By Steve Deace — View more of Steve’s work at SteveDeace.com
Each year I begin my college football predictions by assessing the talent on each team in the country. I then project their potential win total within a two-game range based on the overall strength of schedule that talent faces. Teams that return a quality upperclassman starting quarterback are given an extra win bonus. After compiling my power ratings I then predict the outcome of each team’s season game-by-game to finalize my predictions (which you’ll read in my preview later this summer).
Below is how I rate the talent of each major college team in the country by conference. The talent assessment win total is in parentheses. Teams with a “*” are those given a bonus in my power ratings for returning a quality upperclassman starting quarterback. Keep in mind these are strictly power ratings, and not necessarily how my final predictions will shake out. Look at this as simply a framework.
American Athletic
*1. Louisville (9-11)
*2. Central Florida (7-9)
3. Cincinnati (7-9)
4. Rutgers (6-8)
*5. Houston (6-8)
*7. SMU (5-7)
6. Connecticut (4-6)
*8. Memphis (3-5)
9. South Florida (3-5)
10. Temple (3-5)
ACC
*1. Clemson (9-11)
*2. Virginia Tech (8-10)
3. Florida State (8-10)
*4. Miami, Fla. (7-9)
*5. North Carolina (7-9)
6. Georgia Tech (6-8)
*7. Wake Forest (6-8)
8. Pittsburgh (5-7)
9. Maryland (4-6)
10. N.C. State (4-6)
11. Virginia (4-6)
*12. Boston College (3-5)
13. Syracuse (3-5)
14. Duke (2-4)
Big Ten
*1. Ohio State (10-12)
*2. Michigan (9-11)
*3. Nebraska (9-11)
*4. Northwestern (8-10)
5. Michigan State (7-9)
6. Wisconsin (7-9)
7. Penn State (6-8)
8. Indiana (5-7)
9. Minnesota (5-7)
10. Purdue (4-6)
11. Iowa (3-5)
*12. Illinois (3-5)
Big 12
*1. Texas (9-11)
*2. TCU (9-11)
*3. Oklahoma State (8-10)
4. Oklahoma (8-10)
5. Baylor (8-10)
6. Kansas State (7-9)
7. Texas Tech (5-7)
8. Iowa State (4-6)
9. West Virginia (4-6)
10. Kansas (3-5)
Conference USA
*1. East Carolina (8-10)
*2. Tulsa (8-10)
*3. Middle Tennessee (7-9)
*4. Rice (7-9)
*5. Marshall (6-8)
*6. Texas-San Antonio (4-6)
7. North Texas (4-6)
8. UAB (4-6)
9. UTEP (4-6)
10. Louisiana Tech (4-6)
11. Southern Mississippi (3-5)
12. Tulane (2-4)
13. Florida Atlantic (2-4)
14. Florida International (2-4)
MAC
*1. Bowling Green (8-10)
*2. Northern Illinois (8-10)
*3. Toledo (7-9)
*4. Ball State (7-9)
*5. Ohio University (6-8)
6. Kent State (6-8)
7. Buffalo (5-7)
8. Western Michigan (4-6)
9. Central Michigan (4-6)
10. Akron (3-5)
11. Miami (3-5)
12. Eastern Michigan (2-4)
13. Massachusetts (2-4)
Mountain West
*1. Utah State (8-10)
*2. San Diego State (8-10)
*3. Fresno State (8-10)
*4. Boise State (8-10)
*5. San Jose State (7-9)
*6. Nevada (5-7)
*7. Wyoming (5-7)
8. Air Force (5-7)
9. Colorado State (4-6)
10. New Mexico (3-5)
11. Hawaii (3-5)
12. UNLV (2-4)
Pac-12
*1. Oregon (10-12)
2. Stanford (9-11)
*3. Oregon State (8-10)
4. USC (8-10)
*5. Arizona State (7-9)
*6. Washington (7-9)
7. UCLA (7-9)
8. California (5-7)
9. Arizona (5-7)
10. Washington State (4-6)
11. Utah (4-6)
12. Colorado (2-4)
SEC
*1. Alabama (10-12)
*2. South Carolina (9-11)
*3. Georgia (9-11)
4. Texas A&M (8-10)
5. Florida (8-10)
6. LSU (8-10)
*7. Mississippi (7-9)
*8. Mississippi State (6-8)
*9. Missouri (6-8)
10. Tennessee (5-7)
11. Vanderbilt (5-7)
12. Auburn (4-6)
13. Arkansas (4-6)
14. Kentucky (2-4)
Independents
*1. Notre Dame (8-10)
2. Navy (7-9)
3. BYU (6-8)
