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The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/MysteriousEdge5643 on 2025-06-15 00:45:04+00:00.
Original Title: Pac-12 commissioner Teresa Gould claimed that the new Pac-12 was on par with the Big 12 and the ACC. To find out whether this was actually true, I made a comparison of all 3 conferences. Spoiler alert: it’s not.
There was a quote from Teresa Gould where she claimed that the Pac-12 was on par with the Big 12 and the ACC. So, I thought I’d do some analysis to determine if what she’s saying is actually true. The short answer? No, and it’s not very close.
I averaged the end of year Strength of Record rankings for all 75 Power 5 (including Pac-12 schools) programs in the College Football Playoff era. Here’s how the conferences stack up:
ACC:
| Team | Avg SOR |
|---|---|
| #4 Clemson | 9.72 |
| #27 Miami | 40.09 |
| #30 FSU | 43.18 |
| #34 NC State | 45.63 |
| #36 Louisville | 46 |
| #40 Stanford | 48.72 |
| #41 Pitt | 48.81 |
| #50 UNC | 57.45 |
| #51 Virginia Tech | 58.27 |
| #53 Duke | 59 |
| #54 Cal | 59.54 |
| #56 Georgia Tech | 60.27 |
| #58 Wake Forest | 60.54 |
| #59 Boston College | 62.36 |
| #61 SMU | 64.45 |
| #63 Virginia | 67.27 |
| #66 Syracuse | 69.54 |
Big 12:
| Team | Avg SOR |
|---|---|
| #14 Oklahoma State | 29.45 |
| #15 Utah | 30.63 |
| #22 Kansas State | 33.81 |
| #23 TCU | 33.90 |
| #26 West Virginia | 39.45 |
| #35 BYU | 45.72 |
| #39 Baylor | 48.54 |
| #42 Iowa State | 49.27 |
| #44 Arizona State | 50.54 |
| #45 Cincinnati | 52.72 |
| #46 Texas Tech | 53.90 |
| #47 UCF | 55.18 |
| #57 Houston | 60.36 |
| #62 Colorado | 66.72 |
| #67 Arizona | 71.27 |
| #74 Kansas | 88.09 |
Pac-12:
| Team | Avg SOR |
|---|---|
| #25 Boise State | 39.36 |
| #43 Washington State | 49.36 |
| #64 San Diego State | 68.81 |
| #68 Oregon State | 72.63 |
| #70 Fresno State | 74.18 |
| #72 Utah State | 79.90 |
| #75 Colorado State | 92.36 |
In short, the new Pac-12 has been a very top heavy conference in the playoff era. Boise State and Washington State are the only schools who would be in the upper/middle half of the Big 12 or ACC, and the rest of the schools in the Pac-12 would be Power 5 bottom feeders. So while the new Pac-12 is better than the rest of the Group of 5 conferences, it still doesn’t hold a candle to the Big 12 or the ACC.