As the college football season quickly approaches, teams all across the country are gearing up to succeed in their respective conferences.
From the storied traditions of the SEC to the rising competitiveness of the Big Ten, teams are not only fighting for playoff spots but also for conference bragging rights.
Sports writer Will Backus of CBS Sports ranks the SEC as the best conference in college football (to no surprise). But how do all the other conferences stack up?
What CBS Sports says about the SEC
“The SEC may have had its streak of four straight national championships broken last season, but it’s primed to climb right back to the mountaintop this year,” Backus wrote.
“Newcomers Texas and Oklahoma add five College Football Playoff appearances to the SEC’s already robust war chest, and the Longhorns landed at No. 4 in the preseason AP Top 25. Georgia took the top spot and Alabama and Ole Miss came in at five and six, respectively, giving the SEC two-thirds of the top six teams.”
Backus went on to say, “This league’s way deeper than that, though. Factor in teams like Missouri, LSU and Tennessee, and almost half of the SEC has a realistic shot at making the 12-team playoff.
“Beyond that top tier, there are plenty of teams with 8- or 9-win upside. An overwhelming majority of the SEC should at least make a bowl game. There’s some ridiculous depth here.”
CBS Sports’ college football conference power rankings
No. 1: SEC
No. 2: Big Ten
No. 3: Big 12
No. 4: ACC
No. 5: AAC
No. 6: Mountain West
No. 7: Sun Belt
No. 8: Conference USA
No. 9: MAC
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