Conference Ratings
No polls. A conference is only as strong as its teams play on the field against other conferences.
Index as of Oct 30, 2026
College data through Fri Oct 30, NFL through Thu Oct 29; Saturday's games not included.
| # | Conference | Avg Power | Non-conf W-L | Avg margin | Bridging games | FCS W-L | FCS avg margin | FCS shortfall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FBS Independents 2 teams · best: Notre Dame Fighting Irish | +12.8 | 9-4 | +10.0 | 13 ⚠ | 1-0 | +49.0 | 0.0 |
| 2 | SEC 16 teams · best: Alabama Crimson Tide | +11.6 | 28-2 | +14.1 | 30 | 10-0 | +39.0 | 6.0 |
| 3 | Big Ten 18 teams · best: Ohio State Buckeyes | +8.9 | 30-11 | +9.0 | 41 | 12-0 | +43.7 | 5.0 |
| 4 | Big 12 16 teams · best: Utah Utes | +7.1 | 24-8 | +7.0 | 32 | 16-0 | +49.1 | 0.0 |
| 5 | ACC 17 teams · best: Miami Hurricanes | +4.2 | 18-12 | +1.9 | 30 | 16-0 | +46.4 | 15.0 |
| 6 | Pac-12 8 teams · best: Boise State Broncos | -3.2 | 9-16 | -2.8 | 25 | 6-1 | +28.3 | 56.5 |
| 7 | American 14 teams · best: North Texas Mean Green | -4.1 | 16-23 | -3.5 | 39 | 12-1 | +32.8 | 36.5 |
| 8 | Sun Belt 14 teams · best: James Madison Dukes | -7.6 | 14-26 | -5.4 | 40 | 13-1 | +36.5 | 60.0 |
| 9 | Mountain West 10 teams · best: New Mexico Lobos | -8.8 | 10-16 | -3.7 | 26 | 6-2 | +22.1 | 112.5 |
| 10 | C-USA 10 teams · best: Liberty Flames | -10.2 | 6-24 | -8.0 | 30 | 10-0 | +34.1 | 24.0 |
| 11 | MAC 13 teams · best: Toledo Rockets | -12.7 | 7-29 | -12.3 | 36 | 14-1 | +24.3 | 95.0 |
Avg Power = average Power rating of member teams. Non-conf = games against FBS teams from other conferences; avg margin uses the same diminishing-returns curve as college Power (k=20). Bridging games are those non-conference FBS games; ⚠ = fewer than 15, treat with caution. FCS shortfall = points short of the 21-point FCS Test, losses counted 1.5×.
Common opponents
From the Oct 29 ratings run (not part of the Oct 30 drop). For each pair of conferences, the opponents both played (outside either conference). Edge = how much better, on average, one conference did against those same teams.
| Pair | Shared opponents | Edge |
|---|---|---|
| Big Ten vs American | 12 | Big Ten by 13.2 |
| SEC vs Sun Belt | 9 | SEC by 19.6 |
| Big Ten vs Sun Belt | 8 | Big Ten by 12.1 |
| Big Ten vs MAC | 8 | Big Ten by 19.3 |
| Big 12 vs C-USA | 8 | Big 12 by 12.1 |
| ACC vs American | 8 | ACC by 8.6 |
| ACC vs Sun Belt | 8 | ACC by 11.6 |
| Big Ten vs Mountain West | 7 | Big Ten by 17.6 |
| Big 12 vs American | 7 | Big 12 by 16.9 |
| Big 12 vs Sun Belt | 7 | Big 12 by 14.2 |
| American vs MAC | 7 | American by 11.0 |
| SEC vs American | 6 | SEC by 17.0 |
| SEC vs C-USA | 6 | SEC by 24.4 |
| Big Ten vs Big 12 | 6 | Big 12 by 8.9 |
| Big Ten vs Pac-12 | 6 | Big Ten by 7.9 |
| SEC vs MAC | 5 | SEC by 20.8 |
| Big 12 vs ACC | 5 | Big 12 by 0.6 |
| Big 12 vs Mountain West | 5 | Big 12 by 26.1 |
| Pac-12 vs Mountain West | 5 | Pac-12 by 11.6 |
| Sun Belt vs MAC | 5 | MAC by 1.5 |