The College Football Playoff has expanded to from four to 12 teams this season, yet the debate around it remains as intense as ever. Here’s our foolproof selection method
This season is the best of times and the worst of times to institute a 12-team playoff in the top tier of college football.
It’s the best of times because the results so far have yielded a muddled picture in which picking just four teams would have been extraordinarily difficult, and we’ll need these playoff games to lend some clarity.
1.5 adjusted wins for defeating a Tier 1 (top 5) team.
1.4 for Tier 2 (6th through 10th)
1.3 for Tier 3 (11th through 20th)
1.2 for Tier 4 (the rest of the top 40)
1.0 for Tier 5 (the rest of the top 100)
0.8 for Tier 6 (everyone else)
0.5 adjusted losses for losing to a Tier 1 team
0.6 for Tier 2
0.7 for Tier 3
0.8 for Tier 4
1.0 for Tier 5
1.2 for Tier 6
1 Tier 1 win (Alabama), worth 1.5 adjusted wins
2 Tier 4 road wins (Oklahoma, Vanderbilt), each worth 1.3 adjusted wins
1 Tier 4 home win (Florida), worth 1.2
3 Tier 5 wins, worth 1.0 each
3 Tier 6 wins (the Volunteers’ non-conference schedule wasn’t particularly strong), worth 0.8
1 Tier 1 road loss (Georgia), 0.4 adjusted losses
1 Tier 4 road loss (Arkansas), 0.7 adjusted losses
1 Tier 4 home win (Michigan), 1.2 adjusted wins
6 Tier 5 wins, 1.0 each
3 Tier 6 wins, 0.8 each
1 Tier 1 road loss (Ohio State), 0.4 adjusted wins
