Power Ranking College Football Conferences for 2025: All 9 Conferences

August 22, 2025

Chris Wassel ranks the FBS conferences for the 2025 college football season after realignment shook up the makeup of the Big Ten, SEC, and other conferences.

Realignment was the buzzword heading into the 2024 college football season. Tweak may be the word as 2025 approaches. With essentially four power conferences, the College Football Playoff Committee made a change in its format. The top four seeds just get a straight bye with no special preferences in this year's playoff.

With a little less chaos that way, this is how these teams may do on the field. How do the conferences stack up against each other? I'm glad you asked! I've examined all the FBS conferences and ranked them from one to nine.

Let's power rank all the FBS conferences as Week 0 approaches. No, I am not ranking the independents because, well ... that's not a conference, and I'm not ranking the new Pac-12 because it is still a year away.

9. Conference USA

The conference has fallen on hard times. Teams like Sam Houston and Jacksonville State pulled off mild surprises and finished at the top of the conference. Liberty finished third in the conference and wound up with a solid 8-3 mark. Some have made a case, jokingly, that the not-yet-ready Pac-12 surpasses C-USA.

Man I need College Football.

I need my Sam Houston vs Kennesaw State game (Conference USA)

They play on weekdays

— Brutally Honest Cleveland Sports Fan (@CTPhDinSports) August 6, 2025

Remember when Cincinnati went undefeated in 2021 and made it into the playoff as a G5 program? Unfortunately, there are no teams here that can come close to that level. Liberty is a favorite again to win the conference, but could fall a step or two short again this season. UTEP could be a team to watch, but hey, there will be more weekday college football at least.

There is some intriguing football here. Some.

8. MAC

MACtion is certainly very real. Sure, we wanted to move this up a little, but other than Northern Iowa and some exciting weeknight football, it does not have as much going on other than a buzzy conference name this year.

One thing MAC possesses is stability. Every current MAC program has been in the conference since 1998 or earlier. Only Marshall has left this century, and that creates regional rivalries, which helps attract viewers. Toledo and Ohio are conference favorites, with Miami (OH) always lurking.

As for the MAC in 2025, the conference is coming off a season where Northern Illinois upset Notre Dame, then fell apart. Ohio won the conference championship and could again this year.

7. American

The run from Army last year added some serious lift to the conference. Ultimately, losing to Notre Dame the way the Cadets did would not diminish their value. Even the loss to Navy was not horrible, as they trounced Louisiana State in the Independence Bowl.

The talent level has risen somewhat in the conference. Projections have eight conference teams with at least a 50% chance of being bowl eligible! UTSA and Tulane should be a lot better than 2024. Then again, the Green Wave have already had their share of injuries. It does seem the conference is an injury or two away from slipping in the rankings.

6. Sun Belt

Once more, the Sun Belt and Mountain West battle for G5 supremacy; this time around, the Sun Belt fell a little short. Maybe we were blinded by BYU or the slight drop-off from James Madison and Georgia Southern. The Sun Belt West figures to be very competitive, but again, depth can be a little deceptive here.

First, this conference has the reputation of getting teams to the bowls. Eight teams got into a bowl in 2024, which means three more teams qualified compared to their minimum spots guaranteed. Only seven teams played as Marshall was a victim of the transfer portal. Sun Belt teams went a respectable 4-3 in bowl games.

Anyhow, eight teams have a better than 50% projection rate of making a bowl again. Do not be shocked if this happens for a fourth year in a row. The chances of a 10-win team are lower than last season, however.

5. Mountain West

UNLV created a real pop in the conference in 2024. Last season, UNLV battled Boise State mightily. A few plays may have cost the Rebels a chance at the crown.

Barry Odom has won 20 games the past two seasons and fields an excellent team again. If it were not for the Broncos, maybe Odom's team would win the MWC this season. Spencer Danielson runs an excellent program at Boise State and could win 11 or 12 games again.

.@YahooSports 2025 Preseason Football Top 25

4. Oregon
14. Utah
16. Boise State
20. ASU

Full rankings and analysis ⤵️https://t.co/gwWnHeWcDP

— SuperWest Sports (@SuperWestSports) August 15, 2025

The rest of the MWC is improving. However, this will be the last year in the conference for Boise State. It moves to the new Pac-12 for the 2026-27 season. It may be the swan song for the MWC being ranked this high.

4. ACC

On the bright side, the ACC did manage to get two teams into the College Football Playoff. That is the good news. The bad news lies in the fact that several teams collapsed, including Miami, Louisville, and Florida State. Some bounced back, which bodes well for the 2025 season.

The question is, how does SMU follow up on last year's amazing season? Sure, the Mustangs were outclassed in Happy Valley in the playoff. However, they got to the playoff. Getting there again would be quite a feat. Some pundits believe in Miami. There are ones who think they will fall short again.

Again, this is a conference that can surprise. This conference might be ranked last of the power conferences, and there is North Carolina to keep people entertained. Clemson and Cade Klubnik may be the key to the conference's fortunes in 2025. That is, if one believes the hype here, of course.

3. Big 12

When Texas and Oklahoma left, there was panic. However, Arizona State made that playoff run. BYU nearly made the playoff and finished 11-2. Even Iowa State won 11 games in 2024. The question becomes what happens in 2025. At one point, nine teams in the conference were ranked inside the top 25. Four finished the campaign there, highlighted by the Sun Devils at seventh.

The strength of the conference is all the top 25 potential depth. A total of 10 teams have a 60% chance or better of winding up bowl eligible at the end of 2025. It will be interesting to see what pans out.

ESPN projects Arizona State to face Alabama in the first round of the 2025 College Football Playoff.https://t.co/8bb1uxpt4A

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) August 15, 2025

This shapes up to be another exciting season for the Big 12 conference. Kenny Dillingham and Arizona State face a lot of questions and the weight of expectations. Projections favor Kansas State very slightly to win the conference over the Sun Devils. Texas Tech and Utah could be real surprises. Finally, BYU is difficult to count out even in what could be a down year for the Cougars. Expect to be entertained!

2. Big Ten

The biggest debate was the Big Ten and the SEC. How big is too big? It is hard to rank the conference with the national champions below the SEC, but we did. The conference is again loaded with Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan, along with Oregon. Can Oregon finish the deal in the playoff this time? Will Ohio State defend its crown? Can Penn State finally overcome its postseason and top-5 demons?

The depth remains a huge issue. However, Michigan could get back to 10 wins. Next to the SEC, this will be the most entertaining conference to watch in college football by far. Penn State plays Oregon and Ohio State. Add in the fact that Ohio State goes up against Texas right away, and we have the perfect gateway to the SEC.

1. SEC

The SEC holds a tenuous grip of superiority in the college football world. Texas occupies the top spot in the preseason rankings. Yes, some debate that the Longhorns are a mere placeholder for what lies in the Big Ten. Then again, the SEC is a gauntlet and could experience an uptick in 2025.

I've loved "SEC Football: Any Given Saturday." The show was given amazing access. Only thing I remembered about last season was Vanderbilt beat Alabama and they threw the goalpost in the river. College football might be the closest thing we have to how soccer is followed around… pic.twitter.com/NAfDKugF71

— Paul Kennedy (@pkedit) August 15, 2025

Anything can and often happens with the SEC. Florida was given up for dead and won four straight games last year. LSU figures to be vastly improved from 2024. There is still Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri, Ole Miss, and Alabama. Any Crimson Tide resurgence creates even more chaos in what figures to be a wild 2025 season. It is why the SEC still tops our list.

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