Guides
Understand the numbers
Short, plain-English explainers on how rankings are built, what the numbers mean, and how the playoff field is chosen.
- 6 min readHow computer rankings workA plain-English guide to college football computer rankings: what they measure, how they turn scores into ratings, and why they disagree with the polls.
- 5 min readStrength of schedule, explainedWhat strength of schedule means in college football, the common ways to measure it, and why opponent quality is already built into a good power rating.
- 5 min readPower rating vs. résuméWhy the best college football team and the most deserving team are not always the same, and how the Power Board measures each one.
- 4 min readHow the College Football Playoff worksThe 12-team College Football Playoff format explained: automatic bids, at-large spots, Notre Dame, seeding, byes, and campus first-round games.
- 5 min readHow to read win probabilitiesWhat a 70% win probability really means, why favorites lose, and how to judge whether a college football model is any good.
- 3 min readGlossaryDefinitions of the terms used across CFB Power Board: power rating, résumé rank, wins above benchmark, strength of schedule, FBS, FCS, and more.