National Sports

College Football Playoff Resume Rankings

By James Peterson

Posted on November 21, 2023

The main argument we hear on the College Football Playoff Rankings Show and the sports debate shows is, what matters more? Talent/”eye test,” or resume?

This weekly column will add to that 2nd part. It answers 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 team’s resume and it goes as follows.

3 points for each win over teams who are ranked in the most recent CFP rankings. For example, I don’t care that USC was ranked 9th when Notre Dame beat them in week 7. They are not ranked now so that does *not* count as a win over a ranked team for the Irish. Conversely, Washington beat an unranked Arizona team in week 5, but since the Wildcats *are* ranked now that does count as a win over a ranked team for the Huskies
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 one point will be subtracted from that. But that loss is also to Pitt who has a losing record, so an additional point will be subtracted from their total. Thus, in all, Louisville would lose 2 points from whatever their point total is. Let’s say they have 10 points before their losses are accounted for. In that instance the Cardinals would end up with 8 points because they’d lose one 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. Washington 24 points

Wins over ranked teams: 4 (6 Oregon, @17 Arizona, 22 Utah, @11 OSU)

Win over bowl eligible teams: 6 (@17 Arizona, 6 Oregon, @USC, 22 Utah, @11 OSU, Boise State)