One thing we don't know about the College Football Playoff committee is how they'll handle a strong, dominant, undefeated mid-major. We probably wouldn't have in 1975 either, even though a late surge by Arizona State would have made things pretty interesting.
I keep talking about how bluebloods dominated the 1970s, and it's true -- Alabama, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Texas, and USC accounted for 41 of the 50 year-end top-five spots between 1970 and 1979. But before getting promoted from the WAC to the Pac-10 in 1978, Arizona State was on one hell of a run of its own.
Frank Kush's Sun Devils finished in the top 10 four times between 1970 and 1975 and, thanks to some favorable bowl results, rose to second in 1975, behind only Oklahoma. You also had Miami (Ohio) played excellent ball for the third straight year, and down in the Southland Conference, you had Arkansas State laying waste to all (mostly terrible) comers. Plus, you had Southern Miss going 7-4 but putting a high-quality product on the field while facing a hilariously brutal schedule: eight road games, a neutral-site game, and just two home games (against Fullerton State and BYU). It was a good year for mid-majors. It was also an underrated-silly year among the powers.
- Oklahoma outscored opponents, 341-131, in 11 wins. The Sooners beat eight-win Pitt by 36 and thumped 10-win Nebraska by 25 in the regular season finale. And on November 8, they lost to Kansas at home, 23-3.
- Alabama outscored opponents, 367-52, in 11 wins. But they did that after beginning the season by getting pasted by Missouri, 20-7, in Birmingham.
- Texas A&M reached No. 2 in the polls at the end of November, then lost its final two games, to No. 18 Arkansas and unranked USC, by a combined 51-6.
- Ohio State finished the regular season undefeated, beating four ranked opponents by a combined 57 points. One of those four was UCLA, which lost 41-20 to the Buckeyes on October 4 ... and then thumped them, 23-10, in the Rose Bowl to prevent the Buckeyes from winning the national title.
- Michigan began the season with a win and two ties against mediocre Baylor and Stanford teams. But the Wolverines still managed to climb to fourth in the poll heading into the Ohio State game.
OU was seventh in the polls on November 17 but managed to crawl back up to first by January 2. That takes a certain amount of chaos.
| S&P+ Rk | Team | Record | Est S&P+ | Percentile | Off. S&P+ | Rk | Def. S&P+ | Rk |
| 1 | Oklahoma | 11-1 | 22.1 | 98.57% | 31.8 | 2 | 9.7 | 3 |
| 2 | Alabama | 11-1 | 21.3 | 98.28% | 29.2 | 10 | 7.9 | 2 |
| 3 | Ohio State | 11-1 | 19.7 | 97.46% | 30.1 | 7 | 10.4 | 8 |
| 4 | Texas | 10-2 | 18.7 | 96.80% | 33.6 | 1 | 15.0 | 36 |
| 5 | Arkansas | 10-2 | 18.3 | 96.55% | 28.3 | 12 | 10.0 | 5 |
| 6 | Penn State | 9-3 | 17.9 | 96.19% | 24.0 | 34 | 6.1 | 1 |
