Every year about this time 2 things happen.
- The first college football playoff rankings of the season are unveiled, which will happen tonight on ESPN’s College Football Playoff rankings show (5PM MT on ESPN)
- We begin the debate which frames the rest of the season: What matters most when selecting playoff teams, talent or resume?
This weekly column will answer the question of which teams have the best playoff resumes in all of FBS college football. Let me be clear, I will not be reacting to the CFP rankings or making a case for who I think the 4 playoff teams should be. But, I think it’s interesting to try to definitively rank the best teams strictly according to their resumes. That’s what I’ll do for the rest of the season every Tuesday morning here.
Before I unveil this week’s rankings let me explain the methodology of them:
I’ve developed a points system for each school and it goes as follows.
- 3 points for each win over teams who are ranked in the most recent AP Poll. For example, I don’t care that Clemson was ranked 9th when Duke beat them in week 1. They are not ranked now so that does *not* count as a win over a ranked team for Duke (Who themselves are no longer ranked, but you get the point right?). Conversely, if a team that was not ranked at the time one of these potential CFP teams beat them, but they are ranked now, that *does* count as a win over a ranked team for the potential CFP team
- 2 points for each win over a bowl eligible team
- 1 point for each win over a non-bowl eligible team with a winning record
- -1 point for every loss
- -1 an additional point for every loss to a team with a losing record. For example, Louisville has one loss so whatever their point total is we would subtract one point. But that loss is also to Pitt who has a losing record, so we would take away an additional point to their total. Thus, in all, Louisville would lose 2 points from whatever their point total is. Let’s say they have 10 points before we account for their losses. They would end up with 8 points because they’d lose 1 for their one loss, and another because that loss was to a losing team.
Clear as mud? Alright. Here are this week’s top 10 College Football Resume Rankings
1. Ohio State 13 points
Wins over ranked teams: 2 (@12 Notre Dame, 9 Penn State)
Win over bowl eligible teams: 2 (@12 Notre Dame, 9 Penn State)
Wins over other winning teams: 3 (Western Kentucky, Maryland, @Wisconsin)
Losses: 0
T2. Texas & Alabama 12 points
Texas:
Wins over ranked teams: 1 (@8 Alabama, 22 Kansas)
Win over bowl eligible teams: 2 (@8 Alabama, 22 Kansas)
Wins over other winning teams: 3 (Rice, Wyoming, BYU)
Losses: 1 (Oklahoma at neutral field)
Alabama:
Wins over ranked teams: 2 (11 Ole Miss, 19 Tennessee)
Win over bowl eligible teams: 2 (11 Ole Miss, 19 Tennessee)
Wins over other winning teams: 3 (@South Florida, Mississippi State, @Texas A&M)
Losses: 1 (7 Texas)
4. Florida State 11 points
Wins over ranked teams: 1 (13 LSU on neutral field)
Win over bowl eligible teams: 1 (13 LSU neutral field)
Wins over other winning teams: 6 (@Clemson, @Boston College, Syracuse, Duke, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech)
Losses: 0
5. Ole Miss 10 points
Wins over ranked teams: 2 (@21 Tulane, 13 LSU)
Win over bowl eligible teams: 2 (@21 Tulane, 13 LSU)
Wins over other winning teams: 1 (@Auburn)
Losses: 1 (@8 Alabama)
6. Utah 9 points
Wins over ranked teams: 2 (20 UCLA, @24 USC)
Win over bowl eligible teams: 2 (20 UCLA, @24 USC)
Wins over other winning teams: 1 (Florida)
Losses: 2 (@16 Oregon State, 6 Oregon)
7. Washington 8 points
Wins over ranked teams: 1 (6 Oregon)
Win over other bowl eligible teams: 1 (6 Oregon)
Wins over winning teams: 3 (Boise State, Tulsa, @Arizona)
Losses: 0
8. Oregon State 8 points
Wins over ranked teams: 2 (18 Utah, 20 UCLA)
Win over bowl eligible teams: 2 (18 Utah, 20 UCLA)
Wins over other winning teams: 0
Losses: 2 (@Washington State & @Arizona)
9. Michigan 7 points
Wins over ranked teams: 0
Win over bowl eligible teams: 2 (Rutgers, UNLV)
Wins over other winning teams: 3 (Minnesota, Nebraska, Bowling Green)
Losses: 0
9. Oklahoma 7 points
Wins over ranked teams: 1 (7 Texas on neutral field)
Win over bowl eligible teams: 1 (7 Texas on neutral field)
Wins over other winning teams: 2 (SMU, Iowa State)
Losses: 1 (@22 Kansas)
9. Louisville 7 points
Wins over ranked teams: 1 (12 Notre Dame)
Win over bowl eligible teams: 1 (12 Notre Dame)
Wins over other winning teams: 4 (@NC State, Boston College, Duke, Georgia Tech)
Losses: 1 (@Pittsburgh, a losing team)
Other notable team:
19. Georgia 3 points
Wins over ranked teams: 0
Win over bowl eligible teams: 0
Wins over other winning teams: 3 (Kentucky, Florida on neutral field, Auburn)
Losses: 0
