2022 Final Season Grades

Dead Dreams, Drama, and Dabo’s Mistake

For anyone who expected a mediocre weekend of championship games, the college football gods delivered the opposite. USC and TCU both had opportunities to stamp their tickets to the College Football Playoff, and both teams failed to win their respective conferences. USC, virtue of their now 11-2 record, is no longer in playoff contention. However, the TCU loss has thrown the CFP into a chaotic state. With TCU, Ohio State, and Alabama contending for the final two spots, who should get in? Well, the Buckeyes look to be sitting pretty, with just the lone loss coming to Michigan. With the USC loss, they will presumably move up into the top four. Then, it gets messier. By virtue of their 12-1 record, 12-0 regular season record, and decent strength of schedule, TCU deserves to be in. Yet, on the field, despite their 10-2 record, it is hard argue against the fact that Alabama is the better football team. So, will TCU fall far enough to push Alabama into the top four? Who should be in? In my opinion, TCU deserves the 4th spot, however, the committee can do whatever they like. After all, they call it a “playoff,” but in reality the CFP is a glorified invitational gate-kept by a dozen neatly dressed executives in a Grapevine, Texas, conference room. The rankings this season have shown us that their said criteria for ranking teams is nothing but the evidence of hypocrisy. Regardless of who does end up in the playoff though, it is setting up to feature some enthralling storylines and matchups. Oh, and none of this would have mattered if Dabo Swinney would have started Cade Klubnik the entire season, as he torched the Tar Heels in the ACC title game. Maybe, just maybe, the Tigers would have snuck in the back door with QB performances like that all season.

1Georgia A++
2Michigan A+
3TCU A
4Ohio State A
5Tennessee A
6Alabama A-
7Clemson A-
8Penn State A-
9Kansas State A-
10USC A-
11Texas B+
12Oregon B+
13Florida State B+
14Utah B+
15Washington B+
16LSU B+
17Oregon State B+
18Tulane B+
19Troy B
20UCLA B
21Mississippi State B
22Notre Dame B
23Ole Miss B
24South Carolina B
25UT San Antonio B
26NC State B
27South Alabama B-
28Texas Tech B-
29North Carolina B-
30Louisville B-
31Kentucky B-
32Cincinnati B-
33Wake Forest B-
34Pittsburgh B-
35Illinois B-
36Oklahoma State B-
37Syracuse B-
38James Madison B-
39Coastal Carolina B-
40Marshall B-
41UCF B-
42Florida B-
43Minnesota B-
44Purdue C+
45Washington State C+
46Maryland C+
47Oklahoma C+
48Kansas C+
49Baylor C+
50Arkansas C+
51Duke C+
52Missouri C+
53Fresno State C+
54SMU C+
55Iowa C+
56Boise State C+
57Air Force C+
58Houston C+
59BYU C+
60Auburn C
61Ohio C
62East Carolina C
63West Virginia C
64Wisconsin C
65Liberty C
66Appalachian State C
67Western Kentucky C
68Michigan State C
69Vanderbilt C
70Texas A&M C
71Toledo C
72Iowa State C
73Memphis C
74Arizona C
75Georgia Tech C
76Louisiana C-
77San José State C-
78San Diego State C-
79Southern Mississippi C-
80Georgia Southern C-
81Wyoming C-
82Army C-
83Eastern Michigan C-
84UAB C-
85North Texas C-
86Miami C-
87Connecticut C-
88Middle Tennessee C-
89California C-
90Indiana C-
91Bowling Green D+
92Kent State D+
93Buffalo D+
94Utah State D+
95Navy D+
96Stanford D+
97Tulsa D+
98Rutgers D+
99Miami (OH) D+
100Nebraska D+
101Georgia State D+
102Louisiana Monroe D+
103Arizona State D+
104Ball State D+
105Rice D
106Florida Atlantic D
107Virginia D
108New Mexico State D
109UNLV D
110Boston College D
111Western Michigan D
112UTEP D
113Virginia Tech D
114Texas State D
115Central Michigan D
116Old Dominion D
117Arkansas State D-
118Colorado D-
119Louisiana Tech D-
120Temple D-
121Florida InternationalF+
122Northern Illinois F+
123Northwestern F+
124Colorado State F+
125Hawai’i F+
126Akron F+
127Charlotte F+
128South Florida F+
129New Mexico F
130Nevada F
131UMass F-

