You know the perceptions: West Coast teams are more concerned with scoring and entertaining than winning, and teams in the Southeast don't care about appearances as long as they can smash offenses into dirt.

Obsolete stereotypes, right?

Well, what's happening this year in the Pac-10 and SEC seems to fit those old images, and nothing exemplifies it more than the recent results of the conferences' surprise teams, UCLA and Alabama.

UCLA has given up an average of 47.2 points the past three games. And the Bruins won all three.

Alabama has scored 19 points combined in its past two games. And the Tide won both.

Offense rules in the Pac-10, and defense is king in the SEC. Or are defenses clueless in the Pac-10 and offenses impotent in the SEC?

It's something, because an average of 62.2 points is being scored in conference games in the Pac-10, and only 42 in the SEC, a difference of nearly three touchdowns per game.

Five of the nation's top 11 scoring teams are from the Pac-10. None of the SEC teams is in the top 20.

In scoring defense, though, seven of the top 19 teams are from the SEC. None of the Pac-10 teams ranks in the top 25.

"Good defense is sometimes the lack of offense or the lack of taking chances or spreading the field on offense," Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said. "Certainly offensive football has taken over on the West Coast, and it's exciting and fun."

Pac-10 teams average seven more passes per game than SEC teams, and the Pac-10's habit of having four or five receivers at a time run all over the field can make things interesting. Clemson coach Tommy Bowden called the spread offense "an AD-friendly offense," because it pleases fans, which in turn pleases the athletic director, the guy who hired the coach.

However, the beauty of a defensive struggle can thrill the devoted fan. And the SEC fans are devoted.

"I think the biggest difference (from the Pac-10) is the talent on the defensive side of the ball, week in and week out," said Kentucky coach Rich Brooks, who coached at Oregon 1977-94. "There are bigger, faster guys on defense in this league. The depth of the defensive talent is bigger in the SEC than the Pac-10."

Pac-10 and SEC teams seldom meet, so direct comparisons are rare. This season, Arizona State dropped 31 points on LSU, the most the Tigers have given up this season and well above their average yield of 18.0 points a game. However, LSU racked up 35 points and 436 yards against ASU, exceeding the Tigers' average in both categories.

From here, it seems the conferences' apparent strengths are a product of their weaknesses. Cal and USC, the Pac-10's defensive stalwarts last season when both ranked among the nation's top eight in scoring defense, lost tons of defensive talent, leaving the conference without a defensive power. Auburn and Florida scored a lot of points in the SEC last season, but the Tigers lost two running backs and a quarterback in the first round of the NFL draft, and the Gators changed their offensive system dramatically.

Florida's problems in Urban Meyer's spread-option offense have led to speculation that the speed of SEC defenses negates the advantages spread offenses have elsewhere.

UNLV coach Mike Sanford, who was Meyer's offensive coordinator at Utah the past two seasons, doesn't think that's it.

"You've got to have a quarterback who believes in it and will run," Sanford said. "I don't think their quarterback has completely bought into it."

Chris Leak's passing numbers are worse than they were last year at Florida, and he has minus-16 yards rushing in the same offense that enabled Alex Smith to rush for 631 yards last season at Utah.