College Football Conference Power Rankings for the 2026 Season

The old Power Five is gone after college football underwent that historic conference realignment a couple years ago, but even with the new Power Four still taking charge of the sport, there are 10 leagues that make up the FBS every season.

And with the College Football Playoff having tripled in size to 12 teams, the competition for the national championship now also includes at least one team from outside the major conferences, with the Group of Six’s highest ranked champion getting recognition.

Not all conferences are, or ever were, created equally. Let’s take a look at the latest ranking of college football’s leagues, from worst to first.

10. MAC

College Football Conference Power Rankings for the 2026 Season — USA TODAY Sports

Less than half of the MAC even played in a bowl the last time out, and while there’s been a carousel of teams that won the conference’s championship, six in as many years, the rest of this group will be among college football’s worst performers in the country.

MAC favorite? Western Michigan

9. Conference USA

One of college football’s most realigned conferences, there’s been plenty of turnover around who is and isn’t even a member in recent years, but Jacksonville State has been a comer since joining up, winning 26 games in those three seasons, while Liberty and Western Kentucky, another 8-9 win per year team, could emerge as contenders in 2026.

CUSA favorite? Liberty

8. Sun Belt

One of the two Group of Five teams that made the College Football Playoff a year ago hailed from the Sun Belt after James Madison went on a nice run, and despite the Dukes getting raided by other schools, Billy Napier steps in as the favorite to win the East and contend for another league title.

Sun Belt favorite? James Madison

7. Mountain West

No more Boise State in the Mountain West after jumping ship for the new Pac-12, and now North Dakota State steps into this conference, and the FBS, after stacking up championships at the FCS level for years, but UNLV still has enough firepower and a favorable schedule to make another run at this very new-look league.

Mountain West favorite? UNLV

6. American

The only G6 conference that didn’t have any realignments, the American put its champion, Tulane, in the College Football Playoff last time out, but that program seeing an exodus of coaching and playing talent should pave the way for a new contender, with Navy has a winnable slate that could put it ahead of the likes of Memphis, the Green Wave, or Brian Hartline’s USF.

American favorite? Navy

5. Pac-12

After a mass exodus of high profile schools from the Conference of Champions, just Washington State and Oregon State remained, but now they’re joined by a new cohort that includes Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Texas State, San Diego State, and Utah State, as well.

San Diego State and Boise State look like the favorites right now, and while the latter could get the ultimate edge with its returning talent at quarterback and running back and with a promising defensive rotation, but a tough early schedule includes dates at Oregon, against Memphis, and at Western Michigan that could make or break them.

Pac-12 favorite? Boise State

4. ACC

Things got interesting in the ACC a year ago after Duke won the championship but the College Football Playoff took a Group of Five team over them for the bracket, which says something about what they thought of the conference, or at least its perceived best team.

Miami made it, however, and should again as one of college football’s premier rosters, but the ACC has a clear distinction between its top and bottom halves, and there’s likely nothing playoff worthy about what they have to offer aside from Louisville, SMU, and maybe Clemson, as they continue to try and fail to prove they still belong.

ACC favorite? Miami

3. Big 12

This is still Joey McGuire’s conference until someone proves him otherwise. Sitting on a fat NIL treasury, he and his staff helped the Red Raiders build a defense that won the school’s first Big 12 title and made its debut, albeit a brief one, in the College Football Playoff.

But as Texas Tech deals with some notable outgoing defensive contributors, others in this conference will look to take advantage, including the BYU team that played for the Big 12 last December, not to mention possible insurgents like Houston coming off a solid year, and Arizona, which returns Noah Fifita to lead a potent offense.

Big 12 favorite? Texas Tech

2. SEC

Granted, you still get the feeling that the better half of SEC teams would beat the better half of Big Ten teams on the same field more often than not, but when you fail to win, or even play for, the national championship in three seasons after utterly dominating college football for most of the century, it’s time to hand over that No. 1 ranking.

Expanding the playoff and paying players, and the increased parity in talent distribution nationally, has something to do with the SEC’s relative decline in quality, resulting in a 2-7 record against Power Four opponents in the College Football Playoff over the last three seasons. Conversely, the Big Ten is 9-3 in that situation.

SEC favorite? Georgia

1. Big Ten

Michigan, then Ohio State, and then, most astonishingly, Indiana.

Yes, on a three year run hoisting the College Football Playoff trophy, the Big Ten has to get the nod as the best conference given its recent overall dominance playing in the postseason, with its best outplaying everyone else’s best when it matters most.

Next on that list would seem to be Oregon, still waiting for its first national title as a program, and building championship caliber rosters during the Dan Lanning tenure, and returning another stout group of playmakers who can make a run in 2026, but first they have to get through the Buckeyes on the road.

Big Ten favorite? Ohio State

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