2012 College Football Power Rankings: USC Preseason No. 1

WhatIfSports.com utilizes its NCAA football simulation to present the most comprehensive and unbiased ranking of all 124 FBS teams. We simulated thousands of games and used those winning percentages to evaluate every team. All 124 teams are ranked below with their average points for and against from the simulated games. Simulations are based on updated rosters and depth charts so significant week-to-week changes may occur once the regular season kicks off.

Teams Ranked by Winning Percentage
(everyone plays everyone 100 times)

	Team	Win Pct	PS/G	PA/G
1.	USC Trojans	86.4	36.4	18.7
2.	Alabama Crimson Tide	85.3	32.1	15.6
3.	LSU Tigers	83.4	31.3	16.0
4.	Georgia Bulldogs	82.0	31.2	17.0
5.	Oregon Ducks	78.7	31.5	19.1
6.	Florida State Seminoles	78.6	29.6	18.0
7.	Arkansas Razorbacks	78.0	32.5	19.7
8.	Oklahoma Sooners	77.8	31.5	19.4
9.	Michigan Wolverines	76.7	30.1	19.1
10.	West Virginia Mountaineers	75.3	32.3	21.4
11.	Wisconsin Badgers	74.7	31.6	20.9
12.	Stanford Cardinal	74.5	29.2	19.4
13.	South Carolina Gamecocks	73.5	27.2	17.6
14.	Oklahoma State Cowboys	72.9	29.8	20.5
15.	Michigan State Spartans	72.9	27.4	18.1
16.	Virginia Tech Hokies	72.4	27.6	18.4
17.	Ohio State Buckeyes	71.7	28.4	19.1
18.	Texas Longhorns	71.6	26.8	18.0
19.	TCU Horned Frogs	71.5	30.3	21.1
20.	Clemson Tigers	70.4	29.7	21.3
	Team	Win Pct	PS/G	PA/G
21.	Nebraska Cornhuskers	69.1	28.5	20.6
22.	Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets	68.8	28.6	21.0
23.	North Carolina Tar Heels	68.5	29.1	21.8
24.	Washington Huskies	67.7	29.5	22.5
25.	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	67.6	28.3	21.1
26.	Boise State Broncos	66.2	28.9	22.3
27.	Louisville Cardinals	66.0	26.9	20.8
28.	Florida Gators	65.9	24.3	17.9
29.	Tennessee Volunteers	65.3	25.7	19.8
30.	Brigham Young Cougars	64.6	26.8	21.0
31.	North Carolina State Wolfpack	64.4	25.8	20.1
32.	Missouri Tigers	64.0	26.4	20.4
33.	Utah Utes	64.0	24.3	19.1
34.	South Florida Bulls	62.6	25.6	20.5
35.	Houston Cougars	62.5	31.7	26.3
36.	Kansas State Wildcats	62.2	26.2	21.1
37.	California Golden Bears	61.9	26.0	21.0
38.	Texas A&M Aggies	61.9	26.0	21.1
39.	Washington State Cougars	61.3	27.9	23.3
40.	Vanderbilt Commodores	61.2	24.1	19.5
	Team	Win Pct	PS/G	PA/G
41.	Iowa Hawkeyes	61.1	26.2	22.0
42.	UCLA Bruins	60.6	25.8	21.5
43.	Virginia Cavaliers	60.3	26.1	21.6
44.	Baylor Bears	60.2	26.8	22.9
45.	Mississippi State Bulldogs	60.0	23.8	20.0
46.	Illinois Fighting Illini	59.8	23.6	19.6
47.	Arizona State Sun Devils	59.6	26.5	22.8
48.	Arizona Wildcats	59.4	28.0	23.9
49.	Purdue Boilermakers	58.4	25.9	22.0
50.	Auburn Tigers	58.1	24.5	21.4
51.	Northwestern Wildcats	57.9	27.2	23.6
52.	Miami (FL) Hurricanes	57.8	25.6	22.3
53.	Oregon State Beavers	56.6	26.0	23.0
54.	Texas Tech Red Raiders	56.6	28.2	25.3
55.	Pittsburgh Panthers	55.8	24.3	21.8
56.	Cincinnati Bearcats	55.4	23.6	20.9
