College football conference power rankings: Big 12 bites back

The SEC is still the big dog in college football entering Week 11, but the Big 12 has bounced back nicely in this week’s conference power rankings.

Seven ranked teams lost in Week 10, including four SEC teams, LSU, Kentucky, Florida and Texas A&M, but that’s not enough to drop them from the top spot in this week’s conference power rankings. The losses by LSU and Kentucky were to Alabama and Georgia and were the expected outcome so it’s not all that damaging, but don’t tell that to a Tigers or Wildcats fan.

The worst loss was from Florida who fell to unranked Missouri and let Drew Lock throw the ball all over The Swamp. It’s the depth of the conference and the overall strength of Alabama and to a lesser extent, Georgia, that has them on top.

The big change takes place at No. 2 and No. 3 where the Big Ten drops from the silver medal stage to the bronze after another troubling loss by Penn State and a sluggish game by Ohio State vs. Nebraska. The Big 12 moves up because of big wins by Oklahoma and West Virginia who saw competitive efforts by Texas Tech and Texas.

There was another shake-up at the bottom with the ACC moving out of the basement because of the play by Syracuse, Boston College and a bounce-back effort by NC State.

College football conference power rankings entering Week 11

1. SEC – Alabama showed how far the No. 3 team in the nation is compared to them with their 29-0 win over then-No. 3 LSU to clinch the West. In the East, Georgia showed Kentucky just how much farther they have to go in order to compete with them. The Cats have had a really great year but weren’t close to the talent level that Georgia has. Still, all four of these teams rank in the top 12 and the SEC has six ranked teams. No other conference has more than four.

2. Big 12 – Oklahoma and West Virginia are ranked No. 6 and 7 after wins over Texas Tech and Texas, respectively. The Longhorns are down, but not out of the Big 12 Championship picture and Iowa State is putting together a season that may top last year’s eight-win season under Matt Campbell. If either Oklahoma or West Virginia runs the table, they could sneak in the College Football Playoff depending on what happens to the teams in front of them.

3. Big Ten – Michigan looks great and remains my pick to win the Big Ten after seeing Ohio State struggle to put away a bad Nebraska team. The Buckeyes defense is a work in progress so there’s time to figure it out before Michigan. Northwestern played Notre Dame tough and it was a one-possession game in the closing minutes before the Fighting Irish pulled away. But the reason the Big Ten drops a spot this week is the continued poor play of Penn State who was blown out by the Wolverines, 42-7 and it might be time to reevaluate what we think of James Franklin as a head coach.

4. ACC – Down years from Florida State, Miami, Louisville and Virginia Tech has really hurt the ACC. Clemson is outstanding, but they can’t lift the entire conference, although they’ll take the revenue that comes from the Tigers making the College Football Playoff. Strong seasons from Syracuse, Boston College, Virginia and Pitt, who are in a tie for the Coastal has helped repair some of their damaged reputation done by the aforementioned heavyweights who are struggling mightily.

5. Pac-12 – Does anyone want to win the South? Utah was in sole possession of the South division but lost to Arizona State and lost starting quarterback Tyler Hundley in the process. Utah, USC and Arizona are in a three-way tie at 4-3 with Arizona State one game back. No. 10 Washington State is the conference’s lone ranked team and they needed a game-winning touchdown in the final seconds vs. Cal to avoid overtime.