Some years are more orderly than others. The 1974 season may have been the most orderly of all-time.
Your AP preseason top 8: 1 Oklahoma, 2 Ohio State, 3 Notre Dame, 4 Alabama, 5 USC, 6 Michigan, 7 Nebraska, 8 Penn State
Your year-end AP top 9: 1 Oklahoma, 2 USC, 3 Michigan, 4 Ohio State, 5 Alabama, 6 Notre Dame, 7 Penn State, 8 Auburn, 9 Nebraska
You have to reach down to Auburn, unranked in the preseason, to find any sort of surprise. Meanwhile, you have to go down to preseason No. 9 LSU to find a disappointing team. The teams that were supposed to be good, were good.
Almost nobody was great, though. Oklahoma was incredible (and ineligible for the postseason because of NCAA sanctions), Alabama was excellent until a slight upset loss to Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl (the second straight postseason loss to Notre Dame that cost them a national title), and no one else was at higher than the 96.2 percentile. (For comparison, five teams hit that mark in 1975.)
That opened the door for Miami (Ohio). The then-Redskins are one of the teams in my book (starting halfback: Randy Walker, future Miami and Northwestern head coach), and honestly, if they hadn't slipped up and tied Purdue -- a team that would whoop Notre Dame the next week before fading down the stretch -- they would have had a really, really strong Hypothetical Playoff case. As it stood, OU won the AP title basically by default because of Alabama's loss, and with the Sooners ineligible for the UPI title, it went to two-blemish USC. That's fine. USC was good. But Bama and OU were better.
By the way, it was another dumb bowl year. With OU ineligible, No. 2 Bama played No. 9 Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl, No. 3 Ohio State played No. 5 USC in the Rose, No. 6 Auburn played No. 11 Texas in the Gator, No. 7 Penn State played No. 12 Baylor in the Cotton, and No. 8 Nebraska played No. 18 Florida in the Sugar. (No. 4 Michigan was ineligible because this was the Big Ten's last year of stubbornly only sending one team bowling.) This did not affect the quality of the games -- ND upset Bama, USC beat Ohio State by one, Nebraska beat UF by three, and only Auburn-Texas (27-3 AU) and PSU-Baylor (41-20 PSU) were blowouts. But the magnitude of these bowls was almost nonexistent.
| S&P+ Rk | Team | Record | Est S&P+ | Percentile | Off. S&P+ | Rk | Def. S&P+ | Rk |
| 1 | Oklahoma | 11-0 | 27.8 | 99.62% | 39.7 | 1 | 11.9 | 11 |
| 2 | Alabama | 11-1 | 22.0 | 98.27% | 28.7 | 10 | 6.7 | 1 |
| 3 | USC | 10-1-1 | 18.5 | 96.24% | 30.3 | 7 | 11.8 | 10 |
| 4 | Miami-OH | 10-0-1 | 18.3 | 96.09% | 26.6 | 18 | 8.3 | 2 |
| 5 | Michigan | 10-1 | 18.1 | 95.90% | 27.2 | 13 | 9.1 | 4 |
