2016 NCAA Playoff Points: Week 2

Every Monday (or Tuesday in the event of a holiday weekend such as Columbus Day) I will be running this weekly feature. I touched on this topic back in my season preview post, but every week I am running through the results of every FBS-level college football game and crunching the numbers.

I do want to make note though that between when I wrote that and now, I did decide I wanted to add in another metric. Playoff Points don't measure losses, and that can be a problem. As such, I have created an Adjusted Playoff Points ranking, abbreviated "aPP." Similar to First Degree Playoff Points, I award teams points for the number of wins by teams they've beaten. In the adjusted version, those points remain, but I then subtract points for each loss by teams that have beaten a particular team. So for example, a 10-2 team is awarded points for each win by the ten teams they beat. Then I take the combined losses of the two teams they lost to, and subtract that from the win total. That final score is the Adjusted Playoff Points. Note that this means a score can be negative. I also want to clarify how FCS games work. Wins over FCS teams will still mean no points, but the loss penalty is doubled.

I will cover conference averages of these as well and include that rankings with PP1 and PP2. Adjusted Playoff Points will also be taken into account for the Death to the BCS Playoffs.

So below, I will go by conference and rank their averages of each of these metrics, including wins. The four independent schools will be combined into their own conference for this purpose as well. Let's get to it!


American Athletic
Wins: 1.42 (3rd)
PP1: 0.50 (T-6th)
PP2: 0.04 (T-5th)
aPP: 0.50 (T-4th)

ACC
Wins: 1.43 (2nd)
PP1: 0.79 (2nd)
PP2: 0.00 (T-8th)
aPP: 0.79 (1st)

Big Ten
Wins: 1.50 (1st)
PP1: 0.64 (5th)
PP2: 0.04 (7th)
aPP: 0.57 (3rd)

Big XII
Wins: 1.10 (7th)
PP1: 0.50 (T-6th)
PP2: 0.25 (3rd)
aPP: 0.20 (7th)

Conference USA
Wins: 0.92 (9th)
PP1: 0.08 (11th)
PP2: 0.09 (4th)
aPP: -0.31 (11th)

Independents
Wins: 1.00 (8th)
PP1: 0.75 (3rd)
PP2: 0.00 (T-8th)
aPP: 0.50 (T-4th)

MAC
Wins: 0.92 (10th)
PP1: 0.17 (10th)
PP2: 0.00 (T-8th)
aPP: -0.25 (T-9th)

Mountain West
Wins: 1.25 (T-5th)
PP1: 0.25 (9th)
PP2: 0.04 (T-5th)
aPP: -0.25 (T-9th)

Pac-12
Wins: 1.25 (T-5th)
PP1: 0.67 (4th)
PP2: 0.00 (T-8th)
aPP: 0.42 (6th)

SEC
Wins: 1.36 (4th)
PP1: 0.86 (1st)
PP2: 0.31 (1st)
aPP: 0.64 (2nd)

Sun Belt
Wins: 0.91 (11th)
PP1: 0.45 (8th)
PP2: 0.28 (2nd)
aPP: 0.09 (8th)

To see the updated spreadsheet, click here.

I also want to note that despite the misapplication of the rule in the Central Michigan-Oklahoma State game and thus meaning that OSU should not have lost, that's not what's in the books, so unfortunately it goes as a loss for them.

As I look at individual schools, 12 schools have a perfect-through-two-weeks PP1 of two points, and those same twelve also have a perfect score of two points in Adjusted Playoff Points. Five schools have a full Second Degree Playoff Point and lead the country in that department. Meanwhile, 23 schools are in the negatives in Adjusted Playoff Points, and I can't guarantee what will happen to that number as the season goes on.

I'll have a look at the Week 3 results next Monday! Check back tomorrow for a look at the schedule and how it impacts conferences' NCSS scores.