What College Football Would Look Like If Only the Big 4 Conferences Remained

It's inevitable.

Like one of those bad dreams, where you know something bad is going to happen, you are sweating, then you sit up screaming and realize it was not real.

But this is real.

The college football landscape is changing, drastically.

The new bowl game between the Big 12 and the SEC is another step toward "super conferences" and whether this is a step in the right direction remains to be scene.

This is a look at how the landscape might appear with four major conferences remaining.

We are operating under the assumption that the ACC and Big East are pretty much toast, as well as that the Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC have more leverage and fewer slots to fill than the Big 12.

Each conference has 16 teams, and each one is split into two divisions.

Read on for a glimpse of how the "Power Conferences" might look in the very near future.

North: Division One

Purdue

Ohio State

Penn State

Nebraska

Illinois

*Pitt

*Virginia Tech

*Virginia

If the Big Ten, or conference formerly known as the Big Ten, is looking to make a splash of an enormous nature during the period of transition, the capture of the two Virginia schools and Pitt would do it.

Va. Tech has been very good for a long time now, Virginia is on the way back up and Pitt, besides the whole geographical sense the move makes, has a long and storied history, similar to that of the teams already in the conference.

This division features three teams that would be expected to compete for the national title cyclically in Nebraska, Ohio State and Penn State.

At least, Ohio State would compete if Urban Meyer can keep his players out of jail and stays around for a while.

North: Division Two

Michigan

Michigan State

Minnesota

Iowa

Northwestern

Wisconsin

Indiana

*UConn

So the Big Ten, as mentioned, would look very similar to what it already does.

The addition of UConn to this division is the only new team, while powers Michigan, Wisconsin and Michigan State would battle it out annually.

Also, this alignment puts the Wisconsin-Iowa rivalry game back into the rotation on a yearly basis, and ensures that Michigan and Ohio State could potentially meet in the conference title game.

West: Division One

USC

UCLA

*Texas Tech

Arizona State

Arizona

*BYU

Colorado

Utah State

Texas Tech makes the jump from the Big 12 to the Western conference, mainly because there are a limited number of teams that make any sort of geographic sense.

BYU gets the nod by virtue of the solid seasons head coach Bronco Mendenhall has led them to recently, with no sign of slowing down.

The final team in this division is a tough one.

Baylor could make the move, but it almost makes more sense to try and have a team such as Wyoming, San Diego State or Air Force make the jump.

For this breakdown, we will slot in Utah State; however, any number of teams could take this final open position.

West: Division Two

Oregon

*Boise State

Utah

Oregon State

Cal

Stanford

Washington

Washington State

Yeah, this division did not change a whole lot.

In this scenario, Boise State would finally get their shot in a "big boy" conference, while the rest of the Pac-12 North teams remained the same.

The addition of Utah to this division would be a change, but an easier transition for them than the move they made to the Pac-12.

Southeast: Division One

Alabama

LSU

Auburn

Ole Miss

Mississippi State

Arkansas

Texas A&M

Missouri

Looks strangely familiar, right?

Missouri would jump over to even things out, but this division is filled with teams that are already currently members of the SEC.

As a matter of fact, the conference as a whole has the least amount of work to do to get to a 16-team "super conference."

Southeast: Division Two

Georgia

Kentucky

Tennessee

South Carolina

Florida

*Georgia Tech

*North Carolina

*N.C. State

Let's be honest.

As was mentioned in the opening slide, the ACC and Big East have no bargaining chips.

They are going to get their bones picked clean by the conferences with more leverage.

Thanks to TCU AD Chris Del Conte letting slip that Florida State, Clemson and Miami are trying to get into the Big 12, we know they would not likely be available at this point.

That leaves some pretty solid options for the SEC.

In reality, North Carolina and N.C. State could be swapped with the Big Ten for Va. Tech and Virginia.

Georgia Tech is a good option, as it already has the heated rivalry with Georgia, and an intense fanbase.

Central: Division One

Oklahoma

Oklahoma State

*Florida State

*Miami

West Virginia

*Louisville

*Maryland

Iowa State

The conference we have all come to know and love as the "Big 12" needs the most shaking up.

There are currently fewer teams in the conference already than in the other three, and they don't have access to as many teams that geographically make sense.

So it gets a little weird, but this hybrid conference would work and be entertaining.

Obviously, the addition of Florida State would be the crown jewel here, but Miami, Maryland and Louisville all have the potential to be top 25 teams for the next several seasons.

Iowa State stays around, thanks to the improvements made by Paul Rhoads.

They were within a whisper of getting left out.

Central: Division Two

TCU

*Clemson

*Houston

Baylor

Kansas State

Kansas

*Notre Dame

Texas

Houston jumps in, as does the biggest acquisition of any conference, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.

In this scenario, the Irish have to go somewhere, and the Central conference seems to make as much sense as anywhere else, with the exception of possibly the North conference.

The addition of Clemson adds some reach to the fanbase of the conference, as well as a pretty solid football teams.

Left Out

Wake Forest

Boston College

Duke

Rutgers

Syracuse

USF

It's tough, but somebody has to be left out.

In this case, these six just don't have the tradition, fans or pull to hang around in the "major conferences."

Granted, Rutgers or Syracuse could find themselves in the North conference in place of Pitt, or in the Central in place of Houston.

However, somebody has to be left out, and I feel these are the teams most likely to be looking in if we are looking at the picture from a purely football angle.