| 6 | Ohio State | 10-2 | 18.0 | 95.84% | 32.7 | 2 | 14.6 | 25 |
| 7 | Auburn | 10-2 | 17.3 | 95.14% | 25.6 | 23 | 8.4 | 3 |
| 8 | Maryland | 8-4 | 16.7 | 94.54% | 25.8 | 21 | 9.1 | 5 |
| 9 | Texas | 8-4 | 16.1 | 93.88% | 31.6 | 3 | 15.5 | 29 |
| 10 | Florida | 8-4 | 15.7 | 93.45% | 26.9 | 14 | 11.2 | 8 |
| 11 | Mississippi State | 9-3 | 14.4 | 91.72% | 30.2 | 8 | 15.8 | 32 |
| 12 | Tennessee | 7-3-2 | 13.0 | 89.47% | 22.8 | 42 | 9.8 | 6 |
| 13 | Arkansas | 6-4-1 | 13.0 | 89.35% | 26.9 | 16 | 13.9 | 20 |
| 14 | Nebraska | 9-3 | 12.8 | 89.13% | 27.5 | 12 | 14.6 | 26 |
| 15 | Pittsburgh | 7-4 | 11.8 | 87.15% | 25.4 | 24 | 13.6 | 16 |
| 16 | Kentucky | 6-5 | 11.7 | 87.04% | 26.0 | 20 | 14.2 | 22 |
| 17 | Oklahoma State | 7-5 | 11.7 | 86.97% | 24.4 | 33 | 12.7 | 13 |
| 18 | Notre Dame | 10-2 | 11.3 | 86.04% | 25.0 | 29 | 13.7 | 18 |
| 19 | Penn State | 10-2 | 10.8 | 85.07% | 24.7 | 31 | 13.9 | 19 |
| 20 | Temple | 8-2 | 10.7 | 84.76% | 30.0 | 9 | 19.4 | 67 |
| 21 | San Diego State | 8-2-1 | 10.6 | 84.58% | 26.3 | 19 | 15.7 | 30 |
| 22 | Georgia | 6-6 | 10.5 | 84.36% | 30.8 | 5 | 20.3 | 75 |
| 23 | Baylor | 8-4 | 10.3 | 83.95% | 25.0 | 30 | 14.6 | 24 |
| 24 | NC State | 9-2-1 | 9.7 | 82.46% | 28.2 | 11 | 18.5 | 57 |
| 25 | Boston College | 8-3 | 9.6 | 82.21% | 26.9 | 17 | 17.3 | 45 |
| S&P+ Rk | Team | Record | Est S&P+ | Percentile | Off. S&P+ | Rk | Def. S&P+ | Rk |
| 26 | Texas A&M | 8-3 | 9.6 | 82.08% | 20.8 | 58 | 11.2 | 7 |
| 27 | Wisconsin | 7-4 | 9.3 | 81.52% | 31.3 | 4 | 22.0 | 87 |
| 28 | Michigan State | 7-3-1 | 9.1 | 80.92% | 25.8 | 22 | 16.6 | 38 |
| 29 | Yale | 8-1 | 8.6 | 79.66% | 21.1 | 54 | 12.4 | 12 |
| 30 | Missouri | 7-4 | 8.5 | 79.29% | 23.4 | 37 | 14.9 | 28 |
| 31 | Bowling Green | 6-4-1 | 7.8 | 77.25% | 24.4 | 32 | 16.7 | 39 |
| 32 | Vanderbilt | 7-3-2 | 7.5 | 76.34% | 25.1 | 27 | 17.6 | 51 |
| 33 | North Carolina | 7-5 | 7.4 | 76.10% | 30.6 | 6 | 23.2 | 90 |
| 34 | Houston | 8-3-1 | 7.3 | 75.91% | 23.0 | 40 | 15.7 | 31 |
| 35 | Harvard | 7-2 | 6.6 | 73.55% | 23.6 | 36 | 17.0 | 42 |
| 36 | Texas Tech | 6-4-2 | 6.5 | 73.50% | 17.8 | 82 | 11.3 | 9 |
| 37 | Iowa State | 4-7 | 6.3 | 72.74% | 20.6 | 59 | 14.3 | 23 |
| 38 | LSU | 5-5-1 | 6.1 | 72.06% | 19.8 | 63 | 13.7 | 17 |
| 39 | Tulsa | 8-3 | 6.0 | 71.95% | 25.3 | 25 | 19.2 | 65 |
| 40 | Georgia Tech | 6-5 | 5.7 | 70.80% | 23.3 | 38 | 17.6 | 50 |
| 41 | Colorado | 5-6 | 5.2 | 69.25% | 26.9 | 15 | 21.7 | 83 |
| 42 | Clemson | 7-4 | 4.9 | 67.97% | 25.0 | 28 | 20.2 | 72 |
| 43 | Miami-FL | 6-5 | 4.2 | 65.78% | 18.3 | 78 | 14.0 | 21 |
| 44 | California | 7-3-1 | 4.1 | 65.35% | 24.3 | 34 | 20.2 | 73 |
| 45 | Ohio | 6-5 | 3.9 | 64.67% | 22.0 | 48 | 18.1 | 54 |
| 46 | Kent | 7-4 | 3.9 | 64.59% | 20.8 | 57 | 16.9 | 40 |