2022 Season Grades After Regular Season

Hail to the Victors

It has been a remarkable season in college football. Filled with upsets, new emerging contenders, and many memorable moments on the field, as well as new developments in transfers, NIL, conference realignment, playoff expansion, and so much more. The landscape of college football may be changing, but the reasons we love it so much are still ever-present every fall Saturday afternoon. That said, the final week of the regular season had one last shock in store: the dethronement of Ohio State as the best team in the Big Ten. The Michigan Wolverines, after a historic drought, have now beaten Ohio State two years running, and convincingly so. The algorithm was never sure about Michigan this year— between their abismal non-conference schedule and their sometimes less than convincing performances, but the Wolverines proved their worthiness at the top of college football when the stakes were highest. There is one other situation to address in the algorithm this week: the continual overrating of Texas. As a four loss team in the middle of the congested Big 12, the Longhorns have one main argument to being ranked so highly— their close loss to Alabama. For whatever reason, the algorithm sees this, and to be fair, the rest of their relatively daunting schedule, as justification to leapfrog the Longhorns so high. If anything, Texas displays the truth to one common narrative about this year— the existence of relative equality between the few at the top and then a drop-off to the next twenty to thirty teams. Sure, Texas doesn’t deserve their grade compared to their surroundings, and I will certainly be addressing that before next season, but Texas isn’t all that different from anyone around them. So then, how elite are those lucky few at the top? Well, luckily, the results of bowl and playoff games will be a major test of that.

1Georgia A++
2TCU A+
3Michigan A
4Ohio State A
5USC A
6Alabama A
7Tennessee A
8Kansas State A-
9Penn State A-
10Clemson A-
11Texas A-
12Oregon B+
13LSU B+
14Utah B+
15Washington B+
16Florida State B+
17Oregon State B+
18UCLA B+
19Tulane B+
20Mississippi State B
21Notre Dame B
22Troy B
23Ole Miss B
24South Carolina B
25North Carolina B
26Texas Tech B
27NC State B
28UT San Antonio B
29UCF B
30South Alabama B
31Louisville B-
32Cincinnati B-
33Oklahoma State B-
34Kentucky B-
35Pittsburgh B-
36Coastal Carolina B-
37Illinois B-
38Wake Forest B-
39Syracuse B-
40James Madison B-
41Purdue B-
42Kansas B-
43Oklahoma B-
44Washington State B-
45Florida B-
46Baylor B-
47Minnesota B-
48Marshall B-
49Boise State B-
50Maryland C+
51Duke C+
52Arkansas C+
53SMU C+
54Missouri C+
55Iowa C+
56Ohio C+
57Fresno State C+
58Air Force C+
59Houston C+
60BYU C+
61East Carolina C+
62Auburn C+
63West Virginia C
64Wisconsin C
65Liberty C
66Western Kentucky C
67Iowa State C
68Michigan State C
69Memphis C
70Texas A&M C
71Vanderbilt C
72Arizona C
73Appalachian State C
74Georgia Tech C
75Louisiana C-
76San José State C-
77San Diego State C-
78North Texas C-
79Southern Mississippi C-
80Georgia Southern C-
81Wyoming C-
82Toledo C-
83UAB C-
84Miami C-
85Eastern Michigan C-
86California C-
87Army C-
88Middle Tennessee C-
89Connecticut C-
90Indiana C-
91Bowling Green D+
92Kent State D+
93Utah State D+
94Navy D+
95Stanford D+
96Tulsa D+
97Miami (OH) D+
98Nebraska D+
99Rutgers D+
100Arizona State D+
101Georgia State D+
102Buffalo D+
103Florida Atlantic D+
104Rice D+
105Louisiana Monroe D+
106Virginia D+
107Ball State D+
108UNLV D
109Boston College D
110Western Michigan D
111UTEP D
112Virginia Tech D
113Texas State D
114New Mexico State D
115Central Michigan D
116Old Dominion D
117Arkansas State D-
118Colorado D-
119Temple D-
120Louisiana Tech D-
121Florida InternationalF+
122Colorado State F+
123Northern Illinois F+
124Northwestern F+
125Akron F+
126Hawai’i F+
127South Florida F+
128Charlotte F+
129New Mexico F+
130Nevada F
131UMass F-

2022 Season Grades After Week 11

Super-Frogs and the Not-So-Super-PAC 12:

After the yearly tradition of PAC 12 playoff hopeful cannibalization played out on Saturday, Oregon and UCLA both take tumbles in the rankings. The Oregon Ducks, after a heartbreaking loss to hated rival Washington, stay in the top 15 due to their performance since the loss to Georgia in week 1. UCLA, on the other hand, takes a longer tumble after a loss to a mediocre Arizona team, and a resume marred by close games that cannot hold them close to the top. In Austin, the TCU Horned Frogs proved their case to be a playoff contender by dominating the Texas offense all night long. The final score indicates a closer game, which is why the model still has Texas so high, but in reality TCU walked away with this game with superior play in the second half. The TCU resume, despite their closer games, finally is more impressive to the model than the Ohio State on field performance, and as such, the Frogs find themselves sitting at number 2 in these season grades.

