Oregon, Texas, or Ohio State? How the BCS rankings would compare to the CFP rankings
The penultimate College Football Playoff rankings have been released, and with just a handful of days until these standings are made final, some of the controversies and complaints have started to reach a fever pitch in the world of college football.
Unsurprisingly, the Oregon Ducks are in the middle of the conversation, with a lot of opposing fanbases getting frustrated by their place in the standings after Week 14. On Tuesday night, the latest CFP rankings had Oregon move up to No. 5, while Ohio State dropped to No. 6 with their first loss, followed by Texas and Alabama.
Based on the Longhorns’ and Buckeyes’ strength of records, fans were upset that the Ducks still got the top spot among one-loss teams.
In the end, it will all play itself out, with the Ducks having the top-ranked opponent of the group in this week’s conference championship game in No. 3 Washington, while Texas plays No. 18 Oklahoma State, and Ohio State doesn’t play in a conference championship game at all.
One thing we like to do throughout the season, though, is look at what the BCS standings from last decade would have done with the rankings using their formula. It was a time when there wasn’t a committee of voters who decided the final rankings each year, but rather a set of computers that calculated the final rankings based on numerous formulas that often led to convolution and controversy.
Just for our entertainment, we wanted to look at how those BCS standings would look if there in practice today. Take a look:
Georgia Bulldogs
Bryan Lynn-USA TODAY Sports
Week 13 Result: 31-23 Win vs. Georgia Tech
College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 1
BCS Score: 0.9737
Michigan Wolverines
Michael Allio-USA TODAY Sports
Week 13 Result: 30-24 Win vs. No. 2 Ohio State
College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 2
BCS Score: 0.9669
Washington Huskies
James Snook-USA TODAY Sports
Week 13 Result: 24-21 Win vs. Washington State
College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 3
BCS Score: 0.9104
Florida State Seminoles
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Week 13 Result: 24-15 Win vs. Florida
College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 4
BCS Score: 0.8623
Ohio State Buckeyes
Barbara Perenic/Columbus Dispatch
Week 13 Result: 30-24 Loss vs. No. 3 Michigan
College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 6
BCS Score: 0.8202
Oregon Ducks
Craig Strobeck-USA TODAY Sports
Week 13 Result: 31-7 Win vs. No. 16 Oregon State
College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 5
BCS Score: 0.7918
Texas Longhorns
Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
Week 13 Result: 57-7 Win vs. Texas Tech
College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 7
BCS Score: 0.7819
Alabama Crimson Tide
Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Week 13 Result: 27-24 Win vs. Auburn
College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 8
BCS Score: 0.7588
Penn State Nittany Lions
Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
Week 13 Result: 42-0 Win vs. Michigan State
College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 10
BCS Score: 0.6380
Missouri Tigers
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Week 13 Result: 48-14 Win vs. Arkansas
College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 9
BCS Score: 0.6029
Ole Miss Rebels
Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports
Week 13 Result: 17-7 Win vs. Mississippi State
College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 11
BCS Score: 0.5996
Oklahoma Sooners
Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
Week 13 Result: 69-45 Win vs. TCU
College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 12
BCS Score: 0.5671
LSU Tigers
John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Week 13 Result: 42-30 Win vs. Texas A&M
College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 13
BCS Score: 0.5024
Louisville Cardinals
Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Week 13 Result: 38-31 Loss vs. Kentucky
College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 14
BCS Score: 0.4030
Arizona Wildcats
Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Week 13 Result: 59-23 Win vs. Arizona State
College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 15
BCS Score: 0.3706
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Week 13 Result: 56-23 Win vs. Stanford
College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 17
BCS Score: 0.3681
Iowa Hawkeyes
Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Week 13 Result: 13-10 Win vs. Nebraska
College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 16
BCS Score: 0.3222
Tulane Green Wave
Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
Week 13 Result: 29-16 Win vs. UTSA
College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 22
BCS Score: 0.3126
Liberty Flames
Rich Storry-USA TODAY Sports
Week 13 Result: 42-28 Win vs. UTEP
College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 24
BCS Score: 0.2296
Oklahoma State Cowboys
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Week 13 Result: 40-34 Win vs. BYU
College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 18
BCS Score: 0.1891
Oregon State Beavers
James Snook-USA TODAY Sports
Week 13 Result: 31-7 Loss vs. No. 6 Oregon
College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 20
BCS Score: 0.1647
James Madison Dukes
Hannah Pajewski-USA TODAY Sports
Week 13 Result: 56-14 Win vs. Coastal Carolina
College Football Playoff Ranking: N/A
BCS Score: 0.1627
NC State Wolfpack
Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports
Week 13 Result: 39-20 Win vs. North Carolina
College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 19
BCS Score: 0.1386
Toledo Rockets
Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Week 13 Result: 32-17 Win vs. Central Michigan
College Football Playoff Ranking: N/A
BCS Score: 0.0989
Tennessee Volunteers
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Week 13 Result: 48-24 Win vs. Vanderbilt
College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 21
BCS Score: 0.0920