| 47 | BYU | 7-4-1 | 3.6 | 63.57% | 22.7 | 43 | 19.1 | 62 |
| 48 | Stanford | 5-4-2 | 3.4 | 62.98% | 21.0 | 55 | 17.6 | 49 |
| 49 | Hawaii | 6-5 | 2.9 | 61.09% | 19.9 | 62 | 16.9 | 41 |
| 50 | Arizona State | 7-5 | 2.8 | 60.48% | 19.3 | 72 | 16.5 | 36 |
| S&P+ Rk | Team | Record | Est S&P+ | Percentile | Off. S&P+ | Rk | Def. S&P+ | Rk |
| 51 | Southern Miss | 6-5 | 2.6 | 59.86% | 17.4 | 86 | 14.8 | 27 |
| 52 | Utah State | 8-3 | 2.5 | 59.49% | 18.9 | 75 | 16.4 | 35 |
| 53 | San Jose State | 8-3-1 | 2.5 | 59.40% | 21.6 | 49 | 19.2 | 63 |
| 54 | Rutgers | 7-3-1 | 2.5 | 59.35% | 22.1 | 47 | 19.6 | 68 |
| 55 | Arizona | 9-2 | 2.1 | 57.94% | 20.9 | 56 | 18.8 | 60 |
| 56 | Tampa | 6-5 | 2.1 | 57.92% | 22.2 | 45 | 20.1 | 71 |
| 57 | Kansas | 4-7 | 2.0 | 57.49% | 19.3 | 71 | 17.4 | 46 |
| 58 | Kansas State | 4-7 | 1.9 | 57.15% | 22.6 | 44 | 20.7 | 80 |
| 59 | Memphis | 7-4 | 1.7 | 56.64% | 17.8 | 83 | 16.0 | 33 |
| 60 | Lamar | 8-2 | 1.7 | 56.48% | 14.7 | 105 | 13.0 | 14 |
| 61 | UCLA | 6-3-2 | 1.5 | 55.90% | 19.6 | 66 | 18.0 | 53 |
| 62 | Cincinnati | 7-4 | 1.4 | 55.44% | 19.4 | 68 | 18.0 | 52 |
| 63 | East Carolina | 7-4 | 1.3 | 54.83% | 20.1 | 61 | 18.8 | 59 |
| 64 | West Virginia | 4-7 | 1.1 | 54.04% | 20.3 | 60 | 19.2 | 64 |
| 65 | Arkansas State | 7-3 | 1.0 | 53.69% | 18.2 | 79 | 17.3 | 44 |
| 66 | Duke | 6-5 | 0.9 | 53.36% | 19.0 | 73 | 18.1 | 55 |
| 67 | West Texas A&M | 6-5 | 0.9 | 53.29% | 17.1 | 88 | 16.2 | 34 |
| 68 | SMU | 6-4-1 | 0.6 | 52.22% | 21.3 | 52 | 20.7 | 78 |
| 69 | Purdue | 4-6-1 | 0.1 | 50.50% | 22.1 | 46 | 22.0 | 86 |
| 70 | Ole Miss | 3-8 | -0.1 | 49.67% | 17.0 | 89 | 17.1 | 43 |
| 71 | Washington | 5-6 | -0.4 | 48.48% | 25.2 | 26 | 25.6 | 103 |
| 72 | Princeton | 4-4-1 | -0.8 | 46.95% | 18.9 | 74 | 19.7 | 69 |
| 73 | Illinois | 6-4-1 | -0.9 | 46.72% | 18.5 | 76 | 19.3 | 66 |
| 74 | Virginia Tech | 4-7 | -1.6 | 43.81% | 23.8 | 35 | 25.4 | 101 |
| 75 | Virginia | 4-7 | -1.8 | 43.29% | 19.4 | 70 | 21.2 | 82 |
| S&P+ Rk | Team | Record | Est S&P+ | Percentile | Off. S&P+ | Rk | Def. S&P+ | Rk |
| 76 | Colorado State | 4-6-1 | -1.8 | 43.23% | 23.1 | 39 | 24.9 | 98 |
| 77 | Dartmouth | 3-6 | -1.9 | 42.83% | 11.7 | 120 | 13.6 | 15 |
| 78 | Navy | 4-7 | -2.2 | 41.54% | 15.2 | 102 | 17.4 | 47 |
| 79 | Rice | 2-8-1 | -2.4 | 40.86% | 14.1 | 108 | 16.5 | 37 |
| 80 | Oregon State | 3-8 | -2.6 | 40.04% | 21.5 | 50 | 24.1 | 95 |
| 81 | Fresno State | 5-7 | -2.6 | 39.99% | 18.0 | 80 | 20.6 | 76 |
| 82 | Toledo | 6-5 | -3.3 | 37.40% | 23.0 | 41 | 26.4 | 107 |
| 83 | Syracuse | 2-9 | -3.4 | 37.16% | 15.6 | 100 | 19.0 | 61 |
| 84 | Iowa | 3-8 | -3.4 | 37.13% | 19.4 | 67 | 22.9 | 89 |
| 85 | Florida State | 1-10 | -3.5 | 36.74% | 17.3 | 87 | 20.8 | 81 |