1Georgia A++
2TCU A+
3Ohio State A+
4Tennessee A
5Alabama A
6Michigan A
7Clemson A-
8USC A-
9LSU A-
10Utah A-
11Penn State A-
12Kansas State A-
13Oregon A-
14North Carolina B+
15Texas B+
16Ole Miss B+
17UCLA B+
18Florida State B+
19Washington B+
20Notre Dame B+
21UCF B+
22Oklahoma State B+
23Oregon State B
24Mississippi State B
25Tulane B
26NC State B
27Troy B
28Kansas B
29Coastal Carolina B
30Louisville B
31Florida B
32South Alabama B
33Cincinnati B-
34Wake Forest B-
35Syracuse B-
36UT San Antonio B-
37Baylor B-
38Illinois B-
39Texas Tech B-
40Minnesota B-
41Liberty B-
42Washington State B-
43Kentucky B-
44Oklahoma B-
45Duke C+
46Purdue C+
47SMU C+
48Iowa C+
49Maryland C+
50Pittsburgh C+
51East Carolina C+
52James Madison C+
53Arkansas C+
54South Carolina C+
55Marshall C+
56Toledo C+
57Houston C+
58Boise State C+
59Iowa State C+
60Michigan State C+
61BYU C
62Air Force C
63Wisconsin C
64Fresno State C
65Ohio C
66Appalachian State C
67Memphis C
68Missouri C
69Auburn C
70Western Kentucky C
71West Virginia C
72San José State C
73Arizona C
74San Diego State C
75Wyoming C
76Louisiana C-
77Miami C-
78North Texas C-
79Connecticut C-
80Southern Mississippi C-
81UAB C-
82Georgia Southern C-
83Stanford C-
84Vanderbilt C-
85Texas A&M C-
86Georgia Tech C-
87Florida Atlantic C-
88Ball State C-
89Arizona State C-
90Buffalo D+
91California D+
92Rutgers D+
93Georgia State D+
94Kent State D+
95Louisiana Monroe D+
96Rice D+
97Army D+
98Indiana D+
99Eastern Michigan D+
100Central Michigan D+
101Utah State D+
102UNLV D+
103Boston College D+
104Middle Tennessee D+
105Bowling Green D+
106Virginia D+
107Navy D
108Nebraska D
109Tulsa D
110Old Dominion D
111Texas State D
112Miami (OH) D
113Arkansas State D
114Louisiana Tech D-
115UTEP D-
116Northern Illinois D-
117Virginia Tech D-
118Temple D-
119Colorado D-
120Florida InternationalD-
121Western Michigan D-
122New Mexico State D-
123Northwestern F+
124South Florida F+
125New Mexico F+
126Colorado State F
127Hawai’i F
128Nevada F
129Akron F
130Charlotte F
132UMass F-

2022 Season Grades After Week 10

The Best and the Rest:

The Georgia Bulldogs have separated themselves at the top of college football. Their resume and strength of schedule grades finally have the big game to prove to the computers what the human eye has seen for a while. Along with a shaky Buckeyes performance, the Bulldogs have flipped the top of the rankings and do not intend to look back. Yet, after a heartbreaking overtime loss in Death Valley, Alabama still sits at number 6 as a team that is two plays away from being 5-4. Why? On the flip side, they are two plays away from being 9-0 and possibly the number 1 team in the country. The resume is not great for Alabama, but their performance rating has plenty of merit. Remember, in terms of performance, close road losses mean the same as close home wins to the computer, and Alabama has two of those. Furthermore, the separation between the Tide and number 13 Ole Miss is marginal, with cases to be made for all 8 teams in that region to be ranked anywhere. Alabama certainly does not deserve to be ranked any higher than they are, but the model asserts that there is no definite argument that they should be any lower, either.

