Oregon QB Marcus Mariota jumps over a Tennessee defensive back in last week’s game. Photo by Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports
The Oregon Ducks breezed past Tennessee 59-14 last week, ending the Pac-12′s five-game losing streak to SEC teams.
The matchups are rare. The conferences have no bowl arrangements, clashing just one in the BCS national title game. There have been a mere 27 meetings between the leagues since 2000 — basically, two a year.
We’ve been tracking them all and updating the chart below from time to time, and here is how it stands:
* The SEC has a 14-13 head-to-head record over the Pac-12 since 2000.
* That’s right in line with how it should be; the SEC was favored to win 15 of the games.
* But, here’s a betting nugget to keep in mind: The Pac-12 is 16-8-3 against the spread in the past 27 games vs. the SEC, highlighting the notion that the conference out West is often undervalued and perhaps underrated. Yes, the SEC has earned its place in the front of the class, but the Pac-12 doesn’t have anything to feel bad about in its matchups against the best.
I agree with of Yahoo! Sports’ Pat Forde, who ranked the major conferences this season like this:
1. SEC
2. Pac-12
3. ACC
4. Big 12
5. Big Ten
There are no more regular-season meetings this year between the Pac-12 and SEC, but we can hope to see one in the final BCS championship game between the winners of the two best leagues.
Here are the SEC/Pac-12 matchups since 2000:
| Season | Matchup | Result | Spread |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | No. 3 Alabama at UCLA | UCLA, 35-24 | Alabama by 7 |
| 2001 | No. 17 UCLA at No. 25 Alabama | UCLA, 20-17 | Alabama by 2 |
| 2002 | Auburn at No. 19 USC | USC, 24-17 | USC by 7 |
| 2002 | Miss. State at No. 15 Oregon | Oregon, 36-13 | Oregon by 13 |
| 2003 | No. 13 LSU at Arizona | LSU, 59-13 | LSU by 11 |
| 2003 | No. 8 USC at No. 6 Auburn | USC, 23-0 | Auburn by 3 |
| 2003 | Oregon at Mississippi State | Oregon, 42-34 | Oregon by 3 |
| 2004 | Oregon State at No. 4 LSU | LSU, 22-21, OT | LSU by 18 |
| 2005 | No. 5 LSU at No. 15 ASU | LSU, 35-31 | ASU by 1 |
| 2005 | Arkansas at No. 1 USC | USC 70-17 | USC by 30 |
| 2006 | Arizona at No. 8 LSU | LSU, 45-3 | LSU by 15 |
| 2006 | No. 9 Cal at No. 23 Tennessee | Tennessee, 35-18 | Cal by 2 |
| 2006 | No. 6 USC at Arkansas | USC, 50-14 | USC by 7 |
| 2006 | Wash. State at No. 4 Auburn | Auburn, 40-14 | Auburn by 14 |
| 2007 | No. 15 Tennessee at No. 12 Cal | Cal, 45-31 | Cal by 6 |
| 2008 | No. 18 Tennessee at UCLA | UCLA, 27-24 (OT) | Tennessee by 7.5 |
| 2008 | No. 3 Georgia at Arizona State | Georgia, 27-20 | Georgia by 7 |
| 2009 | No. 11 LSU at Washington | LSU, 31-23 | LSU by 17.5 |
| 2009 | UCLA at Tennessee | UCLA, 19-15 | Tennessee by 8 |
| 2009 | Arizona State at No. 21 Georgia | Georgia, 20-17 | Georgia by 7 |
| 2010 | No. 7 Oregon at Tennessee | Oregon, 48-13 | Oregon by 10.5 |
| 2010 | No. 2 Oregon vs. No. 1 Auburn | Auburn, 22-19 | Auburn by 3 |
| 2011 | No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 4 LSU | LSU, 40-27 | Oregon by 2.5 |
| 2012 | ASU at No. 21 Missouri | Missouri, 24-20 | ASU by 7 |
| 2012 | Washington at No. 3 LSU | LSU, 41-3 | LSU by 24 |
| 2013 | Washington State at Auburn | Auburn, 31-24 | Auburn by 14 |
| 2013 | Tennessee at No. 2 Oregon | Oregon, 59-14 | Oregon by 28 |