AP Preseason Rankings Analysis
18 August 2025
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Texas earned the top spot in this season's Associated Press Preseason Top 25, marking the first time the Longhorns have opened a season at No. 1. This is the first time since Georgia in 2008 that a program has been ranked No. 1 in the AP preseason rankings for the first time; the Bulldogs earned the preseason top spot again in 2023 and 2024. Texas is the 24th program to be ranked No. 1 in the AP's preseason rankings, led by Oklahoma (10), Alabama (9), Ohio State (9) and USC (7).
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Every program in this season's AP Preseason Top 25 has appeared in the preseason rankings previously. Below is a look at the 88 programs that have been ranked to start a season, according tot he AP preseason rankings, which began in 1950.​
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More Than a Title on the Line in 2025 CFP Championship
20 January 2025
Either Notre Dame or Ohio State will make college football history Monday night, and it goes much deeper than winning the first 12-team College Football Playoff. ​​
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Since 1968, no team has won four consecutive games against AP Top 12 opponents. In fact, a team has played four consecutive AP Top 12 opponents only 10 times, including three times this season.
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2024-25 College Football Playoff Analysis
12 December 2024
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An in-depth look at the CFP final rankings and playoff field: records vs. CFP Top 25, CFP participants, opponents with eight-plus wins, and opponents with six-plus losses; most valuable wins and most damaging losses; and relative statistics rankings.
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2024 Conference Championship Games Preview
6 December 2024
Relative statistics provide insight into predicting a game's score. Weighing two teams' relative points scored (RPS) against each other's adjusted scoring defense (ppg allowed against FBS teams in regulation) and their relative points allowed (RPA) against each other's adjusted scoring offense produces an expected outcome.
With that in mind, here are the BlindFold Sports expected scores based on relative scoring for the 2024 conference championship games:​​
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2023 Conference Championship Games Preview
1 December 2023
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Relative statistics provide insight into predicting a game's score. Weighing two teams' relative points scored (RPS) against each other's adjusted scoring defense (ppg allowed against FBS teams in regulation) and their relative points allowed (RPA) against each other's adjusted scoring offense produces an expected outcome.
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With that in mind, here are the BlindFold Sports expected scores based on relative scoring for the 2023 conference championship games:
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Week 10 Merit Rankings Analysis
31 October 2023
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Does data support perception? Answering that question is the basic philosophy of BlindFold Sports. Sometimes it does. Sometimes it doesn't. Should the perception of a college football team within an individual season be influenced by its level of success in previous seasons? Debatable, but it happens.
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This season's Georgia team is a prime example. Georgia has won 25 consecutive games, consecutive national championships and again looks like an elite team. However, what have the Bulldogs accomplished this season? The data says not nearly as much as the other undefeated Power 5 teams.
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College Football Playoff Semfinals
4 December 2022
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Relative scoring numbers provide insight into predicting a game's score. Weighing two teams' relative offenses against each other's adjusted scoring defense (ppg allowed against FBS teams in regulation) and their relative defense against each other's adjusted scoring offense produces an expected outcome.
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With that in mind, here are the BlindFold Sports expected scores based on relative scoring in the 2023 College Football Playoff semifinal games:
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2022 Conference Championship Games Preview
2 December 2022
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Relative statistics provide insight into predicting a game's score. Weighing two teams' relative points scored (RPS) against each other's adjusted scoring defense (ppg allowed against FBS teams in regulation) and their relative points allowed (RPA) against each other's adjusted scoring offense produces an expected outcome.
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With that in mind, here are the BlindFold Sports expected scores based on relative scoring for the 2022 conference championship games:
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25 November 2022
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TCU is undefeated and No. 4 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings. The college football world seems equally split between those who buy the Frogs and those who do not view them as a legitimate playoff-worthy team.
Sonny Dykes’ team is third in the latest BlindFold Sports Merit Rankings, a cumulative measurement of what a team has accomplished based on opponent level (Power Five, Group of Five, FCS); game venue (home, away, neutral); possession-based margin of victor/defeat; and opponent record. Georgia leads the way with 117.80 points, followed by Ohio State (101.82), TCU (95.04), Michigan (89.81), Clemson (80.12) and USC (70.65). Those are the only six Power Five teams with fewer than two losses.
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