ACC vs SEC

The SEC has won the last two National Championships in college football. They are a powerhouse of a football conference. The ACC has been mediocre. They are a basketball conference. When SEC teams beat up on each other, their supporters say it's because the teams are so good. When ACC teams beat up on each other, their detractors say it's because the teams are so awful. That being said, I believe that the ACC is a better football conference than the SEC this year.

The ACC has no elite teams, but it has at least 10 good or decent teams. The SEC has two elite teams and a bunch of okay to dismal teams. Here are the schools, their records in parenthesis and the grade I give them:

ACC:
Atlantic-
Boston College (9-3) B+
Florida State (8-4) B
Maryland (7-5) B-
Wake Forest (7-5) B-
Clemson (7-5) C+
NC State (6-6) C+

Coastal-
Georgia Tech (9-3) B+
Virginia Tech (8-4) B
North Carolina (8-4) B-
Miami (7-5) B-
Virginia (5-7) C
Duke (4-8) D+


SEC:
East-
Florida (11-1) A
Georgia (9-3) B
South Carolina (7-5) C-
Vanderbilt (6-6) C-
Kentucky (6-6) C-
Tennesse (5-7) D-

West-
Alabama (12-0) A
Mississippi (8-4) B-
LSU (7-5) C-
Arkansas (5-7) D+
Auburn (5-7) D
Mississippi St (4-8) D-

Average Grade ACC = B-
Average Grade SEC = C
On the Season, ACC is 6-4 against the SEC (including 3-1 this past weekend) and is the conference with the highest winning percentage against BCS conferences.
The Sagarin Index has the ACC rated as the top conference in the nation this week, followed by the Big 12 and the SEC.
The Sagarin team rankings has two SEC teams (FL and AL) ranked higher than the highest ACC team (BC). It has 6 SEC teams ranked lower than the lowest ACC team (Dook).
Also, the ACC has 7 teams in the top ten, including 3 in the top five (FSU 1, GT 3 and UNC 5), of schools that have the highest percentage of non-conference games against BCS Conference foes over the last ten years. The SEC has no teams in the top ten.

Look, the SEC is a great conference in a down year. It does have two great teams. The ACC is just better top to bottom this year. Will it be the better conference next year? I don't know. I do know that the ACC is on the rise. Look out for Georgia Tech, UNC, NC State, FSU, Miami and even Duke next year.