Alright so here is a question going forward and one that I don't know the answer to but have some opinion on, which is this:
How would you rank the conferences
A) next year
B) for the overall next 5 years
I think that for 2015 it is very clearly
1. SEC
2. Pac
3. Big 12
4. Big Ten
5. ACC
And for the next 5 years
1.SEC
2. Pac
3. Big 12 = Big Ten
5. ACC
I think FSU will take a step back next year, and depending on how DeShaun Watson develops, Clemson could be the class of the ACC for the next couple years. Oklahoma had about as disappointing a year as any team in the entire country this year, and Texas has yet to get established in the Strong era. With any sort of quarterback whatsoever, they'll be back to winning soon. TCU and Baylor both have Top-10 coaches in the nation and have devoted resources to winning. They are going to be winning programs going forward. But Kansas State without Snyder will likely regress, Gundy is not a good coach IMO, and West Virginia is likely a perennial 7-8 win team. Meanwhile the Big Ten looks to be on the way up, but Michigan won't be back next year, Wisconsin might take a step back, Nebraska and Penn State is still in quasi-transition modes (who knows?) and the bottom of the Big Ten continues to be atrocious.
The Pac-12 is super interesting and I'm not sold on their future, but Oregon will win as long as Knight is there. USC isn't going to win championships under Sark, but they'll win 8-9 games a year. UCLA might be in trouble if (when) Mora jumps to the NFL, and same with Stanford and Shaw (NFL loves Shaw). Arizona and Arizona State both look like they have bright futures, and Washington remains a huge wild card. The Peterson era has been disappointing so far there. Cal and WSU - who knows, they seem to be content putting up 60 points a game and not fielding a defense. But at any rate, the California/Arizona recruiting grounds are super fertile. Pac will keep being strong.
Hard to see any league being better than the SEC over the next 5 years though. As long as the best recruits in the nation continue to be produced in their backyard and the likes of Saban, Miles, Richt, Bielema, Mullen, etc stay there, they'll be the best over the 5-year period. It's simply hard to beat the geographical advantage in recruiting, especially when the league also has a perception advantage and a recruiting rules advantage. Anyways, the two teams I'm most interested in seeing what happens going forward are Arkansas and Tennessee.
But I am interested in seeing others' opinions as well.