2026 College Football Rankings

AnalysisAll analysis →

2026 season, 3 games in. Ratings and records refresh through the season; nothing here is a preseason guess. Preseason projections →

ShowTop 25 Unbeaten Power 4

Rank byElo SP+AP

Projected rankings →

The field138 teams

929.0 — worstElo rating2113.0 — best

One mark per team. Elo rating, all 138 teams.

College football teams ranked by Elo rating.
#	Team	Rec	Conf	Elo	SP+	Off / Def	FPI	AP	Δ vs AP	Schedule	Next
1	Indiana	2‑0	Big Ten	2113	24.1O9/D8	D27O7	24.3	#5	4 spots higher than the AP poll	#461 gm	vsWestern KentuckySat
92 Elo gap
2	Notre Dame	2‑0	FBS Independents	2021	26.8O1/D7	D7O6	27.0	#3	1 spots higher than the AP poll	#1192 gm	vsMichigan StateSat
3	Ohio State	1‑1	Big Ten	1986	30.0O3/D1	D2O3	30.0	#1	2 spots lower than the AP poll	#672 gm	vsKent StateSat
56 Elo gap
4	Miami	2‑0	ACC	1930	24.7O10/D4	D11O2	25.4	#7	3 spots higher than the AP poll	#1131 gm	atWake ForestFri
52 down 2 places since last week	Texas	2‑0	SEC	1913	25.4O5/D8	D25O17	30.3	#4	1 spots lower than the AP poll	#232 gm	vsUTSASun
61 down 1 places since last week	Penn State	2‑0	Big Ten	1891	19.8O11/D14	D16O16	17.2	#16	10 spots higher than the AP poll	#1142 gm	vsBuffaloSat
78 down 8 places since last week	Oregon	1‑1	Big Ten	1873	23.9O6/D12	D13O4	22.7	#6	1 spots lower than the AP poll	#1042 gm	vsPortland StateSat
84 up 4 places since last week	Georgia	2‑0	SEC	1871	28.7O4/D3	D15O14	24.9	#2	6 spots lower than the AP poll	#1221 gm	atArkansasSat
93 down 3 places since last week	Texas Tech	2‑0	Big 12	1870	18.9O13/D14	D5O40	18.4	#13	4 spots higher than the AP poll	#1271 gm	vsHoustonSat
102 up 2 places since last week	Texas A&M	2‑0	SEC	1849	23.9O7/D10	D3O10	21.2	#10	even	#912 gm	vsKentuckySat
113 down 3 places since last week	Iowa	2‑0	Big Ten	1847	18.0O30/D11	D6O33	11.0	#21	10 spots higher than the AP poll	#942 gm	vsNorthern IowaSat
121 up 1 places since last week	Ole Miss	2‑0	SEC	1837	13.3O12/D44	D82O5	15.5	#9	3 spots lower than the AP poll	#952 gm	vsLSUSat
13	USC	3‑0	Big Ten	1835	17.7O8/D27	D12O1	17.5	#14	1 spots higher than the AP poll	#993 gm	atRutgersSat
144 up 4 places since last week	Alabama	2‑0	SEC	1823	20.0O22/D5	D4O20	22.5	#12	2 spots lower than the AP poll	#802 gm	vsFlorida StateSat
156 up 6 places since last week	Utah	2‑0	Big 12	1817	13.0O19/D35	D34O13	11.2	#20	5 spots higher than the AP poll	#601 gm	vsUtah StateSat
161 down 1 places since last week	Oklahoma	1‑1	SEC	1799	21.7O16/D5	D14O31	19.2	#11	5 spots lower than the AP poll	#962 gm	vsNew MexicoSat
23 Elo gap
171 down 1 places since last week	James Madison	2‑0	Sun Belt	1776	-0.3O69/D71	D21O66	-2.5	—	—	#251 gm	atSan Diego StateSun
183 down 3 places since last week	Washington	2‑0	Big Ten	1762	12.0O40/D22	D8O42	9.5	#19	1 spots higher than the AP poll	#772 gm	vsEastern WashingtonSat
