Week Fourteen NCAA SRS Rankings: Alabama Finishes #1

by Chase Stuart on December 5, 2016

The college regular season is over, other than Army/Navy this weekend. Let’s start with a review of the final week of the season for the B12, and the conference championship games for the rest of major college football.

Washington’s destruction of Colorado lead the way, while yet another Alabama blowout only comes in second due to the weaker opponent (yes, Florida is nearly ten points worse than Colorado; 2016 is weird). Also, Temple with a huge upset win over Navy comes in third.

Date	Tm_Conf	PF	Opp	PA	H/R	W/L	Diff	MOV	Opp_Conf	SOS	SRS
12-02-2016	Washington_P12	41	Colorado	10	Neut	Win	31	27.5	P12	53.3	80.8
12-03-2016	Alabama_SEC	54	Florida	16	Neut	Win	38	31	SEC	44.9	75.9
12-03-2016	Temple_Amer	34	Navy	10	Road	Win	24	25.5	Amer	43.8	69.3
12-03-2016	Kansas St_B12	30	TCU	6	Road	Win	24	25.5	B12	41.8	67.3
12-03-2016	Oklahoma_B12	38	Oklahoma St	20	Home	Win	18	15	B12	47	62
12-03-2016	Penn State_B10	38	Wisconsin	31	Neut	Win	7	7	B10	54.8	61.8
12-03-2016	Clemson_ACC	42	Virginia Tech	35	Neut	Win	7	7	ACC	48.5	55.5
12-03-2016	Virginia Tech_ACC	35	Clemson	42	Neut	Loss	-7	-7	ACC	57	50
12-03-2016	Western Kentucky_CUSA	58	Louisiana Tech	44	Home	Win	14	11	CUSA	37.7	48.7
12-03-2016	Baylor_B12	21	West Virginia	24	Road	Loss	-3	0	B12	47.8	47.8
12-03-2016	Wisconsin_B10	31	Penn State	38	Neut	Loss	-7	-7	B10	54.5	47.5
12-03-2016	Louisiana-Lafayette_SUN	30	Louisiana-Monroe	3	Road	Win	27	27	SUN	19.5	46.5
12-03-2016	Idaho_SUN	37	Georgia St	12	Home	Win	25	22	SUN	23.7	45.7
12-03-2016	Georgia Southern_SUN	28	Troy	24	Home	Win	4	7	SUN	36.8	43.8
12-03-2016	San Diego St_MWC	27	Wyoming	24	Road	Win	3	7	MWC	36.3	43.3
12-02-2016	Ohio U._MAC	23	Western Michigan	29	Neut	Loss	-6	-7	MAC	48.9	41.9
12-02-2016	Western Michigan_MAC	29	Ohio U.	23	Neut	Win	6	7	MAC	31.6	38.6
12-03-2016	West Virginia_B12	24	Baylor	21	Home	Win	3	0	B12	38.5	38.5
12-03-2016	Oklahoma St_B12	20	Oklahoma	38	Road	Loss	-18	-15	B12	53.3	38.3
12-03-2016	Florida_SEC	16	Alabama	54	Neut	Loss	-38	-31	SEC	66.8	35.8
12-03-2016	Wyoming_MWC	24	San Diego St	27	Home	Loss	-3	-7	MWC	42	35
12-03-2016	Arkansas St_SUN	36	Texas St-San Marcos	14	Road	Win	22	24.5	SUN	10.3	34.8
12-02-2016	Colorado_P12	10	Washington	41	Neut	Loss	-31	-27.5	P12	61.9	34.4
12-03-2016	Louisiana Tech_CUSA	44	Western Kentucky	58	Road	Loss	-14	-11	CUSA	45.1	34.1
12-03-2016	South Alabama_SUN	35	New Mexico St	28	Home	Win	7	7	SUN	18.8	25.8
12-03-2016	Troy_SUN	24	Georgia Southern	28	Road	Loss	-4	-7	SUN	29	22
12-03-2016	Navy_Amer	10	Temple	34	Home	Loss	-24	-25.5	Amer	47.3	21.8
12-03-2016	TCU_B12	6	Kansas St	30	Home	Loss	-24	-25.5	B12	45.6	20.1
12-03-2016	New Mexico St_SUN	28	South Alabama	35	Road	Loss	-7	-7	SUN	26.3	19.3
12-03-2016	Georgia St_SUN	12	Idaho	37	Road	Loss	-25	-22	SUN	30.4	8.4
12-03-2016	Texas St-San Marcos_SUN	14	Arkansas St	36	Home	Loss	-22	-24.5	SUN	32.8	8.3
12-03-2016	Louisiana-Monroe_SUN	3	Louisiana-Lafayette	30	Home	Loss	-27	-27	SUN	28.3	1.3