| 7 | Arkansas State | 11-0 | 17.4 | 95.80% | 29.0 | 11 | 11.6 | 10 |
| 8 | Nebraska | 10-2 | 16.5 | 94.90% | 29.3 | 9 | 12.8 | 21 |
| 9 | Pittsburgh | 8-4 | 16.3 | 94.70% | 28.3 | 13 | 12.0 | 12 |
| 10 | Southern Miss | 7-4 | 14.7 | 92.83% | 26.6 | 20 | 11.8 | 11 |
| 11 | Florida | 9-3 | 14.0 | 91.82% | 24.4 | 32 | 10.4 | 7 |
| 12 | Missouri | 6-5 | 12.8 | 89.73% | 30.2 | 6 | 17.4 | 51 |
| 13 | Oklahoma State | 7-4 | 12.7 | 89.64% | 27.4 | 17 | 14.7 | 33 |
| 14 | Michigan | 8-2-2 | 12.6 | 89.39% | 25.2 | 27 | 12.6 | 18 |
| 15 | Texas A&M | 10-2 | 12.5 | 89.34% | 22.4 | 44 | 9.9 | 4 |
| 16 | Colorado | 9-3 | 12.5 | 89.20% | 30.5 | 5 | 18.1 | 57 |
| 17 | West Virginia | 9-3 | 12.3 | 88.79% | 25.8 | 25 | 13.5 | 24 |
| 18 | Georgia | 9-3 | 12.2 | 88.76% | 26.8 | 19 | 14.6 | 31 |
| 19 | Miami-OH | 11-1 | 12.2 | 88.62% | 24.7 | 29 | 12.5 | 17 |
| 20 | Arizona State | 12-0 | 11.8 | 87.98% | 26.0 | 24 | 14.2 | 28 |
| 21 | UCLA | 9-2-1 | 11.8 | 87.95% | 30.6 | 4 | 18.8 | 64 |
| 22 | San Jose State | 9-2 | 11.1 | 86.46% | 27.1 | 18 | 16.0 | 43 |
| 23 | California | 8-3 | 10.6 | 85.44% | 31.0 | 3 | 20.3 | 71 |
| 24 | Arizona | 9-2 | 10.4 | 84.81% | 27.9 | 14 | 17.5 | 52 |
| 25 | Ball State | 9-2 | 10.0 | 84.03% | 23.9 | 35 | 13.8 | 26 |
| S&P+ Rk | Team | Record | Est S&P+ | Percentile | Off. S&P+ | Rk | Def. S&P+ | Rk |
| 26 | Louisiana Tech | 8-2 | 9.8 | 83.57% | 27.8 | 16 | 18.0 | 56 |
| 27 | Maryland | 9-2-1 | 9.8 | 83.51% | 24.2 | 33 | 14.3 | 29 |
| 28 | Notre Dame | 8-3 | 9.7 | 83.17% | 22.4 | 43 | 12.8 | 20 |
| 29 | Ole Miss | 6-5 | 9.3 | 82.29% | 19.7 | 66 | 10.4 | 6 |
| 30 | Bowling Green | 8-3 | 8.9 | 81.25% | 24.7 | 30 | 15.7 | 41 |
| 31 | Michigan State | 7-4 | 8.2 | 79.31% | 21.8 | 51 | 13.5 | 23 |
| 32 | Texas Tech | 6-5 | 8.0 | 78.77% | 27.9 | 15 | 19.8 | 69 |
| 33 | Cincinnati | 6-5 | 7.9 | 78.42% | 21.7 | 52 | 13.8 | 25 |
| 34 | USC | 8-4 | 7.9 | 78.34% | 20.0 | 63 | 12.1 | 13 |
| 35 | Kansas | 7-5 | 7.9 | 78.24% | 22.3 | 45 | 14.5 | 30 |
| 36 | Mississippi State | 6-4-1 | 7.7 | 77.66% | 18.8 | 71 | 11.1 | 9 |
| 37 | Central Michigan | 8-2-1 | 7.6 | 77.40% | 23.1 | 39 | 15.5 | 38 |
| 38 | Rutgers | 9-2 | 7.5 | 77.03% | 19.8 | 65 | 12.3 | 14 |
| 39 | Harvard | 7-2 | 6.8 | 74.91% | 23.8 | 36 | 17.1 | 47 |
| 40 | Washington | 6-5 | 6.4 | 73.88% | 23.5 | 38 | 17.1 | 45 |
| 41 | Tennessee | 7-5 | 6.1 | 72.88% | 21.6 | 55 | 15.5 | 39 |
| 42 | NC State | 7-4-1 | 6.0 | 72.52% | 22.6 | 41 | 16.6 | 44 |
| 43 | Brown | 6-2-1 | 5.6 | 71.03% | 25.6 | 26 | 20.1 | 70 |
| 44 | San Diego State | 8-3 | 5.0 | 69.18% | 23.7 | 37 | 18.6 | 62 |
| 45 | Stanford | 6-4-1 | 5.0 | 68.89% | 29.9 | 8 | 24.9 | 112 |
| 46 | LSU | 4-7 | 4.9 | 68.54% | 18.8 | 72 | 13.9 | 27 |
| 47 | Yale | 7-2 | 4.0 | 65.30% | 18.8 | 70 | 14.9 | 35 |
| 48 | Navy | 7-4 | 3.9 | 64.89% | 16.4 | 99 | 12.5 | 16 |
