The College Football Playoff rankings officially took over for the BCS in 2014, but what if that weren’t the case? Here’s how 2021’s first rankings would look.
Yes, the Georgia Bulldogs would’ve been No. 1 regardless of the system in place, but other than that, boy would there have been a number of changes.
The first major surprise, for one, was the ranking of Oklahoma at No. 8. The Sooners haven’t passed the eye test just yet, and despite their undefeated record, Kirk Herbstreit described OU as “bored” on ESPN’s selection show.
The Georgia-Alabama pairing as the top-ranked teams in the country once again opens up the door for SEC bias, despite the fact that the Crimson Tide have shown flaws at times against both Texas A&M and Florida.
The committee valued Michigan State’s victory over No. 7 Michigan, putting them at No. 3 in the rankings.
The largest disappointment, however, came at the hands of Cincinnati, who doesn’t even control its own destiny. The Bearcats have tried to ‘schedule up’, but not being in a Power-5 conference continues to impact them, and all Group of 5 teams. Cincy had to settle for No. 6, despite an undefeated record and win over No. 10 Notre Dame.
College Football Playoff: How would BCS rank the teams?
The BCS, per our friends at BCS Know How, would rank the teams as so.
Cincinnati and Oklahoma would’ve had a major advantage in the system of old, rather than in the current CFP rankings, in which they’re ranked No. 6 and No. 8, respectively, despite having undefeated records.
The committee has a clear bias for Power-5, but still ranked Cincinnati higher than any previous Group-of-5 team. At No. 6, they still have a chance to make the playoff should the chips fall in their favor.