2018 final top-25

Well, Savvy got it right — just — not right-right.

Savvy predicted that Clemson would topple mighty Alabama.  What it didn’t forsee was the 28-point margin nor the paltry 60 total points.  The system had expected 75 but Alabama fell all over itself and we came up short.

Indeed, Alabama is better than it showed and fans will tell you the game just wasn’t “Tidy”.   But I suspect there might be more to it than that.

Each team had moments of failure and being behind in the score.  Yet, the difference in sidelines was remarkable.  Even under stress, the Tigers were spirited and full of energy and coach Dabo Swinney was upbeat and stirring excitement.

However, on the other side, when Alabama stumbled, coach Nick Saban groused, stared-down players, and spouted profanities while his players lowered their heads and frowned.

Of course, there is more to football championship games than that, but I believe Swinney’s up-spirit style will influence coaching hires across the country.  But then, that is just a personal opinion.

I had imagined that after a dire loss, Alabama would drop to fourth or fifth after the loss but Savvy still sees the Tide as the second-best team in the land.

The team that went the farthest to reach the final rankings was Utah State after the Aggies started the season in the bottom half of FBS.   From the preseason rankings until now, the team that fell the furthest was Virginia Tech after it started 13th and ended 57th.

Which conference was the best?  Which was the worst?   Savvy Index produces that information each as part of the preparation for the next season and we will publish those findings in the next few days.

 

		Savvy Index 2018
		Final Top 25
		season a 646-187    season b 617-216
value	rank	postseason: 22-17	wins	losses
568	1	Clemson	15	0
557	2	Alabama	14	1
555	3	Notre Dame	12	1
554	4	Ohio St.	13	1
543	5	Oklahoma	12	2
539	6	UCF	12	1
538	7	Washington St.	11	2
537	8	Georgia	11	3
534	9	LSU	10	3
531	10	Michigan	10	3
531	11	Kentucky	10	3
530	12	Florida	10	3
530	13	Syracuse	10	3
529	14	Fresno St.	12	2
526	15	Army	11	2
525	16	Penn St.	9	4
524	17	Iowa	9	4
524	18	N Carolina St.	9	4
523	19	Washington	10	4
523	20	Stanford	9	4
521	21	Texas	10	4
521	22	App State	11	2
521	23	Utah St.	11	2
520	24	Texas A&M	9	4
520	25	Oregon	9	4

 

 

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