Within the NCAA, there are 10 Division 1 conferences (not including Independents). There's the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), American Athletic Conference (AAC), Big 12, Big Ten (B1G), Conference USA, Mid-American Conference (MAC), Mountain West Conference (MWC), Pac-12, Southeastern Conference (SEC), and the Sun Belt. Additionally, there are three independent teams that aren't in conferences: Notre Dame, Brigham-Young, and Army. The ACC, Big 12, B1G, Pac-12 and the SEC are categorized into what is called the "Power 5." There's always constant debate on which conference is king. So here is this season's ranking of the conferences based on strength of schedule, AP rankings, and overall conference performance.
As a reference, go to http://www.ncaa.com/standings/football/fbs to see what teams are in each conference.
1. Big Ten
6 teams in the AP Top 25 as of Sunday, 11/8/2015:
#2. Ohio State, #8. Iowa, #14. Michigan State, #15. Michigan, #23. Wisconsin, #24. Northwestern
With 6 teams in the Top 25, the Big Ten is back with full force. After years of being called "weak," the B1G is once again strong. This year, many of the top teams in the Big Ten have succumbed to tough games in conference play. Furthermore, 2 of the teams in the Top 10, Ohio State and Iowa, are currently undefeated. 8/14 teams have a winning record. With that many tough teams, it's hard to clear the schedule. The Big Ten also has the returning National Champions, Ohio State, who some have projected to repeat their previous success.
2. SEC
4 teams in the AP Top 25 as of Sunday, 11/8/2015:
#3. Alabama, #9. LSU, #11. Florida, and #20. Mississippi State.
The SEC had been the top conference for many years, but no longer. After last year's poor bowl performance and the fact that many teams that started in the top 25 are now far off the list, many of the teams aren't as good as they were in the past. Still, with 10/14 teams with a winning record, the SEC remains one of the toughest conferences in the NCAA. With several good teams like Alabama, who made it to the playoffs last year and LSU, who has Heisman hopeful runningback Leonard Fournette.
3. ACC
3 teams in the AP Top 25 as of Sunday, 11/8/2015:
#1. Clemson, #17. North Carolina, #19. Florida State
The ACC comes in at #3. The ACC holds the #1 ranked team in the nation right now, and 8/14 of their teams have a winning record. The ACC has been scarily getting more talented in recent years, and it’s starting to show. They may only have 3 teams in the Top 25, but the majority of the teams have been having great seasons.
4. Big 12
4 teams in the AP Top 25 as of Sunday, 11/8/2015:
#4. Baylor, #5. Oklahoma State, #12. Oklahoma and #13. TCU.
The Big 12 comes in at #4 in the ranking. I almost put them at #3, because they have one more team in the AP Top 25 than the ACC. However, without a conference championship, they have one less game. More specifically, they have one less tough game to play. Not to mention, only 4/10 teams have a winning record. 2 teams have a tied record, but horrible conference performance. Most of the wins from these tied teams came from weak non-conference opponents. However, a lot of the Big 12 teams have had some close games, and a lot at least have some explosive offenses.
5. Pac-12
3 teams in the AP Top 25 as of Sunday, 11/8/2015:
#7. Stanford, #10. Utah, and #18 UCLA.
The Pac-12 comes in at #5, the last of the Power 5 group. Yes, 7/12 of the teams have a winning record, but they have significantly dropped in the rankings. Many of the teams started out strong, but have dropped down. With typical powerhouse Oregon having a disappointing season, and preseason hopefuls Arizona and Arizona State not panning out, they’re having more of a down year.
6. AAC
4 teams in the AP Top 25 as of Sunday, 11/8/2015:
#16. Houston, #21. Temple, #22. Navy and #25. Memphis.
With the most teams in the AP Top 25 of the Non-Power 5 conferences, and 7/12 teams having a winning record, the AAC comes in at #6. Tom Herman, Ohio State’s former OC who has adopted Urban Meyer’s system has led Houston to a solid 9-0 run so far. And with surprises like Memphis, Temple and Navy, the AAC definitely has the hardest non-Power 5 schedules.
7. MAC
No teams in the AP Top 25 as of Sunday, 11/8/2015.
The MAC is the second of the non-Power 5 conferences. This year, Toledo has been in the Top 25 a lot, and they’re not even the best team in the MAC this year. Strong teams like Toledo, Western Michigan, Northern Illinois and Bowling Green have certainly bolstered the MAC. Western Michigan and Northern Illinois have both even gave defending champion Ohio State issues earlier in the season.
8. MWC
No teams in the AP Top 25 as of Sunday, 11/8/2015.
The MWC comes in at #8 because out of the 3 conferences left, the have the most teams in their conference with winning records. Plus, Boise State has had decent wins over teams in Power 5 conference.
9. Conference USA
No teams in the AP Top 25 as of Sunday, 11/8/2015.
Conference USA is second to last, coming in at #9. Western Kentucky and Marshall have both had wins of teams in the Power 5 conferences, and LA Tech has had some close games. Only 4/13 teams have a winning record, but they do have separate divisions that lead to a conference championship, making their strength of schedule just slightly enough to edge themselves out of last place.
10. Sun Belt
No teams in the AP Top 25 as of Sunday, 11/8/2015.
Only 3/11 teams have a winning record, and the non-conference wins are versus FCS opponents. They have the worst strength of schedule, and some of the weakest teams in the conference.
