Despite Michigan being runaway No. 1, SEC still reigns supreme in annual T-U power rankings

For the first time since Trevor Lawrence quarterbacked Clemson to the 2018 national championship, college football has a king from outside the Southeastern Conference in the Michigan Wolverines.

But a perfect 15-0 season by Jim Harbaugh’s team still didn’t prevent one long-standing tradition in the 33rd annual Times-Union College Football Power Rankings: the SEC being home to the nation’s best conference.

For the 15th time in the past 17 years, the SEC had too much overall depth for the Big Ten or anybody to dethrone its place as the top league in the country.

With four teams in the top 10 of the final Associated Press poll and six in the top 25, the SEC strength below its top two schools in Georgia and Alabama enabled it to win comfortably with an average score of +11.28, well ahead of runner-up Big Ten at +1.14. That 10.14-point SEC margin of victory was similar to last year when the SEC (+13.07) outpointed the Pac-12 (+4.25).

The Pac-12 finished third this time with a –8.33 average ranking, followed by the Big 12 (-9.42), ACC (-19), Conference USA (-48.77), Sun Belt (-58.07), American Athletic (-61.15), Mountain West (-64.83) and MAC (-73).

In the team rankings, there was a slight difference in the order among the top 10 teams of the T-U rankings from the AP final poll. The only significant difference was Georgia and Alabama pushed Texas down two spots from third to fifth.

While it didn’t emerge as the runaway winner by a 54-point margin like Georgia did last year, national champion Michigan easily finished atop the T-U rankings with a +146 ranking. Washington, the team it beat 34-14 for the national title, was second at +129.

Despite losing 34-31 to Alabama in the SEC title game, Georgia having one less defeat allowed it to barely edge the Crimson Tide for third place at +106, one point ahead of ‘Bama.

Texas was fifth at +102, followed by Florida State (+79), Missouri (+75) and Ohio State (+68), with Oregon (+64) and Ole Miss (+64) rounding out the top 10.

Michigan was the only team in the country to post five wins over opponents ranked in the final AP poll. Washington, Alabama, Georgia and Texas each won four games against top-25 teams. Michigan, Washington and Georgia were the only teams to win three games against top-10 opposition.

With Texas and Oklahoma both joining the SEC in 2024, and nearly the entire Pac-12 moving to the Big Ten or Big 12, the battle for future supremacy of college football will almost certainly be among those three leagues.

The ACC, though it went 7-4 in head-to-head matchups this season with the SEC, is at risk of falling further behind the college football power structure as FSU and others appear ready to move out.

Three pertinent questions about the T-U power poll

Q: Why was there such a big gap between sixth-place Florida State, the same ranking it had in the AP poll, and the five teams above them?

A: Beyond seeing a significant part of its roster opt out for the blowout loss to Georgia in the Orange Bowl, the Seminoles were well behind those teams before their perfect season evaporated because the ACC doesn’t have the depth of the SEC and Big Ten to give FSU the schedule strength needed to keep up. The ‘Noles had three top-25 wins, but never faced a top-10 team until Georgia beat them 63-3.

Q: With the Big 12 Conference expanding from 10 to 14 teams this season, why did it fall from third to fourth place in the conference rankings?

A: The biggest issue is the four teams they added (BYU, UCF, Houston and Cincinnati) all had losing seasons, a combined record of 18-31, and finished in the bottom half of the standings. Another factor is TCU, the national runner-up a year ago, plummeted from a 12-2 record to 5-7. The Horned Frogs had one of the biggest drops in the T-U rankings, falling from No. 4 to No. 65.

Q: What are the chances of Florida, which dropped from a tie for 40th in last year’s ranking to 58th this year, of rebounding to a more respectable place next season?

A: Probably not great, though the arrival of promising 5-star quarterback D.J. Lagway and other recruits should infuse Billy Napier’s program with a lot of optimism for the long term. But the 2024 season still figures to be a challenge to reach a bowl game with the Gators facing arguably the nation’s toughest schedule. When you replace Vanderbilt and South Carolina with Ole Miss and Texas, plus add UCF and Miami to the non-conference menu, those are pretty significant roadblocks.

