2016 NCAA Playoff Points Rankings: Week 13

Welp, just when we think things are pretty set, more chaos unfolds.

I'm also in mourning today as North Central lost to archrival Wheaton in the second round of the D-III Playoffs on Saturday. Never has holding onto the Little Brass Bell felt so hollow.

I imagine most of the rankings compared to last week are going to remain the same, with maybe some minor changes here and there. If you need a refresher on how these metrics work, you can view those in my season introduction post.

Let's check the numbers.


American Athletic
Wins: 6.58 (5th)
PP1: 27.08 (5th)
PP2: 13.96 (7th)
aPP: 6.00 (5th)

ACC
Wins: 7.00 (T-1st)
PP1: 35.21 (2nd)
PP2: 21.95 (2nd)
aPP: 13.50 (3rd)

Big Ten
Wins: 6.79 (3rd)
PP1: 33.14 (3rd)
PP2: 17.03 (4th)
aPP: 14.50 (2nd)

Big XII
Wins: 6.10 (7th)
PP1: 25.90 (7th)
PP2: 15.67 (5th)
aPP: 3.60 (6th)

Conference USA
Wins: 5.54 (10th)
PP1: 21.00 (9th)
PP2: 13.07 (11th)
aPP: -13.23 (10th)

Independents
Wins: 5.00 (11th)
PP1: 19.50 (11th)
PP2: 13.84 (8th)
aPP: -16.25 (11th)

MAC
Wins: 5.92 (8th)
PP1: 23.67 (8th)
PP2: 14.58 (6th)
aPP: -6.17 (8th)

Mountain West
Wins: 6.17 (6th)
PP1: 26.17 (6th)
PP2: 13.67 (9th)
aPP: -2.75 (7th)

Pac-12
Wins: 6.67 (4th)
PP1: 33.08 (4th)
PP2: 19.83 (3rd)
aPP: 12.83 (4th)

SEC
Wins: 7.00 (T-1st)
PP1: 37.29 (1st)
PP2: 25.48 (1st)
aPP: 17.79 (1st)

Sun Belt
Wins: 5.91 (9th)
PP1: 19.55 (10th)
PP2: 13.24 (10th)
aPP: -7.27 (9th)

To see the updated spreadsheet, click here.

Photo from FanSided (Photographer uncredited)

With the ACC winning three of the four games against SEC opponents this week, they have moved into a tie for first place in average wins among teams in each conference. However, the SEC maintains its lead in every Playoff Points category. The ACC does hold second place in both First Degree and Second Degree Playoff Points, but is third in Adjusted Playoff Points behind the Big Ten. The Pac 12 is fourth in every category, except Second Degree Playoff Points, where they stole a third place spot from the Big Ten. Conference USA is still terrible, but not as bad as the four independents are collectively, with BYU the only school bringing the four any respectability. The Mountain West has also represented itself nicely.

Photo by Marvin Gentry (USA TODAY Sports)

As we look at individual teams approaching Championship Week, Alabama remains the cream of the crop with 76 First Degree Playoff Points, 32.50 Second Degree Playoff Points, and 76 Adjusted Playoff Points. All three figures are good for first place in college football. Ohio State is second in PP1 with 74 points, Clemson is third with 71, Michigan is in fourth with 62 points, and Penn State rounds out the top five with 59 points. Second place in PP2 belongs to Vanderbilt with 31.67 points (their win over Tennessee looming large), Tennessee itself is in third with 31.38 points, Ohio State is in fourth with 30.45 points, and Clemson rounds out the top five with 30.09 points. Over in the aPP category, Ohio State is second with 72 points, Clemson has 67 points, then there's a big drop to Michigan with 57 points and Western Michigan rounds it out with 54 points.

Looking things over, there were a lot of upsets this week, but also a lot of expected results. This bodes well for the Death to the BCS Playoffs, as I go back to the lab one final time for a mock bracket. Later this afternoon, I'll have a look into your playoff picture going into a week full of title games.