Power Ranking Top 9 College Football Conferences Entering 2025

1. SEC

The SEC is the best league in college football. If you don’t believe me, just ask a fan of a school in the conference, and they’ll tell you. Oh yes, they’ll tell you over and over again, and yes, it can certainly be obnoxious. 

Despite not winning the national title in the past two seasons, the SEC is still the top dog because of elite programs at the top and the depth throughout the whole conference. Schools like Alabama, Georgia, LSU, and Texas can compete for national titles year-in and year-out.

The SEC has what the Big Ten has, but it’s the second and third tiers of this conference that put it over the top. That “second-tier” that consists of Tennessee, Florida, Oklahoma, Missouri, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and South Carolina is much tougher and more resource-rich than any other conference in the country.

The bottom is tougher as well, with teams like Kentucky, Vanderbilt, and Arkansas being very capable of knocking you off if you don’t play well. You just can’t usually say that about Purdue or Northwestern.

SEC Title Odds: Texas +290, Georgia +300, Alabama +490, LSU +600

8. MAC

We love MACtion, and this league certainly has some very proud programs. However, there is currently no true Group of Five playoff contender in the conference, which limits how high they can be ranked on this list. The Mid-American Conference routinely gives major conference programs fits in non-conference matchups, and just last season, Northern Illinois shocked Notre Dame.

The transfer portal has widened the gap between the “haves” and the “have-nots,” and the vast majority of schools in this conference are squarely in the “have-not” category.

2025 MAC Title Odds: Toledo +230, Ohio +320, Buffalo +500

7. Sun Belt Conference

SBC! SBC! SBC! That chant doesn’t have quite the same cache as the infamous “SEC!” chant, does it? That said, I love this conference, and it feels like the final conference nationwide that is mostly drivable and makes some sort of geographic sense.

The Sun Belt is filled with schools located in small college towns that have a wealth of support and dedicated fan bases. Places like Appalachian State, James Madison, Marshall, Troy, Old Dominion, and more are all proud programs with decent resources. The quality of play is generally good, and they have access to talent in the South.

This season, James Madison is considered a College Football Playoff contender, and Curt Cignetti and the Indiana Hoosiers recently showed what a group of Sun Belt players could do on the big stage after many transferred from Sun Belt schools to Bloomington and made the CFP.

6. Mountain West Conference

The Mountain West has a very uncertain future with many schools heading for a restructured and zombified edition of the PAC-12. That said, this power ranking is specifically for the 2025 season, and the presence of Boise State buoys the league. The Broncos are currently the best and most consistent Group of Five program, and that gives them the edge over the Sun Belt.

Schools like UNLV (now led by Dan Mullen), San Diego State, Colorado State, and Fresno State have proud traditions and a recent history of success. Additionally, many of these schools have access to decent resources during the NIL era.

2025 MWC Title Odds: Boise State -155, UNLV +750

5. AAC

The American Athletic Conference will attempt to make claims about being a power conference but the gap between this league and the Big 12 or ACC is still quite wide. That said, the AAC has a lot going for it, and they earn the top Group of Five spot on this ranking.

The additions of Navy and Army have been particularly beneficial to the conference, and some of the most consistent non-Power Five programs in the country are in this league: Memphis, UTSA, Tulane, and South Florida. They do not have a standout program like Boise State, but the conference is deeper throughout the top and middle of the league than the Mountain West is.

AAC Title Odds: UTSA +390, Tulane +390, Navy +480, USF +500

4. Big XII

It is a very tough call between the Big 12 and the ACC. The Big 12 is certainly the most competitively balanced league in the country, with a lot of unpredictability and parity. Just last season, Arizona State came out of nowhere and won the league title. Most of the teams run entertaining offenses and have a lot of passionate fan support.

The Big 12 is the lowest of the Power Four leagues because they don’t realistically have a national title contender. There also doesn’t appear to be a path in the future for them to develop one. Oklahoma State came close during the BCS era, but has not had the same juice since the death of T. Boone Pickens. Additionally, no other program has really competed for national titles since the 1990s (Colorado). Texas Tech is a big spender, and schools like BYU and Arizona State have plenty of resources.

This is a very fun league, and anything could happen, well, outside of a true national title threat emerging.

Big 12 Title Odds: Kansas State +550, Texas Tech +550, Arizona State +550

3. ACC

The ACC is in the same second-tier as the Big 12, but they get the call for the third spot in the rankings because of the presence of programs that you could see winning a national title. Clemson has done so very recently on two different occasions, and Dabo Swinney has the Tigers poised to compete for one again this season. Miami and Florida State both have access to talent and recent history on their side. That’s something the Big 12 just does not have.

Beyond the top trio, schools like Louisville, NC State, SMU, Virginia Tech, and UNC have substantial resources. This league is not as deep as the two conferences ranked ahead of it, and the bottom is relatively weak, but the quality at the top anchors it at number three.

ACC Title Odds: Clemson +110, Miami Florida +400

2. Big Ten

There is a clear “big two” in college football: the Big Ten and the SEC. Those leagues have more money, more resources, and more schools that are capable not only of making the College Football Playoff but also of winning the title.

The Big Ten has a real argument for being number one on this list. After all, the league has won back-to-back National Championships with Michigan winning in 2023 and Ohio State triumphant in 2024. The additions of Oregon and USC are big deals, and Penn State is a consistently top-tier program as well. If you are just looking at the top few schools in each league, the Big Ten could be placed ahead of the SEC, but if you take the entire conference into the equation, the Big Ten gets the second spot.

The soft bottom of this conference, with schools like Northwestern, Purdue, and Maryland, is just significantly weaker than the bottom of the SEC. The middle of the league would also be an advantage for the SEC. The continued development of programs like Nebraska, Indiana, Washington, and Minnesota to give the Big Ten a beefier middle pack could change the equation.

Nevertheless, the gap between the SEC and the rest of the country has narrowed significantly over the past couple of seasons.

Big Ten Title Odds: Ohio State +190, Penn State +230, Oregon +360

1. SEC

The SEC is the best league in college football. If you don’t believe me, just ask a fan of a school in the conference, and they’ll tell you. Oh yes, they’ll tell you over and over again, and yes, it can certainly be obnoxious. 

Despite not winning the national title in the past two seasons, the SEC is still the top dog because of elite programs at the top and the depth throughout the whole conference. Schools like Alabama, Georgia, LSU, and Texas can compete for national titles year-in and year-out.

The SEC has what the Big Ten has, but it’s the second and third tiers of this conference that put it over the top. That “second-tier” that consists of Tennessee, Florida, Oklahoma, Missouri, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and South Carolina is much tougher and more resource-rich than any other conference in the country.

The bottom is tougher as well, with teams like Kentucky, Vanderbilt, and Arkansas being very capable of knocking you off if you don’t play well. You just can’t usually say that about Purdue or Northwestern.

SEC Title Odds: Texas +290, Georgia +300, Alabama +490, LSU +600