191 down 1 places since last week	Vanderbilt	2‑0	SEC	1753	12.1O16/D44	D65O8	7.8	—	—	#1001 gm	vsNC StateSat
204 up 4 places since last week	LSU	2‑0	SEC	1745	23.3O14/D2	D1O34	24.1	#8	12 spots lower than the AP poll	#732 gm	atOle MissSat
212 up 2 places since last week	South Carolina	2‑0	SEC	1742	16.7O25/D16	D9O9	15.8	—	—	#1371 gm	vsMississippi StateSat
221 down 1 places since last week	SMU	2‑0	ACC	1728	11.1O29/D36	D28O11	12.1	#17	5 spots lower than the AP poll	#561 gm	atLouisvilleSat
25 Elo gap
234 up 4 places since last week	Missouri	2‑0	SEC	1703	12.9O36/D21	D17O37	10.2	#23	even	#811 gm	vsTroySat
244 down 4 places since last week	Liberty	1‑1	Conference USA	1697	-7.2O86/D102	D98O72	-7.6	—	—	#161 gm	vsBall StateSat
252 up 2 places since last week	Tennessee	2‑0	SEC	1691	19.9O2/D36	D56O18	15.3	#18	7 spots lower than the AP poll	#571 gm	vsKennesaw StateSat
261 down 1 places since last week	Michigan	2‑0	Big Ten	1686	12.2O45/D17	D18O27	11.8	#16	10 spots lower than the AP poll	#332 gm	vsUTEPSat
277 down 7 places since last week	Pittsburgh	2‑0	ACC	1681	10.1O22/D47	D29O23	11.5	—	—	#1122 gm	vsSyracuseThu
283 down 3 places since last week	South Florida	2‑0	American Athletic	1679	-3.1O69/D90	D44O89	-2.3	—	—	#842 gm	vsDelaware StateSat
297 down 7 places since last week	Louisville	1‑1	ACC	1668	10.0O33/D41	D52O21	10.8	#24	5 spots lower than the AP poll	#101 gm	vsSMUSat
301 down 1 places since last week	BYU	2‑0	Big 12	1666	16.8O18/D19	D45O29	14.1	#15	15 spots lower than the AP poll	#381 gm	atColorado StateSat
313 down 3 places since last week	Florida	2‑0	SEC	1658	18.6O20/D13	D26O15	15.5	—	—	#1321 gm	atAuburnSat
324 down 4 places since last week	Virginia	2‑0	ACC	1652	11.5O52/D18	D10O53	11.1	#25	7 spots lower than the AP poll	#691 gm	vsWest VirginiaSat
27 Elo gap
336 down 6 places since last week	Arizona	1‑1	Big 12	1625	12.6O24/D25	D43O38	6.9	—	—	#351 gm	vsNorthern IllinoisSun
342 up 2 places since last week	Kansas State	2‑0	Big 12	1616	12.7O15/D40	D54O41	8.8	—	—	#421 gm	vsTulaneSat
356 up 6 places since last week	Auburn	2‑0	SEC	1613	7.0O76/D23	D32O93	10.8	—	—	#922 gm	vsFloridaSat
362 down 2 places since last week	Duke	2‑0	ACC	1607	6.6O34/D63	D39O65	4.7	—	—	#522 gm	vsStanfordSat
3714 down 14 places since last week	Washington State	0‑2	Pac-12	1601	-3.7O107/D56	D23O77	-4.3	—	—	#272 gm	vsDuquesneSat
385 down 5 places since last week	Illinois	1‑1	Big Ten	1595	7.5O34/D60	D76O28	5.7	—	—	#702 gm	vsSouthern IllinoisSat
393 down 3 places since last week	TCU	1‑1	Big 12	1595	3.9O55/D52	D58O100	4.8	—	—	#1031 gm	vsArkansas StateSun
4016 up 16 places since last week	Nebraska	2‑0	Big Ten	1592	12.1O28/D31	D50O24	11.3	—	—	#1212 gm	vsNorth DakotaSat
4113 up 13 places since last week	North Texas	1‑1	American Athletic	1590	-13.2O90/D123	D126O30	-6.7	—	—	#52 gm	atTexas StateSat
