The AP Poll has been a factor in deciding the best college football teams for decades. Whether by itself or as part of an algorithm, the AP Poll was almost the final word on who would get to compete in the National Championship game but like anything else, times change.

The College Football Playoff

The College Football Playoff (CFP) came about in 2014 to replace the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). The BCS was rife with issues as the top two teams were decided by a static computer algorithm that tabulated multiple polls (including the AP) and spit out a top 25. The top two would then play for the National Championship.

Where the issues came was within that algorithm and how certain things were weighted, always favoring certain teams and undervaluing others. Many were unhappy so the CFP was born.

The difference the CFP brought was the way that they decided their top 25. It wasn't like the BCS and wasn't like the AP where specific voters across the country vote their best 25 teams and then its tabulated. The CFP selects the top 25 by committee, the Selection Committee as it is aptly named, made up of 13 administrators, former coaches and current athletics directors.

How the process works is interesting because the teams are chosen in blocks of five. The committee starts with teams 21-25, they all write down their five teams and discuss. If someone on the committee has a conflict like their own school or a school in their conference is up for discussion, they are removed until those five are decided. Then the process is repeated all the way up until the top 25 is formed.

AP Poll vs. CFP Poll

The AP Poll has been around for almost 90 years and has released rankings for each week of the college football season, including a preseason poll, for that time. The CFP only releases six polls.

The preseason AP Poll was released last week and every sports outlet in the country jumped on it and started the big conversation about who is the best in college football. That is the standard for who is the best in the nation... until week 10 of the season.

At that point, the first of the CFP polls is released and then the AP Poll means literally nothing. They have no say in who the National Champion will be, the CFP does when it selects the final four teams that will take part in the playoffs. With that being said, it's ironic that people even care about the AP Poll at all.

So, Who Cares?

Everyone and then absolutely no one. For two and a half months of the college football season, the AP Poll is gospel until all of a sudden, it isn't. I can only imagine how the voters feel when contributing to the AP Poll, and how the Associated Press feel, when people are literally waiting with bated breath to see who they vote where one week and then the next, their vote is worthless because the CFP, the real rankings, start up.

People like to have rankings because they have always had them. It's unclear why CFP doesn't put out rankings for the whole season but it is fair to say that they truly don't start to matter until around week 10 because a team ranked number one in week one can fall out of the top 25 by the time week 10 rolls around so they no longer matter. The CFP obviously still looks at the whole season when making decisions at the end but those first nine polls don't really mean anything other than fodder for fans and recruiting.

If the CFP were to do rankings the entire season, the AP would be almost entirely forgotten. But they don't, so the AP can ride out the glory for a couple months each year as the authority, but ultimately they have to know, only the CFP matters.

Mound Visit

Saints Sports Network is a Christian group that brings you interesting sports coverage. Our name comes from Ephesians 2:18-21 where it notes that all Christians are saints in God's eyes. Therefore we are saints who write about sports but also want to make sure to share the Gospel. That's where Mound Visit comes into play because we all need a visit to the mound from God in good times and bad to recenter our lives and trust in him. We'll do that by highlighting a Bible verse for you to think and pray about in each newsletter that you receive from us.