2012 Harbin Rankings: FBS

BCS era

Latest update: 2026-10-18 5:01 am ET | Week 15 status: COMPLETE

Top 2 teams by Harbin average would play for the title
Current Rank	Rated W-L	ID #	City	School	Conf	Current Average	Level 1	Level 2	L2 divisor	BCSfinal pre-bowl	APfinal pre-bowl	Coachesfinal pre-bowl	FPIfinal pre-bowl
1	12-0	87	Notre Dame	Notre Dame	Ind	39.2500	75.0	478.5	145	1	1	1	5
2	11-1	57	Gainesville	Florida	SEC	35.6925	65.0	439.0	145	3	4	4	9
3	12-0	194	Columbus	Ohio State ineligible	Big Ten	32.7577	73.5	391.5	147		3		17
4	11-2	24	Stanford	Stanford	Pac-12	32.6947	70.0	431.5	158	6	8	8	13
5	11-1	2306	Manhattan	Kansas St	Big 12	31.8004	66.5	375.5	143	5	7	6	8
6	12-1	333	Tuscaloosa	Alabama	SEC	30.2115	71.5	385.5	156	2	2	2	1
7	11-1	2483	Eugene	Oregon	Pac-12	29.8958	65.0	352.5	144	4	5	3	2
8	10-2	2579	Columbia	South Carolina	SEC	27.6528	58.5	328.0	144	10	11	10	12
9	10-2	245	College Station	Texas A&M	SEC	27.1707	55.0	323.0	143	9	10	9	4
10	10-2	201	Norman	Oklahoma	Big 12	26.8531	60.0	312.5	143	11	12	11	3
11	10-2	99	Baton Rouge	LSU	SEC	26.2986	58.5	308.5	144	8	9	7	10
12	10-3	158	Lincoln	Nebraska	Big Ten	25.5443	58.5	332.5	158	16	23	21	23
13	11-2	61	Athens	Georgia	SEC	24.7134	65.0	309.5	157	7	6	5	7
14	11-2	52	Tallahassee	Florida St	ACC	23.9615	64.5	294.5	155	12	13	12	6
15	10-2	228	Clemson	Clemson	ACC	23.7586	60.0	272.0	145	14	14	13	15
16	9-3	204	Corvallis	Oregon St	Pac-12	23.5679	53.5	279.0	146	13	15	14	19
17	9-4	26	Pasadena	UCLA	Pac-12	22.5082	55.5	290.0	159	17	17	19	22
18	10-2	97	Louisville	Louisville	Big East	22.4102	58.5	249.0	142	21	22	18	56
19	11-2	2309	Kent	Kent State	MAC	22.0449	54.5	278.5	156	25	25		64
20	12-1	2459	Dekalb	N Illinois	MAC	22.0449	59.5	272.5	156	15	16	16	32
21	10-2	23	San Jose	San José St	WAC	21.6042	48.0	253.5	144	24	24	24	55
22	8-4	213	University Park	Penn State ineligible	Big Ten	21.0014	50.5	243.5	145				31
23	9-3	2132	Cincinnati	Cincinnati	Big East	20.3014	50.0	227.5	141				39
24	7-5	239	Waco	Baylor	Big 12	20.1031	39.0	241.0	143				20
25	10-3	202	Tulsa	Tulsa	CUSA	19.8388	48.0	253.5	157				57
26	9-3	77	Evanston	Northwestern	Big Ten	19.7569	55.0	218.5	144	20	21	17	44
27	8-4	251	Austin	Texas	Big 12	19.6695	49.0	226.0	145	23		25	18
28	9-3	164	Piscataway	Rutgers	Big East	19.6480	52.0	219.0	143				54
29	10-2	328	Logan	Utah State	WAC	19.5388	49.5	223.5	145	22	18	20	38
30	7-5	264		Washington	Pac-12	18.9306	40.5	224.0	144				52
31	10-2	68	Boise	Boise St	MWC	18.9269	50.0	215.5	146	19	20	15	36
32	8-4	130	Ann Arbor	Michigan	Big Ten	18.9121	49.0	216.5	146	18	19	22	16
33	9-3	2032	Jonesboro	Arkansas St	Sun Belt	18.6868	43.0	219.0	145				62
34	8-4	153	Chapel Hill	North Carolina ineligible	ACC	18.5139	45.5	212.0	144				29
35	7-5	183	Syracuse	Syracuse	Big East	18.4648	42.0	212.5	142				53
36	7-5	12	Tucson	Arizona	Pac-12	18.4440	40.5	218.5	145				43
