Has the Pac-12 caught up to the SEC?

Times columnist Chris Dufresne discusses the weekend in college football in the above video.

He examines the notion that the Pac-12 has caught up to the SEC as a conference.

“Any conference that has won seven straight national titles gets the benefit of the doubt, but the Pac-12 went undefeated against nonconference over the weekend. I think they’re 29-4 against nonconference this year,” Dufresne said.

“Top to bottom I think they are stronger than the SEC. ... The top of the SEC, the top four, five, six teams are probably still a little bit better, but it’s a pretty good race right now as to who is the best conference in the country. The Pac-12 has at least closed the gap a little.”

He also explains why he thinks that once the playoff format starts next year, we won’t be seeing as many lopsided victories as we did this past weekend.

“When it comes down to the selection committee, they’re going to be looking a lot more at who you play,” Dufresne said. “You’re not going to be able to get away with these freebie wins just to bulk up your resume. And I think you’re going to have to arrange a more competitive schedule if you want to get in that mix of the top four teams.”

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