And now, the final 2016 standings: As you can imagine, Alabama comes in at number one, ^[1]Although not by as wide of a margin as you might suspect. That’s mostly a flaw of the SRS, though, and not Alabama. The Crimson Tide had one “bad” game this year, a 5-point win … Continue reading followed by Ohio State. Playoff teams Washington and Clemson are 4 and 5, meaning the only “oddity” at the top of the rankings is Michigan. But with two losses, it makes sense that Michigan would miss the playoffs even if the Wolverines ranked 3rd in the SRS.

Rk	Team	Conf	Div	Conf Rk	G	MOV	SOS	SRS	REC
1	Alabama	SEC	SEC-West	1	13	24.3	42.5	66.8	13-0
2	Ohio State	B10	B10-East	1	12	22.1	42.8	64.9	11-1
3	Michigan	B10	B10-East	2	12	21.5	42.1	63.6	10-2
4	Washington	P12	P12-North	1	13	22.6	39.3	61.9	12-1
5	Clemson	ACC	ACC-Atl	1	13	17.9	39.1	57	12-1
6	Southern Cal	P12	P12-South	2	12	10.4	44.5	54.8	9-3
7	Wisconsin	B10	B10-West	3	13	11.9	42.9	54.8	10-3
8	Penn State	B10	B10-East	4	13	12	42.6	54.5	11-2
9	Colorado	P12	P12-South	3	13	10.4	43	53.4	10-3
10	Oklahoma	B12	B12	1	12	12.9	40.4	53.3	10-2
11	Louisville	ACC	ACC-Atl	2	12	17	35.8	52.7	9-3
12	Washington St	P12	P12-North	4	12	10.3	42	52.3	8-4
13	LSU	SEC	SEC-West	2	11	8.9	43.3	52.2	7-4
14	Florida St	ACC	ACC-Atl	3	12	9.7	42.2	51.9	9-3
15	Auburn	SEC	SEC-West	3	12	12.2	39.2	51.4	8-4
16	Stanford	P12	P12-North	5	12	6.6	42.8	49.4	9-3
17	Miami FL	ACC	ACC-Coas	4	12	13.1	36.3	49.4	8-4
18	Western Michigan	MAC	MAC-West	1	13	21.1	27.8	48.9	13-0
19	Virginia Tech	ACC	ACC-Coas	5	13	10.1	38.4	48.5	9-4
20	Iowa	B10	B10-West	5	12	7.4	40.8	48.2	8-4
21	West Virginia	B12	B12	2	12	8.4	39.4	47.8	10-2
22	North Carolina	ACC	ACC-Coas	6	12	8	39.5	47.4	8-4
23	Texas A&M	SEC	SEC-West	4	12	8.5	38.8	47.3	8-4
24	Temple	Amer	Amer-East	1	13	14.2	33.1	47.3	10-3
25	Oklahoma St	B12	B12	3	12	9.3	37.8	47	9-3
26	Utah	P12	P12-South	6	12	5.8	40.5	46.4	8-4
27	Houston	Amer	Amer-West	2	12	12.1	34.1	46.2	9-3
28	Boise St	MWC	MWC-Mntn	1	12	11.7	34.6	46.2	10-2
29	Pittsburgh	ACC	ACC-Coas	7	12	5.4	40.4	45.8	8-4
30	Kansas St	B12	B12	4	12	8.8	36.8	45.6	8-4
31	Brigham Young	IND	Ind	1	12	9.3	36.2	45.5	8-4
32	South Florida	Amer	Amer-East	3	12	11.5	34.1	45.5	10-2
33	Tennessee	SEC	SEC-East	5	12	6	39.4	45.4	8-4
34	Western Kentucky	CUSA	CUSA-East	1	13	16.7	28.4	45.1	10-3
35	Minnesota	B10	B10-West	6	12	7	37.9	45	8-4
