The Top 50 for these rankings is an important benchmark to help establish how strong a conference is. I suppose I chose 50 because it's a good number and I deduct points for teams that are ranked 100 or lower. This list features many surprises and features teams with records of either 8-5 or 9-4. That means that a team like Notre Dame is on the outside looking in because they don't play in a conference championship to get an extra game. First, here's a look at conference power ratings:
SEC +7 (Top-Georgia, Alabama, LSU, Tennessee, Miss St, Ole Miss, and South Carolina, Bottom-None
ACC +5 (Top-Clemson, FSU, Pitt, Duke, UNC, Louisville, NCST, and Wake Forest, Bottom-Virginia, Va Tech, and B.C.)
Big 12 +3 (Top-TCU, KSU, Texas Tech, and Texas, Bottom-Iowa St)
Big Ten +2 (Top-Michigan, Penn St, OSU, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois, Bottom-Nebraska, Indiana, Rutgers, and Northwestern)
PAC-12 +2 (Top-Washington, Oregon, USC, Oregon St, Utah, and UCLA, Bottom-Arizona St, Cal, Stanford, and Colorado)
AAC +2 (Top-Tulane, Cincinnati, UCF, ECU, and Houston, Bottom-Navy, Temple, and USF)
Sun Belt +0 (Top-Troy, Coastal Carolina, South Alabama, James Madison, and Marshall, Bottom-Georgia St, ULM, Texas St, Old Dominion, and Arkansas St)
MAC +0 (Top-Ohio, EMU, and Toledo, Bottom-CMU, NIU, and Akron)
MWC -1 (Top-Air Force, Fresno St, and Boise St, Bottom-CSU, Nevada, Hawaii, and New Mexico)
CUSA -2 (Top-UTSA and WKU, Bottom-Rice, FIU, La Tech, and Charlotte)
It's unsurprising to see that the SEC once again reigns supreme in conference strength as their worst team was Vanderbilt at 5-7. The Big Ten had one of its worst showings in recent years, and believe it or not, the MAC turned in one of its best performances in a while. The biggest surprise in the bottom half is the usually stout Mountain West, which was muddied by a bunch of six and seven-win teams. Here are those who finished on the waiting list in 2022.
50. Illinois (8-5, 81.5 WP, 57 LP)
Prediction and Preseason Rank: 3-9 (89)
Last Year Rank: 86
Recap: The biggest surprise in the Big Ten and early on in college football was the Fighting Illini, but it didn't start out the way they wanted it to. In Week 0, Illinois blew out Wyoming but followed that game up with a loss to Indiana. After that setback, they rattled off six straight wins and were poised to make noise in the Big Ten West. Then came three-straight losses that included a near-upset of Michigan. Luckily, Northwestern was the final game and they cruised to an eight-win season. In the ReliaQuest Bowl, the Illini had a tough task as they drew Mississippi State, who was playing to honor their late head coach, Mike Leach. Add in that Chase Brown and his 1,600 yards rushing were going to be sitting out meant tough sledding offensively. The Bulldogs won a slugfest 19-10, but Bret Bielema has made quick work in turning around this program.
49. Ole Miss (8-5, 76.4, 39)
PR: 9-3 (12)
LYR: 19
Recap: The Rebels were primed for an SEC Championship. They were primed for a shot at the National Championship. 7-0 is where they sat before they finally lost to LSU, but they were not out of it yet. They won over Texas A&M to set up a showdown with Alabama. It was close, but they lost. Then they lost to Arkansas, and finally to Mike Leach in his final game as Mississippi State's coach. The Rebels were spiraling into bowl season when they met Texas Tech in the Texas Bowl. The Red Raiders pounced on the fledgling Ole Miss squad and eased to a 42-25 victory.
48. Houston (8-5, 72.3, 68.2
PR: 10-2 (15)
LYR: 10
Recap: The Cougars loved overtime early on in the season as they played a total of 26 quarters in their first five games of the season, resulting in a 2-3 start. Houston responded with three-straight wins but lost a shootout with SMU in the highest-scoring regulation game in FBS history, 77-63. Clayton Tune threw for 527 yards and seven touchdowns in that loss and finished with 40 touchdown passes, tied for second most in the nation. Houston met up with Louisiana in the Independence Bowl and rallied past the Ragin' Cajuns in the fourth quarter to win 23-16. The Cougars will now prepare to join the Big 12 in 2023.
