By Ryan Autullo Blade

AP Sports Writer

ANN ARBOR — Some have boasted the Big Ten — not the bully Southeasern Conference — has earned the crown as the most accomplished league this college football season. That debate could clear up after the bowl game glut, which provides four head-to-head January matchups between the two tradition-heavy conferences.

“They are definitely the conference you want to play against if you really want to test yourself,” Michigan defensive lineman Ryan Van Bergen said.

Michigan is focused on its second straight postseason game — and the second in a row against an SEC opponent — when it meets Mississippi State Jan. 1 in the Gator Bowl.

Ohio State, a 3-point favorite against Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl, seemingly represents the Big Ten’s best chance at beating a team from the SEC. Michigan, Penn State, and Michigan State are all underdogs in their bowl games on New Year’s Day.

Reputation alone, the conference clashes will showcase glaring contrasts in style. The SEC, that of warm weather and innovative offenses, likens its game to track meets, emphasizing speed above all else. The Big Ten is saddled with a stereotype of being the antithesis to the SEC, a bunch of robust Midwestern boys pushing and tugging one another for 60 minutes. It’s probably an unfair assessment of a conference whose teams have evolved to incorporate spread elements to their offensive packages. Only Wisconsin still works a traditional pro-style offense, and who can argue with the results? The Badgers will take their oversized offensive line and hard-charging running backs to Pasadena to play in the Rose Bowl against Texas Christian.

“You always hear about the SEC speed and the Big Ten is slow, big muscle guys,” UM receiver Darryl Stonum said. “In 2008, Michigan did a great job against Florida proving we can play against an SEC team.”

In Lloyd Carr’s final game as coach, the Wolverines ended a disappointing 2007 season with a 41-35 win over Florida in the New Year’s Day Capital One Bowl. It was the Big Ten’s only win against the SEC in three bowls that year.

The leagues have gone 1-1 against each other in each of the last two bowl seasons. Two years ago Iowa beat South Carolina in the Outback, and Georgia topped Michigan State in the Capital One. Last year, Penn State prevailed over LSU on a mud-covered field in the Capital One, and Auburn survived a fight from Northwestern in the Outback.

The SEC and Big Ten met just once this past season, with Alabama trouncing Penn State in September — 24-3 — at home.