36	Florida	SEC	SEC-East	6	12	5.4	39.5	44.9	8-4
37	Memphis	Amer	Amer-West	4	12	9.5	34.7	44.3	8-4
38	Nebraska	B10	B10-West	7	12	4.3	39.7	44	9-3
39	Navy	Amer	Amer-West	5	12	7.8	36.1	43.9	9-3
40	Tulsa	Amer	Amer-West	6	12	9.3	34.4	43.6	9-3
41	Northwestern	B10	B10-West	8	12	1.8	41.6	43.4	6-6
42	Toledo	MAC	MAC-West	2	12	12.4	29.7	42.1	9-3
43	San Diego St	MWC	MWC-West	2	13	13	29	42	10-3
44	Mississippi	SEC	SEC-West	7	12	-2	43.9	41.9	5-7
45	TCU	B12	B12	5	12	2.6	39.2	41.8	6-6
46	North Carolina St	ACC	ACC-Atl	8	12	2.4	39.2	41.6	6-6
47	Georgia Tech	ACC	ACC-Coas	9	12	2.5	39	41.5	8-4
48	Notre Dame	IND	Ind	2	12	0.8	40.2	41	4-8
49	Appalachian St	SUN	Sun	1	12	11.3	29.1	40.4	9-3
50	UCLA	P12	P12-South	7	12	-3	43	40	4-8
51	Colorado St	MWC	MWC-Mntn	3	12	5.3	34.4	39.7	7-5
52	Arkansas	SEC	SEC-West	8	12	0	39.3	39.3	7-5
53	Central Florida	Amer	Amer-East	7	12	4.5	34.7	39.3	6-6
54	California	P12	P12-North	8	12	-4.4	43.6	39.1	5-7
55	Mississippi St	SEC	SEC-West	9	12	-1.8	40.7	38.9	5-7
56	Texas	B12	B12	6	12	-0.3	38.8	38.5	5-7
57	Baylor	B12	B12	7	12	3.2	35.3	38.5	6-6
58	Vanderbilt	SEC	SEC-East	10	12	0.9	37.5	38.4	6-6
59	Oregon	P12	P12-North	9	12	-4.6	43	38.4	4-8
60	Georgia	SEC	SEC-East	11	12	-0.3	38.3	38	7-5
61	Oregon St	P12	P12-North	10	12	-4.6	42.6	37.9	4-8
62	Indiana	B10	B10-East	9	12	-1.5	39.3	37.8	6-6
63	Louisiana Tech	CUSA	CUSA-West	2	13	10.2	27.5	37.7	8-5
64	Texas Tech	B12	B12	8	12	-0.3	37.9	37.6	5-7
65	Michigan St	B10	B10-East	10	12	-5.5	43.1	37.6	3-9
66	Air Force	MWC	MWC-Mntn	4	12	7.2	30.1	37.3	9-3
67	Troy	SUN	Sun	2	12	10.5	26.3	36.8	9-3
68	Wyoming	MWC	MWC-Mntn	5	13	2.8	33.4	36.3	8-5
69	Kentucky	SEC	SEC-East	12	12	0	36.2	36.2	7-5
70	Arizona St	P12	P12-South	11	12	-6.6	42.1	35.5	5-7
71	Duke	ACC	ACC-Coas	10	12	-4.5	39.4	34.9	4-8
72	Maryland	B10	B10-East	11	12	-2.5	37.3	34.8	6-6
73	Iowa St	B12	B12	9	12	-5.1	39.8	34.7	3-9
74	Wake Forest	ACC	ACC-Atl	11	12	-2.2	36.8	34.6	6-6
75	New Mexico	MWC	MWC-Mntn	6	12	5.2	29.2	34.4	8-4
76	Arkansas St	SUN	Sun	3	12	3.9	28.9	32.8	7-5
77	Old Dominion	CUSA	CUSA-East	3	12	7.7	24.5	32.2	9-3
78	Boston College	ACC	ACC-Atl	12	12	-3.4	35.5	32.1	6-6
79	Missouri	SEC	SEC-East	13	12	-2.6	34.7	32.1	4-8
80	South Carolina	SEC	SEC-East	14	12	-4.6	36.5	31.9	6-6
81	Ohio U.	MAC	MAC-East	3	13	4.4	27.2	31.6	8-5
82	Arizona	P12	P12-South	12	12	-12.5	44	31.6	3-9
83	Northern Illinois	MAC	MAC-West	4	12	-0.4	31.7	31.3	5-7
