As of this college football season, there are 10 conferences and 133 schools in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
While it is safe to assume that many of those teams believe they have some shot at making the playoff and winning it all, the trends tell us otherwise. In fact, according to 247Sports, there are truly only 16 teams in the country that have a legitimate chance at hosting that big gold trophy come January.
You may be asking why only 16 and how did the site determine what makes a championship team. Let me tell you!
According to Bud Elliot of 247Sports, teams that have the most blue-chip prospects are the ones that have the best chance at winning the national title. While it isn’t shocking to hear someone say the teams with the best players have the best chance to win it all, it has been repeated each and every year.
Dating to its introduction in 2013, the blue-chip ratio is commonly referred to in order to figure out who the true contenders are by coaches, media and fans alike. If you aren’t familiar with the concept, it essentially comes down to which rosters consist of the most four- and five-star players. Dating to 2011, the team to win it all has had at least half of its roster made up of blue-chip recruits.
Elliot calculated the teams that have at least 51% of their roster be made up of blue-chip recruits and there are only 16 of them. Of those 16 teams, six of them reside in the SEC, three reside in the Big Ten, two in the Big 12, two in the ACC, one independent and two in the Pac-12.
While this doesn’t guarantee that all 16 teams will be contenders being that development by the coaches and other factors also come into play, it can give some insight into who to look out for. Let’s take a look at every team that the blue-chip ratio has determined can win it all.