The Southeastern Conference claims to be the most competitive league in college football, but does the data support this bold claim?
CBS Sports writer Tom Fornelli recently took a deep dive into the number of one-score games for all 10 FBS conferences over the past 10 years. As it turns out, the numbers do not quite hold up.
Since 2014, the FBS conference average was 38.56%. The Big 12 (42.32%), ACC (42.21%), MAC (41.50%) and Sun Belt (39.08%) leagues were the four, respectively, to exceed the collegiate subdivision average.
So where does that leave the SEC?
Maybe it just does not mean more in the southeast, as the SEC is seventh out of the 10 conferences when it comes to one-score games at an average of 37.01%.
Gators’ 2024 numbers vs. the data
Last season, [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] and Co. played in eight games against SEC peers and three of those games (one win and two losses) were decided by a touchdown or less. That gives Florida a 37.5% one-score game average, in 2024 — just slightly below the FBS 10-year trend.
Florida’s 2024 season opener
The Florida and the Miami Hurricanes open their schedule on Aug. 31 in Gainesville, Florida. Kickoff time is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on ABC Sports.
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