Four Underrated Power Conference Teams to Bet on This College Football Season

It’s easier to predict who will be the best teams in college football, but once you get past the first two to three teams in each power conference, it becomes a little murky.

Each season, there are a few teams in each conference that don’t end up competing for a national title, but they do pull off a big upset, win a decent-sized bowl game, or go over on their win total for the year. Here are the four teams from each power conference that I feel are most underrated heading into this college football season.

ACC: Virginia Tech o/u 6.5

While he was in charge of the Penn State football program for the better part of the last decade, head coach James Franklin became a bit of a punchline due to his inability to win a big game. However, despite his inability to win top-10 matchups, he did take over a Penn State program that was exiting the shadows cast by the Joe Paterno/Jerry Sandusky era.

He wasn’t the best of the best, but he consistently recruited well and met high expectations in Happy Valley. Virginia Tech has struggled to be competitive during the NIL era, and I believe that will change quickly under Franklin.

Virginia Tech’s offense will look completely different in 2026, and that’s for the better. Ethan Grunkemeyer will be a far more consistent quarterback, replacing Kyron Drones, who had massive flashes but also equally as large valleys. They’ll have a very solid running back duo in Marcellous Hawkins and Louisiana transfer Bill Davis.

The Hokies are light in the trenches on both sides of the ball, but have enough talent in the skill positions that they can surprise teams that are better than them. I think they go over their win total and are fairly competitive in a weak ACC.

Big Ten: Minnesota o/u 6.5

I am exceedingly high on Minnesota this season. The middle of the Big 10 is an absolute toss-up, so I’m willing to bet on elite quarterback play, and let the rest fall into place.

Minnesota has been the most underrated Big Ten team ever since P.J. Fleck took over as head coach in 2017. They are a step behind the big dogs in the conference, but they consistently handle their business year over year.

However, unlike the last few seasons, Minnesota has built an offensive line that even some of the best teams in the Big Ten will envy. They have five big veterans up front, and they will need to lean on them to improve what was an underwhelming offense in 2025.

The defense will once again be very solid, especially when you have a future first-round draft pick in Anthony Smith playing on the defensive line. They’ll quietly have one of the better pass rushes in the country, which will hide many weaknesses that their secondary presents. Minnesota won’t be representing the Big Ten in the playoffs this year, but they could surprise people with 8+ wins.

Big 12: Houston o/u 8.5

Many seem to forget that Houston is quietly coming off a 10-win season. The Cougars are a team that’s on the verge of becoming the next big thing in college football. Not many schools have NIL budgets like Houston's, and it shows in the talent they’re bringing in.

Conner Weigman is the starter for now and is actually one of the better quarterbacks in the country; however, the best quarterback in the building might just be 5-star freshman Keisean Henderson.

Houston also hit the transfer portal for some immediate impact players. Oregon transfers Ashton Porter and Makhi Hughes are two of the most underrated pickups in the country. Houston's a very complete football team on both sides, but if they want to have back-to-back seasons with double-digit wins, the defense will have to be more consistent.

Despite all the veterans returning to this Houston squad, they still only have the 13th oldest team in the Big 12. I’ll take experience over age, and bet on Houston to make it two great seasons in a row.

SEC: Auburn o/u 6.5

Despite missing a bowl game in 2025, Auburn was far more talented than their record would imply. The defense was good enough to compete in the SEC last year, only giving up more than 24 points twice all season.

Fortunately, they decided to fix the offense this offseason, bringing former USF head coach Alex Golesh and his quarterback Byrum Brown. These two combined for one of the most exciting offenses in the country last season, and I expect to see similar results in the SEC.

Auburn is going to play with a ton of tempo this year and will be pushing the ball downfield to one of the best receiver rooms in the conference. This offense will look completely different schematically from last year, but the biggest question mark remains with the offensive line.

Golesh did a solid job of rebuilding this offensive front through the portal, but it still looks like they’ll be leaving a lot to be desired. My hope is that the fast-paced offense will mask many of their deficiencies, and they’ll be able to produce enough to compete with the best of the best in the ACC. I love Auburn to get at least 7 wins this year, and maybe more if things go well in year one of the Alex Golesh era.