Here's the CFN belief when it comes to
ranking teams: From the preseason until the end of the bowls, you must
rank teams based on how good you believe they are at that time. However,
once the year is complete, it's only fair to take the subjectivity out
of it and go by what actually happened on the field. To do that, we've
created the CFN Formula used to rank every team in every year in order to properly
compare and contrast seasons from different eras.
Two things to keep in mind. 1) This takes into account the entire
season punishing ugly losses and pumping up good wins. A win at the
beginning of the year counts the same as a win at the end, so there
might be some head-to-head discrepancies; they're unavoidable in any
ranking system. Remember, the formula looks at year from start to finish and not
just which team beat another.
CFN
Preseason |
Week 1
| Week 2
Week 3
|
Week 4 |
Week 5 |
Week 6
Week
7
|
Week 8
|
Week 9
|
Week
10
Week 11 |
Week 12 |
Week 13
Coaches |
AP Poll |
Notes of interest:
The CFN Season Rankings
By
Pete Fiutak
If you think your team is ranked too low, look at your schedule.
It's all about who you played and how your entire season went. Here are the most interesting
tidbits of note.
1) Ohio State at No. 10
Ohio State beat a lot of decent teams, but no truly great ones.
Even if it had beaten LSU in the BCS Championship, it still
wouldn't have finished No. 1. This is an indictment of the Big
Ten as it shows how the conference either 1) beat up on each
other or 2) didn't have anyone who was that great.
2) USC at No. 8
The team, when 100% healthy, might have been special, but it
didn't play as good a schedule as you might think. It's not
USC's fault that Nebraska and Notre Dame stunk.
3) Hawaii at 18th
Last year Hawaii finished 15th. The Warriors didn't beat
anyone.
4) The overall Big Ten
Illinois at 15, Penn State at 21, Michigan at 24, Wisconsin
at 32, and Michigan State at 40. The lack of big non-conference
wins were a big problem.
5) Oregon at No. 11
Even with the late-season slide, the Ducks finishes with a
strong score helped by wins over Michigan, USC and South
Florida. |
2) This is NOT a
ranking of which teams are the best or most talented. This is a
formula to find out which teams had the best seasons. Anything else is
simply opinion.
The Formula's Components:
1. Wins. - If you win, everything else falls into place. Each
win counts as 1.
2. Quality Wins - The number of wins over teams that finished with a
winning record. Each win counts as 1.
3. Elite Wins - The number of wins over teams that finished with two
losses or fewer. Each win counts as 1 with a road win over an Elite team
getting an extra 0.5. Also counting as 1 is a road win over a team that
finished with three losses or fewer (but the extra 0.5 isn't added). A
new wrinkle was added this year. A win over a team that finishes with
three losses in a bowl game or a conference championship game (but not a
neutral site regular season game) counts as one.
4. Bad Loss - The number of losses to teams that finished with three
wins or fewer or a loss to a DI-AA team. Each loss counts as
minus-1. Take away an additional 0.5 for a Bad Loss at home.
5. Bad Win - The number of wins to teams that finished with three
wins or fewer, or a win over a D-IAA team. Each win counts as minus 0.25.
6. Elite Loss - The number of losses to teams that finished with two
losses or fewer. Each loss counts as 0.25.
7. Point Differential - Points for minus points against divided by
100.
8. Winning Percentage - To take losses into account, winning
percentage is in the mix. Total wins is the tie-breaker followed by
winning percentage.
- CFN Final 2007 Rankings -
No. 11 to 25
- CFN Final 2007 Rankings -
No. 26 to 119 & Opinion Rankings
- CFN Final 2006 Rankings
1. LSU
(12-2)
Final Score:
23.23
It seemed
to be a simple equation for LSU. When healthy, it was absolutely
dominant. When banged up, it struggled. Strangely enough coming form the
SEC, there was only one Elite Win, and it came in the national title
game, but there were a whole bunch of really, really good ones beating
Virginia Tech, Florida, Auburn and Tennessee on the was to a second
national championship in five years. The two losses to average Kentucky
and Arkansas will always leave some fans wondering if the best team
really did win the championship, but there's no denying the talent
level, and there's no denying it earned the title in one of the craziest
seasons in college football history. By comparison, Florida had a score
of 24.92 after last year and Texas had an all-time great score of 29.54
after 2005.
