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Conference resords last 10 years.

Conference Records: Last 10 Years

At the end of yesterday’s blog, I posted the longest historical conference winning streaks for each of the current conferences and several now-defunct conferences, such as the Big 8 and the Big East.  Today, I will take a more recent look at how programs have measured up against their conference foes over the last 10 years (i.e., from 2005 through 2014).  For reference, this information is also listed on each team’s page of my magazine.

A few items of note:  I excluded most teams without a full decade of play.  Thus, Georgia Southern, which was 8-0 in its only season of conference play in FBS, is not listed below, nor is Appalachian State (6-2 in one season of conference play) or Georgia State (0-15 in two years of conference play). Similarly, BYU, which went 39-9 (81.3%) in Mountain West play from 2005-2010, is excluded from the list, although the Cougars’ winning percentage would actually rank 3rd among FBS teams.  In my magazine, I classified BYU’s recent games against Power 5 teams as de facto “conference” games for statistical purposes.  

In addition, there are also teams that have played in two or more conferences as a result of the frenzied conference realignment moves that have taken place.  For example, Boise State played in the WAC from 2005-2010, during which time it went 38-3 (92.7%), before joining the Mountain West in 2011.  Idaho and New Mexico State, both of which started in the WAC, were each forced to play one season as an independent (2013) before landing in the Sun Belt, but I have included their 9-year conference totals in this analysis.

By winning percentage, here are the Top 15 teams of the past decade:

A few thoughts on this list:

• It does not surprise me to see Boise State at the top of the list, as the Broncos transitioned seamlessly from WAC to MW play under Chris Petersen
• TCU dominated the Mountain West but struggled badly when they jumped up in class to the B12 (6-12 in first two years).  The Horned Frogs have adjusted nicely though, as they finished 8-1 in conference play and narrowly missed out on a 9-0 season.
• Given Florida State’s recent dominance of the ACC, it is a tad surprising to see them ranked only #12.  In the final five seasons of the Bowden era, however, the Seminoles were a mere 22-19 in a league that was largely dominated by Virginia Tech (#9). In the last five years, the Hokies and Noles have been two teams moving in opposite directions but they could potentially meet up in Charlotte for the ACC Championship Game this year.

On the other end of the spectrum, here are the teams that have fared the worst in conference play over the past decade (again, noting Idaho and NMSU as having only played nine seasons):

• Not surprisingly, New Mexico State, which has long struggled with funding and other inherent disadvantages, leads the list with a 13% conference winning percentage.  After a 1-7 season in Sun Belt play in 2014, however, things could be looking up a bit for the Aggies in 2015.
• Duke’s cumulative 24.7% winning percentage over 10 years of ACC should serve to highlight the incredible job that David Cutcliffe has done in Durham. The Blue Devils have posted consecutive winning seasons in ACC play, including an ACC Title Game appearance in 2013.  Prior to Cutcliffe’s arrival in 2008, Duke had gone 0-24 in the past three years of conference play, all of which are included in their low percentage above.
• Washington State has never been a powerhouse in the P12, but they had their moments in the 1990s and early 2000s.  Recently, the Cougars have struggled badly, most notably under Paul Wulff, whose teams went 4-32 in four years of conference play.
• As with Duke, Syracuse’s numbers were negatively affected by their poor play at the beginning of the 10 year span, as Greg Robinson’s teams went 3-25 in four years of Big East play from 2005-2008.  The Orange have also struggled with their transition to the ACC (5-11 in two years).

 

 

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