The SEC starts the season atop the conference rankings, just the way it ended last season:

1. Southeastern Conference — LSU and Florida are national title contenders. Auburn, Georgia and Tennessee could be. Nick Saban returns to the league to make Alabama relevant again, and Steve Spurrier insists South Carolina is ready to contend. Arkansas has the early Heisman Trophy front-runner in Darren McFadden. Even Kentucky's good, for goodness sakes.

2. Big 12 — The South rivals the SEC East as best division in the country, with Texas A&M, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech all capable of upsetting heavyweights Texas and Oklahoma. And the North is rising again. Missouri and Nebraska look formidable, and Kansas State and Colorado are showing signs of improvement.

3. Pac-10 — Despite what LSU coach Les Miles says, USC faces several obstacles in its conference. California's offense is dynamic. UCLA's defense is stingy. And almost every team has a returning starter at quarterback. If the rebuilding at Arizona and/or Washington picks up the pace, the Pac-10 could have as many as eight bowl eligible teams.

4. Big Ten — The Big Ten took a major hit last season when Michigan and Ohio State washed out at the end, but the problem really was a soft middle. That might be a problem again. After Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Penn State and maybe Iowa, the rest of the league won't scare anyone. Illinois could be on the rise.

5. ACC — If the Big Ten was top heavy, the ACC was too balanced last season, with not enough muscle at the top. Miami and Florida State can change that, but neither is ready to make a national title run. Virginia Tech is the one team that could emerge from the pack and be special.

6. Big East — The Big East closed the gap substantially on the other leagues last season, and there's no longer a question about whether they should have a BCS bid. West Virginia and Louisville can play with anyone, and Rutgers was no fluke. South Florida might be good enough to make it a four-team race. But there's still a big drop-off to the bottom of the conference unless Pitt can improve.

7. Mountain West — TCU, BYU and Utah give the MWC three very good teams, which could make it hard for any of them to emerge undefeated in the league and reach the BCS. Wyoming is the best of the so-so rest.

8. WAC — Boise State is retooling this season, which gives Colt Brennan and Hawai'i a chance to break the Broncos' grip on the league. But it won't be easy. Fresno State slipped last season and Nevada must replace an NFL draft pick at quarterback, so San Jose State is probably third best. And that's not great.

9. C-USA — Southern Mississippi and Houston, last season's title game participants, are the best of a ragtag lot that didn't come up with many big nonconference victories last season and probably won't this season either.

10. MAC — Balance is not necessarily a good thing. Sure it makes the MAC race interesting, but it's better to have one or two powerhouses that can pull off a few nonconference upsets.