1Georgia A+
2Ohio State A+
3TCU A+
4Tennessee A
5Michigan A
6Alabama A-
7Clemson A-
8Oregon A-
9USC A-
10UCLA A-
11LSU A-
12Utah A-
13Ole Miss A-
14Texas B+
15Penn State B+
16Kansas State B+
17Notre Dame B+
18North Carolina B+
19NC State B+
20Tulane B+
21Kansas B+
22Mississippi State B+
23Florida State B
24Oklahoma State B
25UCF B
26Louisville B
27Washington B
28Syracuse B
29Baylor B
30Illinois B
31Wake Forest B
32Troy B
33Liberty B
34Coastal Carolina B
35Oregon State B
36South Alabama B
37Kentucky B
38Oklahoma B-
39Cincinnati B-
40Florida B-
41UT San Antonio B-
42East Carolina B-
43South Carolina B-
44Maryland B-
45Minnesota B-
46Arkansas B-
47Washington State B-
48Duke C+
49Texas Tech C+
50SMU C+
51Iowa State C+
52Houston C+
53Iowa C+
54Pittsburgh C+
55Wisconsin C+
56James Madison C+
57Appalachian State C+
58Purdue C+
59BYU C+
60Marshall C+
61Toledo C
62Boise State C
63San José State C
64Michigan State C
65Missouri C
66Air Force C
67Memphis C
68North Texas C
69Georgia Southern C
70Fresno State C
71Ohio C
72Auburn C
73Southern Mississippi C
74Wyoming C
75Stanford C-
76Western Kentucky C-
77Texas A&M C-
78Georgia Tech C-
79West Virginia C-
80Georgia State C-
81Buffalo C-
82Arizona State C-
83Louisiana C-
84California C-
85Miami C-
86Ball State C-
87UAB C-
88Rice C-
89San Diego State C-
90Connecticut C-
91Bowling Green C-
92Rutgers C-
93Arizona C-
94Virginia D+
95Army D+
96UNLV D+
97Vanderbilt D+
98Florida Atlantic D+
99Indiana D+
100Old Dominion D+
101Eastern Michigan D+
102Navy D+
103Louisiana Monroe D+
104Nebraska D+
105Kent State D+
106Tulsa D+
107Miami (OH) D
108Utah State D
109Central Michigan D
110Middle Tennessee D
111Texas State D
112Louisiana Tech D
113Boston College D
114Arkansas State D
115Virginia Tech D-
116UTEP D-
117Temple D-
118Western Michigan D-
119Florida InternationalD-
120Northwestern D-
121Colorado D-
122Northern Illinois D-
123South Florida D-
124New Mexico F+
125New Mexico State F+
126Akron F
127Charlotte F
128Colorado State F
129Nevada F
130Hawai’i F
131UMass F-

2022 Season Grades After Week 9

Tiger Rag-Doll:

A great example of how these grades are calculated is looking at the change in the Clemson Tigers’ grade from last week to this week. After a close win over a previously unbeaten Syracuse, Clemson found themselves all the way up at number 2. However, after a bye week, they have dropped all the way to number 6. Why? Their resume took a massive hit while they were not on the field: Wake Forest and Syracuse were both soundly beaten by inferior competition. These games did not feature that orange paw on one of the teams’ helmets, but they affected Clemson all the same. So, given some massive SEC matchups this week, expect a lot of movement from the algorithm next week.

1Ohio State A+
2TCU A+
3Georgia A+
4Tennessee A+
5Alabama A
6Clemson A
7Michigan A
8USC A-
9Oregon A-
10Kansas State A-
11UCLA A-
12Ole Miss B+
13LSU B+
14Oklahoma State B+
15Utah B+
16Penn State B+
17Syracuse B+
18Tulane B+
19Illinois B+
20North Carolina B+
21Texas B+
22NC State B+
23Wake Forest B+
24Mississippi State B
25Oregon State B
26Notre Dame B
27Florida State B
28Oklahoma B
29Kansas B
30Troy B
31UCF B
32Louisville B
33Maryland B-
34Liberty B-
35Baylor B-
36Washington B-
37Coastal Carolina B-
38Arkansas B-
39South Alabama B-
40Cincinnati B-
41East Carolina B-
42Kentucky B-
43UT San Antonio B-
44James Madison B-
45Purdue B-
46Houston B-
47Texas Tech B-
48South Carolina C+
49Appalachian State C+
50Minnesota C+
51Florida C+
52Duke C+
53Boise State C+
54Southern Mississippi C+
55Missouri C+
56Washington State C+
57SMU C
58Georgia Southern C
59San José State C
60Toledo C
61Memphis C
62Iowa State C
63Texas A&M C
64Marshall C
65Iowa C
66BYU C
67Wisconsin C
68Pittsburgh C
69Stanford C
70Air Force C
71Auburn C
72Wyoming C
73North Texas C
74Ohio C
75West Virginia C-
76Fresno State C-
77Miami C-
78Western Kentucky C-
79Michigan State C-
80UAB C-
81Louisiana C-
82Buffalo C-
83Arizona State C-
84Georgia Tech C-
85Ball State C-
86Army C-
87Vanderbilt C-
88Rutgers C-
89Virginia C-
90UNLV D+
91Rice D+
92Bowling Green D+
93Arizona D+
94Connecticut D+
95Indiana D+
96California D+
97Georgia State D+
98Florida Atlantic D+
99Middle Tennessee D+
100Old Dominion D+
101San Diego State D+
102Nebraska D+
103Texas State D+
104Eastern Michigan D+
105Navy D+
106Tulsa D
107Kent State D
108Central Michigan D
109Miami (OH) D
110Louisiana Monroe D
111UTEP D
112Utah State D
113Boston College D
114Arkansas State D
115Florida InternationalD
116Virginia Tech D
117Louisiana Tech D-
118South Florida D-
119Western Michigan D-
120Northern Illinois D-
121Colorado F+
122New Mexico F+
123Temple F+
124Northwestern F+
125New Mexico State F+
126Charlotte F+
127Colorado State F
128Hawai’i F
129Akron F
130Nevada F
131UMass F-