37	9-3	2050	Muncie	Ball State	MAC	18.2466	48.0	208.0	146				70
38	9-3	2649	Toledo	Toledo	MAC	18.2222	44.5	209.0	144				74
39	8-5	275	Madison	Wisconsin	Big Ten	18.1815	45.5	230.5	157			23	21
40	9-3	21	San Diego	San Diego St	MWC	17.6111	43.0	202.0	144				59
41	7-5	197	Stillwater	Oklahoma St	Big 12	17.1163	40.5	196.5	143				11
42	9-3	278	Fresno	Fresno St	MWC	16.8463	44.5	190.5	145				41
43	7-5	2390	Miami Gardens	Miami ineligible	ACC	16.8448	42.0	193.5	145				45
44	7-5	277	Morgantown	West Virginia	Big 12	16.7666	40.5	191.5	143				30
45	7-5	30	Los Angeles	USC	Pac-12	16.5091	44.0	187.5	146				14
46	7-5	2628	Fort Worth	TCU	Big 12	16.2072	40.5	183.5	143				25
47	7-5	152	Raleigh	NC State	ACC	15.9612	40.5	182.5	145				58
48	6-6	127	East Lansing	Michigan St	Big Ten	15.7860	34.5	188.5	146				33
49	8-4	2393	Murfreesboro	MTSU	Sun Belt	15.1135	41.5	169.0	145				97
50	8-4	344	Starkville	Mississippi St	SEC	14.8653	44.0	163.5	146				34
51	8-4	2426	Annapolis	Navy	Ind	14.7252	39.5	163.5	143				84
52	7-5	2641	Lubbock	Texas Tech	Big 12	14.6736	39.0	164.5	144				27
53	8-4	2433	Monroe	UL Monroe	Sun Belt	14.5618	41.5	161.0	145				68
54	9-3	2348	Ruston	Louisiana Tech	WAC	14.4828	48.0	152.0	145				50
55	8-4	309	Lafayette	Louisiana	Sun Belt	13.9253	38.0	156.0	145				67
56	8-4	238	Nashville	Vanderbilt	SEC	13.9167	47.0	144.0	144				28
57	6-6	66	Ames	Iowa State	Big 12	13.8750	34.0	159.0	144				48
58	9-4	2116	Orlando	UCF	CUSA	13.2717	45.0	155.0	158				40
59	6-6	221	Pittsburgh	Pitt	Big East	13.2589	34.0	147.0	141				47
60	7-5	9	Tempe	Arizona St	Pac-12	13.0486	42.0	137.5	144				24
61	4-8	258	Charlottesville	Virginia	ACC	12.7778	22.5	157.0	144				75
62	6-6	150	Durham	Duke	ACC	12.7768	32.5	147.0	146				73
63	6-6	259	Blacksburg	Virginia Tech	ACC	12.6609	34.0	142.5	145				49
64	8-4	151	Greenville	East Carolina	CUSA	12.1944	38.0	130.0	144				82
65	5-7	41	East Hartford	UConn	Big East	12.1087	29.5	138.0	143				76
66	6-6	135	Minneapolis	Minnesota	Big Ten	12.0234	32.5	136.0	146				72
67	8-4	195	Athens	Ohio	MAC	11.8333	39.5	123.0	144				86
68	7-5	252	Provo	BYU	Ind	11.7847	36.0	126.5	144				26
69	5-7	142	Columbia	Missouri	SEC	11.6067	27.5	136.0	146				42
70	6-6	145	Oxford	Ole Miss	SEC	11.5704	32.5	128.5	145				35
71	6-7	59	Atlanta	Georgia Tech	ACC	11.4569	35.5	137.0	157				51
72	4-8	2294	Iowa City	Iowa	Big Ten	11.4052	21.0	140.0	145				65
73	7-5	98	Bowling Green	Western KY	Sun Belt	10.7569	34.5	113.5	144				79
74	6-6	2567	Dallas	SMU	CUSA	10.7126	28.0	121.5	145				78
75	7-5	2440	Reno	Nevada	MWC	10.1509	34.5	105.5	145				71
76	6-6	2509	West Lafayette	Purdue	Big Ten	10.1389	32.5	107.0	144				61
77	8-4	189	Bowling Green	Bowling Green	MAC	10.0069	38.0	98.5	144				80
78	6-6	2005	USAF Academy	Air Force	MWC	9.8161	28.0	108.5	145				99
79	5-7	154	Winston-Salem	Wake Forest	ACC	9.6181	27.5	105.5	144				95
80	5-7	2653	Troy	Troy	Sun Belt	8.5316	25.0	93.5	145				89
