2014 NCAA Playoff Points Rankings: Week 12

After a day delay from going to a fight and seeing a hockey game break out, I'm back to look at college football.

I'm also a little disappointed today. Division III announced its playoff field on Sunday, and unfortunately, North Central didn't make the field. At 8-2, they were kind of a long shot, so I can understand them not making it. Instead, I get to watch Wheaton represent the CCIW by beating the stuffing out of Benedictine, then root like hell against them because they stole the Bell. (Rightfully won, but whatever).

In the FBS ranks, a lot of chaos ensued and we're down to only two undefeated teams. That will cause some changes in the Death to the BCS Playoffs, which saw some difference with the College Football Playoff Selection Committee. Most of the damage stayed within conference boundaries, though there were some significant games out of conference as well. Last week's numbers will see some changes, but will the rankings be any different?

You can refer back to how Playoff Points work here. Let's run the numbers.


American Athletic
Wins: 4.18 (11th; LW: 11th)
PP1: 11.82 (10th; LW:9th)
PP2: 7.04 (9th; LW: 9th)

ACC
Wins: 5.86 (4th; LW: T-3rd)
PP1: 24.21 (4th; LW: 3rd)
PP2: 14.42 (4th; LW: 3rd)

Big 10
Wins: 6.00 (3rd; LW: T-3rd)
PP1: 25.00 (3rd; LW: 4th)
PP2: 14.94 (2nd; LW: 4th)

Big XII
Wins: 5.60 (5th; LW: 5th)
PP1: 21.80 (5th; LW: 5th)
PP2: 14.01 (5th; LW: 2nd)

Conference USA
Wins: 4.92 (8th; LW: 8th)
PP1: 16.85 (8th; LW: 8th)
PP2: 10.08 (7th; LW: 7th)

Independents
Wins: 5.25 (T-6th; LW: 7th)
PP1: 21.50 (6th; LW: 6th)
PP2: 11.63 (6th; LW: 6th)

MAC
Wins: 4.54 (9th; LW: 9th)
PP1: 12.08 (9th; LW: 10th)
PP2: 6.64 (10th; LW: 10th)

Mountain West
Wins: 5.25 (T-6th; LW: 6th)
PP1: 17.58 (7th; LW: 7th)
PP2: 9.04 (8th; LW: 8th)

Pac 12
Wins: 6.08 (2nd; LW: 2nd)
PP1: 26.08 (2nd; LW: 2nd)
PP2: 14.74 (3rd; LW: 5th)

SEC
Wins: 6.50 (1st; LW: 1st)
PP1: 31.07 (1st; LW: 1st)
PP2: 17.94 (1st; LW: 1st)

Sun Belt
Wins: 4.27 (10th; LW: 10th)
PP1: 10.45 (11th; LW: 11th)
PP2: 3.59 (11th; LW: 11th)

Note: While I round all numbers to the nearest hundredth for the purpose of convenience, the independents were they their own conference and the Mountain West have identical average win totals.

Photo by Buthch Dill (AP)

To no real surprise, most of the rankings stayed the same, though there were some pretty major swaps near the top in PP2. Every conference is now over 10 PP1 as well, which was really just a matter of time. Alabama became the first team in 2014 to hit 50 First Degree Playoff Points with their win over Mississippi State. Nine other teams have at least 40 PP1, while 17 others have at least 30 PP1. In Second Degree Playoff Points, Auburn still leads the way with a score of 27, with eight other teams having at least 20 PP2. If you want to see the full numbers for each individual team, you can view my spreadsheet here.

Photo by Brian Spurlock (USA TODAY Sports)

This begs the question: how would be seed the playoffs now? We lost one of the three remaining unbeaten teams, raising the number of one-loss teams to seven. Can we justify having them all make the Death to the BCS Playoffs? And what about the bevy of two-loss teams? How does each conference look right now? If you have thoughts about who should make the playoffs and where they should be seeded 1-16, leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Check back later this afternoon once I've crunched the numbers and reveal your Week 12 version of the Death to the BCS Playoffs!