2006 Score: 19.84 2006 Ranking: 7
Quality Wins: 7. at Mississippi State, Virginia Tech, Florida, Auburn,
at Alabama, Tennessee, Ohio State
Elite Win Score: 1. Ohio State
Bad Loss Score: 0 ... Bad Wins: 1. Miss State ... Elite Loss: 0
Point Differential Score: 2.62 ... Winning Percentage: 0.86
2. West Virginia (11-2)
Final Score: 22.15
The Mountaineers had a fantastic year with a Big East title and a
stunning Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma, but the season will be
remembered as much for two down notes: Rich Rodriguez leaving for
Michigan, and Pittsburgh ruining the dream. All WVU had to do was beat a
mediocre Panther team at home and it would've played Ohio State for the
national title, but a 13-9 all-timer of a gaffe soured things. Even so,
the team was fantastic throughout with several decent wins along with
victories against Louisville and Marshall that kept the fan base happy.
2006 Score: 19.83 2006 Ranking: 8
Quality Wins: 6. at Maryland, at East Carolina, Mississippi State,
at Rutgers, at Cincinnati, Connecticut, Oklahoma
Elite Win Score: 2. at Cincinnati, Oklahoma
Bad Loss Score: 0 ... Bad Wins: 2. at Marshall, at Syracuse ... Elite
Loss: 0
Point Differential Score: 2.8 ...
Winning Percentage: 0.85
3. Oklahoma
(11-3) Final Score:
22.12
One of the most maddening teams in America, it obliterated everyone at
home, struggled on the road, and ended up losing a second straight
Fiesta Bowl. West Virginia was undergoing a coaching change but still
blew the doors off the Sooners 48-28 to ruin yet another Big 12
championship year and yet another great overall season under Bob Stoops.
There were blowouts over Miami and Texas A&M, rivalry wins over Texas
and Oklahoma State, and two wins over Missouri that proved just how good
the team could be. And then came the trip to Glendale.
2006 Score: 19.36 2006 Ranking: 10
Quality Wins: 6. at Tulsa, Texas, Missouri, Texas A&M, Oklahoma
State, Missouri (Big 12 Champ.)
Elite Win Score: 2. Missouri (twice)
Bad Loss Score: 0 ...
Bad Wins: 4. North Texas, Utah State, at Iowa State, Baylor ... Elite
Loss: 1. West Virginia
Point Differential Score: 3.08 ... Winning Percentage: 0.79
4. Georgia
(11-2)
Final Score:
21.97
Georgia was one
of the nation's hottest teams over the second half of the season winning
seven straight games with a thrashing of Florida, a stunning 45-20 win
over Auburn, yet another rivalry win over Georgia Tech, and the magnum
opus, a 41-10 stomping of Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl that wasn't even as
close as the blowout final score. A 35-14 loss at Tennessee ended up
ruining SEC title hopes as Dawg fans will always have to wonder about
what might have happened if their team got a shot at LSU in the title
game.
2006 Score: 16.67 2006 Ranking: 22
Quality Wins: 8. Oklahoma State, at Alabama, Florida, Troy, Auburn,
Kentucky, at Georgia Tech, Hawaii
Elite Win Score: 1. Hawaii
Bad Loss Score: 0 ...
Bad Wins: 2. Western Carolina, Ole Miss ...
Elite Loss: 0.
Point Differential Score: 1.62 ...
Winning Percentage: 0.85
5. Kansas
(12-1)
Final Score:
20.60
Easily the biggest surprise of the 2007 season, KU rolled through a
pillow-soft schedule, but it showed up big-time throughout the Big 12
season with a 76-39 win over Nebraska that all but ended the Bill
Callahan era and a nationally televised blowout over Oklahoma State. Any
doubts about how good the team was went away with the 24-21 win over
Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl to finish a school-record 12-1. The
offense finished eighth overall, second in scoring, fourth in scoring
defense and first in turnover margin.
2006 Score: 8.42 2006 Ranking: 61
Quality Wins: 4. Central Michigan, at Texas A&M, at Oklahoma State,
Virginia Tech
Elite Win Score: 1. Virginia Tech
Bad Loss Score: 0
Bad Wins: 4. SE Louisiana, Florida International, Baylor, Iowa State
Elite Loss: 1. Missouri ...
