College football conference power rankings

ByESPN ESPN logo
Wednesday, September 11, 2019

How would you rank all 14 teams in the SEC? Or all 10 in the Big 12? Here's a full ranking of every team in every Power 5 conference.

Jump to a conference:

SEC | Big Ten | Big 12 | Pac-12 | ACC

SEC

Move over Alabama and Georgia. It's time to make room for LSU at the top of the SEC.

What we saw in Austin, Texas, on Saturday night was the Tigers putting the rest of the conference on notice. That quarterback they were perpetually missing? That offense that could never be found? Well, they've both been located. The spread has officially arrived in Baton Rouge, and it has a special quarterback to run it in Joe Burrow.

Oh, and Ja'Marr Chase. Don't forget about their stud receiver, either.

Suffice it to say that LSU has the goods to make a run at the playoff and put a scare into Alabama and Georgia.

But what about the bottom of the conference, you ask? Well that's another matter altogether.

South Carolina and Ole Miss bounced back after rough season openers, but Tennessee, Arkansas and Vanderbilt all have issues. The Vols, who have inexplicably lost games to Georgia State and BYU, are 0-2 for the first time in 31 years and the sky might as well be falling on Rocky Top. --Alex Scarborough

1. Alabama

2. Georgia

3. LSU

4. Auburn

5. Florida

6. Texas A&M

7. Mississippi State

8. Kentucky

9. Missouri

10. South Carolina

11. Ole Miss

12. Arkansas

13. Vanderbilt

14. Tennessee

Big Ten

After a dominant performance against Cincinnati, the Buckeyes are leading the Big Ten in the power rankings, as they haven't faltered in the first two games. There are a few teams behind Ohio State trying to creep up in the rankings, though, with Wisconsin and Penn State next in line.

The 124 points the Nittany Lions have scored are the most points in their first two games since at least 2004. The Badgers have outscored their opponents 110-0 so far this season, which is the second-largest score differential by a Big Ten team after two shutouts in the AP poll era.

Beyond those three teams is where things get a little less clear, with Michigan showing both good and bad against Army, Michigan State finding some offense but against a MAC opponent, Iowa shutting out Rutgers, and Maryland turning heads with its offense against a Top-25 team. The middle of the conference could look completely different by the middle of the season depending on how the next few weeks play out. -- Tom VanHaaren

1. Ohio State

2. Wisconsin

3. Penn State

4. Iowa

5. Michigan State

6. Michigan

7. Maryland

8. Minnesota

9. Purdue

10. Nebraska

11. Northwestern

12. Indiana

13. Illinois

14. Rutgers

Big 12

Austin was the center of attention in the Big 12 in Week 2 and did they give us a show. In a battle of programs that dub themselves "DBU," Texas and LSU each gave up 400-plus passing yards.

The Longhorns scored 38 points and generated more than 500 yards against a loaded Tiger defense, but the way Joe Burrow picked the Texas' defense apart (471 yards) is certainly an area of concern. Still, a loss to a top-10 team does not a season make. The Longhorns will be a factor in the league title chase.

The top half of the Big 12 held serve against teams it was supposed to beat, two teams were off and uh-oh ... Kansas' loss to Coastal Carolina and West Virginia's shellacking at the hands of Mizzou give each of their new coaches a true sign of just how far they have to go. -- Sam Khan Jr.

1. Oklahoma

2. Texas

3. Oklahoma State

4. Iowa State

5. TCU

6. Baylor

7. Texas Tech

8. Kansas State

9. West Virginia

10. Kansas

Pac-12

In 2016, USC started 1-3, then switched quarterbacks and everything changed. They had been written off only to finish the year with a memorable win in the Rose Bowl and a No. 3 ranking in the final AP poll. The Sam Darnold effect was obvious from the start, and Kedon Slovis' debut for the Trojans feels awfully similar.

It was only one performance, so the standard caveats apply, but as Slovis dissected Stanford with such ease on Saturday, it became easy to envision the Trojans as a serious threat to win the Pac-12. -- Kyle Bonagura

1. Utah

2. Washington State

3. Oregon

4. USC

5. Cal

6. Colorado

7. Washington

8. Arizona State

9. Stanford

10. Arizona

11. UCLA

12. Oregon State

ACC

We thought going into the season it would be Clemson and everybody else in the ACC. Two weeks in, it certainly feels that way. Not only were the Tigers dominant in a 24-10 win over Texas A&M, but the only other ranked ACC team got embarrassed. It was not just that Syracuse lost at Maryland 63-20, it is the way the Orange lost. Given the change at quarterback, with Tommy DeVito replacing Eric Dungey, a few bumps on offense were to be expected. But a defense that many of us thought had turned a corner was exposed in a way that does not bode well for Week 3, when the Tigers come to town for a visit. A lot of the luster has been taken off that game, and Clemson is sure to be supremely motivated given the way the Orange have played them the past two years. We thought this would be the toughest game on the conference schedule for Clemson. After this weekend, that might not be the case. Now the big question the rest of the ACC has to answer is this: Can anyone challenge the Tigers? -- Andrea Adelson

1. Clemson

2. Virginia

3. North Carolina

4. Boston College

5. Wake Forest

6. NC State

7. Miami

8. Pitt

9. Virginia Tech

10. Louisville

11. Syracuse

12. Duke

13. Georgia Tech

14. Florida State

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