Using the same principles that show us the difference between “Elite” and “Non-Elite,” the entire FBS can be measured and put into tiers. This measures a team’s consistency along with the ability to scale-up and beat higher tiered competition.
The baseline is a team’s AP poll ranking and W/L record and is adjusted based on who they have actually proven that they can beat on the field. This gives us a tier for every team that represents what we know in our gut about how good that team actually is.
The tiers are named in a way that provides definitions for the terms we already use to describe a college football team’s level.
Here are those tiers with their assigned point value:
- National Champion = 5 points.
- National Runner Up = 4 points.
- “Elite” = 3 Points (Any team that finishes in the Top 5 of the Final AP Poll or any team in the Top 15 that has defeated another Elite Team).
- “Big Boy Football” = 2 Points (the non-elite top 15 teams in the final AP Poll and any top 25 team that has defeated a top 15 team).
- “Fringe Top 25″ = 1 Point (Any team left in the top 25 or has a winning record and has defeated a top 25 team).
- “Mediocre” = 0 Points (any team left with a winning record or any team with a .500 record that has beaten an FBS team with a winning record).
- “Weak” = -1 Point (A team with a .500 record that hasn’t beaten an FBS team with a winning record or a team with a losing record that has beaten an FBS team with a winning record).
- “Bottom Feeder” = -2 Points (A team with a losing record that has not beaten an FBS team with a winning record)
“Snapshot” is the term I use for a team’s tier ranking on a given year. The ranking can also include multiple seasons. In the Program Composite, half of the equation is a program’s all-time ranking, which is every season from 1936-present.
Here are the standings for this past year using the above tier system. You will see this ranking used in the Head Coach Rating to gauge “performance vs. expectations” as well as “talent level vs. results” on a yearly basis.
Elite Programs are listed in their school colors.
