SEC East vs West, Academically

When we talk SEC East vs West, we're mostly talking football, but today USNews & World Report released its 2016 best universities list. Lets look at how the East and West compare. I'm using the overall national rankings, not public school rankings, as Vandy is private.

East

Vanderbilt (11th)
Florida (47th)
Georgia (61st)
Missouri (103rd)
Tennessee (103rd)
South Carolina (108th)
Kentucky (129th)

West

Texas A&M (70th)
Alabama (96th)
Auburn (102nd)
Arkansas (129th)
LSU (129th)
Ole Miss (140th)
Mississippi State (161st)

So the average rank of the East teams is 80th. The average rank of the West teams is 118th. Clearly in the next SEC championship game the East team should receive an academic bonus of two touchdowns.

"Yes...but...Vanderbilt," you sputter. "Not fair." Yeah, Vandy skews the data as a top-flight private university. So let's exclude Vandy. Even so, the East's average rank is 92nd, still far better than the 118th seen in the west. Plus the East has two schools in the Top 50. The West has zero. What really hurts the West, of course, are the Mississippi schools. The East's lowest ranked school would be tied for fourth in the West.