It’s been a long time since another league outside of the SEC could claim that it was the best league in college football. Georgia, Alabama, and LSU have all produced truly dominant teams in recent years, but teams like Ole Miss, Missouri, and Texas A&M have produced great teams in the last five years as well.
However, calling the Southeastern Conference the most competitive conference in college football might be misplaced. During SEC Media Days, coaches and media have been touting the competition in the league and just how many one-possession games the league plays.
FootballScoop’s Zach Barnett dove into the numbers to see what it actually looks like over the course of a season and took note of the one score games in the SEC in 2023.
The results? 18 of 57 games last season, or 31.6% of SEC contests, finished within one possession last season.
So, how competitive is that? Well, it’s not completely lopsided, but it’s not exactly to the level of the Big 12.
Over the same season, the Big 12 had 27 of its 64 games finish within one score, which measures out to 42% of the games in a season.
The Big 12 is as competitive a league as you’ll find in college football, and that should be even more the case going forward with the addition of Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah.