Times-Union Power Rankings

Rank;Team;Rec.;Conf;Score; 

1;Michigan;15-0;Big Ten;+146;

2;Washington;14-1;Pac-12;+129;

3;Georgia;13-1;SEC;+106;

4;Alabama;12-2;SEC;+105;

5;Texas;12-2;Big 12;+102;

6;FSU;13-1;ACC;+79;

7;Missouri;11-2;SEC;+75;

8;Ohio St.;11-2;Big Ten;+68;

9;Oregon;12-2;Pac-12;+64;

9;Ole Miss;11-2;SEC;+64;

11;Oklahoma;10-3;Big 12;+60;

12;LSU;10-3;SEC;+54;

13;Penn St.;10-3;Big Ten;+48;

14;Arizona;10-3;Pac-12;+46;

15;Notre Dame;10-3;Ind.;+40;

16;Kansas St.;9-4;Big 12;+38;

17;Liberty;13-1;C-USA;+35;

18;Tennessee;9-4;SEC;+24;

19;Louisville;10-4;ACC:+23;

20;Oklahoma St.;10-4;Big 12;+22;

21;Kansas;9-4;Big 12;+21;

22;SMU;11-3;AAC;+17;

23;Clemson;9-4;ACC;+15;

23;N.C. State;9-4;ACC;+15;

25;J. Madison;11-2;Sun Belt;+14;

25;Iowa;10-4;Big Ten;+14;

25;Tulane;11-3;AAC;+14;

25;Memphis;10-3;AAC;+14;

29;USC;8-5;Pac-12;+12;

30;Troy;11-3;Sun Belt;+10;

30;Duke;8-5;ACC;+10;

32;Oregon St.;8-5;Pac-12;+9;

32;West Va;9-4;Big 12;+9;

34;Toledo;11-3;MAC;+3;

34;Iowa St.;7-6;Big 12;+3;

36;Ohio;10-3;MAC;+2;

36;Kentucky;7-6;SEC;+2;

38;Utah;8-5;Pac-12;+1;

39;Miami (Oh.);11-3;MAC;0;

39;Texas A&M;7-6;SEC;0;

41;New Mexico St.;10-5;C-USA;-3;

42;Jax St.;9-4;C-USA;-4;

43;Rutgers;7-6;Big Ten;-5;

44;Wyoming;9-4;Mt. West;-6;

44;UNLV;9-5;Mt. West;-6;

44;Maryland;8-5;Big Ten;-6;

47;UTSA;9-4;AAC;-7;

48;N. Carolina;8-5;ACC;-9;

49;Northwestern;8-5;Big Ten;-11;

50;W. Kentucky;8-5;C-USA;-13;

50;Miami;7-6;ACC;-13;

50;Texas Tech;7-6;Big 12;-13;

53;Wisconsin;7-6;Big Ten;-14;

54;Va. Tech;7-6;ACC;-17;

55;Air Force;9-4;Mt. West;-20;

55;Ga. Tech;7-6;ACC;-20;

57;Auburn;6-7;SEC;-21;

58;Florida;5-7;SEC;-23;

59;S.Carolina;5-7;SEC;-28;

60;UCLA;8-5;Pac-12;-29;

61;App. St.;9-5;Sun Belt;-31;

62;Boise St.;8-6;Mt. West;-33;

63;Boston C.;7-6;ACC;-34;

63;UCF;6-7;Big 12;-34;

65;TCU;5-7;Big 12;-36;

65;Fresno St.;9-4;Big West;-37;

67;Minnesota;6-7;Big Ten;-40;

67;Cal;6-7;Pac-12;-40;

69;S. Alabama;7-6;Sun Belt;-41;

69;Wash. St.;5-7;Pac-12;-41;

71;Bowling G.;7-6;MAC;-43;

72;Illinois;5-7;Big Ten;-45;

73;Texas St.;Sun Belt;-47;

73;Nebraska;5-7;Big Ten;-47;

75;Rice;6-7;AAC;-48;

76;Coastal Car.;8-5;Sun Belt;-49;

77;Miss St.;5-7;SEC;-50;

78;BYU;5-7;Big 12;-51;

79;N. Illinois;7-6;MAC;-52;

79;USF;7-6;AAC;-52;

81;Arkansas;4-8;SEC;-58;

82;Ga. State;7-6;Sun Belt;-61;

83;Colorado;4-8;Big 12;-62;

84;Syracuse;6-7;ACC;-63;

84;Old Dom.;6-7;Sun Belt;-63;

86;Army;6-6;Ind.;-64;

86;Wake F.;4-8;ACC;-64;

88;Middle Tenn.;4-8;C-USA;-65;

88;Purdue;4-8;Big Ten;-65;

90;Navy;5-7;AAC;-66;

90;Houston;4-8;Big 12;-66;

92;Mich. St.;4-8;Big Ten;-67;

93;Marshall;6-7;Sun Belt;-68;

94;San Jose St.;7-6;Mt. West;-69;

95;Louisiana;6-7;Sun Belt;-71;

