting a fat 0% out of five tries.

Auburn barely lost a game they led most of the game for, at one point by a huge margin of 18 points.  They looked like the better team today, but the gods simply conspired against them with that kickoff return for a touchdown upsetting the natural flow of the game.  Aside from that one black mark, the SEC dominated the bowl world with tough fought win after tough fought win.  Every conference put their best against the SEC's rest and the SEC still came up on top.

Florida State is undoubtedly a good team, but their conference is pretty weak.  Both the Pac 12 and the Big 12 distinguished themselves better in the post season.  The ACC will look a lot stronger once Louisville joins the conference, which simply demolished its opposition in its bowl.  Maybe then Florida State will have to play some actual competition before the national championship rolls along, but this time their trip to a perfect season was pretty much a cake walk.  I wouldn't be surprised if we saw a rematch between Auburn and Florida State not long from now, and I doubt the result would be the same next time.  Bring on fall 2014, where no doubt with all the conference realignments and new playoff system, the best college football season yet is about to begin.