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The College Football Playoff (CFP) Rankings are an extremely popular way for fans to understand the picture for the NCAA postseason in football but quickly skimming over who are the favorites, why they are, and who are the outsiders. But how do they work and who picks them?
An important distinction is that the AP College Football Poll is separate from the College Football Playoff Rankings, and is created by a of 62 sportswriters and broadcasters across the United States based on weekly rankings of the top 25 teams in the nation.
Teams receive points based on their placement by scoring 25 points for 1st, 24 for 2nd, etc... to judge who the 62 experts regard as the top team within NCAA football, eventually being ranked from best to worst.
Voters evaluate teams based on win-loss record, strength of schedule, head-to-head performance, and overall team performance and it is a dynamic process that is regularly updated from August through to the season end.
The system has existed since all the way back in 1934 but was adapted to the current system in 1936 after 1935 saw a three-way tie for the national championship, and it has since been released weekly.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers topped the first-ever AP poll in 1936, followed by the Duke Blue Devils, the Army Black Knights, and the Northwestern Wildcats, as the Gophers eventually went on to become champions.
And the AP predictions are normally quite accurate based on the records of the top seed against the second seed, with the top seat holding a W29, D2, L21 record through 52 matchups since the first back in 1943.
How does the CFB College Football ranking work?
The AP aren't the only ones who produce their poll, however. The CFP Selection Committee ranks its own top 25 based on similar conditions such as strength of schedule, results and common opponents.
The CFB specializes in the 12-team playoff format, which is made up of the five conference champions as well as the next seven highest-ranked teams to offer fans an insightful alternative prediction.
of the CFB board often have experience within college football as an executive, coach or even a player. Here is a list of those voting the Top 25 in 2024:
- Chris Ault (former head coach and athletics director at Nevada)
- Chet Gladchuk (athletics director, US Naval Academy)
- Jim Grobe (former head coach, Ohio University, Wake Forest and Baylor)
- Warde Manuel (chair) (athletics director for Michigan)
- Randall McDaniel (College and Pro Football Hall of Fame member and former All-American offensive lineman with Arizona State University)
- Gary Pinkel (former head coach, Toledo and Missouri)
- Mack Rhoades (athletics director for Baylor)
- Mike Riley (former college head coach, Oregon State and Nebraska, as well as head coach in the NFL, CFL, WLAF, AAF and USFL)
- David Sayler (athletics director, Miami (Ohio)
- Will Shields (College and Pro Football Hall of Fame member and former All-American offensive lineman with Nebraska)
- Kelly Whiteside (professor in Sports Media and Journalism, Montclair State; longtime sportswriter, USA Today, Sports Illustrated and Newsday)
- Carla Williams (athletics director for Virginia)
- Hunter Yurachek (Arkansas athletics director)