The New York Times College Football Rankings

The New York Times College Football Rankings were a weekly ranking of college football teams by The New York Times.^[1]

The New York Times computer rankings are counted by the NCAA as a "major selector" of national championships in college football.^[2] The rankings were one of the computer rankings included in the Bowl Championship Series rankings.^[3]

Results

More information Season, Champion ...

Season	Champion	Record
1979^[4]	Alabama	12–0
1980^[5]	Pittsburgh	11–1
1981^[6]	Clemson	12–0
1984^[7]	Florida	9–1–1

References

[1]
"Times's Computer Ranks Football Top 20 — The New York Times College Football Rankings". The New York Times. October 19, 1979. Beginning today, The New York Times will publish its own weekly ranking of the top 20 college football teams. Unlike the existing Associated Press and United Press International rankings, The Times's top-20 list is not determined by a poll of experts but by an I.B.M. 370 computer.
[2]
2024 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. 2024. pp. 114–121. Archived from the original on November 8, 2024. Retrieved November 8, 2024. New York Times (1979-2004), a mathematical poll that combined the voting of a panel of sportswriters.
[3]
Ferrell, Scott (December 2, 2003). "Behind computer rankings there is human touch — Criteria helps determine whether LSU has shot at national title". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana. pp. 1C–2C. Perhaps the one computer poll causing the most angst in Louisiana belongs to the New York Times. [...] The Times poll is operated by Marjorie Connelly, a New York University graduate who by her own admission is not a college football fan. [...] The Time' rankings, devised in 1978 and run by Connelly since 1984, give heavy consideration to the quality of opponents.
[4]
White Jr., Gordon S. (January 3, 1980). "Computer Ranking — Alabama Remains On Top; U.S.C. 2d". The New York Times. The University of Alabama was rated No. 1 today in the final New York Times computer ranking. The Crimson Tide has been No. 1 in The Times weekly ranking ever since the computerized system for rating major college football teams was introduced last Oct. 19.
[5]
White Jr., Gordon S. (January 4, 1981). "Georgia No. 1 in Both Wire Polls; Pitt Heads The Times Ranking". The New York Times. sec. 5 pp. 1, 7. The Times ranking indicated that Georgia did not play as strong a schedule as some of the teams ranked above it. Georgia's opponents had a composite won-lost-tied record of 55-78-2 for .414, the lowest percentage in that category among the top 20 teams in the final computer ranking. [...] Pittsburgh took the No. 1 spot on the computer by the narrowest margin since The Times started the weekly evaluation.
[6]
White Jr., Gordon S. (January 3, 1982). "Clemson Has Top Ranking In Final Polls". The New York Times. sec. 5 pp. 1, 8. The New York Times final computer ranking also established Clemson, which finished with 12 victories, as the No. 1 team.
[7]
White Jr., Gordon S. (January 3, 1985). "Brigham Young Is Voted Top Team in Major Polls — Times Places Cougars 10th". The New York Times. p. B11. The New York Times's final computer ranking, which places emphasis on the quality of a given team's opposition, had Florida (9-1-1) in first place, Boston College (10-2) second, Washington (11-1) fifth and Brigham Young (13-0) 10th. But where opinion counted more than microchips, Brigham Young swept the other contenders.

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The New York Times College Football Rankings

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