HDuck No. 1 Share Posted January 21 1-Ohio St 2-Notre Dame 3-Oregon - only one-loss team 4-Texas 5-Penn St 6-UGA 7-Arizona St 8-Boise St 9-Tennessee 10-Indiana Giving the Championship Game loser favorable ranking over one-loss teams is not without precedent, for example: In 2022, it was Georgia TCU 13-2 Michigan 13-1 In 2014 Ohio St Oregon 13-2 TCU 12-1 In 2013 Florida St Auburn 12-2 Mich State 13-1 Prior to 1968, there was no final ranking after bowl games. For example, in 1964 Alabama was No. 1 in the last poll, then lost to Texas in the Orange Bowl. But, it retained its No. 1 historical ranking because there was no voting after the bowls. No. 2 Arkansas was undefeated after Cotton Bowl and had beat Texas in Austin. Arkansas stayed at No. 2 in the AP and UPI polls, but was designated No. 1 by Helms, Billingsley and some other "pollsters." From the first ranking in 1936 until 1968, Alabama was not the only "national champion" at the end of November who subsequently lost in early January. But, I use Arkansas situation of a program that doesn't have an AP national title, but probably should in today's poll environment. Ohio State has now finished in the AP Top Two 14 times. The most of any program. Six No. 1's, and eight No. 2's. When Ohio State declares they have won more than six titles, they are including non-AP final rankings. The Ducks have been No. 2 three times, and No. 3 two times. The three No. 2's is matched by Washington. Neither program has an AP No. 1 final ranking. Oregon's 2's seasons: 2014, 2012, 2001. Oregon's 3's: 2024, 2010. Washington's No. 2's: 2023, 1991, 1984. UW's No. 3: 2000. The USA Today Coaches Poll puts Texas (3) ahead of Oregon (4) and Tennessee (8) ahead of Boise St (9) The AFCA coaches poll has not been released yet. 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDuck Author No. 2 Share Posted January 21 12 of the 56 AP Poll voters had Penn State above Oregon. PSU did beat SMU and Boise St in the Playoff...so there is that I suppose. AP champions who lost to team that finished unranked since final poll moved to after bowl games in 1968: 2024 Ohio St (Michigan) 2016 Clemson (Pitt) 2014 Ohio St (Va Tech) 2007 LSU (Kentucky/Arkansas) 2003 USC (Cal) 1982 Penn St (Alabama) 1977 Notre Dame (Ole Miss) 1975 Oklahoma (Kansas) 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Sousa No. 3 Share Posted January 22 3 is good! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck Moderator No. 4 Share Posted January 22 On 1/21/2025 at 4:02 PM, Jon Sousa said: 3 is good! Not having UW "academic prowess" I think only 2 or something are better. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Sousa No. 5 Share Posted January 22 On 1/21/2025 at 4:09 PM, 30Duck said: Not having UW "academic prowess" I think only 2 or something are better. Hmmmmmmm. I'm going to have to spend the evening scratching out the math... 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 6 Share Posted January 22 Wait Until THIS Year! Lots of roster turnover but OBD will be in the hunt. First 12-team College Football Playoff delivered massive success, but flawed seeding model must be addressed - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM The expanded CFP brought the national spotlight to more programs, but glaring flaw remains Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 7 Share Posted January 22 As OBD fans know, it's not how you start but how you finish. But you can count on two things. A team with a Blue Chip Roster will win the 2025-26 playoff and it will most likely be a team ranked in the first iteration of the AP top 10. College football rankings: Tight race for preseason No. 1 serves as key storyline entering 2025 season - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM Ohio State, Texas rank among top contenders for preseason No. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 8 Share Posted January 22 The B1G Comes Up B1G! Big Ten makes history in final AP college football poll WWW.YARDBARKER.COM The Big Ten Conference has to be feeling pretty good about itself right now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 9 Share Posted January 22 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck Moderator No. 10 Share Posted January 22 Hmm, amusing isn't the word I use. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDuck Author No. 11 Share Posted January 22 Chris Vannini - writer for The Athletic I realized how difficult this exercise would be when I concluded Oregon should be No. 2. I had Notre Dame here initially, as the final AP Top 25 did. But as I went back through, the Oregon case was fairly simple on paper. Oregon has a win over Ohio State, unlike Notre Dame. It has four top-15 wins in total and has the fewest losses, none of which came against Northern Illinois. The 41-21 Rose Bowl loss to Ohio State may ultimately be how people remember this Oregon team, but the regular season still matters, to me at least. Notre Dame’s run to the final was thrilling, impressive and earned. But the rest of the Irish resume was lacking. Oregon didn’t win a CFP game but had three wins over CFP teams (Ohio State, Penn State and Boise State), same as Notre Dame. Against common opponents (Ohio State and Penn State), Oregon looked better, and the Rose Bowl blowout loss to Ohio State is still better than the home loss to Northern Illinois, in my opinion. 