47. Wake Forest (8-5, 70, 33)
PR: 8-4 (17)
LYR: 17
Recap: The Demon Deacons were dealt a blow early on when quarterback Sam Hartman had to sit out the start of the season with a medical issue. He returned against Vanderbilt in week 2 and nearly knocked off Clemson in double overtime the following week. They did successfully defeat Florida State and things were looking great as they took a 6-1 record to Louisville. Wake took a 14-13 lead into halftime and then fell apart in the third quarter. Hartman threw three interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns, and the Demon Deacons committed a total of six turnovers in the third quarter and eight in the second half. That sparked four losses in their final five games heading into bowl season. Hartman announced it would be his final game for Wake as he made his way into the transfer portal, with Notre Dame looking like a possible landing destination. Still, he gave it his all in a 27-17 win over Missouri in the Gasparilla Bowl.
46. ECU (8-5, 69.3, 27.6)
PR: 6-6 (63)
LYR: 51
Recap: The Pirates were going to be a pain in the American thanks to fifth-year starter Holton Ahlers under center, but there was no way they could win the whole thing. That proved to be true as they lost a head-scratcher to Navy, beat UCF and BYU, and nearly pulled upsets on NCST and Cincinnati. They entered the Birmingham Bowl against a deflated Coastal Carolina team that was without their head coach and had come off of two ugly losses. The Pirates took full advantage with the lefty Ahlers tossing a Birmingham Bowl record five touchdowns in a 53-29 de-feathering of the Chanticleers.
45. South Carolina (8-5, 68.6, 37)
PR: 6-6 (52)
LYR: 59
Recap: The Gamecocks looked like they were going to finish the year on a disappointing note after ugly losses to Missouri and Florida left them with must-wins against two Top Ten teams. Apparently, Spencer Rattler and company were up to the challenge with an onslaught of offense against the Volunteers. Rattler threw for over 450 yards and six touchdowns to stun No. 5 Tennessee. He followed that up with 360 yards and two touchdowns to hold off No. 8 Clemson 31-30. South Carolina was the hot pick in the Gator Bowl against Notre Dame, but the Irish torched the Carolina defense and held off the Gamecocks 45-38.
44. Iowa (8-5, 66.5, 45.6)
PR: 8-4 (20)
LYR: 26
Recap: At the beginning of the year, the Iowa Hawkeyes were playing the kind of offense only seen by the likes of the 1980s Northwestern Wildcats and Duke Blue Devils. Fortunately, their defense was pretty good in that stretch. The Hawkeyes beat FCS National Championship finalist South Dakota St, 7-3. However, they scored seven not with a touchdown, but two safeties and a field goal. That was followed up with a 10-7 loss to Iowa State. They scored 27 against Nevada and Rutgers in back-to-back wins but scored just 14 against Michigan, six against Illinois, and ten against Ohio State. They leaned on their defense in the next four games holding opponents to an average of 9 points per game to put them back in the Big Ten West race. All they had to do was beat a lowly Nebraska squad. It's Iowa and they clearly didn't, so instead, they earned a trip to the Music City Bowl against Kentucky. A bevy of Wildcats, including quarterback Will Levis, decided to skip and injuries led to Iowa turning to their backup quarterback. The defense contributed seven of the 21 points scored for the Hawkeyes as they pitched a shutout to win their Nashville venture.
43. Texas (8-5, 66.4, 16.8)
PR: 8-4 (59)
LYR: 85
Recap: I keep wondering when Texas is going to truly be back as they flirted with greatness throughout the year. They lost by one to Alabama, which looked great before Texas Tech beat them in overtime to put the Longhorns at 2-2. Then it was three-straight wins including a 49-0 embarrassment of Oklahoma in the Red River Shootout. The Cowboys sought revenge for their fellow Oklahomans, ending Texas' streak. The Longhorns responded by upsetting Kansas State and nearly upsetting TCU. They were so close to earning a spot in the Big 12 Championship but were a win short. Instead, they settled for a big match-up in the Alamo Bowl against Washington. Texas failed to remember the Alamo and watched as the Huskies win their 11th game, 27-20. Quinn Ewers was the starter for most of the season and looked pretty good, but it will be interesting to see what Steve Sarkisian does with his newest recruit, Arch Manning. Manning was the top-rated quarterback and most sought-after player in the class of 2023 and is also the nephew of Eli and Peyton Manning.
