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 12 playoff teams should be. But, I think it’s interesting to try to definitively rank the best teams strictly according to their resumes.
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 against a ranked opponent (WARO). The qualifier is those opponents need to be ranked in the most recent CFP rankings . For example, I don’t care that Clemson was ranked Georgia Tech beat them in week 3. They are not ranked now so that does *not* count as a win over a ranked team for the Yellow Jackets.
- 2 points for each win against bowl eligible opponents that are unranked (WABEO)
- 1 point for each win against opponents with a .500 or better record that are unranked (WAWO)
- -1 point for every loss
- -1 additional point for every loss against an opponent with a losing record (LALO) For example, Texas has 3 losses so whatever their point total is after accounting for the teams they’ve beaten we subtract 3 points from it to get their total resume points. However, one of their losses is to Florida and they have a losing record. So we will subtract an additional point from their total. Thus, in all, Texas would lose 4 points from whatever their point total is after accounting for the teams they’ve beaten. Let’s say they have 10 points before their losses are accounted for. In that instance the Longhorns would end up with 6 points because they’d lose 3 points for their 3 losses and another because one of their losses was to a losing team.
Clear as mud? Alright. Here are this week’s College Football Playoff Resume Rankings
LOCAL TEAMS OUTSIDE TOP 12
17 Utah 3 points | #13 in CFP rankings | 9-2 record
WARO: 1 #21 Arizona State
WABEO: 1 Cincinnati
TOP 12
13 North Texas 6 points | Unranked in CFP rankings (Top G5 team) | 10-1 record, Tied 1st in American
WABEO: 3 UTSA, Navy, Western Michigan
WAWO: 1 Army
T11 Ole Miss 7 points | #7 in CFP rankings | 10-1 record
WARO: 2 #8 Oklahoma, #24 Tulane
WABEO: 1 LSU
T11 Texas Tech 7 points | #5 in CFP rankings | 10-1 record, Tied 1st in Big 12
WARO: 2 #13 Utah, #11 BYU
WABEO: 1 Houston
T8 Michigan 8 points | #15 in CFP rankings | 9-2 record
WABEO: 5 New Mexico, Nebraska, Washington, Central Michigan, Northwestern
T8 Oregon 8 points | #6 in CFP rankings | 10-1 record
WARO: 1 #17 USC
WABEO: 3 Minnesota, Iowa, Northwestern
T8 Georgia 8 points | #4 in CFP rankings | 10-1 record
WARO: 3 #19 Tennessee, #7 Ole Miss, #16 Texas
7 Oklahoma 9 points | #8 in CFP rankings | 9-2 record
WARO: 3 #15 Michigan, #19 Tennessee, #10 Alabama
WABEO: 1 Missouri
T5 Alabama 10 points | #10 in CFP rankings | 9-2 record
WARO: 3 #4 Georgia, #14 Vanderbilt, #19 Tennessee
WABEO: 2 LSU, Missouri
T5 Notre Dame 10 points | #9 in CFP rankings | 9-2 record
WARO: 2 #17 USC, #22 Pittsburgh
WABEO: 3 Boise State, Navy, NC State
T2 Texas A&M 11 points | #3 in CFP rankings | 11-0 record, 1st in SEC
WARO: 1 #9 Notre Dame
WABEO: 4 LSU, Missouri, UTSA, Utah State
T2 Indiana 11 points | #2 in CFP rankings | 11-0 record, 1st in B1G
WARO: 1 #6 Oregon
WABEO: 4 Old Dominion, Kennesaw State, Iowa, Illinois
T2 Ohio State 11 points | #1 in CFP rankings | 11-0 record, Tied 1st in B1G
WARO: 1 #16 Texas
WABEO: 4 Minnesota, Washington, Ohio, Illinois
1 BYU 13 points | #11 in CFP rankings | 10-1 record, Tied 1st in Big 12
WARO: 1 #13 Utah, #25 Arizona
WABEO: 4 East Carolina, Iowa State, TCU, Cincinnati
