About CFB Ranked
CFB Ranked is built by one person who is not a fan of human judgment deciding who the best team is. This site replaces ballots with logic — pure math applied the same way to all 138 FBS teams.
Why this exists
College football deserves a ranking you can argue with using facts, not feelings. Traditional polls mix results with reputation, conference stereotypes, and whatever storyline fits a Saturday broadcast. I wanted the opposite: a system where only the formula decides, every team plays by the same rules, and every change can be traced.
- One builder — not a committee, not a media panel
- No human ballots — the Top 25 is not voted on
- Open data — ratings, audits, and CSVs are published
Polls vs. math
Most rankings you see were never designed to be neutral. They were designed to be discussed. CFB Ranked was designed to be checked.
Opinion, packaged as order
Voters rank who they believe is best. Bias, TV deals, and what sells shape a lot of those lists — sometimes quietly, sometimes obviously. The same team can move up or down with no new information, just a new narrative.
Logic, applied evenly
Every team gets a rating number. Games update that number based on performance versus expectation — not hype. Sort all 138 FBS teams by rating and the Top 25 writes itself. No conference bonus. No reputation carryover unless results earn it.
What drives a lot of polls
This is not a rant against anyone who votes. It is an explanation of why a math-first alternative matters.
Human judgment
Voters decide who they think is best. That sounds fair until two people watch the same game and disagree — then the ranking becomes opinion with a logo on it.
Bias and reputation
Brand names, last year’s narrative, and “they always look good on TV” creep in. Programs with history get the benefit of the doubt; upstarts have to prove it twice.
TV deals and storylines
What sells drives a lot of what you see on screen. Rankings that follow the conversation often reward the teams networks already planned to feature.
No audit trail
When a team jumps six spots, you rarely get a line-by-line explanation. You get a number and a shrug.
What you will find here
CFB Ranked is a full ratings system — preseason inputs, weekly updates, opponent modeling, and public exports. Not just a Top 25 graphic.
Weekly FBS poll
All 138 teams ranked every publish week. The Top 25 is whoever rates highest — not a separate vote.
Team pages
Game-by-game rating movement, preseason inputs, and links to downloadable data for every FBS program.
FCS opponent pool
Strength ratings for the 100 FCS teams scheduled against FBS opponents — used in margin math, not a national FCS poll. Open page →
CSV downloads
Weekly ratings snapshots and game audit files so anyone can verify the numbers behind the rankings.
What we stand for
The goal is simple: remove judgment from the ranking and leave the arguing to the field. You can still disagree with the model — but you will know exactly what it did and why.