With the end of the college football season looming, most teams are out of the playoff picture. This doesn't mean they're done for though, as many teams are becoming bowl-eligible and looking for sunny weather at the end of December and early January. College football as a whole is thriving. However, there are a few conferences and teams that have slipped up and had less than stellar seasons. It's time to find out what each conference really has this year, and see if any of their teams have a chance to make the playoffs. The State of the Union of college football is tricky water, and now it's time for me to wade through it.
The PAC 12 has died. The last remaining hopes for the PAC 12 were Utah, and possibly Stanford, but both teams went down in conference action Saturday night. At the beginning of the year, the PAC 12 had the looks of a conference ready to regain its dominance as it had in seasons past. The truth of the matter is, the front-runner at the beginning of the season is a middle of the pack seven and three Oregon team. A few teams like Arizona State and USC bowed out fairly early, and teams like Utah and Stanford carried the weight of the entire conference on their shoulders. Neither team could carry it anymore. They do have eight teams currently bowl eligible, and possibly two more teams that can become bowl eligible if they win out. They've had a successful season overall, but they come up a few inches short in the national scheme.
The ACC is actually better off than some might think. Clemson is the front runner by a couple of miles, but North Carolina is speeding up as the season comes to a close. The Tar Heels' only loss came in a season opener, when South Carolina snatched away a win. They've rolled over teams with a greatly underrated offense and surprisingly stingy defense. If they run the table and beat Clemson in the ACC championship game, and with a committee that looks at wins far more than losses, it isn't too far out there that a one-loss ACC Champion gets into the playoffs.There are a few teams that haven't risen to the occasion like the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest or BC, who have both only won three games, but the most disappointing team in the ACC this year has to be the reigning Orange Bowl champions, Georgia Tech. Tech has had a disastrous year, at one point losing five games straight. The conference as a whole, though, shows signs of great things, with eight teams already bowl eligible.
The Big 12 actually have a couple of teams in the playoff race, one being Oklahoma State, and the more realistic of the two, Oklahoma. State has a great team, don't get me wrong, but Oklahoma has the total package. They can run pass, and can play defense, and this is in a league where I don't think any team has a defensive coordinator. Baker Mayfield is a dark horse Heisman candidate, and he's only gotten better throughout the season. TCU and Baylor both have spectacular offenses, but they would get blown out against any other Power Five school. Texas might be looking for a new coach if their team doesn't start winning, Kansas State only has three wins all year, and Kansas won't win a game all year. The Big 12 is a decent conference, but is the worst conference among Power Five conferences this year, with only seven possible bowl eligible teams.
The Big 10 is actually a good conference. It looks weak on paper because some schools don't have big names in football, but have excellent teams. Minnesota and Indiana possibly won't make a bowl game, but both teams are fighters. They've put up great games against Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State. The nation had written off the Big 12 because of early season losses with Nebraska and Michigan, and other teams who struggled early in the season like Michigan State and Ohio State. However, they have seven teams that are already bowl eligible, and will have at least one team in the playoffs. Iowa is undefeated, and actually looks like a team that can beat Ohio State in the Big 10 championship game. Who can't wait to watch that game?
Help us, Alabama, you're our only hope! If Bama wins out, they're in, but the way the SEC has been this year, that's anything but a given. Arkansas, who looked bad early this year, now looks like a team who should be in the playoff hunt themselves. Georgia looked great early on, but now aren't even winning the East. Tennessee turned their season around against Georgia, and now look to have their best record in nearly 10 years. Florida looked as if they were back to national prominence, but have since fallen off. Ole Miss can't run the ball and have been exploited at this fact numerous times this year. Overall, the SEC is the conference that's in the best shape, with nine teams already bowl eligible. (And for those people out there who bash the SEC for the scheduling, look at other teams in the nation: Everybody does it. So, don't give me that hogwash!)
All in all, the state of college football is doing great, and will continue to do great. If I were to rank the conferences (which, in actuality, is a tricky thing to do because they don't all play the same competition, and there are 128 FBS schools, so you won't be able to ever do that), my rankings would be:
1. SEC
2. ACC
3. Big 10
4. PAC 12
5. Big 12