57.	Rutgers Scarlet Knights	54.9	22.5	20.6
58.	Iowa State Cyclones	54.7	24.6	22.6
59.	Syracuse Orange	52.1	24.6	23.2
60.	Wake Forest Demon Deacons	52.1	23.3	22.2
	Team	Win Pct	PS/G	PA/G
61.	Temple Owls	52.0	23.3	22.4
62.	Ohio Bobcats	51.9	24.2	23.4
63.	Navy Midshipmen	51.3	25.3	24.1
64.	UCF Knights	51.1	25.1	24.6
65.	Tulsa Golden Hurricane	50.9	26.0	25.2
66.	Nevada Wolf Pack	50.4	24.2	23.7
67.	Toledo Rockets	50.2	25.6	25.5
68.	Boston College Eagles	49.1	22.7	23.1
69.	Connecticut Huskies	49.0	21.1	21.2
70.	Penn State Nittany Lions	48.7	21.3	21.8
71.	Duke Blue Devils	47.2	24.8	25.8
72.	Kansas Jayhawks	47.1	24.8	25.9
73.	Western Michigan Broncos	47.1	26.4	27.0
74.	Northern Illinois Huskies	47.0	23.1	24.3
75.	Kentucky Wildcats	46.7	20.0	21.1
76.	Marshall Thundering Herd	45.9	24.6	26.2
77.	Maryland Terrapins	45.6	21.7	23.6
78.	Southern Miss Golden Eagles	45.2	23.6	25.4
79.	Minnesota Golden Gophers	45.2	22.5	24.0
80.	Arkansas State Red Wolves	45.0	24.9	26.9
	Team	Win Pct	PS/G	PA/G
81.	Mississippi Rebels	44.4	20.4	22.5
82.	Colorado Buffaloes	44.0	22.5	24.7
83.	Fresno State Bulldogs	42.8	23.7	26.4
84.	Southern Methodist Mustangs	41.5	22.9	26.0
85.	Indiana Hoosiers	40.7	22.4	25.8
86.	Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns	40.7	24.2	28.1
87.	Miami (OH) RedHawks	40.3	21.5	25.2
88.	FIU Golden Panthers	39.9	22.8	26.3
89.	Wyoming Cowboys	38.9	22.2	26.3
90.	Louisiana Tech Bulldogs	38.5	23.2	27.2
91.	Bowling Green Falcons	38.4	21.8	26.0
92.	Utah State Aggies	37.6	22.6	27.1
93.	San Diego State Aztecs	37.5	19.9	25.1
94.	Hawaii Warriors	36.8	20.3	25.3
95.	East Carolina Pirates	36.3	21.4	26.7
96.	Air Force Falcons	36.1	21.5	26.7
97.	Eastern Michigan Eagles	34.8	19.9	25.5
98.	UTEP Miners	33.5	21.3	28.0
99.	Army Black Knights	33.3	19.3	25.7
100.	Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks	31.6	20.5	28.2
	Team	Win Pct	PS/G	PA/G
101.	Colorado State Rams	30.3	18.6	26.5
102.	Ball State Cardinals	30.1	20.4	28.7
103.	Rice Owls	29.7	20.8	28.6
104.	Tulane Green Wave	29.5	19.2	27.6
105.	Troy Trojans	28.6	21.3	30.1
106.	Central Michigan Chippewas	28.4	19.7	28.6
107.	North Texas Mean Green	28.2	19.9	28.7
108.	Kent State Golden Flashes	27.5	15.2	24.1
109.	Buffalo Bulls	26.1	17.4	27.1
110.	Western Kentucky Hilltoppers	26.1	18.3	28.6
111.	Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders	25.3	20.0	30.7
112.	UAB Blazers	23.8	19.6	30.3
113.	New Mexico State Aggies	23.6	20.0	30.9
114.	San Jose State Spartans	22.6	19.0	30.8
115.	Florida Atlantic Owls	18.3	15.8	29.5
116.	Idaho Vandals	18.1	16.3	30.5
117.	Memphis Tigers	18.1	15.8	29.8
118.	UNLV Rebels	17.6	15.0	29.1
119.	New Mexico Lobos	17.4	15.9	30.3
120.	Akron Zips	14.4	13.9	30.9
	Team	Win Pct	PS/G	PA/G
121.	South Alabama Jaguars	13.1	14.8	32.0
122.	Texas State Bobcats	12.5	14.1	32.2
123.	Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners	10.5	14.6	34.0
124.	Massachusetts Minutemen	9.5	11.7	32.0