Badgers and Gophers and Buckeyes, oh my!

Top to bottom, which college football conference is the best?

As conference play continues, we're going to get some clues to that burning question, though the final answer will still be very much in doubt.

The power conference list this year is comprised of the usual suspects -- ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and perennial favorite, SEC.

While the Big 12 only has three teams ranked in the AP Top 25, two of them -- Oklahoma and Texas -- are in the top five, while Oklahoma State, at 3-0, is near the bottom of the list.

However, the Big 12 boasts a solid seven teams that could be considered Top 25 material.

In addition to the three aforementioned, Kansas State, Texas Tech, Missouri and Colorado all have put together quality programs and winning records.

The real sleeper in the bunch may be either the Colorado Buffaloes or the Missouri Tigers, who square off this weekend in Boulder.

The Buffs have been perfect thus far, with wins over Colorado State, Washington State and North Texas putting them atop the Big 12 North Division, while the Tigers hold a 2-1 record, losing a 24-14 shocker at unheralded Troy (Alabama), sandwiched in between poundings of Arkansas St. (52-20) and Ball State (48-0).

Missouri was ranked NO. 18 preseason and have since dropped off the radar, while the Buffs have gotten a stray vote here and there. Whoever wins this week's game should be considered for inclusion in the rankings.

Notably absent from any Big 12 discussion is the Nebraska Cornhuskers, and that's because they are in a rebuilding and learning mode under new head coach Bill Callahan, who brings a pro-style offense that focuses on passing rather than rushing, which has been a staple at Nebraska for longer than they've been growing corn in the fields.

The 'Huskers may be able to make the transition, but making it a success this season is doubtful.

Over in the ACC, four teams have spots in the polls -- Miami, Florida State, Virginia and Maryland, and if this were next season, they might have a fifth -- Boston College, who will make the jump from the Big East along with Temple next season.

The Eagles might have been 4-0 if not for three missed field goals in a 17-14 loss at unranked Wake Forest last week.

The other ACC teams worthy of mention as potential Top 25 notice would be Virginia Tech and North Carolina State.

The two met last weekend with the Wolfpack coming out on top of a 17-16 score.

NC State is now 3-1, with a loss to Ohio State, while the Hokies are 2-2 with a loss to USC opening their campaign.

That puts the number of quality teams in the ACC at six, making them a very solid conference.

In the Pac-10, USC, Cal and Arizona State are ranked, but after that, only Stanford and Oregon, and maybe UCLA could be considered even outsiders at cracking the Top 25 anywhere, so we'll pass on the West Coast.

Besides, there's little emphasis on defense in the conference, a deficiency which likely accounts for their shoddy bowl performances over the years.

That leaves us with the two conferences with more ranked teams and better programs throughout -- the SEC and Big 10.

From both conferences, only Georgia ranks in the top five, but the Bulldogs may not even be the best team in their conference.

Tennessee, Florida, Auburn and LSU are all ranked and any of them can go toe-to-toe with Georgia.

As a matter of fact, the Bulldogs will have to prove it on the field, as they play each of those teams in upcoming weeks, in addition to Arkansas, whose only loss was to Texas, 22-20.

That gives the SEC six sold squads, but after that Alabama and Kentucky are also-rans and Vanderbilt, Mississippi and Mississippi State look like the weak sisters.

The SEC certainly has a quality lineup, but two of these teams -- Tennessee and Florida -- are light on defense, and that's going to bruise them in the rankings.

Finally, there's the Big Ten, a conference devoted to running the football and playing solid defense.

Tops among the ranked teams is Ohio State, with arguably the best defense in the conference and maybe the country.

The Buckeyes survived a scare against a very good Marshall team to stay undefeated and in the top ten.

Following them are Purdue, Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin, with Iowa, once ranked as high as 16th, dropping out of the running after consecutive losses to Arizona State and Michigan.

After that top five, Illinois and Indiana are good, but inadequate teams, while Penn State and Northwestern will likely finish with under-.500 records.

With so much of the focus on perennial Rose Bowl participants Ohio State or Michigan, the other three ranked teams get scant attention, but deserve better.

Purdue has one of the best passing attacks in the nation, while Minnesota boasts a powerhouse running game and Wisconsin has allowed only one touchdown and a total of 19 points in its four wins.

The big showdown here may not be the November 20 Ohio State-Michigan tilt, but November 6, when the Gophers come in to play the Badgers.

Would the Gators or Bulldogs like to come up to Minnesota or Michigan for a little game, say around Thanksgiving?

Not likely. The biting cold and gusty wind might do more damage to southern squads than the ferocious hitting and 230+ pound running backs of the Big 10 teams.

Big 12 schools would doubtless fare better in such an environment, and that's food for thought.

All said, the Big 10 looks like the roughest, toughest conference of all.

There are no breathers in the schedule, no do-overs via conference championship games (as in the Big 12, SEC and others), everybody hits hard on defense, and by mid-October the weather can get downright nasty.

For the next few months, we'll watch the conference rivals knock heads and maybe, by January 3, we'll not only know which is the best team in the land, but which conference plays the best football.

My money's on the Big 10.

Rick Gagliano writes frequently on college football and other sports. Visit his web site, Downtown Magazine, for more sports articles.