4225 down 25 places since last week	UNLV	1‑2	Mountain West	1589	2.3O44/D79	D53O97	2.3	—	—	#633 gm	atAkronSat
431 up 1 places since last week	Iowa State	1‑1	Big 12	1586	3.1O84/D39	D59O79	-0.8	—	—	#81 gm	vsBowling GreenSat
447 up 7 places since last week	Mississippi State	2‑0	SEC	1584	9.4O20/D62	D20O12	8.6	—	—	#1252 gm	atSouth CarolinaSat
4515 down 15 places since last week	Arizona State	1‑1	Big 12	1572	8.7O45/D32	D46O59	7.5	—	—	#61 gm	atKansasSat
466 up 6 places since last week	Boise State	1‑1	Pac-12	1569	5.2O47/D58	D55O47	7.8	—	—	#212 gm	vsSouth DakotaSun
472 up 2 places since last week	Toledo	1‑1	Mid-American	1568	-9.4O118/D75	D31O52	-4.0	—	—	#821 gm	vsTempleSat
487 down 7 places since last week	Memphis	2‑1	American Athletic	1566	2.1O41/D89	D64O19	2.1	—	—	#713 gm	vsUT MartinSat
493 up 3 places since last week	North Dakota State	3‑0	Mountain West	1562	2.6O71/D49	D24O48	0.2	—	—	#932 gm	atSacramento StateSun
503 up 3 places since last week	New Mexico	2‑0	Mountain West	1558	4.4O56/D54	D19O76	0.9	—	—	#1291 gm	atOklahomaSat
512 up 2 places since last week	Florida State	1‑1	ACC	1557	6.9O49/D41	D84O35	7.3	—	—	#752 gm	atAlabamaSat
5213 down 13 places since last week	Georgia Tech	0‑2	ACC	1553	1.7O76/D58	D51O45	3.5	—	—	#592 gm	vsMercerSat
534 down 4 places since last week	Navy	1‑1	American Athletic	1550	3.6O48/D72	D122O86	-0.6	—	—	#1331 gm	atUABFri
544 up 4 places since last week	Northwestern	1‑0	Big Ten	1549	7.8O58/D26	D67O43	2.5	—	—	—	vsColoradoSat
5513 down 13 places since last week	Arkansas	1‑1	SEC	1547	3.3O25/D94	D90O26	2.3	—	—	#141 gm	vsGeorgiaSat
568 up 8 places since last week	Clemson	1‑1	ACC	1541	5.2O66/D38	D72O125	6.4	—	—	#542 gm	vsNorth CarolinaSat
575 up 5 places since last week	Western Michigan	1‑1	Mid-American	1534	-4.2O112/D49	D41O90	-0.9	—	—	#281 gm	atRiceSat
582 up 2 places since last week	Tulane	1‑1	American Athletic	1529	-7.4O111/D78	D40O115	-0.5	—	—	#722 gm	atKansas StateSat
591 up 1 places since last week	Army	1‑1	American Athletic	1527	2.2O58/D63	D111O83	-1.9	—	—	#311 gm	atTempleFri
607 up 7 places since last week	UTSA	2‑0	American Athletic	1522	2.9O31/D92	D61O46	-3.8	—	—	#871 gm	atTexasSun
619 down 9 places since last week	San Diego State	1‑1	Pac-12	1518	3.1O72/D51	D33O51	1.2	—	—	#891 gm	vsJames MadisonSun
621 up 1 places since last week	Cincinnati	2‑0	Big 12	1516	5.9O43/D61	D71O54	6.3	—	—	#1071 gm	vsMiami (OH)Sat
63	Wake Forest	2‑0	ACC	1516	1.6O87/D43	D22O39	3.8	—	—	#1362 gm	vsMiamiFri
645 up 5 places since last week	Houston	2‑0	Big 12	1514	6.5O39/D55	D60O36	6.5	#22	42 spots lower than the AP poll	#1281 gm	atTexas TechSat
6512 down 12 places since last week	Minnesota	1‑1	Big Ten	1510	9.6O53/D20	D70O64	2.3	—	—	#471 gm	vsAkronSat
664 up 4 places since last week	NC State	1‑1	ACC	1509	-0.7O56/D81	D75O63	-1.1	—	—	#371 gm	atVanderbiltSat
