{"id":311776,"date":"2025-08-23T18:03:16","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T18:03:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/311776\/"},"modified":"2025-08-23T18:03:16","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T18:03:16","slug":"ranking-the-10-best-ncaa-college-football-conferences-in-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/311776\/","title":{"rendered":"Ranking the 10 best NCAA college football conferences in 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2025 football season is nearly upon us starting with NCAA ball right around the corner.<\/p>\n

All of the best college athletes will hit the gridiron soon vying for a national championship as Ohio State looks to defend their title. But before anyone gets to the college football playoff, conference play will be on everyone’s mind.<\/p>\n

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However, with all the changes made to the top “Power” conferences in recent years, there are plenty of arguments asking which are the best.<\/p>\n

Here is a quick ranking of the 10 best NCAA college football conferences heading into 2025.<\/p>\n

10. Pac-12\"The<\/p>\n

The Pac-12 is still in a state of transition after the conference was gutted when the “Power Four” conferences formed. It will take time and the conference may never get back to former glory, but it’s a group worth noting that could slowly rise again.<\/p>\n

The Pac-12 is still in a state of transition after the conference was gutted when the “Power Four” conferences formed. It will take time and the conference may never get back to former glory, but it’s a group worth noting that could slowly rise again.<\/p>\n

9. Conference USA\"Conference<\/p>\n

Conference USA also lost a few schools that departed in 2022. But they still managed to earn multiple bowl games in 2025, including a newcomer in Jacksonville State who are the reigning champions.<\/p>\n

Conference USA also lost a few schools that departed in 2022. But they still managed to earn multiple bowl games in 2025, including a newcomer in Jacksonville State who are the reigning champions.<\/p>\n

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8. MAC\"The<\/p>\n

The Mid-American Conference, better known as “MACtion,” does not have a powerhouse but is starting to fare better against bigger competition. The MAC was 3-0 record against Mountain West opponents last season and seven teams earned a bowl game including conference champion Ohio.<\/p>\n

The Mid-American Conference, better known as “MACtion,” does not have a powerhouse but is starting to fare better against bigger competition. The MAC was 3-0 record against Mountain West opponents last season and seven teams earned a bowl game including conference champion Ohio.<\/p>\n

7. Sun Belt\"The<\/p>\n

The Sun Belt and MAC both lack a powerhouse but we have a tiebreaker in bowl reps with eight in 2024. That said, notable teams such as Marshall, James Madison and Coastal Carolina reside here.<\/p>\n

The Sun Belt and MAC both lack a powerhouse but we have a tiebreaker in bowl reps with eight in 2024. That said, notable teams such as Marshall, James Madison and Coastal Carolina reside here.<\/p>\n

6. Mountain West\"Teams<\/p>\n

Teams will eventually depart, but they have not in 2025. That said, it’s hard to ignore the likes of reigning champions Boise State, Frenso State, San Diego State and others for now.<\/p>\n

Teams will eventually depart, but they have not in 2025. That said, it’s hard to ignore the likes of reigning champions Boise State<\/a>, Fresno State, San Diego State and others for now.<\/p>\n

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5. AAC\"The<\/p>\n

The AAC is not a “Power” conference but schools are stepping up. UTSA, Tulane, and South Florida have fared well, not to mention top-25 schools in Army and Memphis, plus Navy who finished just outside the 25 at the end of last season.<\/p>\n

The AAC is not a “Power” conference but schools are stepping up. UTSA,\u00a0Tulane,\u00a0and\u00a0South Florida have fared well, not to mention top-25 schools in Army and Memphis, plus Navy who finished just outside the 25 at the end of last season.<\/p>\n

4. ACC\"It's<\/p>\n

It’s toss between three and four but the ACC slots here. If powerhouses like Clemson and Florida State have good seasons, we’ll be proven wrong, not to mention the likes of Louisville, NC State, SMU, Virginia Tech, and UNC.<\/p>\n

It’s toss between three and four but the ACC slots here. If powerhouses like Clemson and Florida State<\/a> have good seasons, we’ll be proven wrong, not to mention the likes of Louisville,\u00a0NC State,\u00a0SMU,\u00a0Virginia Tech,\u00a0and\u00a0UNC.<\/p>\n

3. Big 12\"Nov<\/p>\n

Nov 25, 2023; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats safety Isaiah Taylor (4) against the Arizona State Sun Devils in the first half of the Territorial Cup at Mountain America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n

Arizona State<\/a> took this fun conference a year ago… and it’s hard to debate schools like BYU, Iowa State<\/a>, Colorado, Baylor<\/a>, TCU and Texas Tech and more in one group.<\/p>\n

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2. SEC\"The<\/p>\n

The SEC is a force that could easily be in the top seed and very well might be soon. The problem for the SEC is the way the postseason went for them last year.<\/p>\n

The SEC is a force that could easily be in the top seed and very well might be soon. The problem for the SEC is the way the postseason went for them last year… but 13 of their teams were bowl eligible in 2024 which is impressive.<\/p>\n

1. Big Ten\"To<\/p>\n

To start the reasoning for this top ranking, we look at Ohio State, the reigning NCAA national champions. Then, the focus shifts to the likes of Penn State and others. While 12 of the Big Ten’s teams earned bowl eligibility, it’s much more of a heavy hitting conference at the top.<\/p>\n

To start the reasoning for this top ranking, we look at Ohio State, the reigning NCAA national champions. Then, the focus shifts to the likes of Penn State and others. While 12 of the Big Ten’s teams earned bowl eligibility, it’s much more of a heavy hitting conference at the top.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on The List Wire: Ranking the 10 best NCAA college football conferences in 2025<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2025 football season is nearly upon us starting with NCAA ball right around the corner. All of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":311777,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[332,58511,7,8264,49,26178,48,1446,377],"class_list":{"0":"post-311776","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-college-football-playoff","9":"tag-conference-play","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-national-championship","12":"tag-ncaa","13":"tag-ncaa-college-football","14":"tag-ncaa-football","15":"tag-ohio-state","16":"tag-sun"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115079401234567432","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=311776"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311776\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/311777"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=311776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=311776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=311776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}