When it comes to rankings, there's only one that matters anymore, and it's the rankings that are released by the College Football Playoff Committee in the last few weeks of every season.
While AP and coaches rankings are fun water cooler fodder for fans and sportswriters, and the always controversial ESPN FPI rankings add an interesting twist, none of those hold water anymore once the CFP committee starts their meetings.
Whether a four-team or 12-team College Football Playoff format, the committee releases a Top 25 each week for the final six weeks, and even teams mired in the quagmires of the bottom third of those rankings can climb their way into a playoff spot.
Does the committee have some favorites? While that might not be the best way to frame it, there are some programs who always seem to show up in the CFP's Top 25.
These teams have spent the most weeks ranked by the committee since the playoff's inception in 2014. With 66 total week available, it's eye-opening to see how some teams have dominated.
Rank | Team | Weeks Ranked | Avg. Rank | Highest Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Alabama | 66 | 4.09 | 1 |
1 | Ohio State | 66 | 4.89 | 1 |
3 | Clemson | 60 | 8.43 | 1 |
4 | Notre Dame | 55 | 9.64 | 2 |
5 | Georgia | 54 | 5.28 | 1 |
6 | Oklahoma | 52 | 9.48 | 2 |
7 | LSU | 47 | 13.02 | 1 |
8 | Oregon | 44 | 8.16 | 1 |
8 | Utah | 44 | 15.98 | 5 |
10 | Michigan | 43 | 7.07 | 1 |
10 | Oklahoma St. | 43 | 16.05 | 5 |
12 | Penn State | 42 | 9.57 | 3 |
13 | Ole Miss | 34 | 12.44 | 4 |
14 | USC | 33 | 15.33 | 4 |
15 | Wisconsin | 32 | 12.56 | 4 |
16 | Iowa | 31 | 15.29 | 4 |
17 | FSU | 30 | 10.03 | 2 |
18 | Washington | 29 | 10.76 | 2 |
18 | Auburn | 29 | 12.17 | 2 |
Some interesting stats from that graph, LSU -- who won the championship in 2019 -- has a remarkably low average rank of 13.02, while Oregon -- who has never won a title -- comes in at 8.16 for its average rank.
In fact, LSU is the only former champion who has an average rank outside the Top 10. Additionally, there are 13 teams on this list who have been consistently ranked by the committee but have never won a title, with 10 of those teams never even making it to the championship game.
Does this demonstrate that one of the main goals of the playoff -- to give more teams a shot at a championship -- hasn't panned out?
It will be interesting to see how planned expansion of the playoffs affects this list in future years.