The NCAA News - News & Features

Big Ten makes run at being tops against I-A teams

BY GARY K. JOHNSON
NCAA Statistics Coordinator

The Big Ten Conference is again making a bid to break the reign of the Southeastern Conference as the nation's best when playing Division I-A football opponents from other conferences.

In the last 12 years, the SEC had the nation's best nonconference winning percentage 10 times. Last year, it looked like the Big Ten or Big Eight would surely would break the SEC's hold on the title, but the SEC won 12 of its last 13 regular-season games to just nose out the other two conferences at the wire. The SEC finished last season with a .794 winning percentage, ahead of the Big Ten's .779 and the Big Eight's .766.

This year, both the Big Ten and the Pacific-10 Conference have won-lost records bettering the the SEC's 14-7 record.

The Big Ten has a 25-9 record for a .735 winning percentage, while the Pacific-10 is at 18-8 for a .692 percentage. The SEC's nonconference winning percentage is at .667.

Of the 11 teams in the Big Ten, five have perfect records against nonconference opponents. They are Penn State with four wins and Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio State and Wisconsin each with three. Three other teams in the conference have a 2-1 record against outside squads. The Big Ten is the only conference that has played Division I-A teams exclusively in nonconference competition.

The Pacific-10, which finished fourth last year in the nonconference race, is second this season as four of its members are undefeated in nonleague play. Arizona State, California and Oregon all are 3-0, while Washington is 1-0. Of course, the biggest nonconference win for the Pacific-10 this season was Arizona State's 19-0 shutout of two-time defending national champion Nebraska.

With 12 teams in the SEC, member schools do not have as much opportunity to play outside competition as do smaller conferences. Five SEC teams are undefeated in nonconference play as Alabama, Auburn, LSU and Tennessee all are 2-0 and Florida has beaten its only I-A, non-SEC opponent. Mississippi has not played any I-A opponents from outside the SEC, although the Rebels did defeat I-AA foes Idaho State and Virginia Military.

The newest conference in Division I-A is the Big 12, which sits in fourth place vs. nonconference opponents with a 19-14 in its inaugural season.

Out of 10 I-A conferences, seven have a .500 winning percentage or better in nonconference competition against I-A teams. After the top four conferences come Conference USA (.550), the Big East Conference (.526) and the Atlantic Coast Conference (.500).

The SEC saw a five-year nonconference title streak end in 1988 when the Pac-10 compiled a remarkable .794 (27-7) winning percentage -- highest in the 1980s. The SEC was on top again in 1989, but not in 1990, when the ACC broke through to take the honors. The rest of the 1990s has belonged to the SEC.

Last season's leaders were the SEC (.794), the Big Ten (.779), the now-defunct Big Eight (.766) and the Pacific-10 (.589). No other conference recorded a winning record last season in I-A nonconference competition, although the also-defunct Southwest Conference did finish at .500 (15-15-2).

Division I-A independent teams were 30-47-1 for a .391 winning percentage, while this season they have dropped slightly to 13-21 (.382).

Some conferences have many nonconference games left, while others are almost finished with outside games. Here are the standings through October 5.

1996 I-A conference records vs.
Div. I-A nonconference foes*

Conference -- W -- L -- Pct.
Big Ten -- 25 -- 9 -- .735
Pacific-10 -- 18 -- 8 -- .692
Southeastern -- 14 -- 7 -- .667
Big 12 -- 19 -- 14 -- .576
Conference USA -- 11 -- 9 -- .550
Big East -- 10 -- 9 -- .526
Atlantic Coast -- 6 -- 6 -- .500
Western Athletic -- 19 -- 24 -- .442
All independents -- 13 -- 21 -- .382
Big West -- 4 -- 18 -- .182
Mid-American -- 4 -- 18 -- .181

*Games against Division I-AA and non-major opponents are deleted.

Although some upsets of I-A teams by I-AA teams do happen and usually are publicized widely, the I-A teams this season are dominating their I-AA counterparts. The I-A teams have a record of 30-7 for a winning percentage of .811 against I-AA opponents. This high winning percentage and the wide variation in the number of such games among conferences are the reasons those games are deleted when comparing the I-A conferences.

Division I-AA standings

The Big Sky Conference is looking to take its fourth consecutive title as the nonconference champion in Division I-AA, but it is receiving stiff competition at the top.

The Big Sky has a 6-1 mark for a .857 winning percentage while playing I-AA football opponents outside its own conference, while two other conferences -- the Southern and the Yankee -- are both 12-2 (also .857).

Last season, the Big Sky led the division with an .867 mark (13-2), followed by the familiar company of the Yankee (.804, 18-4-1) and Southern Conferences (.688, 11-5).

With a race on at the top, fourth place this season falls into the hands of the Gateway Football Conference with an also-impressive 12-3 record or .800 mark. Other I-AA conferences playing .500 ball or better are the Northeast (.667) and the Ivy Group (.533). The Northeast is in its first year as a conference.

The independents, a group of 14 teams, have played 44 games against I-AA teams this season and have won 19 for a winning percentage of .432.

While the SEC has dominated the I-A nonconference competition through the years, several conferences were at the top in I-AA competition before the Big Sky's recent domination. Five years ago, the Gateway won by a landslide with an .810 winning percentage (15-2-2), while in 1992 the Yankee (.700) just edged the Southern Conference (.688).

Games against Division I-A opponents are deleted because some I-AA conferences play several such games, some play few and still others none. Games against teams in Divisions II and III or the NAIA also are deleted for the same reasons.

Here are the standings through October 5:

1996 I-AA conference records vs.
Div. I-AA nonconference foes

I-AA Conference -- W -- L -- Pct.
Southern -- 12 -- 2 -- .857
Yankee -- 12 -- 2 -- .857
Big Sky -- 6 -- 1 -- .857
Gateway -- 12 -- 3 -- .800
Northeast -- 4 -- 2 -- .667
Ivy -- 8 -- 7 -- .533
All independents -- 19 -- 25 -- .432
Southland -- 6 -- 8 -- .429
Southwestern -- 4 -- 6 -- .400
Metro Atlantic -- 2 -- 3 -- .400
Pioneer -- 2 -- 5 -- .286
Mid-Eastern -- 2 -- 5 -- .286
Ohio Valley -- 5 -- 13 -- .278
Patriot -- 5 -- 17 -- .227

Besides the top three conferences already mentioned, the other conferences a year ago with winning records were the Gateway (.619) and the Ivy (.604). The Southland finished at .500 with a 12-12 mark. All I-AA independents last year were 47-38 for a .553 winning percentage.