Debating who has the best conference in the nation is part of the appeal of college athletics. What is the strength of schedule? Who did you play out of conference? How does your conference do in the bowls or in March Madness? The debate rages on.
In the non-conference portion of college basketball season events like the Big Ten ACC Challenge give fans a head-to-head look at how teams from across the country stack up. The Big 12 participates in a similar event and it is in full swing. The SEC Big 12 challenge is underway and Oklahoma State (7-0) travels to face South Carolina Saturday for their part in the event.
FanSided
The interest and debate these events generate is great for fans, television ratings and the teams as they see where they are against a quality non-conference opponent. The atmospheres are intense because there are no neutral site games in the event.
That begs the question: What if something like this existed in football? If select Big 12 teams faced a comparable SEC team in one non-conference tilt couldn’t we end at least some of the raging debate? What would be the outcome if the the top teams in the SEC faced a Big 12 counterpart? In this slideshow we take a look at some intriguing hypothetical match ups and why they would or would not materialize.