84	SMU	Amer	Amer-West	8	12	-6.4	37.4	31	5-7
85	Army	IND	Ind	3	11	7.2	23.1	30.4	6-5
86	Idaho	SUN	Sun	4	12	0.4	29.9	30.4	8-4
87	Tulane	Amer	Amer-West	9	12	-4.3	34.6	30.3	4-8
88	Utah St	MWC	MWC-Mntn	7	12	-5.7	35.8	30.1	3-9
89	Middle Tennessee St	CUSA	CUSA-East	4	12	5.3	24.7	29.9	8-4
90	Syracuse	ACC	ACC-Atl	13	12	-10.9	40.8	29.9	4-8
91	Illinois	B10	B10-West	12	12	-11.6	41	29.4	3-9
92	Central Michigan	MAC	MAC-West	5	12	-0.8	29.9	29.1	6-6
93	Georgia Southern	SUN	Sun	5	12	-0.3	29.3	29	5-7
94	Texas-San Antonio	CUSA	CUSA-West	5	12	1.7	27.1	28.8	6-6
95	Cincinnati	Amer	Amer-East	10	12	-7.3	35.9	28.6	4-8
96	Louisiana-Lafayette	SUN	Sun	6	12	-0.3	28.6	28.3	6-6
97	Virginia	ACC	ACC-Coas	14	12	-10.9	39.1	28.2	2-10
98	Eastern Michigan	MAC	MAC-West	6	12	0.3	27.3	27.6	7-5
99	Miami OH	MAC	MAC-East	7	12	-0.5	28	27.5	6-6
100	Southern Miss	CUSA	CUSA-West	6	12	1.5	25.6	27.2	6-6
101	East Carolina	Amer	Amer-East	11	12	-9.6	36.2	26.6	3-9
102	South Alabama	SUN	Sun	7	12	-0.5	26.8	26.3	6-6
103	Hawai`i	MWC	MWC-West	8	13	-6.8	32.5	25.8	6-7
104	Purdue	B10	B10-West	13	12	-12.2	37.7	25.5	3-9
105	Ball St	MAC	MAC-West	8	12	-2.3	27.7	25.4	4-8
106	Akron	MAC	MAC-East	9	12	-4.8	30.1	25.3	5-7
107	Rutgers	B10	B10-East	14	12	-17.1	42	24.8	2-10
108	San José St	MWC	MWC-West	9	12	-8.6	32.7	24.1	4-8
109	Nevada	MWC	MWC-West	10	12	-4.2	28.2	24	5-7
110	Georgia St	SUN	Sun	8	12	-6.4	30	23.7	3-9
111	Kent St	MAC	MAC-East	10	12	-7.5	31.1	23.6	3-9
112	UNLV	MWC	MWC-West	11	12	-5.9	29.3	23.4	4-8
113	Kansas	B12	B12	10	12	-15.7	38.5	22.9	2-10
114	Bowling Green	MAC	MAC-East	11	12	-10.5	32.3	21.7	4-8
115	Connecticut	Amer	Amer-East	12	12	-13.5	34.7	21.3	3-9
116	Massachusetts	IND	Ind	4	12	-11.1	32.2	21.1	2-10
117	North Texas	CUSA	CUSA-West	7	12	-6.9	27.4	20.6	5-7
118	Louisiana-Monroe	SUN	Sun	9	12	-11.8	31.2	19.5	4-8
119	Florida Int'l	CUSA	CUSA-East	8	12	-10.1	29.1	18.9	4-8
120	New Mexico St	SUN	Sun	10	12	-11.9	30.7	18.8	3-9
121	Fresno St	MWC	MWC-West	12	12	-13.1	31.6	18.4	1-11
122	Marshall	CUSA	CUSA-East	9	12	-8.5	26.9	18.4	3-9
123	UNC-Charlotte	CUSA	CUSA-East	10	12	-8.3	26.6	18.3	4-8
124	Florida Atlantic	CUSA	CUSA-East	11	12	-10.7	28.3	17.6	3-9
125	Rice	CUSA	CUSA-West	12	12	-10.8	28.3	17.5	3-9
126	UTEP	CUSA	CUSA-West	13	12	-7.9	24.5	16.6	4-8
127	Buffalo	MAC	MAC-East	12	12	-14.8	28.5	13.7	2-10
128	Texas St-San Marcos	SUN	Sun	11	12	-19	29.2	10.3	2-10