674 up 4 places since last week	Baylor	1‑1	Big 12	1506	4.9O37/D75	D37O32	7.1	—	—	#391 gm	vsLouisiana TechSat
6815 down 15 places since last week	UConn	1‑1	FBS Independents	1484	-6.3O93/D95	D108O62	-7.5	—	—	#971 gm	atSouthern MissSat
694 down 4 places since last week	East Carolina	0‑2	American Athletic	1477	-8.1O96/D98	D74O113	-3.2	—	—	#502 gm	atOld DominionSat
7010 down 10 places since last week	Kentucky	1‑1	SEC	1476	8.5O51/D28	D35O67	6.5	—	—	#131 gm	atTexas A&MSat
7134 down 34 places since last week	Sacramento State	1‑2	Mid-American	1476	-19.1O123/D122	D85O121	-18.4	—	—	#1012 gm	vsNorth Dakota StateSun
722 down 2 places since last week	Wisconsin	1‑1	Big Ten	1475	-1.5O113/D34	D42O106	3.8	—	—	#11 gm	vsEastern MichiganSat
736 down 6 places since last week	Kansas	1‑1	Big 12	1473	7.5O38/D56	D81O44	4.0	—	—	#241 gm	vsArizona StateSat
7421 up 21 places since last week	Michigan State	2‑0	Big Ten	1468	1.0O60/D66	D79O92	1.3	—	—	#832 gm	atNotre DameSat
752 up 2 places since last week	UCF	1‑1	Big 12	1465	5.9O65/D32	D62O101	4.8	—	—	#291 gm	vsGeorgia StateSat
76	Nevada	1‑1	Mountain West	1462	-6.1O101/D82	D68O50	-3.1	—	—	#1231 gm	atMiddle TennesseeSat
7714 down 14 places since last week	Louisiana Tech	1‑1	Sun Belt	1454	-3.8O82/D87	D63O91	-6.0	—	—	#191 gm	atBaylorSat
7834 up 34 places since last week	Fresno State	1‑1	Pac-12	1449	-7.6O117/D70	D102O117	-7.0	—	—	#362 gm	atSan José StateSun
79	Texas State	0‑2	Pac-12	1441	-7.8O42/D132	D86O25	-7.9	—	—	#222 gm	vsNorth TexasSat
8012 up 12 places since last week	UCLA	2‑0	Big Ten	1438	9.2O31/D46	D48O22	5.1	—	—	#902 gm	vsPurdueSun
811 up 1 places since last week	Jacksonville State	1‑2	Conference USA	1432	-7.0O80/D104	D117O124	-10.0	—	—	#882 gm	vsGeorgia SouthernSat
824 up 4 places since last week	Hawai'i	1‑2	Mountain West	1426	-7.0O92/D101	D104O135	-6.9	—	—	#1023 gm	atWyomingSat
832 up 2 places since last week	Air Force	1‑1	Mountain West	1424	1.1O63/D67	D137O68	-5.8	—	—	#531 gm	atNevadaSat
8417 up 17 places since last week	Maryland	2‑0	Big Ten	1424	9.1O50/D30	D57O78	2.9	—	—	#781 gm	vsVirginia TechSat
8513 up 13 places since last week	Virginia Tech	2‑0	ACC	1421	12.4O25/D28	D87O56	9.3	—	—	#1171 gm	atMarylandSat
865 up 5 places since last week	Troy	2‑0	Sun Belt	1420	-11.4O105/D107	D91O119	-9.0	—	—	#1351 gm	atMissouriSat
872 up 2 places since last week	San José State	2‑1	Mountain West	1413	-12.8O110/D107	D38O88	-10.1	—	—	#442 gm	vsFresno StateSun
881 up 1 places since last week	UAB	1‑1	American Athletic	1411	-16.0O100/D128	D130O49	-14.5	—	—	#1202 gm	atLouisianaSun
891 up 1 places since last week	Colorado	2‑0	Big 12	1406	2.1O73/D48	D66O112	4.9	—	—	#581 gm	atNorthwesternSat
902 up 2 places since last week	Delaware	1‑1	Conference USA	1404	-7.6O79/D111	D118O74	-4.6	—	—	#181 gm	vsCoastal CarolinaSat
