We're in the fourth year of the College Football Playoff, which represents almost an entire recruiting cycle – the true freshmen in the 2014 season are now seniors. It feels like a good time to evaluate which teams have been ranked the most often, and the highest on average, in the playoff era.
RELATED: College Football Playoff scenarios for each of the top 11 teams
While 60 schools have been ranked at some point by the College Football Playoff selection committee, just three have been ranked in every edition of the rankings.
Here's the full breakdown:
Ranked the most
Here are the schools that have the 10 highest totals for the number of weeks ranked in the College Football Playoff rankings. Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State – the three schools that have won a national championship in the CFP era – have appeared in every set of rankings since the first on Oct. 28, 2014.
| School | Weeks Ranked | Active Streak |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 25 | 25 weeks |
| Clemson | 25 | 25 weeks |
| Ohio State | 25 | 25 weeks |
| Oklahoma | 23 | 18 weeks |
| LSU | 21 | 8 weeks |
| Wisconsin | 20 | 12 weeks |
| Auburn | 19 | 12 weeks |
| Michigan State | 19 | 6 weeks |
| TCU | 19 | 6 weeks |
| Florida State | 19 | 0 weeks |
| Utah | 19 | 0 weeks |
Ranked the highest on average
Which schools have the highest average rankings when they appear in the College Football Playoff selection committee's top 25? Alabama has a ridiculous average ranking of 2.2. The Crimson Tide's worst ranking in the CFP era was sixth, which was in the committee's first rankings in 2014.
Party in BDS
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL)
Miami, of course, benefits from its undefeated start this season. The Hurricanes were never ranked in the first three years of the College Football Playoff, so their average ranking is based on only a six-week sample size.
| School | Average Ranking (Weeks ranked) |
|---|---|
| Alabama | 2.20 (25 weeks) |
| Ohio State | 6.36 (25 weeks) |
| Miami | 6.50 (6 weeks) |
| Clemson | 7.08 (25 weeks) |
| Iowa | 7.43 (7 weeks) |
| Oregon | 8.18 (11 weeks) |
| Notre Dame | 8.27 (15 weeks) |
| Georgia | 9.00 (13 weeks) |
| Washington | 9.00 (12 weeks) |
| Penn State | 9.00 (12 weeks) |
Selection day darlings
Only five schools have been ranked on selection day in each of the last four seasons. Three of the five have made the College Football Playoff multiple times while the other two have just two combined top-10 finishes. USC and LSU have been staples in the College Football Playoff rankings, but they have never finished better than eighth.
| School | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | Average Final Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2.00 |
| Ohio State | 4 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 4.75 |
| Clemson | 17 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5.25 |
| USC | 24 | 25 | 9 | 8 | 16.50 |
| LSU | 23 | 20 | 20 | 17 | 20.00 |
Complete breakdown
Here is the overall breakdown of each of the 60 schools that have been ranked in the top 25 by the College Football Playoff selection committee, along with their average ranking and their ranking on selection day during each of the last four seasons.
| School | Weeks Ranked | Average Ranking | 2014 Finish | 2015 Finish | 2016 Finish | 2017 Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 25 | 2.20 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Ohio State | 25 | 6.36 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 5 |
| Clemson | 25 | 7.08 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Oklahoma | 23 | 9.52 | NR | 4 | 7 | 2 |
| LSU | 21 | 17.86 | 23 | 20 | 20 | 17 |
| Wisconsin | 20 | 11.75 | 18 | NR | 8 | 6 |
| TCU | 19 | 9.58 | 6 | 11 | NR | 15 |
| Florida State | 19 | 10.05 | 3 | 9 | 11 | NR |
| Auburn | 19 | 10.58 | 19 | NR | 14 | 7 |
| Michigan State | 19 | 10.95 | 8 | 3 | NR | 16 |
| Utah | 19 | 18.53 | 22 | 22 | 19 | NR |
| Oklahoma State | 18 | 13.44 | NR | 16 | 12 | 19 |
| USC | 17 | 15.88 | 24 | 25 | 9 | 8 |
| Mississippi State | 16 | 12.13 | 7 | NR | NR | 23 |
| Notre Dame | 15 | 8.27 | NR | 8 | NR | 14 |
| Stanford | 15 | 14.93 | NR | 6 | 18 | 13 |
| Baylor | 14 | 9.43 | 5 | 17 | NR | NR |
| Georgia | 13 | 9.00 | 13 | NR | NR | 3 |
| Michigan | 13 | 9.92 | NR | 14 | 6 | NR |
| Washington | 12 | 9.00 | NR | NR | 4 | 11 |
| Penn State | 12 | 9.00 | NR | NR | 5 | 9 |
| Ole Miss | 12 | 13.00 | 9 | 12 | NR | NR |
| Oregon | 11 | 8.18 | 2 | 15 | NR | NR |
| Florida | 11 | 14.45 | NR | 19 | 17 | NR |
| Louisville | 11 | 15.27 | 21 | NR | 13 | NR |
| Northwestern | 11 | 19.45 | NR | 13 | NR | 21 |
| Washington State | 11 | 20.00 | NR | NR | NR | 18 |
| UCLA | 10 | 16.10 | 14 | NR | NR | NR |
| Boise State | 10 | 22.30 | 20 | NR | NR | 25 |
| Virginia Tech | 9 | 19.67 | NR | NR | 22 | 22 |
| Memphis | 9 | 20.11 | NR | NR | NR | 20 |
| Arizona | 8 | 13.75 | 10 | NR | NR | NR |
| Nebraska | 8 | 16.25 | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| West Virginia | 8 | 17.88 | NR | NR | 16 | NR |
| Navy | 8 | 20.50 | NR | 21 | 25 | NR |
| Iowa | 7 | 7.43 | NR | 5 | NR | NR |
| Kansas State | 7 | 10.43 | 11 | NR | NR | NR |
| Arizona State | 7 | 12.43 | 15 | NR | NR | NR |
| North Carolina | 7 | 16.00 | NR | 10 | NR | NR |
| Houston | 7 | 21.29 | NR | 18 | NR | NR |
| Miami | 6 | 6.50 | NR | NR | NR | 10 |
| Colorado | 6 | 10.67 | NR | NR | 10 | NR |
| UCF | 6 | 15.33 | NR | NR | NR | 12 |
| Georgia Tech | 6 | 17.17 | 12 | NR | NR | NR |
| Western Michigan | 6 | 19.67 | NR | NR | 15 | NR |
| Tennessee | 6 | 21.17 | NR | 23 | 21 | NR |
| Temple | 6 | 23.17 | NR | 24 | 24 | NR |
| Texas A&M | 5 | 16.00 | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| N.C. State | 5 | 22.00 | NR | NR | NR | 24 |
| Missouri | 4 | 17.25 | 16 | NR | NR | NR |
| Minnesota | 4 | 23.25 | 25 | NR | NR | NR |
| Duke | 3 | 22.33 | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Iowa State | 2 | 18.00 | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Pittsburgh | 2 | 24.00 | NR | NR | 23 | NR |
| Toledo | 2 | 24.00 | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| East Carolina | 1 | 23.00 | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Marshall | 1 | 24.00 | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| South Carolina | 1 | 24.00 | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Arkansas | 1 | 25.00 | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Fresno State | 1 | 25.00 | NR | NR | NR | NR |
