For all the talk about the SEC and Big Ten separating themselves from the rest of college football, one set of ratings paints a much different picture through seven weeks of the 2026 season. CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli updated his conference ratings following Week 7, and the SEC remains on top with a 9.00 rating. But right behind the SEC is the Big 12 at 8.53, followed by the Big Ten at 7.99.
That means the Big 12 is just 0.47 points behind the SEC, while the Big Ten sits 0.54 points behind the Big 12.
In other words, according to Fornelli’s ratings, the Big 12 is closer to being the best conference in college football than the Big Ten is to being the second-best.
That’s quite a statement considering the national narrative surrounding the sport.
Big 12’s Monster Week 7
The Big 12 certainly helped its cause with a huge Week 7. BYU picked up one of the biggest non-conference wins of the season by beating No. 2 Notre Dame 28-24 in Provo. Texas Tech remained undefeated with a dominant 53-25 win over Arizona State, while Houston improved to 6-1 by knocking off ranked Oklahoma State.
The latest AP Poll also reflects the conference’s strong start. BYU jumped all the way to No. 2, while Texas Tech moved to No. 8 and Utah climbed to No. 10. Houston is up to No. 14, while Arizona entered the rankings at No. 25.
Of course, one computer rating doesn’t settle the debate over which conference is best.
But the numbers are another data point pushing back against the idea that the SEC and Big Ten are operating on one level while the Big 12 is somewhere well behind them.
Through seven weeks, that simply hasn’t been the case.