911 up 1 places since last week	North Carolina	2‑0	ACC	1398	5.8O83/D24	D30O73	6.3	—	—	#431 gm	atClemsonSat
92	South Alabama	1‑1	Sun Belt	1390	-11.4O90/D118	D110O60	-9.6	—	—	#621 gm	vsOhioSat
934 down 4 places since last week	Louisiana	1‑1	Sun Belt	1389	-5.7O60/D107	D116O71	-6.7	—	—	#121 gm	vsUABSun
94	Marshall	1‑1	Sun Belt	1389	-14.4O87/D133	D128O85	-13.5	—	—	#482 gm	atMissouri StateSat
9510 up 10 places since last week	Florida International	1‑1	Conference USA	1385	-13.5O108/D115	D49O116	-12.1	—	—	#642 gm	atFlorida AtlanticSat
965 up 5 places since last week	Boston College	1‑1	ACC	1379	-7.4O96/D98	D88O104	-4.6	—	—	#862 gm	vsMaineSat
972 down 2 places since last week	Georgia Southern	1‑1	Sun Belt	1376	-5.8O81/D100	D125O80	-8.0	—	—	#611 gm	atJacksonville StateSat
983 up 3 places since last week	Utah State	0‑2	Pac-12	1376	-11.5O104/D106	D89O61	-10.4	—	—	#171 gm	atUtahSat
995 down 5 places since last week	Kennesaw State	1‑1	Conference USA	1373	-7.4O94/D92	D100O99	-5.5	—	—	#1301 gm	atTennesseeSat
100	Rutgers	0‑2	Big Ten	1372	-3.6O54/D105	D135O55	-6.9	—	—	#1312 gm	vsUSCSat
1012 down 2 places since last week	Buffalo	1‑1	Mid-American	1365	-11.6O125/D80	D92O130	-12.6	—	—	#1061 gm	atPenn StateSat
1023 up 3 places since last week	West Virginia	2‑0	Big 12	1365	-4.4O85/D88	D103O108	-0.8	—	—	#1261 gm	atVirginiaSat
1033 up 3 places since last week	Stanford	1‑1	ACC	1354	-4.7O96/D73	D99O81	-4.7	—	—	#322 gm	atDukeSat
1042 up 2 places since last week	Arkansas State	1‑1	Sun Belt	1353	-15.1O102/D123	D132O98	-10.7	—	—	#511 gm	atTCUSun
1058 down 8 places since last week	Eastern Michigan	1‑2	Mid-American	1353	-15.6O121/D112	D69O127	-15.5	—	—	#853 gm	atWisconsinSat
10612 down 12 places since last week	Southern Miss	1‑1	Sun Belt	1350	-14.9O105/D120	D73O58	-3.0	—	—	#401 gm	vsUConnSat
1076 up 6 places since last week	California	1‑1	ACC	1349	-3.4O63/D96	D123O96	-3.0	—	—	#1112 gm	vsWagnerSat
10820 down 20 places since last week	Bowling Green	0‑2	Mid-American	1340	-12.8O126/D84	D83O133	-14.8	—	—	#451 gm	atIowa StateSat
1093 up 3 places since last week	Colorado State	2‑0	Pac-12	1336	-7.5O114/D74	D120O57	-7.9	—	—	#1241 gm	vsBYUSat
1104 down 4 places since last week	Old Dominion	1‑1	Sun Belt	1336	-6.2O109/D67	D36O75	-6.1	—	—	#981 gm	vsEast CarolinaSat
11116 down 16 places since last week	Western Kentucky	0‑2	Conference USA	1327	-13.1O96/D121	D131O95	-11.6	—	—	#342 gm	atIndianaSat
1125 up 5 places since last week	Ohio	1‑1	Mid-American	1318	-16.4O130/D91	D127O84	-9.9	—	—	#682 gm	atSouth AlabamaSat
1133 up 3 places since last week	Purdue	1‑1	Big Ten	1318	1.2O67/D67	D77O70	-1.6	—	—	#651 gm	atUCLASun
1143 up 3 places since last week	Temple	1‑1	American Athletic	1312	-4.9O60/D107	D94O87	-7.3	—	—	#41 gm	atToledoSat
1157 up 7 places since last week	App State	2‑0	Sun Belt	1310	-7.2O89/D103	D96O109	-5.2	—	—	#791 gm	vsCharlotteSat
