2016 NCAA Playoff Points: Week 10

Another week of football is in the books. We're starting to see some playoff clinches in other divisions, as North Central clinched its first berth in the D-III playoffs in three years. We're still a long ways away in the FBS level, though.

We still have about a month's worth of football left to play, and we've definitely seen some separation at the top in terms of Playoff Points, but the middle of the pack is still tightly bunched up. We'll look at what that means for the playoffs later this afternoon.

If you are unfamiliar with how Playoff Points work, you can view a primer on those in my season introduction post. A look at last week's rankings can be found here.


American Athletic
Wins: 5.17 (4th)
PP1: 15.83 (5th)
PP2: 7.95 (6th)
aPP: 4.00 (5th)

ACC
Wins: 5.36 (1st)
PP1: 19.86 (2nd)
PP2: 11.60 (2nd)
aPP: 8.86 (4th)

Big Ten
Wins: 5.29 (3rd)
PP1: 19.71 (3rd)
PP2: 9.77 (4th)
aPP: 10.14 (2nd)

Big XII
Wins: 4.80 (6th)
PP1: 14.10 (6th)
PP2: 7.13 (9th)
aPP: 1.90 (6th)

Conference USA
Wins: 4.15 (10th)
PP1: 10.62 (11th)
PP2: 4.88 (11th)
aPP: -8.85 (10th)

Independents
Wins: 3.75 (11th)
PP1: 12.75 (9th)
PP2: 9.28 (5th)
aPP: -9.25 (11th)

MAC
Wins: 4.58 (8th)
PP1: 13.75 (7th)
PP2: 7.90 (7th)
aPP: -4.58 (9th)

Mountain West
Wins: 4.75 (7th)
PP1: 13.50 (8th)
PP2: 5.86 (10th)
aPP: -2.58 (7th)

Pac-12
Wins: 5.08 (5th)
PP1: 17.58 (4th)
PP2: 10.24 (3rd)
aPP: 9.00 (3rd)

SEC
Wins: 5.36 (2nd)
PP1: 21.86 (1st)
PP2: 13.66 (1st)
aPP: 12.29 (1st)

Sun Belt
Wins: 4.55 (9th)
PP1: 11.27 (10th)
PP2: 7.70 (8th)
aPP: -3.82 (8th)

To see the updated spreadsheet, click here.

Photo by Joe Hermitt (Pennlive.com)

Almost no changes were made in the rankings this week, as pretty much everyone held firm in where they're ranked. I think I counted a couple of swaps in  a couple of places, but nothing too major. The SEC remains on top of everything except wins, which the ACC still leads. The ACC is in second in a lot of categories, the Big Ten is right in the thick of things, and the Pac-12, other than wins, is in the top four everywhere.

Photo by Bob Levey (Getty Images)

Looking at individual teams (I have a sortable sheet available above, though I'm not sure if other users can sort it themselves), Alabama is still firmly in first place in First Degree Playoff Points with 49. Clemson is next with 45, then Michigan with 42, Ohio State with 40, and Penn State has 38 points to round out the top five. In Second Degree Playoff Points, the Crimson Tide are in first place as well with 20.78 points, the only team over 20. Tennessee remains in second with 18.83 points, Penn State is third with 18.57, Clemson has 18 points, and Texas A&M rounds out the top five with 17.43 points. The Adjusted Playoff Points standings are a little different; the top five teams are the same as in First Degree Playoff Points, but the scores are 49, 45, 42, 38, and 34 points, respectively. Meanwhile, Florida Atlantic is in last place in this category with -34 points despite winning against Rice this week.

I have a lot to think about this week. I'm going back to the lab and this afternoon, I will return with a new mock bracket for the Death to the BCS Playoffs.