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College Football

How simulated BCS rankings compare to latest CFP top 25

Cory Nightingale

By Cory Nightingale

Published:

The bygone BCS era was memorable for all the best and worst reasons, depending on the season and depending on the fan base you asked that particular season.

Fast-forward to now with humans actually deciding who plays for college football championships and not computers, not that the Playoff committee doesn’t take the same criticism that the BCS did.

So, how about looking at both systems and how they would’ve hammered out the latest top 25 rankings? In the latest side-by-side comparison to a simulated BCS ranking and the CFP rankings that were announced on Tuesday night, we get some slight differences but nothing too major.


The first 5 teams in both rankings are the same, with the first difference coming at No. 6 and 7, where Miami and Georgia are flipped. The CFP has Miami ahead of Georgia, while the simulated BCS has Georgia ahead of Miami.

The teams that are most favored by the simulated BCS are Kansas State, which is 3 spots higher than it is in the CFP rankings, and Arizona State, which is 2 spots higher.

Meanwhile, the teams that are most favored by the Playoff committee are Missouri, which is 3 spots higher than it is in the simulated BCS, and Tennessee, Ole Miss and Tulane, who are 2 spots higher in the CFP rankings.


Of course, the reality lies with the CFP rankings, but it’s always interesting to see how the present-day system compares with the system gone by.

Cory Nightingale

Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.

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