1166 up 6 places since last week	Wyoming	1‑1	Mountain West	1300	-15.2O128/D85	D95O123	-17.6	—	—	#1181 gm	atCentral MichiganSat
1173 up 3 places since last week	Syracuse	1‑1	ACC	1288	2.7O73/D52	D78O111	3.5	—	—	#1151 gm	atPittsburghThu
1182 down 2 places since last week	Missouri State	1‑1	Conference USA	1284	-24.3O129/D128	D109O126	-15.9	—	—	#71 gm	vsMarshallSat
1193 up 3 places since last week	Middle Tennessee	1‑1	Conference USA	1276	-20.8O122/D131	D113O103	-15.4	—	—	#1051 gm	vsNevadaSat
1201 up 1 places since last week	Coastal Carolina	1‑1	Sun Belt	1270	-12.1O95/D117	D112O69	-11.1	—	—	#1101 gm	atDelawareSat
1214 up 4 places since last week	Tulsa	2‑0	American Athletic	1268	-2.3O78/D83	D47O105	-3.4	—	—	#1342 gm	vsEast Texas A&MSun
1224 down 4 places since last week	Northern Illinois	0‑2	Mountain West	1266	-22.3O136/D119	D129O137	-17.7	—	—	#91 gm	atArizonaSun
1232 up 2 places since last week	Oregon State	0‑2	Pac-12	1260	-6.8O103/D77	D105O102	-7.2	—	—	#262 gm	vsMontanaSun
1241 up 1 places since last week	Central Michigan	1‑1	Mid-American	1259	-20.0O131/D113	D80O128	-17.1	—	—	#551 gm	vsWyomingSat
125	Miami (OH)	1‑1	Mid-American	1259	-10.0O120/D86	D121O110	-12.2	—	—	#301 gm	atCincinnatiSat
1262 up 2 places since last week	New Mexico State	1‑2	Conference USA	1259	-15.0O118/D113	D106O120	-13.0	—	—	#762 gm	vsNew MexicoSat
12712 up 12 places since last week	Georgia State	2‑0	Sun Belt	1241	-22.7O116/D137	D114O94	-12.6	—	—	#1081 gm	atUCFSat
1283 up 3 places since last week	Oklahoma State	1‑1	Big 12	1212	1.1O68/D65	D97O134	-1.6	—	—	#492 gm	vsMurray StateSat
1294 down 4 places since last week	Rice	1‑1	American Athletic	1196	-10.4O115/D96	D93O122	-12.1	—	—	#21 gm	vsWestern MichiganSat
1301 up 1 places since last week	Florida Atlantic	1‑1	American Athletic	1189	-12.2O73/D133	D133O82	-15.3	—	—	#412 gm	vsFlorida InternationalSat
1311 down 1 places since last week	Charlotte	0‑2	American Athletic	1182	-26.0O127/D136	D107O132	-17.2	—	—	#111 gm	atApp StateSat
1322 up 2 places since last week	Sam Houston	0‑2	Conference USA	1164	-21.5O124/D127	D119O114	-16.6	—	—	#1162 gm	vsNichollsSat
1332 up 2 places since last week	UTEP	1‑1	Mountain West	1163	-24.3O132/D125	D101O136	-19.1	—	—	#151 gm	atMichiganSat
134	Ball State	1‑1	Mid-American	1112	-25.0O134/D126	D124O138	-19.0	—	—	#31 gm	atLibertySat
1351 down 1 places since last week	Massachusetts	2‑0	Mid-American	1076	-25.8O134/D130	D115O129	-11.0	—	—	#1091 gm	vsStonehillSat
1362 up 2 places since last week	UL Monroe	0‑2	Sun Belt	1071	-33.2O138/D138	D136O131	-24.3	—	—	#742 gm	vsSE LouisianaSat
137	Kent State	1‑1	Mid-American	1056	-27.5O136/D135	D138O118	-23.6	—	—	#201 gm	atOhio StateSat
138	Akron	1‑1	Mid-American	929	-21.4O133/D116	D134O107	-16.8	—	—	#661 gm	atMinnesotaSat