42. NCST (8-5, 64.6, 54.8)
PR: 10-2 (21)
LYR: 25
Recap: The Wolfpack jumped out to a 5-1 start and looked to make some noise after beating Florida State, but in that game quarterback Devin Leary was lost for the season. It took its toll immediately when they were upset by Syracuse the following week and barely held on against Virginia Tech. Still, they rallied to upset Wake Forest but dropped their next two to Boston College and Louisville. The Wolfpack salvaged their season from complete disappointment when they upset North Carolina to end the Tar Heels' playoff hopes. Dave Doeren might have been relieved that his team lost the Duke's Mayo Bowl, so he didn't have to have that disgusting condiment poured on his head like that sucker Mike Locksley (Maryland). He was less relieved to learn that Leary is entering the transfer portal.
41. Texas Tech (8-5, 61.9, 24)
PR: 4-8 (66)
LYR: 57
Recap: The Red Raiders gave new head coach Joey McGuire a big contract extension before his bowl game and maybe it's because they knew something I didn't. Sure they had their ups and downs, but they got big wins over Texas and Oklahoma (both in overtime). They even got an overtime win over the future Big 12 squad Houston. Texas Tech, usually known for offense, got five turnovers from Ole Miss in the Texas Bowl to knock off their SEC opponent 42-25.
40. Louisville (8-5, 42.6, 58)
PR: 7-5 (58)
LYR: 79
Recap: The Cardinals picked up several big wins over UCF, Pitt, Wake Forest, and NCST, and were one of only three teams to beat James Madison this season. Sure they lost to Boston College, but with Malik Cunningham, they were exciting to watch. Then Scott Saterfield announced that he was taking the Cincinnati job, which was awkward because the Cardinals were gearing up to play their rivals in the Fenway Bowl. They quickly responded by hiring former quarterback Jeff Brohm away from Purdue. The Fenway Bowl marked the first time since 2013 that The Keg of Nails would be played for and without Luke Fickell (now at Wisconsin) the Bearcats looked lost, perhaps because they were in a baseball stadium that was also about to host a hockey game? Whatever it was, the Cardinals were more than happy to rout their rivals and retain the keg for the third-straight meeting after a 24-7 win.
39. Toledo (9-5, 89, 73.6)
PR: 9-3 (69)
LYR: 65
Recap: The Rockets were one game away from losing their spot in the MAC Championship, but held on to not only represent the West but also defeat Ohio to earn their first MAC title since 2017. The key moment came after Toledo blew a lead to Buffalo and lost the game and their quarterback. With a backup QB, the Rockets headed into Ypsilanti for a showdown with their surprise competitors for the crown. EMU held the lead for the entire game until Tucker Gleason threw a 1-yard touchdown with two minutes left to win 27-24. Despite losing to Bowling Green and Western Michigan, that win over the Eagles was the tiebreaker as they shared the MAC West crown, but the Rockets got to reap the benefits. Toledo made an appearance in the Boca Raton Bowl against a Hugh Freezeless Liberty squad. The Rockets rallied to upend the Flames for a 21-19 win.
38. Western Kentucky (9-5, 81.1, 69)
PR: 8-5 (67)
LYR: 42
Recap: The Hilltoppers made their way to 14 games in 2022, not because of a conference championship appearance, but because of a trip to the islands for a victory over Hawaii. Three of their losses were non-conference games against Indiana (overtime), Troy, and Auburn. Their other two losses came against the CUSA Championship participants, North Texas and UTSA. The Hilltoppers drew South Alabama, having their best season ever, in the New Orleans Bowl. WKU was not impressed by the Jaguars' 10-win season and thumped them early and often in a 44-23 rout. With the flight of both North Texas and UTSA leaving for the American, WKU looks to be the favorite in CUSA next season.
37. UCF (9-5, 78.7, 65.6)
PR: 9-3 (39)
LYR: 37
Recap: The Golden Knights were in line for a big year with wins over Tulane and Cincinnati to take control of the AAC. Then came Navy and the Midshipmen sunk any attempts at a New Year's Six Bowl with a 17-14 win. Still, a win over South Florida punched a ticket to the AAC Championship with a rematch against Tulane. Unlike their first meeting, the Green Wave rolled to a 45-28 victory to end UCF's conference dreams. In the Military Bowl, the Knights met up with the Duke Blue Devils and were demolished 30-13 to end their season with three losses in their final four games.