| 86 | VMI | 7-4 | -3.9 | 35.33% | 14.8 | 104 | 18.8 | 58 |
| 87 | Appalachian State | 6-5 | -4.3 | 34.00% | 16.3 | 93 | 20.6 | 77 |
| 88 | Holy Cross | 5-5-1 | -4.3 | 33.96% | 15.7 | 99 | 20.0 | 70 |
| 89 | Pennsylvania | 6-2-1 | -4.5 | 33.22% | 17.5 | 85 | 22.0 | 85 |
| 90 | Tulane | 5-6 | -6.0 | 28.25% | 14.7 | 106 | 20.7 | 79 |
| 91 | Brown | 5-4 | -6.2 | 27.54% | 11.4 | 121 | 17.6 | 48 |
| 92 | Indiana | 1-10 | -6.2 | 27.44% | 17.7 | 84 | 24.0 | 94 |
| 93 | Long Beach State | 6-5 | -6.4 | 26.98% | 19.7 | 65 | 26.0 | 104 |
| 94 | South Carolina | 4-7 | -6.5 | 26.76% | 21.2 | 53 | 27.6 | 115 |
| 95 | William & Mary | 4-7 | -6.9 | 25.49% | 18.4 | 77 | 25.3 | 100 |
| 96 | New Mexico State | 5-6 | -7.1 | 24.77% | 16.3 | 96 | 23.4 | 91 |
| 97 | Washington State | 2-9 | -7.6 | 23.16% | 15.9 | 98 | 23.5 | 92 |
| 98 | Pacific | 6-5 | -7.8 | 22.64% | 19.4 | 69 | 27.2 | 113 |
| 99 | New Mexico | 4-6-1 | -7.9 | 22.53% | 16.8 | 90 | 24.6 | 97 |
| 100 | Western Michigan | 3-8 | -8.0 | 22.04% | 16.5 | 92 | 24.5 | 96 |
| S&P+ Rk | Team | Record | Est S&P+ | Percentile | Off. S&P+ | Rk | Def. S&P+ | Rk |
| 101 | Cornell | 3-5-1 | -8.3 | 21.17% | 17.9 | 81 | 26.2 | 105 |
| 102 | Louisville | 4-7 | -8.4 | 20.99% | 13.5 | 110 | 21.9 | 84 |
| 103 | Villanova | 3-8 | -8.5 | 20.64% | 11.7 | 119 | 20.2 | 74 |
| 104 | The Citadel | 4-7 | -9.9 | 17.00% | 15.1 | 103 | 25.0 | 99 |
| 105 | UTEP | 4-7 | -10.0 | 16.78% | 19.8 | 64 | 29.8 | 123 |
| 106 | North Texas | 2-7-2 | -10.7 | 15.11% | 11.9 | 117 | 22.7 | 88 |
| 107 | Colgate | 4-6 | -10.9 | 14.75% | 21.3 | 51 | 32.2 | 129 |
| 108 | Air Force | 2-9 | -11.6 | 13.35% | 12.0 | 115 | 23.6 | 93 |
| 109 | Army | 3-8 | -11.6 | 13.18% | 16.3 | 95 | 27.9 | 117 |
| 110 | Richmond | 5-5 | -11.7 | 13.02% | 16.1 | 97 | 27.8 | 116 |
| 111 | Southern Illinois | 2-9 | -12.2 | 12.12% | 16.7 | 91 | 28.9 | 120 |
| 112 | Wake Forest | 1-10 | -12.5 | 11.49% | 12.9 | 111 | 25.4 | 102 |
| 113 | Furman | 5-6 | -13.5 | 9.79% | 4.7 | 128 | 18.2 | 56 |
| 114 | Minnesota | 4-7 | -13.8 | 9.19% | 14.2 | 107 | 28.0 | 118 |
| 115 | Wyoming | 2-9 | -13.9 | 9.07% | 12.7 | 112 | 26.6 | 110 |
| 116 | UL-Lafayette | 2-9 | -14.5 | 8.22% | 12.7 | 113 | 27.2 | 111 |
| 117 | UT-Chattanooga | 4-4 | -14.5 | 8.15% | 13.8 | 109 | 28.3 | 119 |
| 118 | TCU | 1-10 | -14.6 | 8.00% | 11.9 | 116 | 26.6 | 109 |
| 119 | Marshall | 1-10 | -15.3 | 7.08% | 11.9 | 118 | 27.2 | 112 |
| 120 | Northwestern | 3-8 | -15.3 | 7.06% | 16.3 | 94 | 31.6 | 127 |
| 121 | Drake | 3-7-1 | -16.1 | 6.11% | 15.3 | 101 | 31.4 | 126 |
| 122 | Wichita State | 1-9-1 | -17.0 | 5.15% | 9.6 | 125 | 26.5 | 108 |
| 123 | Oregon | 2-9 | -17.8 | 4.33% | 11.4 | 122 | 29.2 | 121 |
