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[Noah]

After winning its seventh straight national championship, the SEC finished first in ESPN Stats & Information's conference power rankings.

And it wasn't even close.

After going 6-3 in bowl games, including Alabama's 42-14 national championship win against Notre Dame, the SEC finished atop of the rankings with a rating of 98.7, which was a .4 percent increase for the league before the postseason. The SEC remained No. 1 in the AP rank and second in the computers.

Here's a little of what Stats & Info said about the SEC's finish:

"In its bowl games, the SEC went 6-3 -- the best record of any AQ conference -- and outscored its opponents by a combined 85 points. It was the 10th straight season the SEC finished .500 or better in its bowl games, by far the longest such streak in the nation.

"Next season, the SEC does not look to be getting any weaker. Quarterbacks AJ McCarron, Aaron Murray, Connor Shaw and Heisman-winner Johnny Manziel return to the conference with their eyes on an eighth straight BCS title for the conference."

With the SEC so far ahead, the real excitement came in the battle for second place, which the Big 12 barely won against the Pac-12 with a rating of 77.6 to the Pac-12's 77.0. The Big Ten was fourth (66.7) and the ACC was fifth (52.4).

Here's a complete look at the power rankings:


Stats & Info Final Conference Power Rankings
Rank Conference AP Rank Computers Rank Overall Rating Rating Change

1 SEC 1 2 98.7 0.4

2 Big 12 3 1 77.6 -2.5

3 Pac-12 2 4 77.0 -8.0

4 Big Ten 4 3 66.7 -1.8

5 ACC 5 6 52.4 8.2

6 Big East 6 5 45.1 15.7

7 WAC 7 7 40.1 4.1

8 MWC 8 11 19.1 -2.8

9 MAC 9 8 19.0 -7.5

10 Sun Belt 11 9 15.4 -1.7

11 C-USA 10 10 14.5 0.4

Edited by Noah, 09 January 2013 - 09:04 PM.