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| College Football Playoff rankings | |
|---|---|
| Name | College Football Playoff rankings |
| Sport | College football |
| Formed | 2014 |
| Administrator | College Football Playoff |
| Teams | 4 (playoff), 25 (weekly rankings) |
| Country | United States |
College Football Playoff rankings.
The College Football Playoff rankings are the weekly ordered list produced by the College Football Playoff selection committee that determines the four-team playoff field and influences selections for the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, and other New Year's Six. The rankings interface with major conferences such as the Southeastern Conference, Big Ten Conference, Big 12 Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference, and Pac-12 Conference, and affect institutions including Alabama Crimson Tide football, Clemson Tigers football, Ohio State Buckeyes football, and Notre Dame Fighting Irish football. The committee’s decisions have generated debate involving media outlets like ESPN, CBS Sports, and The Athletic as well as figures such as Nick Saban, Dabo Swinney, and Urban Meyer.
The rankings replace the former Bowl Championship Series selection mechanisms and coexist with polling bodies such as the Associated Press and the Amway Coaches Poll. They provide a weekly top-25 list culminating in a final selection that seeds the College Football Playoff semifinals. The committee’s output interacts with bowl organizers like the Rose Bowl Game, Allstate Sugar Bowl, and the Capital One Orange Bowl, and with championship frameworks managed by entities including the College Football Playoff Foundation and the NCAA.
The advisory and voting body comprises former coaches, administrators, and players drawn from groups including NFL Players Association alumni and university leadership such as past athletic directors from University of Texas at Austin and University of Michigan. Committee members have included figures associated with Tommy Tuberville-era controversies and advisors with ties to programs like the Oklahoma Sooners football and LSU Tigers football. The committee cites published criteria referencing factors like strength of schedule against teams from the Big 12 Conference, head-to-head competition against programs such as Michigan Wolverines football or Oregon Ducks football, conference championships in leagues like the Pacific-12 Conference, and comparative results versus common opponents. The committee may consider injuries to players represented by associations such as the College Football Playoff Players Association when evaluating rosters led by coaches like Lincoln Riley or Jim Harbaugh.
Rankings are released weekly beginning in late November through Selection Day in early December, following the schedule of conference championship games: the SEC Championship Game, Big Ten Football Championship Game, ACC Championship Game, Pac-12 Football Championship Game, and Big 12 Championship Game. The committee convenes in meetings often held in venues connected to organizations such as the Orange Bowl Committee and uses film review and advanced metrics supplied by analytics groups tied to institutions like KenPom-adjacent shops and analytics labs at Syracuse University. The process culminates at the CFP Selection Show broadcast by networks including ABC (American TV network) and ESPN.
Since inception, rankings have produced contentious outcomes: the inclusion of four teams in 2014 spotlighted programs like the Oregon Ducks football and the Florida State Seminoles football; 2017 produced debate over the exclusion of undefeated UCF Knights football while favoring Power Five champions; 2019 and 2020 selections raised issues related to the pandemic responses of conferences such as the Big Ten Conference and Pac-12 Conference. High-profile controversies involved coaches like Jimbo Fisher and administrators at institutions such as University of Central Florida and Clemson University, and prompted commentary from analysts at Fox Sports and writers affiliated with Bleacher Report and The Washington Post.
The rankings shape revenue distributions affecting bodies like the College Football Playoff revenue-sharing plan and conference payouts managed by the Big Ten Conference and SEC. Team branding and recruiting are influenced for programs such as the Georgia Bulldogs football and Oklahoma State Cowboys football, while bowl selections and matchups for games hosted by committees like the Orange Bowl Committee and venues such as Rose Bowl Stadium depend on final rankings. Conference realignment discussions that involve institutions like University of Texas at Austin and University of Oklahoma have cited playoff access and rankings implications.
Beyond the committee, statistical rankings and algorithms developed by entities such as the Sagarin Ratings, ESPN Football Power Index, CFBStats, and computer models used historically in the Bowl Championship Series provide comparative perspectives. Methods include strength-of-record, margin-of-victory adjustments debated with reference to analytics groups at Pro Football Focus and academic studies from universities like Harvard University and Stanford University. Alternative proposals have invoked expanded fields akin to models used in the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament and have been advocated by commentators affiliated with Sports Illustrated and The New York Times.
The rankings have drawn praise for transparency improvements over predecessor systems and criticism for perceived biases toward Power Five conferences and established programs like Alabama Crimson Tide football and Ohio State Buckeyes football. Calls for reform have come from state legislators in regions represented by institutions such as University of Central Florida and from sports governance scholars at institutions including University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Proposals include expanding the playoff field, codifying clearer criteria similar to models used in FIFA World Cup qualification discussions, and increasing committee diversity with members tied to conferences like the American Athletic Conference.