Comparing the Power 5 conferences through Week 4

It's an eternal debate: Which conference is king in college football?

The SEC won seven straight national championships from 2006-2012, with four different teams winning at least one title during that span. The ACC has come on strong in the last four seasons with Clemson and Florida State each winning a championship.

The Big Ten has three teams ranked in the Top 10 of the AP Poll. The Big 12 has undefeated Oklahoma and TCU poised to make a run at the College Football Playoff.

RELATED: AP Top 25 by the numbers: Ranked teams regain form in Week 4

Here's a look at how the conferences stack up right now:

AP Top 25

Using a weighted point system where the No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 poll receives 25 points and the No. 25 team receives one point, here are the point totals for each conference. This method takes into account both the number of ranked teams in a conference and how highly ranked they are in the poll.

Four of the Power 5 conferences have four teams in the latest AP Top 25 Poll. The exception is the SEC, which has six. However, three of those SEC teams — No. 21 Florida, No. 24 Mississippi State and No. 25 LSU — are ranked in the 20s. That's why the SEC is second behind the Big Ten, which has three Top 10 teams.

Big Ten – 71 points

4. Penn State (22)

8. Michigan (18)

10. Wisconsin (16)

11. Ohio State (15)

A look back on the final drive that led to a thrilling last-second victory for Penn State: https://t.co/sOX9hyOMwZ pic.twitter.com/a27Gz6iQvL

— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) September 25, 2017

SEC – 65 points

1. Alabama (25)

7. Georgia (19)

13. Auburn (13)

21. Florida (5)

24. Mississippi State (2)

25. LSU (1)

Actions speak louder... #OutworkYesterday#RollTide pic.twitter.com/KeKIGQFcUG

— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) September 24, 2017

ACC – 59 points

2. Clemson (24)

12. Virginia Tech (14)

14. Miami (FL) (12)

17. Louisville (9)

Thankful for every day we all get to spend in #DeathValley... #ALLIN #ClemsonFamily pic.twitter.com/sq56emffvl

— Clemson Football (@ClemsonFB) September 23, 2017

Pac-12 – 57 points

5. USC (21)

6. Washington (20)

16. Washington State (10)

20. Utah (6)

Big win in Pasadena, Trojans! pic.twitter.com/Jb1Wxl3pvw

— USC Trojans Football (@uscfootball) January 3, 2017

Big 12 – 54 points

3. Oklahoma (23)

9. TCU (17)

15. Oklahoma State (11)

23. West Virginia (3)

@Abdul_Adams2 99-yard TD run was the longest in OU history and just the 11th in FBS history. #RBU #OUDNApic.twitter.com/jZuCELLWHW

— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) September 24, 2017

Non-conference winning percentage

This can be an early indicator of which conferences have a leg up on the competition. Every Power 5 conference has won at least two-thirds of its non-conference games through Week 4. But the SEC and Pac-12 have collectively performed the best against the rest of the country, winning nearly 30 games and losing fewer than 10.

SEC: 29-6 (.829)

Pac-12: 27-7 (.794)

Big Ten: 31-10 (.756)

ACC: 27-10 (.729)

Big 12: 20-10 (.667)

Record vs. the rest of the Power 5

The sample size is small and admittedly not balanced in terms of the quality of competition. But examining the Power 5's records against the rest of the Power 5 is the closest we can come to head-to-head comparison.

Pac-12: 6-2 (.750)

Big Ten: 7-5 (.583)

SEC: 5-6 (.455)

Big 12: 4-6 (.400)

ACC: 5-8 (.385)

Winning percentage vs. this week's AP Top 25

The Power 5 has only nine wins against teams that are in this week's AP Top 25. (We're not counting Power 5 wins against an opponent that was ranked at the time of the game, only wins against opponents who are ranked this week.) This stat isn't perfect because teams drop out of the rankings and the toughest portion of most teams' schedules still awaits. But this can show how each conference has fared in limited play against the best teams in the country right now.

Big 12: 2-5 (.286)

ACC: 3-8 (.273)

SEC: 3-9 (.250)

Big Ten: 1-8 (.111)

Pac-12: 0-7 (.000)

Points scored | allowed per game

Does defense when championships? Or, is a high-scoring offense enough to fuel a College Football Playoff appearance? Here's how each conference stacks up in terms of points on the board, both scored and given up.