| 49 | Auburn | 3-6-2 | 3.2 | 62.59% | 20.6 | 59 | 17.3 | 49 |
| 50 | Syracuse | 6-5 | 3.1 | 62.08% | 17.7 | 86 | 14.6 | 32 |
| S&P+ Rk | Team | Record | Est S&P+ | Percentile | Off. S&P+ | Rk | Def. S&P+ | Rk |
| 51 | Baylor | 3-6-2 | 3.0 | 61.79% | 20.4 | 60 | 17.4 | 50 |
| 52 | Eastern Michigan | 4-6 | 3.0 | 61.77% | 21.7 | 54 | 18.6 | 63 |
| 53 | Kentucky | 2-8-1 | 3.0 | 61.57% | 15.7 | 104 | 12.8 | 19 |
| 54 | Tulsa | 7-4 | 3.0 | 61.55% | 26.5 | 21 | 23.5 | 102 |
| 55 | Temple | 6-5 | 3.0 | 61.54% | 24.7 | 28 | 21.8 | 88 |
| 56 | Ohio | 5-5-1 | 2.8 | 60.88% | 15.3 | 110 | 12.5 | 15 |
| 57 | Dartmouth | 5-3-1 | 2.6 | 60.33% | 18.2 | 77 | 15.6 | 40 |
| 58 | Miami-FL | 2-8 | 2.5 | 59.70% | 21.0 | 57 | 18.6 | 60 |
| 59 | Long Beach State | 9-2 | 2.1 | 58.33% | 20.7 | 58 | 18.6 | 61 |
| 60 | South Carolina | 7-5 | 2.1 | 58.21% | 26.2 | 22 | 24.1 | 106 |
| 61 | Memphis | 7-4 | 1.8 | 57.21% | 16.7 | 95 | 14.8 | 34 |
| 62 | Boston College | 7-4 | 1.7 | 56.77% | 17.6 | 87 | 15.8 | 42 |
| 63 | BYU | 6-5 | 1.5 | 55.75% | 22.2 | 47 | 20.7 | 76 |
| 64 | New Mexico | 6-5 | 1.4 | 55.64% | 24.5 | 31 | 23.1 | 98 |
| 65 | Princeton | 4-5 | 1.4 | 55.48% | 18.4 | 75 | 17.1 | 46 |
| 66 | McNeese State | 7-4 | 1.4 | 55.45% | 20.4 | 61 | 19.0 | 65 |
| 67 | North Texas | 7-4 | 1.2 | 54.84% | 18.9 | 69 | 17.7 | 54 |
| 68 | Dayton | 5-6 | 0.9 | 53.37% | 19.1 | 68 | 18.2 | 58 |
| 69 | Georgia Tech | 7-4 | 0.8 | 53.09% | 21.8 | 50 | 21.0 | 80 |
| 70 | Appalachian State | 8-3 | 0.8 | 53.07% | 26.1 | 23 | 25.4 | 115 |
| 71 | Illinois | 5-6 | -0.4 | 48.49% | 22.1 | 48 | 22.5 | 92 |
| 72 | Hawaii | 6-5 | -0.4 | 48.34% | 12.8 | 120 | 13.3 | 22 |
| 73 | Toledo | 5-6 | -0.7 | 47.05% | 22.6 | 42 | 23.3 | 100 |
| 74 | SMU | 4-7 | -1.1 | 45.76% | 22.6 | 40 | 23.7 | 104 |
| 75 | Richmond | 5-6 | -1.1 | 45.56% | 18.2 | 78 | 19.3 | 66 |
| S&P+ Rk | Team | Record | Est S&P+ | Percentile | Off. S&P+ | Rk | Def. S&P+ | Rk |
| 76 | UL-Lafayette | 6-5 | -1.1 | 45.47% | 21.2 | 56 | 22.4 | 91 |
| 77 | Indiana State | 5-5 | -1.3 | 44.71% | 22.3 | 46 | 23.7 | 103 |
| 78 | UT-Arlington | 4-7 | -1.6 | 43.52% | 21.9 | 49 | 23.5 | 101 |
| 79 | Minnesota | 6-5 | -1.9 | 42.53% | 18.5 | 74 | 20.4 | 72 |
| 80 | Iowa State | 4-7 | -2.5 | 40.19% | 18.0 | 81 | 20.5 | 74 |
| 81 | Colorado State | 6-5 | -2.5 | 40.12% | 17.2 | 92 | 19.7 | 68 |
| 82 | Pacific | 5-6-1 | -3.1 | 38.10% | 19.5 | 67 | 22.6 | 93 |
| 83 | Pennsylvania | 3-6 | -3.2 | 37.55% | 17.3 | 89 | 20.5 | 73 |
| 84 | Virginia Tech | 8-3 | -3.6 | 36.21% | 15.9 | 102 | 19.4 | 67 |
| 85 | Kansas State | 3-8 | -3.6 | 35.98% | 13.4 | 118 | 17.1 | 48 |
| 86 | East Carolina | 8-3 | -3.8 | 35.38% | 17.8 | 83 | 21.6 | 85 |
| 87 | Purdue | 4-7 | -3.9 | 34.85% | 13.8 | 116 | 17.7 | 55 |
| 88 | Utah State | 6-5 | -4.1 | 34.08% | 16.5 | 97 | 20.7 | 75 |
