The first year of the expanded College Football Playoff produced a national champion (Ohio State) that wouldn’t have qualified under the old format, the top four seeds all falling in the quarterfinals and the two semifinals contests giving us ample drama. A year later, there is no clear-cut favorite.

Here is a quick ranking of the 10 best NCAA college football conferences heading into 2025. The Pac-12 is still in a state of transition after the conference was gutted when the "Power Four" conferences formed. It will take time and the conference may never get back to former glory, but it's a group worth noting that could slowly rise again.

With talk about future SEC schedules, future Big Ten Playoff guarantees, and future headaches in the ACC, it might be a little easy to lose sight of the tree at the forefront of the forest. College football is back.