1 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 12 Share Posted January 22 Lame Kitten, er, Lane Kiffin could not stop whining about his 3-loss team, home loss to 4-8 Kentucky, road losses to 9-4 LSU and 8-5 Florida, not being in the PO field. Kiffin finally stopped his withching when 2-loss Tennessee was blown up by The Ohio State University and after Michigan defeated Bama for the second time in 2024 and 9-3 at the time Illinois defeated higher ranked 9-3 South Carolina. Ole Miss was scheduled to open the 2025 season versus USC in the Coli. The two teams agreed to cancel the scheduled two game series. SC, I get it. The Trojans in 2025 will play Nine conference games including PO No. 1 seed Oregon in Eugene and will also play PO runner-up Notre Dame in South Bend. Ole Miss will play Eight conference games. The Rebels four out-of-conference games: Georgia State; Tulane; The () Citadel; and Pac-Whatever WASHINGTON STATE. WAZZU! All games will be 'contested' in Oxford, Mississippi. Lane, how about STFU! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck Moderator No. 13 Share Posted January 22 On 1/22/2025 at 11:06 AM, HDuck said: I realized how difficult this exercise would be when I concluded Oregon should be No. 2. I had Notre Dame here initially, as the final AP Top 25 did. But as I went back through, the Oregon case was fairly simple on paper. Oregon has a win over Ohio State, unlike Notre Dame. It has four top-15 wins in total and has the fewest losses, none of which came against Northern Illinois. The 41-21 Rose Bowl loss to Ohio State may ultimately be how people remember this Oregon team, but the regular season still matters, to me at least. A perfect summation of why Oregon should be No.2. The voters either went on precedent of automatically giving No.2 to the loser of the Championship game, or recency bias, and all they saw about Oregon was the Rose Bowl. Both are negligent, and as Vannini opines, the regular season is becoming unimportant. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatOrlando No. 14 Share Posted January 23 Much respect to Notre Dame. I think as long as Freeman is there they are going to be a threat. Better hope the NFL doesn't entice either him or Ryan Day in the future. Freeman would be the first guy Ohio State would call and probably the only college gig he would leave Notre Dame for. Good news is Day likely isn't going anywhere because he's already making boatloads and has job security for life now. Notre Dame needs to have their scheduling looked at going forward if they are going to continue being independent. With the SEC and B1G looking to change the format I think they need to let Notre Dame know that they will have to schedule a couple games against some SEC or B1G programs like Indiana, Oregon, South Carolina or Ole Miss. I don't know if it happens but yearly they will have an easier path and will keep all the profits from their CFP appearances while everyone else has to share. I enjoy traditions and Notre Dame has a million of them. But they have to make a few concessions because a SEC/B1G playoff doesn't need Notre Dame. But we as fans benefit from having them in it. Just like having a Boise or ASU, just not as the three and four seeds. Imagine a Boise vs SMU or ASU vs Tennessee first round matchup. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 15 Share Posted January 23 From Michigan site Maize + Brew, a list of B1G teams ranked in major media preseason Top 25 rankings. OBD is in the top 10 of every ranking, except USA Today which has OBD at 11. (I've canceled my subscription!) Where Michigan Football lands in way-too-early top-25 rankings for 2025 season WWW.MAIZENBREW.COM Now that the 2024 college football season is over, it’s everyone’s favorite time of the year: way-too-early szn. Today, we roundup all the national media coverage on where they currently rank... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck Moderator No. 16 Share Posted January 23 On 1/23/2025 at 9:09 AM, Jon Joseph said: OBD is in the top 10 of every ranking, except USA Today which has OBD at 11. (I've canceled my subscription!) USA Today doesn't have Indiana in their Too Early 25 at all, and they're not too high in the others. Too Early Top 25s Don’t Demonstrate Faith In Indiana Football Repeat In 2025 WWW.SI.COM Despite several key players returning from a historic 2024 season, the “too early” predictions don’t expect Indiana to reach its 2024... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 17 Share Posted January 23 U(s) S(ec) A(ppreciate!) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 18 Share Posted January 25 2025 Preseason Top 25 Composite Rankings. Composite college football top 25 rankings for 2025: Texas, Ohio State lead Way-Too-Early lists WWW.SPORTINGNEWS.COM The Arch Manning effect is real. Six B1G teams are in the composite top 25. 2. Ohio State/ 3. Penn State (as of now, OBD is a 3.5 favorite at Penn State) / 6. OREGON/ 14. Illinois/ 19. Michigan/ 21. Indiana. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 19 Share Posted January 25 Based on variances in The Sporting News Composite Rankings, Alabama, BYU, Illinois, LSU, and Miami are 2025's Boom or Bust Teams. Alabama, LSU, Miami lead college football's boom-or-bust teams in 2025 WWW.SPORTINGNEWS.COM Opinions vary widely on Alabama, LSU, Miami, Illinois and BYU when it comes to the Way-Too-Early Top 25 projections. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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