One dark horse pick to win every major college football conference

Georgia is elite. Ohio State is loaded. Texas is explosive. We know all this.

Every year there’s a team that surprises everyone by staying in the title hunt far longer than it probably should. Here’s one surprise team from each of the Power 4 conferences that has a chance to not just make the CFP, but win their conference title.

ACC: North Carolina State

Clemson, Florida State and Miami (FL) are getting all the attention but the Wolfpack are ready to crash the party. N.C. State has been sitting in the “good but not great” category since Philip Rivers graduated. Head coach Dave Doeren is pinning his hopes on another highly productive and seasoned quarterback.

Grayson McCall transferred from Coastal Carolina. From 2020-22 he was brilliant with his arm and legs, accounting for 94 touchdowns before an injury derailed his 2023 season. Now healthy, he comes to Raleigh with a chance to put himself in the first round of the NFL Draft conversation.

A September trip to Clemson is tough but after that the schedule favorable with five of six ACC games at home.

Big 10: USC

The Trojans are not exactly an unknown commodity, but in the Big 10 they’re definitely not at the top of the food chain. Michigan, Oregon, Ohio State and Penn State are the clear frontrunners in the 18-team behemoth.

Head coach Lincoln Riley is going to have one of the game’s most explosive offenses. Quarterback Miller Moss was amazing in the Holiday Bowl and has the right of first refusal on the starting job. No, he’s not Caleb Williams. But, he might be Mark Sanchez and that’s good enough to win a bunch of games.

Riley’s biggest move was stealing defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn from UCLA. In one year with the Bruins he took the defense from 87th in the country to 11th. If he can do anything even remotely similar with a Trojans defense that allowed at least 30 points in eight straight games, USC will be a contender.

Big 12: Iowa State

Kansas State and Utah are the favorites but something could be brewing in Ames. A Cyclones defense that finished behind only Texas in points allowed brings back several starters, but the real difference is on offense. Rocco Becht is not the next Brock Purdy. He might be better.

Becht threw for 3,120 yards and 23 touchdowns. Over his last eight starts, he threw only three interceptions after getting picked off five times in his first five outings. With his entire starting offensive line and top three pass catchers back, Becht should take another step forward as a sophomore.

ISU’s season will come down to the final two games: at Utah and vs. K-State.

SEC: Ole Miss

The last time the Rebels won the SEC championship was the year the Beatles released their debut album. That was 1963. As crazy as it sounds, this might be the year that wildly long stretch ends.

In 2023 Lane Kiffin’s crew lost twice, at Alabama and at Georgia. Attempting to prevent that from happening again, Kiffin hit the portal hard and then landed a consensus top 10 recruiting class. 

While Georgia looks like it might win 13 games a year for the next decade, there are plenty of question marks around Alabama in the post-Saban era. If the Tide slip even a bit, and the Longhorns and Sooners have a tough time transitioning to a much deeper and more physical conference, it’s Ole Miss who is best-prepared to reach their first SEC Championship game.