2008 NCAA Conference Power Rankings

The 2008 NCAA college football season has come to and end. There were many surprises over the course of the season, and yet again a clear national champion was not decided. The success of Utah over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl once again gives steam to the arguments for a playoff system and equality amongst conferences.

The results are in and here is the final conference power ranking of the 2008 season:

* Big 12: The Big 12 dominated the top tier of college football this season. Texas, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma all had a legitimate shot at playing in the national championship. The computer polls were allowed to choose which team played, and sadly Texas Tech got snubbed completely. Passing offense was a major factor in the dominance of this conference. Heisman trophy winner Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy, and Graham Harrell led the nation in passing. The Big 12 went 4-3 during bowl season. Texas beat Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl, and Oklahoma just barely lost to National Champion Florida.

* SEC: Defense wins championships, and the SEC had several teams rank in the top 10 in defensive categories. Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, and Mississippi all ranked in the top 10 in rushing defense, points allowed, total defense, and passing defense. Excluding Alabama's embarrassment in the Sugar Bowl, the SEC did great during bowl season. It went 6-2 overall, and Florida won its second national championship in three years.

* Pac-10: The MWC fans will be crying foul at the ranking, but the records speak for themselves. The Pac-10 went undefeated (5-0) during the bowl season, with USC defeating Penn State in the Rose Bowl. USC, Oregon, and Oregon State finished in the top 20, and USC received a first place vote at the end of the season.

* MWC: The MWC has been the most dominant mid-major conference for years now. Utah was the first team to break the mid-major BCS barrier in 2004 with its victory over Pitt in the Orange Bowl. This year, Utah made it back to the BCS. They dominated Alabama on both sides of the ball, and won their second BCS bowl in five years. The MWC has had a great record against its BCS equivalent, the Pac-10, in recent years. The MWC was 5-1 against the Pac-10 in 2008 and looks forward to more success.

* ACC: After restructuring several years ago, the ACC was expected to dominate college football for years to come. Enter 2008, and the ACC has failed to have one national champion. The only team to really be considered a serious contender in the ACC in the past five years has been Virginia Tech. Clemson failed to live up to top ten expectations, and Virginia Tech won the conference. Bowl season treated the ACC well, with Virginia Tech defeating Cincinnati in the Orange Bowl and the entire conference finishing 4-6.

* Big East: Widely considered the weakest of the BCS conferences, the Big East has had a lot of success over the past couple of seasons. West Virginia University has consistently finished in the top 10, and defeated Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl in 2007. This year, West Virginia fell to 9-4 and finished #23 in the nation. Cincinnati won the conference for the first time, but was defeated by Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl. The Big East finished 4-2 during bowl season, but failed to have major success against other BCS conference schools. Like the ACC, the Big East did not have a serious national title contender this season.

*Big Ten: The Big Ten has been the most overrated conference in college football over the past few seasons. Ohio State went to consecutive national championships and was blown out each time. USC has blown out Illinois and Penn State in the Rose Bowl in the past two seasons. This year, the Big Ten finished 1-6 during bowl season. An undeserving Ohio State team lost to Texas in the Fiesta Bowl, and Penn State was easily handled by USC in the Rose Bowl.

* Conference USA: The CUSA lost Cincinnati and Louisville to the Big East, but gained Marshall and Central Florida. Since then, Marshall has failed to have a winning season, but Central Florida has won the conference once. This season, Central Florida and Marshall were non-factors, but East Carolina and Tulsa had major success. East Carolina was the early season non-BCS favorite after consecutive victories over Virginia Tech and West Virginia on ESPN. They plateaued during mid-season, but were able to finish with a 9-4 record. Tulsa was undefeated until right near the end of the season when they were defeated by Arkansas 30-23. CUSA teams performed well during bowl season, finishing 4-2.

* WAC: In the past two seasons, the WAC has sent Boise State and Hawaii to BCS bowls. Boise State won a classic over Oklahoma, but Hawaii was blown out by Georgia. This season, Boise State was defeated by MWC power TCU, and failed to make it to a BCS bowl. Louisiana Tech was the only team to win a bowl game, defeating a lackluster Northern Illinois 17-10.

* Sun Belt: Often called the SEC Jr., the Sun Belt is the youngest conference in Division 1A football. North Texas dominated the conference, but have fallen to the bottom of D1 since then. Now, Florida Atlantic is the toast of the conference with back-to-back bowl victories. The Sun Belt finished bowl season with a 1-1 record.

* MAC: The MAC was crying foul in December that an undefeated Ball State would probably be missing out on a BCS bowl bid. Buffalo surprised everyone when they defeated Ball State in cavernous Ford Field during the MAC championship game. Ball State was blown out by Tulsa 45-13 in the GMAC Bowl, and Buffalo was defeated by Connecticut in the International Bowl. The MAC had no successes, finishing 0-5 during bowl season.

And there you have it, the final 2008 college football conference power rankings. It was an exciting season, full of surprises until the very last moment. Here's to hoping that the 2009 season lives up to its predecessor.