Best offense: USC+22.0 pts/gm
Best defense: LSU-22.4 pts/gm

Up since Week 1

Down since Week 1

Toughest road left

Hardest remaining schedule in the country.

Easiest road left

Softest run-in of anyone still playing.

We rate higher

Ranked teams the model likes more than the human poll.

We rate lower

Poll darlings the model is not sold on.

2026 coverage: Elo 138/138 · SP+ 138/138 · FPI 138/138 · CORE off/def 138/138 · schedule 137/138 · AP poll 26. Metrics with no teams yet this season are left out of the table rather than shown as a column of dashes.

What do these columns mean?

Rec CollegeFootballData: Wins–losses. Sorting by it uses win percentage, so 3-0 outranks 4-3.
Elo CollegeFootballData: A results-based rating: teams trade points for every game, and beating a strong team is worth more than beating a weak one. It knows who won and by how much, and nothing else — so it needs games before it means anything.
SP+ Bill Connelly, via CollegeFootballData: An efficiency rating built from play-by-play rather than results, expressed as a predicted scoring margin against an average team. It is published before kickoff, which is why this board falls back to it early in a season.
FPI ESPN, via CollegeFootballData: ESPN's Football Power Index — its own predicted margin against an average opponent.
Schedule Gridpex, from the season's results: How hard the season has been: the average rating of the opponents a team has actually played, ranked against every other team — #1 is the toughest schedule in the country. The count beneath it is how many rated opponents that average is built from, which in September is often one. Who has it easy from here is in the road lists below the table.
AP · Δ vs AP Associated Press: The human poll of sportswriters. Δ is how far this board's order differs from theirs — positive means we have the team higher than the voters do.
Off / Def (CORE) Gridpex — ours, published nowhere else: Opponent- and situation-adjusted efficiency, in points per 100 qualifying plays, above average. Offense is better when high, defense when low. It is the one rating here that publishes how sure it is: /ratings shows the range each team could plausibly occupy, and most of the table is wider than the gap between neighbouring ranks.

Every rating here is bought in except CORE, which we build. How we build it →

What is CORE? (our own rating — not available anywhere else)

Every other column on this page is bought in — Elo, SP+, FPI, SRS and the AP poll all arrive from CollegeFootballData. CORE is the exception. We build it here, from play-by-play, and it is published nowhere else.

It answers a narrower question than a power rating: how good is this team per play, once you remove the situations it happened to face and the opponents it happened to draw? Two teams can post identical yards per play when one of them ran its snaps at a three-score lead against the worst defenses on the schedule. That gap is most of the difference between the two numbers, and every raw per-play stat carries it.

So we remove both, in two stages. First the situation: each play’s expected value is predicted from game state alone — period, clock, score margin, down, distance, field position, home or away, pass or rush — with no team identity in the model at all, and what is left over is the part the situation does not explain. Then the opponent: offenses and defenses form one connected network over a season, so both sides are fitted at once by ridge regression rather than credited separately. Ridge specifically, because in September the schedule graph is barely connected and an unregularised fit hands a huge rating to whoever beat an overmatched opener.

Reported in points per 100 qualifying plays, above average. Offense is better when high, defense when low. Overtime, garbage time, FBS-vs-FCS games, special teams and non-scrimmage plays are all excluded.

⚠ CORE is a measurement, not a forecast. It says what a team has already done per play, adjusted. It does not say who wins next week — that is a separate model, and the two are kept as separate objects on purpose. Full method →