Tag: bcs rankings

BCS or CFP? How the two rankings compared at the end of the 2023 season

A look at how the BCS standings would have ranked the top teams in the nation compared to the College Football Playoff rankings in 2023.

The world of college football has a rankings problem.

For years, it was the Bowl Championship Series and the BCS rankings that were much maligned among college football fans, with computer models deciding who deserved to play for the national championship. This notable excluded the Oregon Ducks back in 2001, relegating an undefeated Oregon team to the Fiesta Bowl with Joey Harrington at the helm, while Nebraska went on to get destroyed by Miami in the championship — a game that every Duck fan believes they deserved to play in.

Now, the College Football Playoff committee is under fire once again after the 2023 rankings came out and excluded the undefeated Florida State Seminoles, a team who just won the ACC Championship. It is the first time in the 10 year history that an undefeated Power 5 champion has not made the playoff, instead getting bumped out by a one-loss SEC Champion Alabama Crimson Tide.

So which system is more hated, the old BCS or the current CFP? A year from now, it will be less of a conversation as we expand to a 12-team playoff, but for now it is the biggest topic of conversation in college football.

Though the BCS is no longer used, the model that it utilized to determine rankings still exists. Here’s how the BCS model would have ranked the top 25 teams in 2023, compared to how the CFP ultimately decided things:

How would the BCS rank Georgia football ahead of the Florida game?

The Georgia Bulldogs would be the No. 3 team if college football still used the BCS rankings

The Georgia Bulldogs would not be the nation’s No. 1 team if we still used the Bowl Championship Series rankings. The BCS would rank Georgia No. 3 behind No. 1 Michigan and No. 2 Ohio State.

The BCS rankings went away following the 2013 college football season. Now, we use the College Football Playoff committee to determine the nation’s top four teams. The first edition of College Football Playoff rankings will come shortly after the Georgia-Florida game.

A full top 10 of BCS rankings looks like this:

1. Michigan

2. Ohio State

3. Georgia

4. Florida State

5. Oklahoma

6. Washington

7. Alabama

8. Texas

9. Penn State

10. Oregon

We have to strongly disagree with Alabama being ranked over Texas as the two teams met on the field and have the same number of losses. That’s a mistake that the College Football Playoff rankings does not tend to make.

Here’s what the entire top 25 BCS rankings look like:

Georgia has a long season ahead with remaining games against Florida, Missouri, Ole Miss, at Tennessee and at Georgia Tech. The Bulldogs would not have won the 2021 national championship if we were in the BCS era (Georgia was ranked No. 3 entering the College Football Playoff).