36. North Carolina (9-5, 77.7, 48.8)
PR: 7-5 (49)
LYR: 73
Recap: Like UCF, the Tar Heels entered the last month with bigger hopes than where they finished. Mack Brown got his team off to a 9-1 start and quarterback Drake Maye was on many people's Heisman watchlist. However, things began to unravel when they were stunned by Georgia Tech and followed that with a devastating double overtime loss to rival NCST. They still made the ACC Championship where they were obliterated by Clemson 39-10. This led them to a battle of two disappointing finishers as they played Oregon in the Holiday Bowl. The two played an epic game with the Ducks scoring a last-second score and narrowly making their game-winning extra point to finish off the Tar Heels 28-27.
35. Eastern Michigan (9-4, 99.2, 92.3)
PR: 6-6 (75)
LYR: 64
Recap: Never in the program's history have the Eagles finished so high in these rankings. It's the most wins since 1987 when they won ten games and their last bowl game. There were some lows, with bad losses to Northern Illinois (one I, unfortunately, witnessed in person) and Louisiana, and two late collapses to Buffalo and Toledo. For once, there were many more highs that started with a victory over Arizona State that was so devastating for the Sun Devils, they fired their coach. The theme for the year was stacking wins and they did just that with three-straight victories and earned their first share of the MAC West Title since the divisions were formed. They won the Michigan-MAC Trophy for the first time since 2012 and found themselves with a familiar bowl opponent in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. That lone bowl win came against San Jose State and fate brought the two together 35 years later. After falling behind 13-0 rather quickly, the Eagles got a big confidence boost with a blocked extra point that they returned for two points. That led to 30 unanswered points as the Eagles smothered the Spartans en route to a 41-27 victory.
34. Minnesota (9-4, 93.8, 43.8)
PR: 8-4 (43)
LYR: 32
Recap: The Gophers showed that they were among the top B-Tier Big Ten schools, but couldn't overcome those above them with losses to Purdue, Penn State, Illinois, and Iowa. This caused them to come up short in their efforts to win the Big Ten West. They earned a trip to the Pinstripe Bowl against a surprise Syracuse squad. The Gophers did enough early on in the game to secure a 28-20 victory. It was the second consecutive nine-win season for P.J. Fleck and company.
33. Cincinnati (9-4, 92.1, 30.3)
PR: 9-3 (8)
LYR: 3
Recap: It would have been difficult to recapture the magic of last season after all the talent they lost from their 2021 squad, but it looked like they might have a chance early on. Under QB and EMU transfer, Ben Bryant, the Bearcats jumped out to a 6-1 start. UC lost to UCF, but after three-straight wins, all they had to do was beat Tulane and they would make an appearance in the AAC Championship. The Green Wave had other ideas as they went into Nippert Stadium and knocked off the Bearcats. Before their appearance in the Fenway Bowl, Luke Fickell announced that he was taking the vacancy at Wisconsin. Cincinnati responded by announcing the hiring of Louisville's Scott Satterfield. To complicate things, Satterfield's Cardinals were the opponent for the Bearcats and both teams had interim coaches for the Keg of Nails and Fenway Bowl. Louisville dominated a depleted UC offense in a 24-7 rout. Cincinnati will now head to the Big 12 in 2023.
32. Marshall (9-4, 87.8, 87)
PR: 8-4 (63)
LYR: 66
Recap: One of the more insane upsets of the 2022 season was when Charles Huff took his Thundering Herd into South Bend and shocked the Fighting Irish. However, they followed that huge win with losses to Bowling Green, Troy, Louisiana, and Coastal Carolina to slump to a 4-4 record. Despite losing their shot at a Sun Belt Championship, the Herd still finished strong with four-straight wins heading into bowl season. They met the surprise UConn Huskies in the Myrtle Beach Bowl and jumped out to a 28-0 lead that they wouldn't relinquish. That victory snapped their three-game bowl losing streak and brings the school's overall record to 13-6 in bowl games.
31. Coastal Carolina (9-4, 86.9, 47.8)
PR: 10-2 (34)
LYR: 15
Recap: The Chanticleers were ravaged by injuries that included star quarterback Grayson McCall. McCall's absence led to a shocking 28-point loss to Old Dominion. Still, Coastal made their way to a 9-1 start and made their way to their second Sun Belt Championship Game, despite a 47-7 throttling by James Madison. That game served as a bad omen for their title game against Troy with the Chants dropping a 45-26 contest. Head coach Jamey Chadwell announced that he was taking the same position at Liberty and McCall announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal. With all this disruption, Coastal was not in its best form when it lost a lopsided affair with ECU in the Birmingham Bowl, 53-29.