81	6-6	242	Houston	Rice	CUSA	8.4469	31.5	85.0	146				92
82	5-7	254	Salt Lake City	Utah	Pac-12	8.2986	27.5	86.5	144				46
83	5-7	248	Houston	Houston	CUSA	8.0765	25.0	87.5	146				88
84	4-7	218	Philadelphia	Temple	Big East	7.9778	21.0	79.5	131				87
85	4-8	8	Fayetteville	Arkansas	SEC	7.7500	21.0	87.0	145				60
86	5-7	2633	Knoxville	Tennessee	SEC	7.6494	26.0	79.5	145				37
87	4-8	2711	Kalamazoo	W Michigan	MAC	7.4871	19.5	85.0	145				90
88	5-7	276	Huntington	Marshall	CUSA	7.2960	23.0	78.0	145				94
89	8-4	2636	San Antonio	UTSA ineligible	WAC	7.2514	29.0	58.5	121				113
90	4-8	120	College Park	Maryland	ACC	7.2222	22.5	77.0	144				81
91	3-9	25	Berkeley	California	Pac-12	7.0920	16.0	83.5	145				63
92	6-6	2117	Mount Pleasant	C Michigan	MAC	6.9375	29.5	64.5	144				104
93	3-9	58	Tampa	South Florida	Big East	6.8377	14.5	80.5	143				69
94	3-9	2226	Boca Raton	FAU	Sun Belt	6.8025	13.0	83.5	146				109
95	3-9	265	Pullman	Washington St	Pac-12	6.6535	14.5	79.5	146				91
96	4-8	193	Oxford	Miami OH	MAC	6.0486	18.0	65.5	144				107
97	4-8	249	Denton	North Texas	Sun Belt	6.0139	18.0	65.0	144				102
98	2-10	96	Lexington	Kentucky	SEC	5.7701	8.0	74.0	145				85
99	3-9	2	Auburn	Auburn	SEC	5.4971	13.0	64.0	145				66
100	4-8	84	Bloomington	Indiana	Big Ten	5.4653	21.0	53.5	144				83
101	4-8	235	Memphis	Memphis	CUSA	5.4514	20.0	54.5	144				111
102	4-8	2751	Laramie	Wyoming	MWC	5.4253	20.0	54.5	145				100
103	4-8	36	Fort Collins	Colorado St	MWC	5.0675	21.5	47.5	145				110
104	4-8	2084	Buffalo	Buffalo	MAC	5.0274	18.0	51.5	146				103
105	4-8	326	San Marcos	Texas St ineligible	WAC	4.7292	18.0	46.5	144				106
106	4-9	167	Albuquerque	New Mexico	MWC	4.3333	18.0	46.0	156				108
107	2-11	2439	Las Vegas	UNLV	MWC	3.7179	10.0	46.0	156				114
108	3-9	5	Birmingham	UAB	CUSA	3.7040	13.0	38.0	145				112
109	2-10	2655	New Orleans	Tulane	CUSA	3.6609	10.0	41.0	145				121
110	2-10	349	West Point	Army	Ind	3.5625	11.5	37.5	144				105
111	2-10	103	Chestnut Hill	Boston College	ACC	3.3779	9.5	37.5	145				77
112	2-10	2199	Ypsilanti	E Michigan	MAC	2.9713	10.0	31.0	145				117
113	3-9	62	Honolulu	Hawai'i	MWC	2.9201	13.0	27.0	147				119
114	3-9	2229	Miami	FIU	Sun Belt	2.8938	15.0	24.0	146				96
115	2-10	356	Champaign	Illinois	Big Ten	2.8542	8.0	31.5	144				98
116	3-9	2638	El Paso	UTEP	CUSA	2.1344	15.0	13.0	147				101
117	1-11	2305	Lawrence	Kansas	Big 12	1.9167	3.0	24.0	144				93
118	1-11	166	Las Cruces	New Mexico St	WAC	1.7431	3.0	21.5	144				122
119	2-11	6	Mobile	South Alabama ineligible	Sun Belt	1.5509	8.0	14.5	155				118
120	1-11	38	Boulder	Colorado	Pac-12	1.5417	6.5	14.5	145				120
121	1-11	2006	Akron	Akron	MAC	0.8664	3.0	9.0	146				116
122	1-11	70	Moscow	Idaho	WAC	0.6265	5.0	3.0	143				123
123	1-11	113	Foxborough	UMass ineligible	MAC	0.6236	5.0	3.0	145				124
124	0-12	2572	Hattiesburg	Southern Miss	CUSA	0.0000	0.0	0.0	146				115