Point Differential Score: 3.43 ... Winning Percentage: 0.92
6. Virginia Tech
(11-3)
Final Score:
20.56
It's hard to be
too upset with the season when the Hokies won the ACC title and got to
the Orange Bowl, but the loss to Kansas soured things in the end. Had
Tech beaten Boston College the first time, it would've been a close call
in the national championship discussion; it probably would've gotten in
against Ohio State. The defense was its normally amazing self finishing
fourth in the country in total D and third in scoring defense, while the
offense improved as the year went on.
2006 Score: 17.95 2006 Ranking: 16
Quality Wins: 6. East Carolina, at Clemson, at Georgia Tech, Florida
State, at Virginia, at Boston College
Elite Win Score: 1. Boston College
Bad Loss Score: 0 ...
Bad Wins: 2. William & Mary, at Duke ... Elite Loss: 2. at LSU, Kansas
Point Differential Score: 1.77 ... Winning Percentage: 0.79
7. Missouri
(12-2)
Final Score:
20.43
Oh that Oklahoma. Missouri had its best season in school history winning
12 games, the North title, and the Cotton Bowl over Arkansas, but it was
bittersweet as it could've played for the national title had it beaten
the Sooners in the Big 12 Championship. This was the year the program
turned the corner with the nation's fifth ranked offense, led by Heisman
finalist Chase Daniel, and an attacking defense that was better than the
stats.
2006 Score: 12.49 2006 Ranking: 38
Quality Wins: 5. Illinois, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Kansas, Arkansas
Elite Win Score: 1. Kansas
Bad Loss Score: 0 ...
Bad Wins: 3. at Ole Miss, Illinois State, Iowa State ...
Elite Loss: 0.
Point Differential Score: 2.32 ...
Winning Percentage: 0.86
8. USC
(11-2)
Final Score:
19.83
It's not USC's
fault, but it didn't beat a slew of top teams with only four wins over
teams that finished with a winning record, and the first didn't come
until November. The schedule was far better on paper than it turned out
to be with Nebraska and Notre Dame stinking, but there's still no excuse
for losing at home to Stanford. The team started to jell by the end of
the season and showed what it could do when healthy with a five-game
winning streak highlighted by the blowout win over Illinois in the Rose
Bowl.
2006 Score: 21.59 2006 Ranking: 5
Quality Wins: 4. Oregon State, at California, at Arizona State, Illinois
Elite Win Score: 2. at Arizona State, Illinois
Bad Loss Score: 0 ... Bad Wins: 2. Idaho, at Notre Dame ... Elite Loss:
0
Point Differential Score: 2.16 ... Winning Percentage: 0.85
9. Boston College
(11-3)
Final Score:
19.15
Jeff Jagodzinki
took Tom O'Brien's program to another level with a No. 2 ranking going
into November and a spot in the ACC Championship. Led by a tremendous
defense, which finished second in the nation against the run, and the
bombing of Matt Ryan, the Eagles won 11 games cementing themselves as
one of the ACC's consistently elite teams.
2006 Score:
18.36 2006 Ranking: 12
Quality Wins: 6. Wake Forest, at Georgia Tech, Bowling Green, at
Virginia Tech, at Clemson, Michigan State
Elite Win Score: 1. at Virginia Tech
Bad Loss Score: 0 ... Bad Wins: 3. Army, UMass, at Notre Dame ... Elite Loss:
0
Point Differential Score: 1.11 ... Winning Percentage: 0.79
10. Ohio State
(11-2)
Final Score:
18.77
A great season
quickly turned sour with a loss to LSU in the BCS Championship game, but
it was a year ahead of schedule for a Buckeye team that's supposed to
come out roaring in 2008. The defense was stellar in every game but two
giving up 38 to LSU, 28 to Illinois, and no more than 17 to anyone else.
Unfortunately for OSU, most will think the No. 1 ranking on defense from
the end of the regular season will be a total sham after LSU was able to
score without a problem.
2006 Score:
22.76 2006 Ranking: 4
Quality Wins: 5: at Purdue, Michigan State at Penn State, Wisconsin, at
Michigan
Elite Win Score: 0
Bad Loss Score: 0 ... Bad Wins: 3: Youngstown State, at Minnesota, Kent
State ... Elite Loss: 1. LSU
Point Differential Score: 2.42 ... Winning Percentage: 0.85
- CFN Final 2007 Rankings -
No. 11 to 25
- CFN Final 2007 Rankings -
No. 26 to 119 & Opinion Rankings
- CFN Final 2006 Rankings