2022 Season Grades After Week 8

Inside the Matrix:

When looking at these season grades, keep in mind how they are calculated. If you win games against good competition, a third of your grade will be high. If you win games by a large margin against good competition, a third of your grade will be high. And, if you have a clean record against a hard schedule, a third of your grade will be high. In the computer model, all games are weighed equally. So, one atrocious game counts the same as one amazing game, and three bad teams on your schedule cannot be erased by playing the best team in the country. Some may see that as a flaw in the system, but it ensures that every play matters. A team is as good as the sum of its parts, and as such, the Buckeyes top the first rankings based on the games that have been played thus far.

1Ohio State A+
2Clemson A+
3TCU A+
4Georgia A
5Tennessee A
6Alabama A
7USC A
8Michigan A-
9Syracuse A-
10Oklahoma State A-
11Oregon A-
12Wake Forest A-
13Ole Miss B+
14UCLA B+
15Penn State B+
16LSU B+
17Kansas State B+
18NC State B+
19Utah B+
20Texas B+
21Tulane B+
22Illinois B+
23Mississippi State B
24Oregon State B
25North Carolina B
26Liberty B
27Florida State B
28Texas Tech B
29Kentucky B
30Troy B
31Kansas B
32Cincinnati B
33Washington B-
34Maryland B-
35Oklahoma B-
36South Carolina B-
37UCF B-
38Notre Dame B-
39South Alabama B-
40Houston B-
41Louisville B-
42UT San Antonio B-
43James Madison B-
44Purdue B-
45Coastal Carolina B-
46Arkansas B-
47Florida B-
48East Carolina B-
49Baylor C+
50Duke C+
51Washington State C+
52Boise State C+
53Marshall C+
54San José State C+
55Iowa State C+
56Appalachian State C+
57Minnesota C+
58Toledo C
59Georgia Southern C
60Stanford C
61Memphis C
62Rice C
63Auburn C
64Pittsburgh C
65BYU C
66Texas A&M C
67Western Kentucky C
68Southern Mississippi C
69Louisiana C
70UAB C
71Buffalo C
72Wisconsin C
73SMU C
74Missouri C
75Iowa C
76Wyoming C
77Air Force C
78West Virginia C-
79Rutgers C-
80Georgia Tech C-
81Virginia C-
82Michigan State C-
83Fresno State C-
84Ohio C-
85Old Dominion C-
86Vanderbilt C-
87Arizona State C-
88North Texas C-
89Indiana C-
90Army C-
91San Diego State D+
92Arizona D+
93Miami D+
94Eastern Michigan D+
95UNLV D+
96California D+
97Bowling Green D+
98Nebraska D+
99Ball State D+
100Tulsa D+
101Connecticut D+
102Kent State D+
103Middle Tennessee D+
104Boston College D
105Texas State D
106Florida Atlantic D
107Arkansas State D
108Navy D
109UTEP D
110Louisiana Monroe D
111Georgia State D
112Miami (OH) D
113Louisiana Tech D
114Utah State D
115Central Michigan D
116Western Michigan D-
117Virginia Tech D-
118Northern Illinois D-
119South Florida D-
120Temple D-
121Florida InternationalD-
122Colorado D-
123Northwestern F+
124New Mexico F+
125Akron F+
126Colorado State F
127Hawai’i F
128UMass F
129New Mexico State F
130Nevada F
131Charlotte F-