One of the most anticipated college football seasons in recent memory is ahead with several months to forecast the year. Multiple changes make for what projects to be a memorable fall of football.
Conference realignment is at the forefront of changes that will transform the college football experience. Outside of the SEC, the disbanded Pac-12 conference is scattered across three other power conferences.
Stanford and Cal will play in the ACC after resisting a more logistically sound move to the Big 12. So we’ll see Stanford travel to face Syracuse in its first conference game of the year.
Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Arizona State join the Big 12 conference when they next take the field. Elsewhere, USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington will play in the Big Ten.
The SEC’s expansion makes more sense. The conference will add Oklahoma and Texas to the league. Former and potential rivals Arkansas, Texas A&M, Missouri and LSU stand as games that could increase interest in the league in Texas and Oklahoma.
How the conference tiers moving forward will be of debate over the next few months. Here’s a look at how we rank the teams in the league for the next five seasons.