Ranking college football conferences in terms of strength can be subjective and often varies from season to season. However, historically, conferences are often ranked based on the performance of their teams in national championships, bowl games, and overall competitiveness. Here’s a general ranking based on recent years’ performances:
1. SEC (Southeastern Conference)
- Strengths: The SEC is widely considered the strongest conference due to its consistent dominance in the College Football Playoff (CFP) and national championships. Teams like Alabama, Georgia, and LSU are perennial powerhouses.
2. Big Ten Conference
- Strengths: The Big Ten has a deep pool of competitive teams, including Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State. They consistently produce playoff contenders and have strong fan bases and traditions.
3. ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference)
- Strengths: The ACC is led by Clemson, which has been a national powerhouse in recent years. Other teams like Florida State and Miami also have strong traditions, although the depth of the conference can vary.
4. Big 12 Conference
- Strengths: The Big 12 is known for high-scoring offenses and competitive teams like Oklahoma and Texas. However, the conference has struggled to compete at the highest level in recent playoffs, with fewer national title contenders compared to the SEC and Big Ten.
5. Pac-12 Conference
- Strengths: The Pac-12 has a strong football tradition with programs like USC, Oregon, and Washington. However, the conference has struggled in recent years to produce consistent national contenders and has been left out of the CFP more often than other Power Five conferences.
6. American Athletic Conference (AAC)
- Strengths: The AAC is considered the strongest among the Group of Five conferences. Teams like UCF, Cincinnati, and Memphis have competed at a high level, with Cincinnati making the CFP in 2021.
7. Mountain West Conference
- Strengths: The Mountain West has solid programs like Boise State and San Diego State, which have been competitive in non-conference games and bowl matchups.
8. Sun Belt Conference
- Strengths: The Sun Belt has emerged as a strong Group of Five conference in recent years, with programs like Coastal Carolina and Appalachian State gaining national attention.
9. Conference USA (C-USA)
- Strengths: C-USA has competitive teams at the Group of Five level, but it hasn’t had the same level of national success as some of the other Group of Five conferences.
10. MAC (Mid-American Conference)
- Strengths: The MAC is known for “MACtion” during midweek games and has competitive teams, but it generally ranks lower in terms of national strength and overall competitiveness.
This ranking can shift based on the performance of teams in a given season, conference realignments, and coaching changes. The Power Five conferences (SEC, Big Ten, ACC, Big 12, Pac-12) are generally considered the strongest, while the Group of Five conferences (AAC, Mountain West, Sun Belt, C-USA, MAC) follow.
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