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Message: [QUOTE="Bear11, post: 2587729, member: 7934"] One thing I note is that just because the [I]conference [/I]is stronger, does not mean the conference [I]schedule [/I]is harder. In the 15 team ACC for instance, they only play a 16 game conference schedule. None of the top teams have to play each other twice. Louisville, as an example, plays the top 3 ACC teams at home, and the only conference teams they play twice are lowly Pitt and Virginia, games which should be no trouble. Oklahoma has to play 6 games against Baylor, Texas and Ok State, going 0-5 so far in generally competitive games. If they could drop a couple of those games and replace with them with Iowa State- quality opponents, their conference and overall record would look much better. This is not to say that the Big 12 is better than the ACC, or that Oklahoma would necessarily be more successful in a different conference. I just find it interesting that conference schedules are so unbalanced. Notre Dame, for instance, will play 7 Massey top 50 opponents in ACC play, and Louisville plays 8. In SEC play, Mississippi State played just 6 top 50 opponents, while South Carolina played 8. All the top Big 12 teams have to play 10 games against top 50 teams in conference. The Big 12 may not have as much depth, but the nature of the schedule makes it more of a grind. The diluting effect of the mega-conferences can be helpful for those teams. [/QUOTE]