Despite AP Poll And Pro-SEC Bias, Big Ten And SEC Teams Are Nearly Identical

There's a relentless campaign from certain sports media networks, some that rhyme with SHMESPN, for example, to make it out like the SEC's depth far outpaces the Big Ten.

This campaign, based mostly on outdated assumptions, the hopelessly inept Associated Press Top 25 poll, and perceived importance of brand names and crowd size, reached former Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban this week. 

Saban joined the "The Pat McAfee Show," on Friday to discuss Saturday's huge matchup between the #3 Oregon Ducks and #7 Indiana Hoosiers in Eugene. 

RELATED: Nick Saban Peddles False Narrative That The SEC Has Way More Depth Than The Big Ten

And he couldn't help himself from repeating the same tired talking points about the supposed SEC gauntlet.

"I don’t think the Big Ten is really that deep," he said. "It’s not like the SEC where you got eight or nine teams that can beat you. There might be three or four teams in the Big Ten that can beat you."

Sure, Nick. When AJ Hawk expressed skepticism, Saban was again dismissive.

"Deeper by what? By who?" Saban responded. "I mean, Penn State? I mean, tell me the good teams. Maybe Michigan. Well, we’ll see tomorrow (about USC). They’re alright, but alright is not really what I’m talking about. I mean, you think USC is going to beat Ohio State? You think that would be a game if they played, really?"
 

Nick Saban. (Photo by Greg Nelson/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (Set Number: X164661 TK1)

Big Ten Is Similarly Deep To SEC

In the world of SEC bias, poor performances by SEC teams are good and a sign of the conference's depth, and poor performances by teams in other conferences indicate how bad and thin they are.

To demonstrate the absurdity of SEC superiority, a good place to start is ESPN's SP+ metric. SP+, created by Bill Connelly, measures team efficiency on offense, defense and special teams. It's meant to be predictive, measuring which teams would be favored over which, and by how many points. Sure enough, the two conferences are very evenly matched among the top programs. 

The top three teams in SP+ this week are all from the Big Ten:

1. Oregon Ducks
2. Ohio State Buckeyes
3. Indiana Hoosiers

The USC Trojans, despite being unranked by the AP Poll, rank 13th. Michigan ranks 14th. On the SEC side, the Oklahoma Sooners rank 4th, Alabama 6th, Ole Miss 7th, Missouri 8th, and Georgia 10th. 

That's extremely close. But because ESPN, or human voters, are more impressed with SEC brand names, they're given the benefit of the doubt. For example, Tennessee, who Saban referenced as being "pretty good," has a nearly identical SP+ rating as USC. Though USC is dismissed as not being on the same playing field as Ohio State. Essentially, if the Trojans and Volunteers played on a neutral field, the line would be within a point either way. But Tennessee is perceived as being the better team, because of the patch on their uniform and the fact that they play in a big stadium.

There's more.

To demonstrate how closely matched the two conferences are, you can look at average rating by offense, defense and special teams among programs in the top-50 of the SP+ rankings.

Big Ten 

• Avg Offense: 36.28
• Avg Defense: 17.15
• Avg Special Teams: 0.09

SEC 

• Avg Offense: 35.21
• Avg Defense: 17.04
• Avg Special Teams: 0.16

Again, nearly identical.

There are eight SEC teams in the top 16, and seven Big Ten teams in the top 19. It's extremely close. 

Florida beating Texas is a sign of the SEC's strength, while Illinois losing to the third-best team in the country is a sign of the Big Ten's weakness. The deck is always stacked against the Big Ten. They will always lose in any hypothetical situation. Because no single entity on earth is more impressed with itself than the SEC.