Conference power rankings: Big Ten has rough Week 3 but not as rough as the ACC

The Big Ten had a rough Week 3, but it wasn’t as bad as the ACC who brings up the rear in the latest college football conference power rankings.

For the third straight week, we were loaded up with inter-conference matchups between Power-5 conferences, which has helped provide some clarity to the conference power rankings.

The ACC looked as bad as ever, outside of Clemson and without the Tigers, you could easily make a case for the American being just as tough this season as the ACC. But there were some positives in other conferences, especially the Pac-12.

Arizona State winning at Michigan State was a big deal and maybe made up for Stanford getting blown out by UCF. The Sun Devils showed the Pac-12 at least has some depth, even if it causes a lot of parity.

The Big Ten and the SEC mostly took care of business this week outside of Michigan State, so those conferences still sit atop the conference power rankings. Starting out in the fifth spot though is still the ACC and here’s a look at why.

5. ACC (7-7 Record)

The ACC was fifth last week after Syracuse got destroyed by Maryland and this past Saturday, things were even worse. The Orange got demolished by Clemson, the one elite team in the ACC and Syracuse is starting to make everyone who predicted good things for them look wrong.

Virginia beat Florida State and that kept them in the top 25. However, Boston College lost as a double-digit favorite to Kansas and the Citadel also upset Georgia Tech. North Carolina lost to Wake Forest and Virginia Tech almost lost to FCS opponent Furman.

Pittsburgh also lost at Penn State and North Carolina State got steamrolled by West Virginia, giving the league two embarrassing losses to the Big 12.

Seriously, if it wasn’t for Clemson, the ACC would be a total disaster.

3. Big 12 (7-2)

There was a debate about the Big 12 vs the Big Ten and after a 7-2 mark this week, a record that included wins by Kansas over Boston College, TCU over Purdue and also Kansas State over Mississippi State, it was close.

A victory by Iowa State over Iowa could have helped the Big 12 score some points over the Big Ten, yet the Hawkeyes escaped with a road win over what might be the third-best team in the Big 12.

Oklahoma was dominant and Texas looks like a legit top-10 team. That’s what the Big 12 has going for it, along with a number of other mediocre, but tough teams in Oklahoma State, Baylor, Kansas State, Texas Tech and an improved Kansas team under Les Miles.

With some of the quality depth in the Big Ten, the Big 12 will have its work cut out for it, but the difference between two and three is closer than four and five.

2. Big Ten (6-5)

Outside of some nice wins, it was sort of a rough week for the Big Ten. Illinois lost to Eastern Michigan and Minnesota also barely beat Georgia Southern. The loss by Michigan State is probably the most notable. Many were high on the Spartans because of their defense but mistakes doomed them in a three-point loss to Arizona State. A flag took a game-tying field goal off the board in the final minute.

Ohio State continued to look strong and through three weeks, they are the only sure-fire playoff candidate, although they will be joined by the winner of Michigan and Wisconsin. Penn State also survived to beat Pittsburgh. That along with the win by Iowa over Iowa State was enough for the Big Ten to hang onto the No. 2 ranking. It’s not the SEC but it just feels better than the Big 12.

1. SEC (10-2)

This was one of those weeks where the SEC didn’t really challenge itself. There weren’t any impressive wins but there also weren’t any bad losses. Mississippi State losing at home to Kansas State was a little surprising but if that’s the worst loss for the conference that’s saying something.

Alabama took down South Carolina without too much trouble and Florida also stayed unbeaten with a win over Kentucky. Even Tennessee finally won a game. Much like the ACC, the SEC is top-heavy, the conference is just a lot heavier at the top with Bama, Georgia and LSU all ranked in the top five. Florida and Texas A&M are also legitimate.

Right now that’s enough to have a firm on the top spot in the conference power rankings and for now, at least, it’s hard to see that changing.