30. UCLA (9-4, 84.3, 44.3)
PR: 9-3 (30)
LYR: 39
Recap: The Bruins might have gotten off to a fast start, but there were some red flags. They needed a last-second field goal to knock off South Alabama at the Rose Bowl and had several close calls early in Pac-12 play. Still, Dorian Thompson-Robinson showed he was the real deal with stellar play that put UCLA at 6-0. A loss to Oregon was understandable, but the gutsy performance by Arizona that allowed them to stun the Bruins all but eliminated UCLA from playoff hopes. The final blow came when they couldn't hold off USC the following week to drop suddenly to 8-3. A win over Cal had them feeling good going into the Sun Bowl with the Pitt Panthers. UCLA had the game in control, but an injury to DTR allowed Pitt to rally ahead. Sophomore Ethan Garbers took over and lead the Bruins down the field for a go-ahead score with 39 seconds left. That was too much time for Pitt as Ben Sauls kicked the game-winning field goal just 29 seconds later. The Bruins will be playing their final season in the Pac-12 next year before heading to the Big Ten in 2024.
29. Duke (9-4, 81.7, 48.5)
PR: 4-8 (103)
LYR: 115
Recap: Mike Elko was not the splashiest hire after the 2021 season when Duke hired him as its new head coach, but that turned out to be a game-changer. The Blue Devils took full advantage of a weaker ACC and won eight games in the regular season and got wins over Miami and Wake Forest. If anyone thought this was a fluke, Elko's bunch proved the doubters wrong when the Blue Devils ran over the UCF Golden Knights, 30-10. The nine wins were the most since 2014 and just one shy of the team's win total from 2019-2021.
28. Pitt (9-4, 72, 59)
PR: 9-3 (23)
LYR: 16
Recap: Replacing an NFL-caliber quarterback is difficult, but they brought in Kedon Slovis from USC to fill that void. Slovis was serviceable, but not faithful as he announced at the end of the season that he'll be transferring to BYU. Pitt was close on several opportunities to better its position, including an overtime loss to Tennessee that looked better after the Volunteers' great season. Like Duke, the Panthers couldn't defeat the top-tier conference teams but took advantage of the middling and lower-end teams to earn a trip to the Sun Bowl against UCLA. Senior Nick Patti led the school to a come-from-behind win over UCLA, 37-35, to finish the year on a five-game win streak. After the season, the Panthers looked to the transfer portal again for their QB as former Boston College starter, Phil Jurkovec, announced that he's coming to the Steel City.
27. Mississippi State (9-4, 59.7, 37)
PR: 7-5 (33)
LYR: 52
Recap: The football season seems sort of irrelevant for the Bulldogs in 2022. Sure they won eight games that included a then-upset of Texas A&M and finished the year with an upset of Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl, but all of that was forgotten by December. In mid-December, head coach Mike Leach was taken to a hospital where he was said to be in critical condition, on December 13, he passed away after suffering a heart attack. Leach was a one-of-a-kind person and coach that orchestrated some of the finest offenses that college football has ever seen. The football world was devastated by the loss, but it was determined that the bowl would go on in his honor. It seemed like the best way to honor his memory and love of pirates as they were set to play in ReliaQuest Bowl, located inside Raymond James Stadium, the home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bulldogs took advantage of an Illinois team that was missing its best offensive player and honored their great coach with a 19-10 victory. Zach Arnett will look to build off that bowl win as he was officially named the Bulldogs' next head coach.
26. Notre Dame (9-4, 43.4, 48.5)
PR: 10-2 (6)
LYR: 14
Recap: The Marcus Freeman era got off to a rough start. Sure the loss at Ohio State was forgivable, but losing to Marshall at home was cause for concern. Then, Notre Dame rattled off three-straight wins, including back-to-back victories over ranked opponents (UNC and BYU). That momentum was derailed when they lost to Stanford of all teams. That sparked a five-game win streak that included victories over Clemson and Syracuse. They couldn't knock off USC, but still earned a trip to the Gator Bowl against South Carolina. Even though the Gamecocks earned victories over Tennessee and Clemson, the Irish certainly weren't intimidated as they went shot for shot with South Carolina. Eventually, Tyler Buchner stopped throwing interceptions for touchdowns and found his teammate in the endzone with 1:38 left to set up a 45-38 victory. The quarterback situation was in flux throughout the season with one-time starter, Drew Pyne, entering the transfer portal (Arizona State). The Irish will welcome a transfer of their own in former Wake Forest starter Sam Hartman.
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