The college football season is quickly approaching and teams across the country are preparing to compete for success in their respective conferences.
From the storied traditions of the SEC to the increasing competitiveness of the Big Ten, teams are fighting not only for playoff spots, but also for the right to play in the conference.
Sportswriter Will Backus of CBS Sports ranks the SEC as the best conference in college football (not surprisingly). But how do the other conferences stack up?
What CBS Sports says about the SEC
“The SEC may have broken its streak of four consecutive national championships last season, but it is ready to climb back to the top this year,” Backus wrote.
“New additions Texas and Oklahoma add five College Football Playoff appearances to the SEC’s already solid war chest, and the Longhorns finished fourth in the preseason AP Top 25. Georgia took first place and Alabama and Ole Miss came in fifth and sixth, respectively, giving the SEC two-thirds of the top six teams.”
Backus continued, “This league is much stronger, though. When you include teams like Missouri, LSU and Tennessee, almost half of the SEC has a realistic chance of making the 12-team playoffs.”
“Outside the top tier, there are a lot of teams with eight or nine wins. An overwhelming majority of the SEC should be in at least one bowl game. There is incredible depth here.”
CBS Sports College Football Conference Rankings
No. 1: SEC
No. 2: Big Ten
No. 3: Big 12
No. 4: ACC
No. 5: Supportive communication
No. 6: Mountain West
No. 7: Sunbelt
No. 8: Conference USA
No. 9: MAC
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