| 124 | Northern Illinois | 4-7 | -18.8 | 3.52% | 10.9 | 123 | 29.8 | 122 |
| 125 | Columbia | 1-8 | -18.9 | 3.48% | 8.6 | 126 | 27.5 | 114 |
| S&P+ Rk | Team | Record | Est S&P+ | Percentile | Off. S&P+ | Rk | Def. S&P+ | Rk |
| 126 | Dayton | 3-8 | -19.3 | 3.16% | 12.6 | 114 | 31.9 | 128 |
| 127 | Utah | 1-10 | -20.8 | 2.26% | 10.2 | 124 | 31.1 | 125 |
| 128 | Idaho | 2-8-1 | -22.4 | 1.56% | 3.8 | 129 | 26.2 | 106 |
| 129 | UT-Arlington | 1-10 | -22.6 | 1.49% | 7.8 | 127 | 30.4 | 124 |
Your hypothetical Playoff race
How would a Playoff race have taken shape with the No. 1 team ineligible? Here's your end-of-regular-season AP poll:
2. Alabama (11-0)
3. Ohio State (10-1)
4. Michigan (10-1)
5. USC (9-1-1)
6. Auburn (9-2)
7. Penn State (9-2)
8. Nebraska (8-3)
9. Notre Dame (9-2)
15. Miami (Ohio) (10-0-1)
The ACC champion (Maryland) had three losses, as did the SWC champion (Baylor). The Big 8 champion was ineligible. Basically, this is a four-team race, with the fifth team (Miami) likely out of the conversation thanks to the Purdue tie. So assuming Michigan is available for selecting -- in this Playoff-based reality, there are no single-bid leagues -- this is a pretty easy choice. I'll say we get 1 Alabama vs. 4 Michigan and 2 Ohio State vs. 3 USC. And I'll say we get an Alabama-USC matchup in the final. Heavyweights galore in 1974.
Other thoughts
- Utah: really, really, really bad in 1974. Oregon and TCU, too.
- This year's Missouri award for best team with a bad record: not Missouri! We'll go with Arkansas instead. The Razorbacks beat USC in Little Rock to start the season and lost to eventual SWC champ Baylor by just four points. They got crushed 38-7 by Texas (No. 9 in Est. S&P+) and 26-7 by Oklahoma State (No. 17) and lost by 10 to Texas A&M (No. 26), but they are 13th not only because of the 22-7 USC win, but also because most of their wins were dominant. They beat Tulsa, TCU, Colorado State, and Rice by a combined 177-15.
- This was a great year for SEC quality, and at an interesting time -- the league had only become fully integrated a couple of years earlier. But you've got Alabama at No. 2, Auburn No. 7, Florida No. 10, Mississippi State No. 11, Tennessee No. 12, Kentucky No. 16, and Georgia No. 22, and (not that it matters) you also had future members Arkansas (No. 13), Texas A&M (No. 26), and Missouri (No. 30) nearby.
- Yale: quite good in the 1970s. Carmen Cozza's Bulldogs/Eli were No. 29 in 1974 and were 36th or better 10 times between 1967 and 1981. Totally shoulda jumped to the Big Ten.
- (Hmm, there's a think piece for you. What if the Big Ten had added, like, Penn State and Yale in the mid-1970s...)
Next up: 1973, another completely orderly year.
Loading comments...