ACC

For now, the ACC belongs to Florida State, but Louisville and UNC are alongside them. Luckily, the Seminoles don’t encounter either one, but they still have Duke and Syracuse at home. As for Duke, it’s unclear when Riley Leonard will return from injury since it isn’t season-ending, allegedly. I can’t say Clemson’s done just yet. It all depends on the fray from the Top 4 teams above them. Miami has a rare opportunity to be in the mix for the ACC title, but looking at their next five of eight games, it’s hard to believe they will be up there in December. NC State, Syracuse, and Wake Forest are unlikely to be ACC title contenders, but they could play spoiler to an ACC team’s hopes somewhere down the road.

BIG TEN

EAST

Penn State, Michigan, and Ohio State control their destiny for the Big Ten East title and playoff opportunity being the three teams in the Top 6 of the AP Poll. Penn State has more to prove, and all sides of the football must play A+ against Michigan and Ohio State. Maryland lurks behind them and there’s still belief they can upset one of the three. Rutgers hangs around, but running into a buzzsaw against Michigan means more will come against Ohio State and Michigan.

WEST

Wisconsin and Iowa are likely the two teams battling for the divisional title. Minnesota’s not offensively consistent while Purdue’s not defensively consistent, but they may play spoiler to one of those two. Northwestern’s very intriguing. Despite their off-the-field issues, coach David Braun brought that “North Dakota State” winning culture, which may be enough motivation to be in bowl contention this season. Illinois might return to the bottom after too much turnover on their roster, and Nebraska’s just being…Nebraska.

BIG 12

The race for the Big 12 title is far from over, but we might see some early separation as far as superiority goes. Oklahoma and Texas are back in the game after an iffy 2022 season. Kansas State and Kansas are in the mix. West Virginia’s surprisingly in the mix too. Was it Pat McAfee’s NIL assistance, energy, and infinite motivation that boosted the Mountaineers’ confidence? BYU’s also in the mix, but we’ll see if it continues through October. TCU may have played their way out of contention. Baylor survived a 28-point deficit against UCF to have a say. Texas Tech couldn’t handle the hype and Iowa State’s gambling investigation may have self-destructed the program for the season. Oklahoma State’s currently an enigma, and the rest of the newbies UCF, Cincinnati, and Houston are chilling at the bottom.

PAC-12

How about the Conference of Champions this season? The Pac-12 committee might be kicking themselves for such a great success, especially with so many quarterbacks leading by example. Too bad they won’t see 12 of them next season and just need to balls up and invite the Mountain West or merge with them. Anyway, USC, Oregon, and Washington are obvious contenders, but somewhere across the mountains, the plains, and the forest, the Utes, and next season’s Pac-2 teams Washington State and Oregon State are gunning for a title appearance. Don’t count out UCLA just yet until they run into a wall and out of contention. Colorado may be out of the race, but something tells me Deion and his son will return to the spotlight to meddle in other ranked teams’ business. Arizona, Cal, and Arizona State are those teams that opposing ranked Pac-12 teams should never overlook. All three had opportunities for an upset and they’ll continue that trend as they go deeper into their schedule.

SEC

The SEC doesn’t look as dominant as year’s past. Seriously, none of the 14 teams stood out in either conference or non-conference games. Could it be the fear of the Big Ten’s rise and Oklahoma and Texas’s imminent arrival next season? Eh, who knows. Georgia and Alabama are the immediate favorites right now. Kentucky and Mizzou are the only undefeated teams that still have something to prove. Tennessee looks formidable, but they were exposed by Florida on the road, which means they’re not as dominant as some expected them to be. LSU, Texas A&M, and Ole Miss have flaws, which likely keeps them out of the SEC West title opportunity. However, A&M and LSU still have a shot at taming the Tide. Florida and South Carolina are those teams that either play great or play bad. Hugh Freeze and Auburn continue to compete even as an average team, but it could make for an interesting October matchup against Ole Miss and LSU.

OVERALL

As of now, the Pac-12 is the most dominant conference and likely comes down to as many as six teams playing for two spots in the Pac-12 title game. The Big 12 will likely come down to Oklahoma or Texas taking one of the two spots after the Red River Rivalry game. The SEC likely has Georgia and Alabama, but Georgia looks vulnerable while Alabama’s playing with urgency. The Big Ten will have a playoff contender coming out of the Big Ten East once the champion is crowned at the Big Ten title game. The ACC is far from over. We might assume the obvious, but it’s hard to believe Clemson’ won’t be in’s out of the mix, even with two conference losses. There are still seven games left.