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In 2024, college football will look slightly different than in previous seasons. While one big change is the expansion of the College Football Playoff field from four teams to 12, the most noticeable will be the effects of conference realignment.
Recently, Will Backus of CBS Sports ranked college football conferences to reflect the changes and power shifts that have taken place because of teams moving conferences. Despite the changes, the SEC remains on top.
The Pac-12 is all but gone, with only Washington State and Oregon State somewhat keeping it intact, but only because they have yet to find a new permanent home. The Big 12 was arguably the most active conference, growing in size and approaching it with a unique strategy that added quality programs that aren’t massive brands. The ACC made some of the most head-scratching moves out of all, opting to add a few teams from the West Coast and a Texas-based program.
The Big Ten added four former Pac-12 teams, all of which have respectable athletic departments and a few football programs that are capable of competing for national titles.
The SEC, however, only added two teams: the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns. Though it may not seem like much, especially when compared to other conferences, it is just what the league needed to stay competitive, while not changing too much.
Though the Big Ten added some heavy hitters in college football, Backus argues that the SEC is still the most elite conference in college football. However, the Big Ten sits just behind.
“The SEC may have had its streak of four straight national championships broken last season, but it’s primed to climb right back to the mountaintop this year. Newcomers Texas and Oklahoma add five College Football Playoff appearances to the SEC’s already robust war chest, and the Longhorns landed at No. 4 in the preseason AP Top 25. Georgia took the top spot and Alabama and Ole Miss came in at five and six, respectively, giving the SEC two-thirds of the top six teams.”
These rankings are surely subject to change, especially as the 2024 season progresses. We will know more soon as the upcoming college football season is slated to begin in less than a week.
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Courtesy : https://collegesportswire.usatoday.com/2024/08/19/college-football-power-rankings-conference-sec-big-ten/