| 89 | TCU | 1-10 | -4.4 | 33.19% | 17.3 | 91 | 21.6 | 86 |
| 90 | Wyoming | 2-9 | -4.6 | 32.36% | 16.4 | 98 | 21.0 | 79 |
| 91 | Duke | 4-5-2 | -4.6 | 32.28% | 16.3 | 100 | 20.9 | 78 |
| 92 | Oregon | 3-8 | -5.0 | 31.04% | 16.2 | 101 | 21.2 | 83 |
| 93 | Kent | 4-7 | -5.1 | 30.60% | 19.8 | 64 | 24.9 | 111 |
| 94 | Rice | 2-9 | -5.2 | 30.45% | 16.9 | 94 | 22.0 | 89 |
| 95 | Akron | 7-4 | -5.2 | 30.34% | 15.6 | 106 | 20.8 | 77 |
| 96 | Florida State | 3-8 | -5.8 | 28.39% | 15.3 | 109 | 21.0 | 81 |
| 97 | Colgate | 6-4 | -6.0 | 27.47% | 17.1 | 93 | 23.1 | 97 |
| 98 | Columbia | 2-7 | -6.1 | 27.18% | 21.7 | 53 | 27.8 | 123 |
| 99 | Vanderbilt | 7-4 | -6.3 | 26.52% | 11.3 | 128 | 17.6 | 53 |
| 100 | Iowa | 3-8 | -6.6 | 25.74% | 17.7 | 85 | 24.3 | 108 |
| S&P+ Rk | Team | Record | Est S&P+ | Percentile | Off. S&P+ | Rk | Def. S&P+ | Rk |
| 101 | West Texas A&M | 5-6 | -7.2 | 23.71% | 18.1 | 79 | 25.3 | 113 |
| 102 | Air Force | 2-8-1 | -7.5 | 22.94% | 15.4 | 107 | 22.9 | 96 |
| 103 | North Carolina | 3-7-1 | -7.8 | 22.02% | 17.9 | 82 | 25.7 | 117 |
| 104 | Washington State | 3-8 | -8.1 | 21.14% | 18.3 | 76 | 26.4 | 118 |
| 105 | Furman | 5-5-1 | -8.3 | 20.64% | 12.9 | 119 | 21.2 | 82 |
| 106 | UT-Chattanooga | 5-1-1 | -8.5 | 19.90% | 13.7 | 117 | 22.2 | 90 |
| 107 | Tulane | 4-7 | -8.6 | 19.78% | 10.0 | 132 | 18.5 | 59 |
| 108 | Northern Illinois | 3-8 | -9.0 | 18.72% | 14.2 | 115 | 23.2 | 99 |
| 109 | UL-Monroe | 4-6-1 | -9.3 | 17.71% | 17.8 | 84 | 27.1 | 121 |
| 110 | Wake Forest | 3-8 | -9.6 | 17.12% | 17.3 | 90 | 26.9 | 120 |
| 111 | Houston | 2-8 | -9.8 | 16.46% | 16.6 | 96 | 26.4 | 119 |
| 112 | Oregon State | 1-10 | -9.9 | 16.26% | 11.8 | 127 | 21.7 | 87 |
| 113 | Wisconsin | 4-6-1 | -10.0 | 15.98% | 14.4 | 113 | 24.4 | 109 |
| 114 | Clemson | 2-9 | -10.2 | 15.53% | 20.3 | 62 | 30.5 | 131 |
| 115 | Indiana | 2-8-1 | -10.6 | 14.54% | 10.9 | 131 | 21.5 | 84 |
| 116 | The Citadel | 6-5 | -11.2 | 13.24% | 3.8 | 137 | 15.0 | 37 |
| 117 | Cornell | 1-8 | -11.6 | 12.47% | 17.4 | 88 | 29.0 | 126 |
| 118 | Northwestern | 3-8 | -11.7 | 12.20% | 15.4 | 108 | 27.1 | 122 |
| 119 | Lamar | 1-10 | -11.8 | 12.14% | 11.1 | 129 | 22.8 | 95 |
| 120 | UTEP | 1-10 | -12.6 | 10.48% | 12.7 | 121 | 25.4 | 116 |
| 121 | Western Michigan | 1-10 | -12.9 | 10.10% | 12.5 | 123 | 25.3 | 114 |
| 122 | Holy Cross | 1-10 | -13.0 | 9.81% | 11.0 | 130 | 24.0 | 105 |
| 123 | William & Mary | 2-9 | -13.1 | 9.74% | 9.6 | 134 | 22.7 | 94 |
| 124 | Fullerton State | 2-9 | -14.1 | 8.06% | 18.7 | 73 | 32.8 | 134 |
| 125 | Fresno State | 3-8 | -14.2 | 7.99% | 15.7 | 105 | 29.8 | 129 |
| S&P+ Rk | Team | Record | Est S&P+ | Percentile | Off. S&P+ | Rk | Def. S&P+ | Rk |
| 126 | Villanova | 4-7 | -14.2 | 7.93% | 9.9 | 133 | 24.1 | 107 |
| 127 | New Mexico State | 5-6 | -14.3 | 7.76% | 14.6 | 111 | 29.0 | 125 |
| 128 | Marshall | 2-9 | -15.8 | 5.89% | 12.6 | 122 | 28.3 | 124 |
