Methodology
One board. One forecast. A clear playoff read.
The site is built to answer the questions fans and decision-makers ask first: who belongs in the field, who is closest to the line, and which teams have the cleanest path through the schedule.
The National Board
The main ranking blends two signals: how the sport broadly values a team and how its season outlook grades after accounting for strength, continuity, schedule, and path to wins. That board is the default public order.
Independents
Notre Dame and other independents sit on the same national board as everyone else. They do not need a league title game to be evaluated, but their schedule and playoff path still shape their position.
The Playoff Field
The 12-team bracket comes from the national board, with access protection where the format requires it. The top four receive byes; the next eight create the first-round matchups.
Conference Pages
Conference previews use the same team outlook as the national page, then narrow the view to league standings, playoff pressure, title-game shape, and each team's schedule path.
Technical notes
The public score combines a public-consensus layer with a season-outlook layer. Deeper internal ratings, portal/QB continuity, schedule path, expected wins, and selection odds remain available to the forecast but are intentionally summarized in the main interface.
Percentages are rounded for readability. Expected wins are shown to one decimal because they are directional, not final standings.