Predicting all 9 college football conference champions

Six weeks of the 2025 college football season remain. As the contenders begin to separate themselves from pretenders, here’s a look at predicted conference champions for every FBS conference.

ACC — Virginia

The ACC has one of the most interesting conference races in all of college football. The conference has three undefeated teams in league play in Georgia Tech, Virginia and SMU, but none of the teams play head-to-head. The ACC also has five other teams with one conference loss.

Projecting forward, the ACC’s top-three ranked teams — Georgia Tech, Virginia and Miami (Fla.) — look to have the best shot at running the table to be top ACC contenders. That would make Georgia Tech and Virginia meet head-to-head in the ACC Championship Game.

If those two meet, I think Virginia could land the upset. The Cavaliers rush for 203.9 yards per game, the third-most in the ACC, while Georgia Tech has the worst run defense in the ACC. When it comes to championship football, running the ball and stopping the run have greater importance. That could be the defining factor for Virginia’s championship run.

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American — South Florida

Navy, South Florida and Tulane are all undefeated in the American Conference so far. Memphis and North Texas also have just one loss overall this year. One of these five will win the American.

Memphis’ loss to UAB should knock them from contention, as there’s doubt there against some of the American’s best after losing to one of the conference’s worst.

Navy has a gauntlet of a schedule remaining, at North Texas and Notre Dame before coming back home to play South Florida, later playing a road trip at Memphis. The Midshipmen beat Air Force and Temple by only a combined four points. I don’t see Navy making it through the season unscathed.

North Texas already lost head-to-head to South Florida by 27 points. The Mean Green have to play catch-up now, and it might not be enough, especially when Tulane’s only games against teams with a winning record are Memphis and Temple. Combined with South Florida beating American opponents by an average of 30 points per game, those are my two picks for the conference championship berth.

It’s USF’s margin of victory that gives me confidence that the Bulls will end up winning the conference. Until an American team keeps a game close with them, I don’t think that thought will change.

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Big 12 — Texas Tech

BYU plays Iowa State and Cincinnati on the road. It has the hardest remaining strength of schedule of any Big 12 team, ranking 19th in the country. Cincinnati has the 26th hardest remaining strength of schedule in the country, with every team on its schedule currently having a winning record.

Meanwhile, Texas Tech has the second-easiest strength of schedule remaining in the conference, above only Arizona State. I think the future schedules are good indicators of the Big 12 outlook of the two teams that will meet in the Big 12 title game. I don’t think any team finishes undefeated in conference play.

That would create a rematch of a game where Arizona State defeated Texas Tech by four points in the final minute. However, that game was in Tempe, and the Big 12 title game will be played at a neutral site. Without home-field advantage, Texas Tech is the pick.

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Big Ten — Ohio State

Ohio State is the best college football team in the country. The Buckeye defense has been dominant, allowing just three first quarter points in seven games. They’ve also yet to allow a first half touchdown this season. Linebackers Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles form the best linebacker duo in the country, with safety Caleb Downs maintaining his status as the best at his position in the country. It would be hard to pick against the Buckeyes right now based on their defense alone.

Yet, Ohio State’s defense isn’t alone. The offense has been picking up steam as of late, with quarterback Julian Sayin throwing for four touchdowns and nearly 400 yards in his last outing. With Sayin progressing in his first year as a starter, the Buckeyes are the overwhelming Big Ten favorite.

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Conference USA — Jacksonville State

Jacksonville State is undefeated in CUSA play, but still has Kennesaw State and Western Kentucky on its schedule. However, this is a Gamecock squad with the best non-service-academy rushing attack in the FBS. Western Kentucky has the 14th-worst run defense in the FBS, while Kennesaw State has to play on the road at Jacksonville State.

While the turnaround of Kennesaw State under head coach Jerry Mack is impressive, I don’t think a team that recently ended a 13-game road losing streak can bank on another road win against Jacksonville State just yet.

MAC — Ohio

Currently, Ohio sits sixth in the MAC standings with a 2-1 conference record. However, Ohio plays the three currently undefeated teams in MAC play: Miami (Ohio), Western Michigan and Buffalo. The Bobcats will just need one of Ball State or Central Michigan to lose one game down the stretch for them to control their own path to the MAC title game.

As long as the Ohio offense doesn’t have another scoreless second half like it did in a loss to Ball State, I think the Bobcats have what it takes to win the MAC. Running back Sieh Bangura is rolling right now, coming off his second three-touchdown game.

Mountain West — Boise State

Boise State has won the last three Mountain West titles, and until someone knocks the Broncos off their throne, they’re the pick here. Boise State proved it was still a dominant force in the Mountain West in its last outing, dropping 56 points on a UNLV squad that was undefeated.

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SEC — Alabama

Alabama may not lose another regular season game. Its offense under coach Kalen DeBoer and quarterback Ty Simpson is rolling, while the offenses of Alabama’s remaining ranked opponents, LSU and Oklahoma, are headed in the opposite direction.

That could mean Alabama enters the SEC Championship Game as winners of 11 straight games. That could be an unstoppable freight train for anyone in the SEC, even an undefeated Texas A&M squad.

Sun Belt — James Madison

James Madison is averaging over 32 points per game while having the top scoring defense in the Sun Belt at just 15.6 points per game. Teams are rushing for fewer than 75 yards per game against the Dukes, and they also have the top pass defense in the Sun Belt.

While James Madison’s scoring may be skewed by a 63-point showing against Old Dominion, that defense is legit, and it can carry the Dukes to a Sun Belt title.

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