| 129 | Drake | 3-8 | -16.5 | 5.13% | 14.3 | 114 | 30.7 | 132 |
| 130 | VMI | 3-8 | -16.7 | 4.85% | 7.8 | 136 | 24.5 | 110 |
| 131 | Army | 2-9 | -17.3 | 4.29% | 12.2 | 124 | 29.5 | 128 |
| 132 | Southern Illinois | 1-9-1 | -18.0 | 3.73% | 15.8 | 103 | 33.7 | 136 |
| 133 | Utah | 1-10 | -18.0 | 3.70% | 12.1 | 125 | 30.1 | 130 |
| 134 | Illinois State | 2-7-1 | -18.7 | 3.17% | 14.4 | 112 | 33.1 | 135 |
| 135 | Virginia | 1-10 | -18.8 | 3.08% | 18.1 | 80 | 36.9 | 137 |
| 136 | Louisville | 1-10 | -19.0 | 2.98% | 11.8 | 126 | 30.8 | 133 |
| 137 | Wichita State | 3-8 | -19.7 | 2.51% | 9.5 | 135 | 29.2 | 127 |
Your hypothetical Playoff race
Here's your end-of-regular-season AP poll:
1. Ohio State (11-0)
2. Texas A&M (10-1*)
3. Oklahoma (10-1)
4. Alabama (10-1)
5. Michigan (8-1-2)
6. Nebraska (10-1)
7. Arizona State (11-0)
* A&M was unbeaten at the time of the last pre-bowl poll but had already lost to Arkansas when bowls came around. So they lost twice between the end-of-regular-season poll and the final poll.
This would have been a really, really interesting debate. Ohio State's in, obviously, but Texas A&M had just gotten rocked by Arkansas and had only beaten one ranked team (Texas). Oklahoma looked great but lost to Kansas. Alabama looked great but lost to Missouri and beat only one ranked team (Tennessee). Michigan had two dismal ties. Nebraska had wins over ranked Colorado and Missouri teams but had just gotten its doors blown off by Oklahoma.
So ... does ASU get in then? The Sun Devils had just beaten No. 12 Arizona and boasted easy wins over power-conference teams like Washington (No. 40 in Est. S&P+) and TCU (uh, No. 89). I could honestly see ASU getting the No. 4 seed in this scenario, couldn't you? Granted, the Sun Devils really weren't great (20th here), but they might have had both the résumé and the timing, with others getting blown out right before the hypothetical Playoff pairing.
I think we definitely have 1 Ohio State, 2 Oklahoma, and 3 Alabama. I kinda think ASU is No. 4. So we get 1 Ohio State vs. 4 Arizona State and a dynamite 2 Oklahoma vs. 3 Bama. The OU-Bama winner is favored over probably Ohio State in the finals.
Other thoughts:
- Four MAC teams in the top 37. The MAC was tough as nails in the early- to mid-1970s.
- Oh hey look, Missouri with a good ranking and a mediocre record again. Story of the 1970s.
- Clemson: 2-9 and 114th. Six years later, the Tigers won the national title.
- Arkansas State ranking seventh feels dicey, but ... look at their results. Only one game was decided by fewer than 17 points, and that was on the road against a pretty solid Cincy team. At the very least, they didn't prove that they WEREN'T top-10 caliber.
Next up: 1974, Miami (Ohio)'s moment in the sun.
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