2018 College Football Rankings

Below are my 2018 college football rankings based on a model I developed. Will follow up with details around the model and may provide some of the code I used in R as well.

Methodology

RankTeamConferenceWinsLossesNet PointsClose LossesBlowout WinsBlowout LossesSOS RankSwanson Rating
1AlabamaSEC1304300110801.951
2ClemsonACC130412090751.817
3Notre DameNA120198060771.486
4OklahomaBIG-12121222150481.455
5UCFAAC1202750701061.453
6GeorgiaSEC112268061391.25
7Ohio StateBIG-TEN121231061951.241
8MichiganBIG-TEN102231071421.218
9Fresno StateMOUNTAIN-WEST1122760601141.082
10Washington StatePAC-12102183140731.008
11UtahPAC-1294132130100.944
12Boise StateMOUNTAIN-WEST103173151710.91
13Utah StateMOUNTAIN-WEST1022900601250.9
14MissouriSEC8415025180.897
15WashingtonPAC-12103145310410.865
16West VirginiaBIG-1283173240430.843
17Appalachian StateSUN-BELT1022520511120.801
18LSUSEC93130131280.796
19ArmyNA92133031450.796
20Penn StateBIG-TEN93175241560.781
21CincinnatiAAC1022260411050.756
22Texas A&MSEC8410022140.726
23IowaBIG-TEN84169340590.724
24FloridaSEC93169031460.715
25KentuckySEC93124120570.713
26Mississippi StateSEC84205052190.682
27StanfordPAC-12847022190.663
28TexasBIG-129466310490.661
29SyracuseACC931561411030.623
30Georgia SouthernSUN-BELT931140511170.591
31OhioMID-AMERICAN841743501180.582
32Iowa StateBIG-128452110260.578
33North TexasCONFERENCE-USA931752501300.547
34North Carolina StateACC93155121910.504
35MarshallCONFERENCE-USA8465130940.5
36AuburnSEC7510422170.496
37Miami (FL)ACC75153240720.489
38TempleAAC84131030980.462
39OregonPAC-1284122031680.447
40BuffaloMID-AMERICAN1031310321150.445
41TroySUN-BELT931031211090.423
42South CarolinaSEC7565222110.362
43UABCONFERENCE-USA1031560431230.358
44Michigan StateBIG-TEN7521211200.345
45Arizona StatePAC-127568120740.301
46HoustonAAC841440411210.299
47Oklahoma StateBIG-126672331310.283
48NorthwesternBIG-TEN853200810.27
49PurdueBIG-TEN6656421220.265
50VirginiaACC75813201020.264
51San Diego StateMOUNTAIN-WEST757301250.255
52Middle TennesseeCONFERENCE-USA8550122640.236
53Eastern MichiganMID-AMERICAN75663201070.22
54VanderbiltSEC6631232160.219
55Northern IllinoisMID-AMERICAN85-11111830.212
56Arkansas StateSUN-BELT84641321110.197
57PittsburghACC76-29223130.188
58MemphisAAC851572411290.168
59DukeACC75-3012270.149
60WisconsinBIG-TEN7560132780.144
61Georgia TechACC7580132790.142
62CaliforniaPAC-127518111660.136
63Brigham YoungNA6645322230.13
64Florida InternationalCONFERENCE-USA841191311280.127
65TCUBIG-12663212120.1
66ToledoMID-AMERICAN75131143850.09
67NevadaMOUNTAIN-WEST7551211890.088
68MinnesotaBIG-TEN667043290.082
69Boston CollegeACC7576212650.051
70Texas TechBIG-125775121210.024
71Miami (OH)MID-AMERICAN663123297-0.072
72USCPAC-1257-1121132-0.075
73Air ForceMOUNTAIN-WEST575441082-0.101
74Louisiana-LafayetteSUN-BELT76-1511293-0.104
75TulaneAAC66-2621263-0.122
76Western MichiganMID-AMERICAN75-211390-0.154
77BaylorBIG-1266-3510247-0.156
78NebraskaBIG-TEN48-1551124-0.167
79Ole MissSEC57-2713335-0.178
80HawaiiMOUNTAIN-WEST85-43003104-0.185
81Southern MissCONFERENCE-USA6570311122-0.19
82Louisiana TechCONFERENCE-USA755112120-0.199
83IndianaBIG-TEN57-4211230-0.204
84Florida AtlanticCONFERENCE-USA57-831318-0.21
85ColoradoPAC-1257-202252-0.227
86ArizonaPAC-1257-1542350-0.239
87Wake ForestACC66-903467-0.247
88WyomingMOUNTAIN-WEST66-1612454-0.258
89Kansas StateBIG-1257-3541334-0.265
90MarylandBIG-TEN57-224544-0.326
91Louisiana-MonroeSUN-BELT66-62123108-0.344
92South FloridaAAC75-28003113-0.361
93CharlotteCONFERENCE-USA57-5901270-0.37
94Virginia TechACC66-1101460-0.38
95Florida StateACC57-11511517-0.472
96TennesseeSEC57-621165-0.506
97Southern MethodistAAC57-5820440-0.514
98UCLAPAC-1239-1141151-0.523
99LibertyNA66-43114110-0.536
100NavyAAC39-1042036-0.605
101KansasBIG-1239-7412355-0.697
102UNLVMOUNTAIN-WEST48-10211458-0.718
103AkronMID-AMERICAN48-9900369-0.736
104Coastal CarolinaSUN-BELT57-7811599-0.768
105TulsaAAC39-66112100-0.803
106IllinoisBIG-TEN48-16112584-0.827
107East CarolinaAAC39-17512462-0.832
108North CarolinaACC29-7930251-0.843
109Ball StateMID-AMERICAN48-9901561-0.856
110Old DominionCONFERENCE-USA48-61203116-0.88
111MassachusettsNA48-12100487-0.901
112New MexicoMOUNTAIN-WEST39-11511553-0.988
113Georgia StateSUN-BELT210-16211437-0.997
114ArkansasSEC210-15711514-1.009
115San Jose StateMOUNTAIN-WEST111-18420315-1.032
116Oregon StatePAC-12210-2351062-1.048
117Colorado StateMOUNTAIN-WEST39-16710488-1.068
118Western KentuckyCONFERENCE-USA39-81313126-1.076
119South AlabamaSUN-BELT39-17510638-1.116
120Texas StateSUN-BELT39-95403127-1.147
121Bowling GreenMID-AMERICAN39-18800596-1.223
122UTSACONFERENCE-USA39-20410676-1.251
123RiceCONFERENCE-USA211-22200486-1.28
124LouisvilleACC210-2921083-1.307
125New Mexico StateNA39-193005119-1.339
126Central MichiganMID-AMERICAN111-148103101-1.358
127RutgersBIG-TEN111-21521636-1.377
128Kent StateMID-AMERICAN210-15320692-1.462
129UTEPCONFERENCE-USA111-181104124-1.614
130ConnecticutAAC111-33910833-1.682