Campus Confidential

BY MIKE ROSE

Three weeks have come and gone. So it's time to reassess the conference power rankings

(All of the rankings mentioned below are BCS rankings, because that ranking matters most):

1. Big 12: Yes, I've slipped the Big 12 above the SEC into the top spot. Why? Texas is No.1, Oklahoma is No. 4 and Texas Tech is No. 7. Oklahoma State, which played very well against Texas, is at No. 9. Plus, Texas and Texas Tech are still unbeaten (at least until Saturday night). Missouri is No. 14. So, the Big 12 has five teams in the BCS standings, including four in the top 10.

2. SEC: In my opinion, the SEC has three elite teams -- No. 2 Alabama, No. 6 Georgia and No. 8 Florida. The only other SEC team in the BCS standings is LSU at No. 19. In LSU's two losses, the Tigers gave up at least 50 points in each game.

3. Big Ten: The Big Ten has the same number of teams ranked in the BCS standings as the SEC -- four. But the Big Ten isn't nearly as good from top to bottom as the SEC. Not nearly as good. Penn State, at No. 3, is the Big Ten's highest ranked team. Ohio State is at No. 12, followed by Minnesota (No. 17) and Michigan State (No. 21).

4. ACC: The ACC has only two teams ranked in the BCS standings (Florida State at No. 15 and North Carolina at No. 22). But 10 of the 12 teams in the conference have winning records. The entire Coastal Division consists of teams with winning records, even Duke at 4-3. The ACC doesn't have any dominant teams, but there are a lot of good teams.

5. Mountain West: The Mountain West has three teams residing in the BCS standings -- Utah is No. 10, followed by TCU at No. 13 and BYU at No. 20. Utah has a shot to make a BCS bowl. TCU's only loss is at Oklahoma (35-10). BYU got crushed by TCU.

6. Pac 10: USC, currently No. 5 in the BCS standings, is carrying the conference this season. Oregon (No. 24 in the BCS) appears to be the next best team. After that, it's California, Arizona, Oregon State, and Stanford. Not a lot of depth.

7. Big East: Much like the ACC, the Big East has no dominant teams. The highest ranked Big East team in the BCS is South Florida at No. 23, while UConn is No. 25. I thought Pittsburgh was on track for a BCS bowl, but not after that horrible performance against Rutgers. I still think West Virginia is the league's best team.

8. WAC: Boise State is No. 11 in the BCS standings. Would an undefeated Boise State team crash the BCS party? Maybe not. The SEC and Big 12 will get two teams into BCS bowls. The Big Ten could have Penn State and Ohio State in BCS bowls. Plus, the Pac-10, ACC and Big East champions get in. That leaves one spot, which could go to the Mountain West if Utah goes unbeaten.

9. Conference USA: Tulsa is No. 18 in the BCS standings and averaging 56 points per game. Plus, East Carolina, Marshall and Rice are decent.

10. Mid-American: Ball State is actually ahead of Tulsa in the BCS, at No. 16. After that, Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan are the next best teams, each with 6-2 records.

11. Sun Belt: Troy is 5-2, with the two losses coming to Ohio State and Oklahoma State. Plus, there's still a date with LSU. Give Troy credit for playing the nation's elite teams.