How about a look at conference rankings? Contrary to popular belief, the Pac 12 was not only good this year, but it checks out as the best conference in all of college football:

Conf	Tms	MOV	SOS	SRS
P12	12	2.5	42.5	45.1
B10	14	2.7	40.8	43.4
SEC	14	3.9	39.3	43.2
ACC	14	3.9	38.7	42.6
B12	10	2.4	38.4	40.8
Amer	12	2.3	35.0	37.3
IND	4	1.5	33.0	34.5
MWC	12	0.1	31.7	31.8
MAC	12	-0.3	29.3	29.0
SUN	11	-2.2	29.1	26.9
CUSA	13	-1.5	26.8	25.3

That’s probably misleading, though. The Big 10 has two more teams than the Pac 12; if you removed Rutgers (the worst Big 10 team) and Maryland (the 4th worst), the Big 10 would have an SRS of 45.7. If you plot the two conferences team by team, you see that the Big 10 has the better top team, the better 2nd best team, 3rd best team, and 4th best team. The Pac 12 has the better 5th and 6th best teams, but the Big 10 has the better 7th and 8th best teams. The Pac 12 then have the best 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th best teams.

And what about if we break it down by division?

Conf	Tms	MOV	SOS	SRS
SEC-West	7	7.2	41.1	48.3
P12-North	6	4.3	42.2	46.5
B10-East	7	4.1	41.3	45.4
P12-South	6	0.8	42.9	43.6
ACC-Atl	7	4.3	38.5	42.8
ACC-Coas	7	3.4	38.9	42.3
B10-West	7	1.2	40.2	41.5
B12	10	2.4	38.4	40.8
Amer-West	6	4.7	35.2	39.9
SEC-East	7	0.7	37.4	38.1
MWC-Mntn	6	4.4	32.9	37.3
Amer-East	6	0.0	34.8	34.8
Ind	4	1.5	33.0	34.5
MAC-West	6	5.0	29.0	34.1
Sun	11	-2.2	29.1	26.9
MWC-West	6	-4.3	30.6	26.3
CUSA-East	7	-1.1	26.9	25.8
CUSA-West	6	-2.0	26.7	24.7
MAC-East	6	-5.6	29.5	23.9

The SEC West was against king this year, but the SEC East was garbage. It finishes as the worst division among all Power 5 conferences, and barely better than the Mountain Division in the Mountain West Conference.

References[+]

References
↑1	Although not by as wide of a margin as you might suspect. That’s mostly a flaw of the SRS, though, and not Alabama. The Crimson Tide had one “bad” game this year, a 5-point win over an Ole Miss team that finished 5-7 and in last place in the SEC West. Alabama received an SRS grade of 49.9 for that one. The next three lowest games were 56.1 against Chattanooga, 58.1 against Kent State, and 60.7 against Kentucky. Those were the three worst teams Alabama faced, and they won by a combined 113-9. But by simply scheduling those teams and not beating them 70-0, Alabama’s rating went down.

Tagged as: NCAA SRS

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