The quiet offseason forced fans to find other sports to follow and new ways to pass the time. For coaches and players, however, spring and summer are anything but quiet. The months between seasons are filled with grueling workouts, recruiting battles, transfer portal additions, and preparations for the challenges ahead.
Indiana enters the season with one clear objective: defend its national title. Every other program shares an equally simple goal—knock the Hoosiers off the throne and claim the championship for themselves.
In pursuit of college football's ultimate prize, programs across the country hired new head coaches, attacked the transfer portal, signed highly touted recruiting classes, and revamped their training programs. Last season delivered no shortage of surprises.
Few predicted Indiana would finish undefeated and win the national championship in dominant fashion, just as almost no one expected Mendoza to take home the Heisman Trophy.
Can Curt Cignetti continue building a dynasty in Bloomington? Will an SEC program finally return to the national championship game?
As anticipation builds for another unpredictable season, we take a look across the FBS landscape and predict this year's conference champions. In part 1, we evaluate Power Four conferences.
SEC
The SEC has been a football powerhouse for decades and has been regarded as the best conference in the FBS. But in the last three years, its reputation has wavered, and the conference has been going through a bit of a crisis.
Between 2006 and 2022, various SEC teams claimed 13 national championships. That’s 13 in 17 years! But since 2022, the SEC has been in a drought. It’s looking for a major comeback, and multiple teams will have a shot at the national title.
LSU strives to revive its glory by hiring Lane Kiffin. Expected to make some noise in 2025, the Tigers struggled and went 3-5 in the SEC. Kiffin is there to revive the program, and given his resume, he is going to make LSU competitive again.
Georgia, though, remains the conference's standard. Entering his 11th season, Kirby Smart has already guided the Bulldogs to back-to-back national titles and three SEC championships in the past four years. With quarterback Gunner Stockton coming off an outstanding season, Georgia should once again be in the title hunt. Ultimately, however, we believe the crown belongs to the Longhorns.
In our bold take, we believe that Texas will win its first SEC title. Quarterback Arch Manning has a full year of playing experience under his belt, and after a shaky start, he caught fire in November and proved he can play on the big stage.
Now, the Longhorns have one of the best playmakers in the country and strengthened the roster by massive additions through the transfer portal, highlighted by wide receiver Cam Coleman and running back Raleek Brown.
Furthermore, Texas returns 68% of its total production, which ranks sixth nationally and second in the SEC, right after South Carolina.
Predicted champion: Texas Longhorns
Contenders: Georgia Bulldogs, LSU Tigers
Big Ten
The Big Ten has been on a ride of a lifetime, winning three national championships in a row. And there are no signs of the trend declining.
Ohio State is loaded with talent. Oregon boasts possibly the best quarterback tandem in the country. Indiana may have lost its core in Mendoza, but the team is still coached by magician Cignetti, who delivered one of the best & most unexpected turnarounds in football history.
After securing the title in 2023, Michigan desperately wants to be back on top.
Does every team mentioned above have a real chance to win the Big Ten? Absolutely.
But Oregon stands out thanks to its offseason additions and sustained roster development. Dante Moore returned to Eugene after throwing for 3,565 yards and 30 touchdowns last season. Nebraska transfer Dylan Raiola gives the Ducks valuable depth behind him, while the defense became even stronger with the additions of safety Koi Perich from Minnesota and nickel Carl Williams IV from Baylor.
Oregon already fielded one of the nation's elite defenses in 2025, ranking fifth in passing defense and seventh in total defense. With another influx of talent, the Ducks appear poised to take the next step.
After years of knocking on the door, this could finally be Oregon's breakthrough season.
Predicted champion: Oregon Ducks
Contenders: Indiana Hoosiers, Ohio State Buckeyes
ACC
In 2025, the ACC was anything but boring to watch. Duke shocked the football sphere by outlasting Virginia in the conference championship game and took home the crown.
Miami, led by Carson Beck, missed the ACC championship game but still reached the College Football Playoff and the national title matchup as the conference's lone representative. Meanwhile, Bill Belichick's first season at North Carolina ended in disappointment, with the Tar Heels winning just two conference games.
The battle for the championship can certainly get interesting. Miami is going to be competitive, but the team is returning just 49% of its production.
Virginia Tech returns 69%, including 71% of offensive production. These are tremendous numbers – but the school also hired a new coach in James Franklin, whose struggles with Penn State led to his firing last season. He has the tools to succeed with the Hokies, but he will most likely need at least a couple of years to turn the program around.
We think there is a new champion on the rise – the SMU Mustangs.
The university from Dallas joined the ACC two years ago but has been competitive from the beginning. They made the title game in their inaugural campaign and went 6-2 last season in conference play (9-4 overall).
Had they closed out at either Cal (38-35) or Wake Forest (13-12), SMU would have made the championship game. They return 62% of production and have a third-year starting quarterback in Kevin Jennings.
It’s the Mustangs’ year.
Predicted champion: SMU Mustangs
Contenders: Miami Hurricanes, Louisville Cardinals
Big 12
Texas Tech captured the Big 12 championship last season and earned a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff. After landing the nation's top transfer, quarterback Brendan Sorsby, the Red Raiders looked primed to repeat.
Then the Sorsby scandal unfolded, leaving Texas Tech without its prized addition.
BYU went 12-2 (8-2 Conf.) last year, and they want to take advantage of Bear Bachmeier's outstanding freshman season at quarterback. Star rusher LJ Martin is also returning, as well as four veteran linemen.
The program can still count on 10 of their top 16 defensive players. But the Cougars will get tested early – they host Arizona before traveling to TCU, then welcoming powerhouse Notre Dame mid-October in a non-conference grand finale.
Kansas State and Utah enter the season with new head coaches. Oklahoma State hired North Texas’ Eric Morris and brought in a significant number of transfers, including a 4,300-yard quarterback Drew Mestemaker.
But the school did go 1-11 last year, and while there is no doubt the Cowboys will be good this time around, it will not be enough to climb all the way to the top.
In fact, some teams will put in tremendous effort, but Texas Tech will go back-to-back as the Big 12 champ. Despite having their weakest point at the quarterback, the team has experience and boasts terrific defense that ranked third overall last year.
The Red Raiders return 65% of total production, the most of any Big 12 school. And here’s the thing – Texas Tech wasn’t incredible at the quarterback position in 2025 and still made it to the second round of the postseason.
Losing Sorsby sucked for Texas Tech, but it didn’t make the team ultimately weaker. The path to the title might be tougher now, but the Red Raiders will get it done.
Predicted champion: Texas Tech Red Raiders
Contenders: BYU Cougars, Utah Utes