Here's what the Top 5 would look like if BCS ranking system was still around
We couldn’t wait to get rid of it. For years and years, all we did was complain about the BCS and how college football needed a better way to determine bowl matchups and national championship games.
Our wish was granted in 2014 when the College Football Playoff arrived at our doorstep. And while we still argue over the fairness of that system, most of us agree it’s still better than the old BCS system.
But why not take a little trip back in time? Why, you might ask? Because we can.
Cody Kellner, a contributor to Big Ten Network, recently plugged in the old BCS formula to see how the rankings would differ if the system was never changed. As it turns out, it spit out the exact same top five we see in the Associated Press and coaches polls.
- Alabama
- Georgia
- Ohio State
- Clemson
- Notre Dame
I applied the BCS formula used prior to 2004 by using the current AP and Coaches Poll rankings and Ken Massey’s computer composite. Here are the top five.
1. Alabama
2. Georgia
3. Ohio St.
4. Clemson
5. Notre DameIn case you are curious, UCF is No. 14.
— Cody Kellner (@cody_kellner) October 8, 2018
Maybe the old system wasn’t so bad after all.
Just to prove there was some variation, Kellner said that UCF was ranked No. 14 by the BCS metric. The Knights are currently ranked No. 10 in the AP poll and No. 9 in the coaches poll.
The switch from the BCS to the CFB Playoff may not have been quite as necessary as we previously thought. Then again, we’re only six weeks into the season and plenty can change over the course of the next seven weeks.
Plus, we get an extra game. Nobody is going to complain about that.