Bob Stoops guided Oklahoma to its first title since 1985.

1. Big 12
I have to respect the national champion, Oklahoma. The Sooners, unbeaten a year ago, deserve to be No. 1. Both Texas and Nebraska will be national-title contenders this season along with Oklahoma. In fact, I think Texas will beat out the Sooners in the Big 12 South. Other than the defending champ and two potential champs: Kansas State has a great, highly ranked program under Bill Snyder; Texas A&M has traditionally been a solid program; Oklahoma State and Texas Tech are two up-and-coming schools in the South division; Colorado is a team to watch, one that should improve greatly this season; Missouri has some talent; Iowa State went to a bowl last year; Kansas and Baylor are the two cellar-dwellers. Outside of those last two, every team is competitive.

2. SEC
Florida has a ton of talent and will be discussed as a potential national champion. Tennessee, which won a national title with Tee Martin, has another solid football team and is always a great program. South Carolina with Lou Holtz is in the hunt. Georgia has Mark Richt taking over, but the Bulldogs won't be a great team this season. Vanderbilt and Kentucky are the weak sisters in the SEC East. But in the SEC West, LSU is the favorite. Alabama will have a bounce-back year and could win eight or nine games. Mississippi State has a lot of headliners returning. Ole Miss has a great offense with Eli Manning at QB but a questionable defense. Arkansas is well-coached and scrappy under Houston Nutt. Auburn has a talented team plus Tommy Tuberville, one of the better coaches in the country.

3. Pac-10
The Pac-10 gets a slight nod over the Big Ten. The conference has three highly regarded teams that are co-favorites -- UCLA, Oregon and Oregon State. They are better than the top three in the Big Ten. After that, the conference drops off a bit to Washington, which is retooling after losing Marques Tuiasosopo. USC could surprise, with Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Norm Chow trying to develop Carson Palmer into an elite quarterback. Stanford could return to the bowl picture with Randy Fasani at QB, Coy Wire at linebacker and Tank Williams at safety. Cal must get to a bowl because it's the best team Tom Holmoe has coached yet. Arizona and Arizona State are in transitional years under new coaches, John Mackovic and Dirk Koetter, respectively. Washington State lost a few players like Curtis Holden, but they are always a dangerous team.

4. Big Ten
The Big Ten may be as balanced as it has ever been. Good luck trying to pick the champion. It's as tough to pick the champion as it is to pick the 11th-place team. There is very little separating the teams. Illinois has a great opportunity, as does Michigan. Ohio State and Northwestern will be in the mix. Purdue without Drew Brees will still score and has defensive talent. Wisconsin is in a rebuilding mode. Michigan State could be underrated. Penn State is still Penn State. Minnesota has a great offense and a suspect defense. Same thing with Indiana. Iowa could be improved as well.

5. ACC
The conference has star power with Georgia Tech, Florida State and Clemson. There is a dropoff, though, with N.C. State, North Carolina, Maryland and Virginia all bunched together. Wake Forest and Duke pick up the rear. Overall, it's not a bad conference, especially with the top three all being national-title contenders.

6. Big East
If Michael Vick were back at Virginia Tech, the conference would rank higher. The Hokies would be the favorite to win the national championship with Vick at quarterback. Miami (Fla.) is in the national-title mix, but the Hurricanes have to replace three big-time receivers. Virginia Tech drops back with potential problems at quarterback. Pitt is a solid program now. West Virginia could be on the rise with Rich Rodriguez. Temple is a sleeper team, but the Owls have to prove it. Syracuse needs to produce this season with Paul Pasqualoni on the hot seat. Boston College is decent, and Rutgers is building for the future with Greg Schiano.

7. Conference USA
The conference has some underrated teams. East Carolina has always been solid under Steve Logan. The Pirates have a lot of talent back with David Garrard at quarterback and a defense that returns nine starters. Louisville will scare any team it plays because the Cardinals can score a ton of points with Dave Ragone at quarterback. UAB, with Watson Brown, is a team on the rise. Southern Miss will drop back a bit, but Jeff Bowers does a good job of keeping the Blazers competitive. TCU joins the conference, but the Horned Frogs don't have coach Dennis Franchione or running back LaDainian Tomlinson. Houston could be improved. Tulane has no defense but a decent offense. Cincinnati could be in the mix. Memphis has to prove it can score points, while Army is making strides.

8. Mountain West
The conference doesn't really have a top team. Colorado State is the favorite. But BYU, under first-year coach Gary Crowton, could be back almost to where the Cougars want to be. They have talent on both sides of the ball. UNLV has an exciting quarterback in Jason Thomas. San Diego State could have its best team in awhile. Air Force is always dangerous. Utah has slipped back a bit, followed by New Mexico and Wyoming.

9. WAC
Fresno State is the dominant team. Hawaii and Tulsa should be improved. Rice is an unknown because quarterback Jeremy Hurd is out for the season. UTEP and Boise State will compete. SMU, Louisiana Tech and Nevada are picking up the bottom.

10. MAC
Marshall is still the favorite in the East division; quarterback Bryon Leftwich is the top offensive player in the conference. Ohio, under new coach Brian Knorr, will challenge with its option attack. Toledo is the team to beat in the West division; running back Chester Taylor is a MAC standout; QB Tavares Bolden is talented; and Brandon Hefflin is of the top DBs in the country. Western Michigan is solid, and Northern Illinois is a team on the rise.