The Power 5 conferences comprise 64 teams spread across 35 states and more than 3,300 miles of rolling American countryside, dipping their proverbial cleats in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans along the journey.

With that many teams, there’s no shortage of rivalries, both in-state and interstate. There’s also no dearth of bragging rights and smack talk among the SEC, Big Ten and Big 12, as well as the ACC and Pac-12.

Of the 35 states housing Power Five teams, 21 of them have at least two programs playing within their borders. SEC schools can be found in eight of those states.

We’re not necessarily talking conferences here; rather the straight-up best states for Power 5 conference football as a whole — including a look at how the SEC states compare.

All-Time Winning Percentage

Traditional “SEC” and “Big Ten” states are among the winningest of all-time, occupying the top five spots among states with multiple Power 5 teams. Three of those states are considered SEC country in Alabama, Florida and Georgia. What’s fitting among the teams representing the top five states, is that Alabama and Michigan State, Florida and Michigan, and Georgia and Penn State will all square off this bowl season.

All-time winning percentage among the 21 states with multiple Power Five conference teams:

  • 1. Alabama (Alabama, Auburn) – .681
  • 2. Michigan (Michigan, Michigan State) – .668
  • 3. Florida (Florida, Florida State, Miami) – .651
  • 4. Pennsylvania (Penn State, Pittsburgh) – .635
  • 5. Georgia (Georgia, Georgia Tech) – .627
  • 8. Texas (Baylor, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech) – .584
  • 9. Tennessee (UT, Vanderbilt) – .582
  • 11. South Carolina (Clemson, South Carolina) – .556
  • 13. Mississippi (Mississippi State, Ole Miss) – .534
  • 16. Kentucky (Kentucky, Louisville) – .504

Winning Percentage: Last Five Years

In a bit of a surprise, the state of South Carolina has produced a higher winning percentage among states with multiple Power Five conference teams than the state of Alabama over the last five years. That’s including the Gamecocks three-win clunker of a 2015 season. Of course, as we all know, it didn’t quite work out as well for South Carolina and Clemson yet during that time span as it did for the two-time national-title winning Alabama Crimson Tide. So take the numbers for what they’re worth. The most dominant state, however dating back to the 2011 season is Oklahoma, courtesy of the Sooners and Oklahoma State Cowboys.

Winning percent over the last five years among states with Power Five conference teams:

  • 1. Oklahoma (OU, OSU) – .760
  • 2. South Carolina (Clemson, SC) – .750
  • 3. Alabama (Alabama, Auburn) – .731
  • 4. Michigan (Michigan, MSU) – .719
  • 5. Florida (Florida, FSU, Miami) – .686
  • 6. Texas (Baylor, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech) – .641
  • 7. Georgia (UGA, Georgia Tech) – .639
  • 10. Mississippi (MSU, Ole Miss) – .589
  • 13. Kentucky (UK, Louisville) – .517
  • 15. Tennessee (UT, Vanderbilt) – .488

Winning Percentage: This Season

Speaking of South Carolina’s three-win clunker of a season, the Gamecocks’ nine losses hurt Clemson’s unblemished 13-0 mark, dropping the Palmetto State to eighth among states with multiple Power Five conference teams this year. Alabama, an SEC-exclusive state, falls to No. 4 on the list behind primary Big Ten and Big 12 states in Oklahoma and Michigan respectively.

2015 winning percentage among states with multiple Power Five teams:

  • 1. Oklahoma (OU, OSU) – .875
  • 2. Michigan (Michigan, MSU) – .837
  • 3. Florida (Florida, FSU, Miami) – .756
  • 4. Alabama (Alabama, Auburn) – .712
  • 5. Mississippi (MSU, Ole Miss) – .709
  • 7. Texas (Baylor, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech) – .650
  • 8. South Carolina (Clemson, SC) – .625
  • 15T. Georgia (UGA, Georgia Tech) – .500
  • 15T. Kentucky (UK, Louisville) – .500
  • 15T. Tennessee (UT, Vanderbilt) – .500

AP Titles

Only 11 of the 21 states with multiple Power Five teams have won an AP national championship, led, once again, by the Yellowhammer State. The SEC has six teams bolstering the list, a remarkable feat considering only 30 schools in history can claim an AP title — meaning that the SEC has won 20 percent of all AP titles.