Pink rows are ineligible for the 2012 postseason and are skipped for the cut line: Ohio State (NCAA sanctions: NCAA postseason ban for 2012 (Tressel/tattoo case); 12-0 but ineligible for the Big Ten title game and bowls.); Penn State (NCAA sanctions: NCAA bowl ban for 2012 and 2013 in the Sandusky case (8-4).); North Carolina (NCAA sanctions: NCAA one-year postseason ban for 2012 (academic fraud and agent benefits); 8-4 and ineligible for the ACC title game.); Miami (self-imposed: Miami self-imposed a second straight bowl ban for 2012 (7-5) and was ineligible for the ACC title game.); UTSA (FBS transition: UTSA played 2012 as a first-year FBS transitional member (8-4) and was not bowl-eligible.); Texas St (FBS transition: Texas State played 2012 as an FBS transitional member and was not bowl-eligible.); South Alabama (FBS transition: South Alabama played 2012 as an FBS transitional member and was not bowl-eligible.); UMass (FBS transition: UMass played 2012 as a first-year FBS transitional member and could not go to a bowl or win the MAC title.).

If Harbin had run the 2012 BCS

The BCS, as if Harbin had run it: Harbin #1 plays Harbin #2 for the title, every AQ conference champion goes to its bowl, the non-AQ, Notre Dame and #3/#4 automatic rules apply that year, and the best-ranked eligible teams fill the at-large spots. Harbin matches 9 of 10 teams in the real lineup.

Game	Harbin lineup	Harbin #	W-L	Real lineup	Harbin #
Title game (Orange site)	Notre Dame Ind title game #1	1	12-0	Notre Dame Ind title game	1
	Florida SEC title game #2	2	11-1	Alabama C SEC title game	6
Rose Bowl	Wisconsin C Big Ten AQ champion Big Ten	39	8-5	Wisconsin C Big Ten AQ champion Big Ten (tie-in; Ohio State and Penn State were ineligible)	39
	Stanford C Pac-12 AQ champion Pac-12	4	11-2	Stanford C Pac-12 AQ champion Pac-12 (tie-in)	4
Sugar Bowl	Alabama C SEC AQ champion SEC	6	12-1	Florida SEC #3 BCS, automatic under 3-4 rule (SEC non-champion); replaced Alabama	2
	Oklahoma Big 12 at-large	10	10-2	Louisville C Big East AQ champion Big East (#21)	18
Orange Bowl	Florida St C ACC AQ champion ACC	14	11-2	N Illinois MAC non-AQ automatic (#15 MAC, ranked above two AQ champions)	20
	Louisville C Big East AQ champion Big East	18	10-2	Florida St C ACC AQ champion ACC (tie-in)	14
Fiesta Bowl	Kansas St C Big 12 AQ champion Big 12	5	11-1	Oregon Pac-12 at-large (#4)	7
	Oregon Pac-12 at-large	7	11-1	Kansas St C Big 12 AQ champion Big 12 (tie-in)	5

Title game, 1/7/2013: Alabama 42, Notre Dame 14.

C = AQ conference champion. Green = in the Harbin lineup but not the real one; red = in the real lineup but not the Harbin one. The small note under each team is how it got in (Harbin: that year’s BCS rules applied to the Harbin ranking; real: the actual BCS selection). Harbin # is the team’s national Harbin rank.

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