BCS Standings – Syndication Server

Oregon, Texas, or Ohio State? How the BCS rankings would compare to the CFP rankings

A look at how the hypothetical BCS rankings would compare to the College Football Playoff rankings after Week 14 of the season.

The penultimate College Football Playoff rankings have been released, and with just a handful of days until these standings are made final, some of the controversies and complaints have started to reach a fever pitch in the world of college football.

Unsurprisingly, the Oregon Ducks are in the middle of the conversation, with a lot of opposing fanbases getting frustrated by their place in the standings after Week 14. On Tuesday night, the latest CFP rankings had Oregon move up to No. 5, while Ohio State dropped to No. 6 with their first loss, followed by Texas and Alabama.

Based on the Longhorns’ and Buckeyes’ strength of records, fans were upset that the Ducks still got the top spot among one-loss teams.

In the end, it will all play itself out, with the Ducks having the top-ranked opponent of the group in this week’s conference championship game in No. 3 Washington, while Texas plays No. 18 Oklahoma State, and Ohio State doesn’t play in a conference championship game at all.

One thing we like to do throughout the season, though, is look at what the BCS standings from last decade would have done with the rankings using their formula. It was a time when there wasn’t a committee of voters who decided the final rankings each year, but rather a set of computers that calculated the final rankings based on numerous formulas that often led to convolution and controversy.

Just for our entertainment, we wanted to look at how those BCS standings would look if there in practice today. Take a look:

Hypothetical BCS rankings aren’t as high on Oregon Ducks as CFP rankings

In a hypothetical world where the BCS standings are still a thing, the Oregon Ducks wouldn’t fare quite as well in 2023.

One of the more interesting debates that’s come up over the last few weeks is regarding one-loss teams in the nation, and which schools should be ranked ahead of others when you look at resumes. Largely, the conversation has been in regards to the Oregon Ducks, Alabama Crimson Tide, and Texas Longhorns.

While Texas has the best win of the three, beating Alabama earlier this year, it’s hard to argue that any team in that group has looked more dominant and complete than Oregon, while Alabama has been coming on as of late and has a couple of impressive wins in the last month.

The College Football Playoff committee has held strong in their opinion that the Ducks are the top one-loss team, followed by the Longhorns, and then the Crimson Tide. One thing we like to do throughout the season, though, is look at what the BCS standings from last decade would have done with the rankings using their formula.

It was a time when there wasn’t a committee of voters who decided the final rankings each year, but rather a set of computers that calculated the final rankings based on numerous formulas that often led to convolution and controversy.

Just for our entertainment, we wanted to look at how those BCS standings would look if there in practice today. Take a look:

Texas, Oregon, or Alabama? How the BCS rankings would order the top 1-loss teams

An interesting debate has stirred up in the world of college football over the last 24 hours that has accompanied the release of the latest College Football Playoff rankings. That debate questions which one-loss team in the nation should be ranked the highest: the Oregon Ducks, the Texas Longhorns, or the Alabama Crimson Tide.

All have fair arguments. Neither Texas nor Alabama has looked better than the Ducks over the past month; neither Oregon nor Alabama has a better win than Texas this year (vs. No. 8 Alabama); neither Oregon nor Texas have a better loss than Alabama this year (vs. No. 7 Texas).

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This is where you get the “eye test” supporters clashing with the “strength of record” supporters, and it leaves us with a lot of people yelling at each other.

Ultimately, all will likely play itself out over the next few weeks, with some of the top teams in the nation playing each other in the final games of the regular season, and then a round of conference championships that is sure to offer some clarity. In the meantime, though, we often like to go back and look at how everyone would have been ranked in the BCS era, which precluded the College Football Playoff.

Just for our entertainment, we wanted to look at how those BCS standings would look if there in practice today. Take a look:

How would the BCS rank Oregon heading into Week 8 of the 2023 season?

How would things look if we brought back the BCS rankings for this season?

We have a million different ways to rank the top teams in the college football world in 2023. Whether it’s the conventional Associated Press Poll, the US LBM Coaches Poll, or ESPN’s Football Power Index, there are a handful of numbers that are considered the standard among fans and media members.

On top of those pillars of the ranking community, you also have ESPN’s SP+, USA TODAY’s 1-133 ranking, Josh Pate’s Power Poll, and a new 1-665 ranking from ESPN’s Bill Connelly.

It’s safe to say that we don’t need any new rankings going forward.

What about old rankings, though?

There is a popular account on Twitter/X that goes back to “an era when the Harris Interactive Poll was really important to college football,” and brings those rankings to the present day, though that may have been a time that is frustrating for some fans, particularly in Eugene.

We’re talking about the BCS era, a time when there wasn’t a committee of voters who decided the final rankings each year, but rather a set of computers that calculated the final rankings based on numerous formulas that often led to convolution and controversy.

Just for our entertainment, we wanted to look at how those BCS standings would look if there in practice today. Take a look: