2002 season
117 teams across 5 tiers
Biggest movers
Teams with the largest tier change after promotions and relegations.
- AlabamaTier 2▲ 1Premier
- Arizona StateTier 3▲ 1Tier 2
- Arkansas StateTier 5▲ 1Tier 4
- AuburnTier 3▲ 1Tier 2
- Boise StateTier 4▲ 1Tier 3
- ArizonaTier 2▼ 1Tier 3
- ArmyTier 4▼ 1Tier 5
- IndianaTier 2▼ 1Tier 3
- KansasTier 4▼ 1Tier 5
- Michigan StatePremier▼ 1Tier 2
Regular season champions
Tier winners — the top finisher in each tier on points, before any promotion playoff or main-playoff games.
Tier standings
Final regular-season standings. Promoted rows tinted green, relegated rows tinted red, survival winners tinted amber.
| Team | ⓘ
| Status | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Playoff Zone | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Ohio State | 13 | 0 | 45 | 379 | 159 | +220 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | USC | 10 | 2 | 40 | 427 | 223 | +204 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Miami (FL) | 12 | 0 | 39 | 503 | 217 | +286 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Michigan | 9 | 3 | 37 | 323 | 235 | +88 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Penn State | 9 | 3 | 36 | 437 | 214 | +223 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Colorado State | 10 | 3 | 35 | 415 | 315 | +100 | ||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Notre Dame | 10 | 2 | 34 | 284 | 189 | +95 | ||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Oklahoma | 11 | 2 | 33 | 507 | 202 | +305 | ||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Texas | 10 | 2 | 30 | 404 | 192 | +212 | ||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Colorado | 9 | 4 | 29 | 370 | 294 | +76 | ||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Florida State | 9 | 4 | 28 | 415 | 275 | +140 | ||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Virginia Tech | 9 | 4 | 26 | 409 | 250 | +159 | ||||||||||||||||
| 13 | Florida | 8 | 4 | 25 | 306 | 241 | +65 | ||||||||||||||||
| 14 | West Virginia | 9 | 3 | 24 | 374 | 254 | +120 | ||||||||||||||||
| 15 | Washington | 7 | 5 | 24 | 374 | 308 | +66 | ||||||||||||||||
| 16 | Kansas State | 10 | 2 | 21 | 548 | 127 | +421 | ||||||||||||||||
| 17 | Tennessee | 8 | 4 | 21 | 293 | 197 | +96 | ||||||||||||||||
| 18 | Oregon | 7 | 5 | 21 | 400 | 324 | +76 | ||||||||||||||||
| 19 | Georgia Tech | 7 | 5 | 19 | 259 | 237 | +22 | ||||||||||||||||
| 20 | Nebraska | 7 | 6 | 16 | 360 | 308 | +52 | ||||||||||||||||
| Relegation Zone | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 21 | Texas A&M | 6 | 6 | 15 | 345 | 280 | +65 | Relegated | |||||||||||||||
| 22 | BYU | 5 | 7 | 15 | 272 | 333 | -61 | Survived | |||||||||||||||
| 23 | Michigan State | 4 | 8 | 11 | 316 | 398 | -82 | Relegated | |||||||||||||||
| 24 | Syracuse | 4 | 8 | 10 | 347 | 406 | -59 | Relegated | |||||||||||||||
Main playoff
Twelve-team championship bracket: top 8 from Premier (seeds 1–8), top 2 from Tier 2 (seeds 9–10), top 2 from Tier 3 (seeds 11–12). Seeds 1–4 receive first-round byes. Champion: USC.
Promotion playoffs
Each lower tier sends two teams up automatically (ranks 1 and 2); ranks 3–6 contest a single-elimination playoff for the third promotion spot.
Relegation playoffs
Bottom 4 of each upper tier play a survival bracket. The Survival Final winner stays up; the other three drop down.
2003 starting tiers
Cascade from 2002: promoted teams move up, relegated teams move down, and FBS membership is reconciled against CFBD's roster for the next year.
- Ohio State1
- USC2
- Miami (FL)3
- Georgia4
- Michigan5
- Penn State6
- Colorado State7
- Notre Dame8
- Oklahoma9
- Alabama10
- Texas11
- Colorado12
- Florida State13
- Virginia Tech14
- TCU15
- Florida16
- West Virginia17
- Washington18
- Kansas State19
- Tennessee20
- Oregon21
- Georgia Tech22
- Nebraska23
- BYU24
- Washington State1
- Arizona State2
- UCLA3
- Texas Tech4
- Wisconsin5
- Auburn6
- Arkansas7
- LSU8
- Fresno State9
- Oregon State10
- Marshall11
- Louisville12
- Virginia13
- Purdue14
- Southern Miss15
- Illinois16
- Utah17
- Texas A&M18
- Miami (OH)19
- UCF20
- Ole Miss21
- East Carolina22
- Michigan State23
- Syracuse24
- Iowa1
- Boise State2
- Maryland3
- California4
- Pittsburgh5
- NC State6
- Air Force7
- Boston College8
- Kentucky9
- Clemson10
- Minnesota11
- Toledo12
- Missouri13
- San Jose State14
- Tulane15
- San Diego State16
- South Carolina17
- North Carolina18
- Rice19
- Arizona20
- Stanford21
- Louisiana Tech22
- Indiana23
- Northwestern24
- SMU25
- Wyoming26
- Hawaii1
- Oklahoma State2
- Cincinnati3
- Wake Forest4
- New Mexico5
- South Florida6
- Iowa State7
- UNLV8
- Bowling Green9
- Nevada10
- Northern Illinois11
- Houston12
- UAB13
- New Mexico State14
- North Texas15
- UConn16
- Akron17
- Arkansas State18
- Central Michigan19
- Memphis20
- Utah State21
- Western Michigan22
- Middle Tennessee23
- Mississippi State24
- Ohio25
- Idaho26
- Ball State1
- Temple2
- Duke3
- Navy4
- Louisiana-Lafayette5
- UTEP6
- Baylor7
- Louisiana-Monroe8
- Eastern Michigan9
- Vanderbilt10
- Tulsa11
- Kent State12
- Kansas13
- Troy14
- Army15
- Rutgers16
- Buffalo17