96;Utah St.;6-7;Mt. West;-73;

97;C. Michigan;5-7;MAC;-74;

98;Ark. St.; 6-7;Sun Belt;-78;

99;Ga. Southern;6-7;Sun Belt;-81;

100;Colorado St.;5-7;Mt. West;-82;

101;Tulsa;4-8;AAC;-84;

102;Pitt;3-9;ACC;-85;

103;E. Michigan;6-7;MAC;-86;

104;Indiana;3-9;Big Ten;-89;

105;Hawaii;5-8;Mt. West;-90;

105;UAB;4-8;AAC;-90;

105;UTEP;3-9;C-USA;-90;

108;FAU;4-8;C-USA;-91;

109;Vanderbilt;2-10;SEC;-92;

110;Cincinnati;3-9;Big 12;-94;

111;FIU;4-8;C-USA;-96;

112;Baylor;3-9;Big12;-98;

113;Arizona St.;3-9;Pac-12;-99;

114;Ball St.;4-8;MAC;-100;

114;UConn;3-9;Ind.;-100;

114;UMass;3-9;Ind.;-100;

117;Buffalo;3-9;MAC;-101;

117;E. Carolina;2-10;-101;

119;W. Michigan;4-8;MAC;=102;

120;Virginia;3-9;ACC;-103;

120;Sam Houston;3-9;C-USA;-103;

122;La. Tech;3-9;C-USA;-105;

123;Stanford;3-9;Pac-12;-107;

124;San Diego St.;4-8;Mt. West;-108;

125;So. Miss;3-9;Sun Belt;-115;

126;Charlotte;3-9;AAC;-118;

127;New Mexico;4-8;Mt. West;-119;

128;Temple;3-9;AAC;-130;

129;La. Monroe;2-10;Sun Belt;-132;

130;Nevada;2-10;Mt. West;-135;

131;Akron;2-10;MAC;-145;

132;Kent St.;1-11;MAC;-178;

CONFERENCE RANKINGS

Conf;Teams;Overall;Avg.;

1;SEC;14;+158;+11.28;

2;Big Ten;14;+16;+1.14;

3;Pac-12;12;-100;-8.33;

4;Big 12;14;-132;-9.42;

5;ACC;14;-266;-19;

6;C-USA;9;-434;-48.22;

7;Sun Belt;14;-813;-58.07;

8;AAC;13;-795;-61.15;

9;Mt. West;12;-778;-64.83;

10;MAC;12;-876;-73;

POINTS SYSTEM

+22 – Road win over final AP top-5 team;

+20 – Neutral-site win over top-5 team;

+18 – Home win over top-5 team;

+16 – Road win over top 6-10 team;

+14 – Neutral-site win over top 6-10 team;

+12 – Home win over top 6-10 team;

+10 – Road win over top 11-25 team;

+9 – Neutral-site win over top 11-25 team;

+8 – Home win over top 11-25 team;

+7 – Road win over unranked team;

+6 – Neutral-site win over unranked team;

+5 – Home win over unranked team;

0 – Win over non-FBS team;

-1 – Road loss to top-5 team;

-2 – Neutral-site loss to top-5 team;

-3 – Home loss to top-5 team;

-4 – Road loss to top 6-10 team;

-5 – Neutral-site loss to top 6-10 team;

-6 – Home loss to top 6-10 team;

-7 – Road loss to top 11-25 team;

-8 – Neutral-site loss to top 11-25 team;

-9 – Home loss to top 11-25 team;

-10 – Road loss to unranked team;

-11 – Neutral-site loss to unranked team;

-12 – Home loss to unranked team;

-15 – Loss to non-FBS team;

BONUS POINTS 

+15 – Three wins over top-5 teams;

+12 – Four wins over top-10 teams or six wins over top-25;

+10 – Two wins over top-5 teams;

+10 – Schedule has six or more top-25 teams;

+9 – Three wins over top-10 teams over 5 wins over top-25;

+8 – Schedule has five top-25 teams;

+7 – Four wins over top-25 teams;

+6 – Two wins over top-10 teams;

+5 – Schedule has four top-25 teams;

+5 – Three wins over top-25 teams;

+3 – Two wins over top-25 teams;

PENALTIES 

-25 – Regular-season schedule with no top-25 teams;

-15 – Regular-season schedule with one top-25 team;

-10 – Loss by 35+ at home, 40+ neutral site, +45 on road;

-5 – Loss by 20+ at home, 22+ neutral site, 25+ on road;

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: T-U college football rankings has Michigan as top team, but SEC still rules