National championships won by states with at least two Power Five teams:

  • 1. Alabama (Alabama, Auburn) – 12
  • 2. Florida (Florida, FSU, Miami) – 11
  • 3. California (USC, UCLA) – 8
  • 4. Oklahoma (OU) – 7
  • 5. Texas (Texas, Texas A&M, TCU) – 6
  • 7T. Georgia (Georgia, Georgia Tech) – 2
  • 7T. Tennessee (UT) – 2
  • 8. South Carolina (Clemson) – 1

SDS RANKINGS

It’s not an exact science, but it does paint a picture of the states that dominate the highest levels of college football over the course of history, both recent and long gone.

Based on the above lists, here’s our stab at power-ranking the 21 states (not schools) with multiple Power Five conference teams.

  1. Alabama – Kind of hard to argue with a state that can claim its fifth national title in the last seven years this January.
  2. Oklahoma – With the Oklahoma Sooners back among the nation’s best and Oklahoma State on the rise, the Cowboys still need that elusive national title.
  3. Florida – You would think the Michigan Wolverines vs. Florida Gators rivalry would be more intense based on these lists. In a crazy convolution of stats, the state of Michigan is one spot ahead of its Florida counterparts in all-time, five-year, a 2015 winning percentages. The only difference? Florida’s 11 national titles is too impressive, even if they do have one more team. Thankfully, the two programs get to settle it for real during this year’s Citrus Bowl.
  4. Michigan – Michigan State’s College Football Playoff berth this season gives the Great Lakes State its first shot at a national championship since the Michigan Wolverines claimed an AP title during the 1997 season.
  5. Texas – The Lone Star State was already a monster with the likes of the Longhorns and Aggies as the top sheriffs in town, but the resurgence of Baylor and TCU have the state among the best, per usual.
  6. California – The Golden State’s trump card over Oklahoma and Texas is its eight combined national titles between Southern California and UCLA. The Sooners have all seven of the state of Oklahoma’s championships, while it takes three Texas schools to accumulate all six of the state’s national titles.
  7. Georgia – Georgia is among the top-five states in all-time winning percentages among Power Five states.
  8. Pennsylvania – Penn State and Pittsburgh have a combined .635 all-time win percentage. Plus, the Nittany Lions’ four national titles aren’t too shabby, either.
  9. Tennessee – The Volunteer State’s two national titles give it the edge amongst the remaining states.
  10. South Carolina – Clemson’s 13-0 season and national title hopes certainly help, but the South Carolina Gamecocks appear headed for a rough patch.
  11. Oregon – The Ducks and Beavers will shake the “West Coast Bias” label once one of them, most likely the former than the latter, wins the College Football Playoff.
  12. Washington – The Evergreen State is the last on this list that can boast about winning a national title.
  13. Mississippi – The recent resurgence of both Ole Miss and Mississippi State has lifted the Magnolia State.
  14. Arizona – The Arizona Wildcats and Arizona State Sun Devils line up statistically well with the state of Mississippi over the last five years, with the SEC schools edging the Grand Canyon State’s finest by a .589 to .584 winning percentage.
  15. Iowa – The Iowa Hawkeyes came within a Big Ten title game loss of potentially competing for a College Football Playoff berth, but a .454 winning percentage over the last five years keeps the state lower on the list.
  16. North Carolina – Like Iowa, the state of North Carolina benefitted this year from the North Carolina Tar Heels’ staying in the College Football Playoff hunt. Otherwise, the numbers kind of underwhelm and equal Iowa, as both states have a .489 all-time winning percentage.
  17. Virginia – With the resignation of Virginia Tech icon Frank Beamer, it’ll be up to a new coach to lift the Old Dominion State back to prominence.
  18. Kentucky – The Bluegrass State has the dubious distinction of being the last state on this list with an all-time record above .500 among its combined schools — and barely at .504 percent.
  19. Illinois – Northwestern keeps the Prairie State afloat above the last two remaining states.
  20. Indiana – The Hoosier State might want to stick with hoops. Between Indiana and Purdue, no Power 5 state has a lower winning percentage over the last five years (.317).
  21. Kansas – Kansas State is making strides, but as long as the Jayhawks are going 0-12, it’s going to be hard to pull the Sunflower State up from the dirt.