NCAAF 2019 Rankings after Conference Championships

NCAA Football Top 25 Rankings

Updated: Week 15, 8 DEC 2019

(Delta Calc'd from Week 14, 1 DEC 2019)

(Click here for a more detailed explanation of my NCAAF rating system)

Some of these rankings my surprise you, but keep in mind that there is no bias towards any team or preconceived notions, and the only thing considered is what each team has accomplished so far.

(For those viewing from a phone, tap the rankings and rotate to enlarge)

Notes:

• Ohio State remains #1 after defeating #9 Wisconsin for the Big Ten title. Ohio State now has the 5th best SoS and #1 SoR. Ohio State has three current top 10 wins (#7 Penn St, #9 Wisconsin x2) and one just outside (#11 michigan).
• #2 LSU gains a little ground on #1 Ohio State after defeating #5 Georgia, but still trails the Buckeyes by over 2.5 points. LSU has the #40 SoS and #2 SoR. LSU has two current top 10 wins (#5 Georgia, #10 Florida) and one just outside (#13 Auburn).
• Clemson moves up to #3 after defeating #28 Virginia.
• Oklahoma rounds out the top 4 after beating Baylor in the Big 12 championship.
• Oregon is up to #12 after defeating #16 Utah in the title game.
• The College Football Playoff (CFP) committee has a fairly easy job of deciding who is in this year: Ohio State, LSU, Clemson, Oklahoma are locks. The only question is: who gets the #1 seed? My objective rankings make it clear that Ohio State has the best resume looking at the entire season (and keep in mind, my rankings do not factor in margin of victory which would tilt things in favor of Ohio State even more). Anyone making the case for LSU being #1 is clearly only looking 1 week into the past (a win of #5 Georgia compared to a win over #9 Wisconsin), rather than the entire season as a whole (see my first two bullets). Or, they are suffering from SEC bias(itis). When you look objectively at the situation, the choice is clear. Let's see if the committee can do just that (although, given their history... I'm not holding my breath).
• Check out the Conference rankings below. It's pretty close for the top 3 (Big Ten, Big 12, and SEC (SEC isn't #1? Amazing what happens when you take subjectivity of out it). However, the ACC is dreadful this year.
• Top 10 // Top 25  Teams for each conference:
• ACC: 1 // 1 
• Big 12: 1 // 2
• Big Ten: 3 // 6
• Pac 12: 0 // 3
• SEC: 3 // 5

Poll Comparison (OOPS... I posted this too early and the human polls are out yet)

As always, please leave questions/comments below! If you would like to see more than just the Top 25, or any ratings for Div I-AA, Div-II, or Div-III, just let me know!

NCAAF 2019 Rankings after Week 14

NCAA Football Top 25 Rankings

Updated: Week 14, 1 DEC 2019

(Delta Calc'd from Week 13, 25 NOV 2019)

(Click here for a more detailed explanation of my NCAAF rating system)

Some of these rankings my surprise you, but keep in mind that there is no bias towards any team or preconceived notions, and the only thing considered is what each team has accomplished so far.

(For those viewing from a phone, tap the rankings and rotate to enlarge)

Notes:

• Ohio State increases its lead at #1 after defeating #11 michigan (who dropped from #7 after the loss). Ohio State now has the 12th best SoS, and that will only get better after facing off against #9 Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship.
• Ohio State and LSU have such a lead at #1 and #2 that even with a loss, both of those teams would probably stay in the top 2.
• #4 Clemson loses ground on #3 Georgia despite defeating #61 South Carolina. 
• In fact, #5 Oklahoma almost closed gap and broke into the top 4 after defeating #27 Oklahoma State. I project that OU will jump Clemson if they defeat #12 Baylor in the Big 12 Championship game (Clemson plays #28 Virginia). Clemson is falling victim to playing in an extremely weak conference. They might be one of the top 4 teams in the country, they just haven't had a good opponent to prove that fact against.
• Whoops, Alabama falls to #16 (from #11) after losing to #14 Auburn (who jumped 7 spots from #21).
• Minnesota falls to #21 after losing to #9 Wisconsin. After starting the season undefeated, they dropped 2 out of 3 to Top 25 opponents (beat #6 PSU, lost to #20 Iowa and #9 Wisconsin).
• Conference Championship Match-ups next week:
• ACC: #4 Clemson vs #28 Virginia
• Big 12: #5 Oklahoma vs #12 Baylor
• Big Ten: #1 Ohio State vs #9 Wisconsin
• Pac 12: #13 Utah vs #18 Oregon
• SEC: #2 LSU vs #3 Georgia
• AAC: #8 Memphis vs #15 Cincinnati
• Top 10 // Top 25  Teams for each conference:
• ACC: 1 // 1 
• Big 12: 1 // 2
• Big Ten: 3 // 6
• Pac 12: 0 // 3
• SEC: 3 // 5

Poll Comparison

As always, please leave questions/comments below! If you would like to see more than just the Top 25, or any ratings for Div I-AA, Div-II, or Div-III, just let me know!