Dropped from rankings: #21 Western Kentucky

The Composite Rating (CFB Composite) is a weighted average of four publicly available systems: ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI), Bill Connelly's SP+ ratings, Jeff Sagarin’s Ratings, and Wes Colley’s Colley Matrix. Each system provides a different lens on team strength, and by combining them, the composite offers a broader view while reducing reliance on any single model.

FPI is sourced from espn.com. Per ESPN, the Football Power Index (FPI) is a measure of team strength designed to predict future performance. It represents how many points above or below average a team is, and its projections are based on 20,000 simulations of the season.

SP+ is sourced from ESPN/Connelly’s SP+. It is an opponent-adjusted efficiency metric built on play-by-play data, emphasizing success rate, explosiveness, field position, and finishing drives.

Sagarin Ratings combine score-based and schedule-based methods to provide a long-standing statistical measure of team strength.

Colley Matrix is a mathematically rigorous, win–loss–only system that does not use scoring margin or subjective inputs, producing unbiased rankings especially later in the season.

I claim no ownership of these metrics. This Composite Rating is an independent project intended to highlight and rank non–Power Conference schools in a clear and accessible way.