There has been little doubt over the past couple of decades as to which college football conference rules the nation, with the Southeastern Conference winning 14 of the last 20 national championships and otherwise dominating the sport during the 21st century.
The SEC has taken the title the last four seasons starting with the LSU Tigers‘ trophy in 2019, followed by the Alabama Crimson Tide and then a pair by the Georgia Bulldogs. While the Atlantic Coast Conference earned three titles (Clemson Tigers twice, Florida State Seminoles once) in comparison to just one for the Big Ten (Ohio State Buckeyes) during the past decade, the SEC took home six.
Coming into the 2023 campaign, CBS Sports’ Barrett Sallee ranked the Power Five schools, with the SEC predictably earning the top spot. Here is his justification.
The SEC boasts three legitimate national championship contenders in No. 1 Georgia, No. 4 Alabama and No. 5 LSU. What does the beefy middle of the conference look like, though? It’s pretty strong. Tennessee — which spent time at No. 1 in the CFP rankings last year — chimed in at No. 12 in the AP Top 25. Ole Miss (No. 22) and Texas A&M (No. 23) both got some love from the voters, and South Carolina and Arkansas just missed out of cracking the rankings. The poll isn’t the only thing that matters, though. Arkansas‘ offense is almost impossible to prepare for with big KJ Jefferson taking the snaps and Raheim Sanders toting the rock. We know just how powerful Tennessee’s offense can be with Josh Heupel running things. Speaking of offense, coach Lane Kiffin and the Rebels have running back Quinshon Judkins — a first-team All-American in the recently released CBS Sports All-America Team — behind an offense that will undoubtedly “click” from the time toe meets leather.
After the SEC, Sallee has the Pac-12 ranked second, the Big Ten third, the ACC fourth and the Big 12 fifth in his rankings.
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