2014 season

128 teams across 5 tiers

National champion
Alabamafrom Premier
Biggest riser (2014 tiers)
TCU▲ 1 tier
Biggest faller
Iowa▼ 1 tier

Biggest movers

Teams with the largest tier change after promotions and relegations.

▲ Risers
▼ Fallers

Regular season champions

Tier winners — the top finisher in each tier on points, before any promotion playoff or main-playoff games.

Premier45 pts
Florida State
13-0 · +153 diff
Tier 234 pts
TCU
11-1 · +318 diff
Tier 321 pts
Northern Illinois
11-2 · +111 diff
Tier 427 pts
Mississippi State
10-2 · +213 diff
Tier 517 pts
Memphis
9-3 · +211 diff

Tier standings

Final regular-season standings. Promoted rows tinted green, relegated rows tinted red, survival winners tinted amber.

Premier24 teams
TeamⓘStatus
Playoff Zone
1Florida State13045
2Oregon12141
3Ohio State12140
4Alabama12136
5UCLA9331
6Michigan State10230
7Boise State11230
8USC8428
9Arizona State9328
10Utah8428
11Georgia9327
12Wisconsin10327
13Oklahoma8425
14Nebraska9325
15Clemson9324
16Notre Dame7523
17LSU8419
18Stanford7518
19South Carolina6618
20Texas6618
Relegation Zone
21Iowa7516Relegated
22Virginia Tech6616Relegated
23Penn State6613Relegated
24Oklahoma State6613Survived

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: Alabama.

Round 1
simulated
USC30
TCU34
simulated
UCLA32
Maryland31
simulated
Boise State41
Baylor32
simulated
Michigan State29
Northern Illinois28
Quarterfinal
simulated
Florida State37
TCU35
simulated
Alabama32
UCLA22
simulated
Oregon31
Boise State16
simulated
Ohio State45
Michigan State26
Semifinal
simulated
Florida State25
Alabama34
simulated
Oregon20
Ohio State45
Championship
simulated
Alabama43
Ohio State23

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.

Tier 2→ up to Premier
Semifinal
simulated
Arizona22
Kansas State43
simulated
Missouri27
Georgia Tech30
Final
simulated
Kansas State35
Georgia Tech28
Tier 3→ up to Tier 2
Semifinal
simulated
Duke30
Marshall39
simulated
Boston College3
Utah State18
Final
simulated
Marshall31
Utah State28
Tier 4→ up to Tier 3
Semifinal
simulated
Minnesota37
Western Kentucky41
simulated
Colorado State23
Air Force27
Final
simulated
Western Kentucky9
Air Force35
Tier 5→ up to Tier 4
Semifinal
simulated
Illinois16
Arkansas State38
simulated
Georgia Southern34
UTSA21
Final
simulated
Arkansas State22
Georgia Southern12

Relegation playoffs

Bottom 4 of each upper tier play a survival bracket. The Survival Final winner stays up; the other three drop down.

Premierbottom 4 · survivor: Oklahoma State
Semifinal
simulated
Iowa28
Oklahoma State34
simulated
Virginia Tech27
Penn State19
Survival Final· winner stays up
simulated
Oklahoma State41
Virginia Tech25
Tier 2bottom 4 · survivor: Michigan
Semifinal
simulated
Michigan27
Vanderbilt3
simulated
Houston30
Oregon State19
Survival Final· winner stays up
simulated
Michigan34
Houston32
Tier 3bottom 4 · survivor: UConn
Semifinal
simulated
Syracuse42
Tulsa34
simulated
UConn34
Purdue22
Survival Final· winner stays up
simulated
Syracuse19
UConn27
Tier 4bottom 4 · survivor: Kent State
Semifinal
simulated
SMU9
Troy41
simulated
Colorado27
Kent State31
Survival Final· winner stays up
simulated
Troy17
Kent State38

2015 starting tiers

Cascade from 2014: promoted teams move up, relegated teams move down, and FBS membership is reconciled against CFBD's roster for the next year.

Premier24
  1. Florida State1
  2. Oregon2
  3. Ohio State3
  4. Alabama4
  5. TCU5
  6. Baylor6
  7. UCLA7
  8. Michigan State8
  9. Boise State9
  10. Kansas State10
  11. USC11
  12. Arizona State12
  13. Utah13
  14. Georgia14
  15. Wisconsin15
  16. Oklahoma16
  17. Nebraska17
  18. Clemson18
  19. Notre Dame19
  20. LSU20
  21. Stanford21
  22. South Carolina22
  23. Texas23
  24. Oklahoma State24
Tier 224
  1. Arizona1
  2. Missouri2
  3. Georgia Tech3
  4. Auburn4
  5. Louisville5
  6. BYU6
  7. UCF7
  8. Northern Illinois8
  9. Cincinnati9
  10. Maryland10
  11. East Carolina11
  12. West Virginia12
  13. Northwestern13
  14. Marshall14
  15. Texas A&M15
  16. Pittsburgh16
  17. Miami (FL)17
  18. Iowa18
  19. Virginia Tech19
  20. Florida20
  21. Nevada21
  22. Rutgers22
  23. Penn State23
  24. Michigan24
Tier 326
  1. Mississippi State1
  2. Ole Miss2
  3. Duke3
  4. Air Force4
  5. Boston College5
  6. Utah State6
  7. North Carolina7
  8. Arkansas8
  9. Tennessee9
  10. Washington10
  11. Virginia11
  12. Toledo12
  13. NC State13
  14. California14
  15. Fresno State15
  16. Louisiana Tech16
  17. Houston17
  18. Oregon State18
  19. San Diego State19
  20. Navy20
  21. Texas Tech21
  22. Wyoming22
  23. San Jose State23
  24. Iowa State24
  25. UConn25
  26. Vanderbilt26
Tier 426
  1. Minnesota1
  2. Colorado State2
  3. Memphis3
  4. Temple4
  5. Western Kentucky5
  6. Kentucky6
  7. Western Michigan7
  8. Central Michigan8
  9. Rice9
  10. UAB10
  11. UTEP11
  12. Bowling Green12
  13. Washington State13
  14. Indiana14
  15. Arkansas State15
  16. South Florida16
  17. Ohio17
  18. Wake Forest18
  19. North Texas19
  20. Syracuse20
  21. Ball State21
  22. Purdue22
  23. Tulsa23
  24. Southern Miss24
  25. UNLV25
  26. Kent State26
Tier 528
  1. Illinois1
  2. Georgia Southern2
  3. UTSA3
  4. Texas State4
  5. Louisiana-Lafayette5
  6. Middle Tennessee6
  7. South Alabama7
  8. Old Dominion8
  9. Hawaii9
  10. Akron10
  11. New Mexico11
  12. Tulane12
  13. Louisiana-Monroe13
  14. Florida Atlantic14
  15. Massachusetts15
  16. Kansas16
  17. App State17
  18. Buffalo18
  19. Army19
  20. SMU20
  21. Colorado21
  22. Florida International22
  23. Idaho23
  24. New Mexico State24
  25. Eastern Michigan25
  26. Miami (OH)26
  27. Troy27
  28. Georgia State28