College football conference power rankings

Although there were minimal major upsets this past weekend in college football, the return of the Big Ten added intrigue.

Ohio State, Wisconsin and Michigan cruised, but the biggest takeaway was Indiana's OT win against Penn State.

How do we rank the teams in the Big Ten and other conferences? Our writers weighed in.

Jump to a conference:
SEC | Big Ten | Big 12 | ACC | G5

SEC

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Ridder breaks out for 91-yard TD run

Desmond Ridder takes off to score a 91-yard touchdown, his third of the day, to push the Cincinnati lead to 35-13 over SMU.

We're nearing the halfway point of the SEC regular season, and good luck figuring out where we're headed.

Besides Alabama, is there a sure thing to be found?

Georgia, Florida and Texas A&M are in the second tier, but they all have significant issues.

Georgia's offense is inconsistent, and Stetson Bennett might not be the answer at quarterback. Florida plays almost no defense. And who really knows with Texas A&M? The Aggies -- and quarterback Kellen Mond -- are hard to trust.

Arkansas, which was supposed to be the worst team in the SEC, checks in at No. 5 and would be 3-1 if not for a bad call in the Auburn game.

It's as if everyone besides Alabama can beat everyone. Just ask LSU, which is back to .500 after losing inexplicably to Mississippi State. Better yet, ask Mississippi State, which has fallen off a cliff since beating LSU.

Last week, Kentucky beat Tennessee in Knoxville for the first time since 1984, winning by 27 points. Then Kentucky went on the road to a sub-.500 Mizzou and lost by 10.

Who knows what will happen next? -- Alex Scarborough

1. Alabama
2. Georgia
3. Texas A&M
4. Florida
5. Arkansas
6. Auburn
7. Missouri
8. LSU
9. South Carolina
10. Kentucky
11. Tennessee
12. Ole Miss
13. Mississippi State
14. Vanderbilt

Big Ten

The Big Ten kicked off its season over the weekend, and the conference came out swinging. Indiana pulled off an overtime win against Penn State with a controversial 2-point conversion, Rutgers put an end to its 21-game conference losing streak with a win against Michigan State, and Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz put himself on the national radar with an outstanding performance against Illinois.

It was tough to predict what would happen or what to expect after this offseason, but we now have a week's worth of games to grade out each team. Here are the Week 1 power rankings for the Big Ten. -- Tom VanHaaren

1. Ohio State
2. Wisconsin
3. Michigan
4. Indiana
5. Penn State
6. Minnesota
7. Northwestern
8. Purdue
9. Nebraska
10. Iowa
11. Rutgers
12. Maryland
13. Illinois
14. Michigan State

Big 12

As we near the halfway point of the Big 12 season, two teams with unblemished conference records remain: Kansas State and Oklahoma State.

It isn't what most expected at the season's outset, but both teams have played some quality ball to this point. Oklahoma State's defense has been stellar (a measly 48 points allowed in four games) and did a fine job against Iowa State. Kansas State made quick work of rival Kansas on Saturday to win its fourth straight. Freshman Will Howard turned in an encouraging performance in his second start.

Oklahoma has won two in a row after a rough start to the season, dominating TCU on Saturday, while Texas, which was in dire need of a win, got one by shutting down Baylor for a large chunk of Saturday afternoon. Texas Tech, behind new starting QB Henry Colombi, beat West Virginia by a touchdown for a key victory in the Matt Wells era after the Red Raiders lost their previous five games against FBS opponents that were decided by eight points or fewer. -- Sam Khan Jr.

1. Oklahoma State
2. Kansas State
3. Iowa State
4. Oklahoma
5. Texas
6. Texas Tech
7. West Virginia
8. TCU
9. Baylor
10. Kansas

ACC