How many conferences play major college football?

Major college football teams play in 10 conferences in Division I-A, some with more prestige than others. In the 1980s, many top schools were independents, meaning they did not have conference affiliations. Today, Army, Notre Dame, BYU, Liberty, New Mexico State and UMass are the only major college independents left.

What is the Power Five and Group of Five?

The Power Five conferences in college football are the Big 12, Big Ten, Atlantic Coast, Southeastern and Pac-12 conferences, which include the nation's biggest and, in most cases, best football programs. The Group of Five consists of programs in Conference USA, the Mid-American, Mountain West, American Athletic and Sun Belt conferences. Although bigger schools almost always take home college football’s biggest prize, smaller programs have had great success too.

What are the mid-major college football programs?

Smaller Division I programs, such as Boise State (Mountain West), Houston (American Athletic) and Central Florida (American Athletic), have been ranked in the top 25 in the past decade.

Central Florida believed it deserved recognition for its undefeated season in 2017; the school declared itself national champion despite not qualifying for the College Football Playoff. The Playoff, involving four schools, determines the college football champion.