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What the CFB Top 10 would look like using BCS rankings formula

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

Which system is better? The old BCS way of ranking teams or having a room of 13 individuals on the College Football Playoff selection committee?

That point can be debated back and forth all day. And, really, your opinion might change based on where your favorite team is ranked come Tuesday night. But before we know the official College Football Playoff rankings entering Championship Saturday, why not take a look at how things would’ve looked using the BCS formula?

Cody Kellner, a college football statistician and contributor to Big Ten Network and Waco Tribune-Herald, recently ranked the top 10 teams in college football based on the BCS formula used prior to the 2004 season.

The top four turned out as expected, with Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame and Georgia occupying spots No. 1-No. 4, respectively. But spots No. 5-No. 10 are where things get interesting.

Oklahoma edged out Ohio State for the No. 5 spot and the Buckeyes sit at No. 6. Surprisingly, Michigan is just one spot back, sitting at No. 7.

UCF, LSU and Florida fill out the final three spots.

Those are some interesting rankings, particularly with LSU and Florida. The Gators and Tigers both ended the season 9-3 but Florida won the head-to-head bout in early October. Those rankings probably wouldn’t sit well with fans in Gainesville.

Will the College Football Playoff committee’s rankings look similar? We’ll find out on Tuesday evening.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB