through games of 1/8/09
Beginning with Football Outsiders Almanac 2009, Brian Fremeau and Bill Connelly, originators of Football Outsiders' two statistical approaches -- FEI and S&P+, respectively -- began to create a combined ranking that would serve as Football Outsiders' 'official' college football rankings.The Fremeau Efficiency Index (FEI) considers each of the nearly 20,000 possessions every season in major college football. All drives are filtered to eliminate first-half clock-kills and end-of-game garbage drives and scores. A scoring rate analysis of the remaining possessions then determines the baseline possession efficiency expectations against which each team is measured. A team is rewarded for playing well against good teams, win or lose, and is punished more severely for playing poorly against bad teams than it is rewarded for playing well against bad teams.The S&P+ Ratings are a college football ratings system derived from both play-by-play and drive data from all 800+ of a season's FBS college football games (and 140,000+ plays). The components for S&P+ reflect the components of four of what Bill Connelly has deemed the Five Factors of college football: efficiency), explosiveness, field position, and finishing drives. (A fifth factor, turnovers, is informed marginally by sack rates, the only quality-based statistic that has a consistent relationship with turnover margins.)NOTE: Because special teams ratings are integrated into Offensive and Defensive S&P+, and because Special Teams has its own ratings within FEI, creating Offensive, Defensive, and Special Teams F/+ ratings has become difficult since the most recent S&P+ redesign. For now, there will therefore be no unit ratings presented -- only overall F/+ ratings.
| F/+ Rk | Team | Rec | F/+ | S&P+ | Rk | FEI | Rk |
| 1 | Florida | 13-1 | 73.8% | 30.6 | 2 | 0.337 | 1 |
| 2 | Oklahoma | 12-2 | 70.2% | 30.9 | 1 | 0.309 | 3 |
| 3 | Texas | 12-1 | 67.4% | 27.8 | 4 | 0.310 | 2 |
| 4 | USC | 12-1 | 65.2% | 28.3 | 3 | 0.289 | 4 |
| 5 | Penn State | 11-2 | 54.6% | 22.9 | 5 | 0.250 | 5 |
| 6 | TCU | 11-2 | 44.2% | 19.1 | 8 | 0.198 | 9 |
| 7 | Alabama | 12-2 | 44.2% | 19.8 | 7 | 0.191 | 10 |
| 8 | Ohio State | 10-3 | 43.4% | 20.7 | 6 | 0.180 | 12 |
| 9 | Boise State | 12-1 | 39.8% | 16.4 | 9 | 0.189 | 11 |
| 10 | Utah | 13-0 | 37.4% | 13.2 | 15 | 0.217 | 7 |
| 11 | Ole Miss | 9-4 | 36.9% | 13.2 | 16 | 0.211 | 8 |
| 12 | Texas Tech | 11-2 | 35.4% | 12.1 | 19 | 0.217 | 6 |
| 13 | Iowa | 9-4 | 33.8% | 14.1 | 13 | 0.160 | 13 |
| 14 | Pittsburgh | 9-4 | 32.5% | 13.8 | 14 | 0.152 | 14 |
| 15 | Missouri | 10-4 | 32.0% | 15.6 | 10 | 0.129 | 17 |
| 16 | Oregon | 10-3 | 31.3% | 14.5 | 12 | 0.134 | 16 |
| 17 | Oregon State | 9-4 | 30.1% | 15.4 | 11 | 0.116 | 22 |
| 18 | Oklahoma State | 9-4 | 28.0% | 12.4 | 18 | 0.126 | 18 |
| 19 | Georgia | 10-3 | 25.3% | 10.9 | 21 | 0.119 | 20 |
| 20 | North Carolina | 8-5 | 23.2% | 7.7 | 30 | 0.144 | 15 |
| 21 | California | 9-4 | 21.5% | 10.2 | 22 | 0.092 | 28 |
| 22 | Cincinnati | 11-3 | 19.6% | 8.8 | 26 | 0.091 | 30 |
| 23 | Wake Forest | 8-5 | 19.0% | 8.4 | 28 | 0.090 | 31 |
| 24 | LSU | 8-5 | 19.0% | 9.9 | 24 | 0.074 | 33 |
| 25 | Virginia Tech | 10-4 | 18.6% | 6.1 | 34 | 0.118 | 21 |
| F/+ Rk | Team | Rec | F/+ | S&P+ | Rk | FEI | Rk |
| 26 | Georgia Tech | 8-4 | 18.3% | 8.8 | 25 | 0.079 | 32 |
| 27 | Rutgers | 9-4 | 18.1% | 6.6 | 32 | 0.105 | 24 |
| 28 | Kansas | 8-5 | 16.9% | 11.9 | 20 | 0.038 | 45 |
| 29 | Arizona | 8-5 | 16.9% | 5.6 | 38 | 0.107 | 23 |
| 30 | Boston College | 9-5 | 16.7% | 6.1 | 35 | 0.097 | 26 |
| 31 | West Virginia | 9-4 | 16.6% | 5.7 | 37 | 0.101 | 25 |
| 32 | Michigan State | 9-4 | 16.4% | 10.1 | 23 | 0.050 | 42 |
| 33 | Nebraska | 9-4 | 15.5% | 12.7 | 17 | 0.021 | 54 |
| 34 | South Florida | 8-5 | 15.1% | 6.8 | 31 | 0.073 | 34 |
| 35 | Florida State | 9-4 | 14.4% | 3.0 | 50 | 0.121 | 19 |
| 36 | South Carolina | 7-6 | 13.6% | 8.4 | 27 | 0.041 | 44 |
| 37 | Clemson | 7-6 | 12.6% | 5.3 | 39 | 0.067 | 36 |
| 38 | Southern Miss | 7-6 | 12.5% | 5.3 | 40 | 0.067 | 37 |
| 39 | Tulsa | 11-2 | 12.4% | 3.4 | 48 | 0.093 | 27 |
| 40 | Illinois | 5-7 | 11.2% | 7.9 | 29 | 0.026 | 52 |
| 41 | Connecticut | 8-5 | 10.6% | 3.4 | 47 | 0.073 | 35 |
| 42 | Ball State | 12-2 | 10.5% | 2.0 | 54 | 0.092 | 29 |
| 43 | BYU | 10-3 | 10.1% | 4.2 | 43 | 0.058 | 41 |
| 44 | Wisconsin | 7-6 | 7.9% | 6.3 | 33 | 0.013 | 58 |
| 45 | East Carolina | 9-5 | 6.7% | 1.5 | 58 | 0.059 | 39 |
| 46 | Houston | 8-5 | 6.3% | 1.2 | 62 | 0.059 | 40 |
| 47 | Miami | 7-6 | 6.2% | 4.0 | 44 | 0.023 | 53 |
| 48 | Vanderbilt | 7-6 | 5.7% | 3.2 | 49 | 0.029 | 51 |
| 49 | Rice | 10-3 | 5.5% | 2.8 | 52 | 0.031 | 49 |
| 50 | Tennessee | 5-7 | 5.3% | 5.8 | 36 | -0.006 | 62 |
| F/+ Rk | Team | Rec | F/+ | S&P+ | Rk | FEI | Rk |
| 51 | Northwestern | 9-4 | 4.2% | 2.8 | 53 | 0.019 | 55 |
| 52 | Troy | 8-5 | 4.0% | 1.3 | 61 | 0.035 | 46 |
| 53 | Stanford | 5-7 | 4.0% | 3.9 | 45 | 0.004 | 59 |
| 54 | Navy | 8-5 | 3.8% | -1.1 | 69 | 0.063 | 38 |
| 55 | N.C. State | 6-7 | 3.6% | 1.4 | 60 | 0.029 | 50 |
| 56 | Air Force | 8-5 | 2.3% | 1.7 | 57 | 0.014 | 57 |
| 57 | Virginia | 5-7 | 2.2% | 3.9 | 46 | -0.013 | 64 |
| 58 | Buffalo | 8-6 | 2.1% | -1.0 | 68 | 0.045 | 43 |
| 59 | Bowling Green | 6-6 | 2.0% | -0.2 | 66 | 0.034 | 47 |
| 60 | Notre Dame | 7-6 | 1.7% | -0.2 | 65 | 0.031 | 48 |
| 61 | Maryland | 8-5 | 1.0% | 2.9 | 51 | -0.012 | 63 |
| 62 | Baylor | 4-8 | -0.5% | 4.3 | 42 | -0.043 | 75 |
| 63 | Arkansas | 4-8 | -0.9% | 4.8 | 41 | -0.053 | 80 |
| 64 | Nevada | 7-6 | -1.3% | 1.5 | 59 | -0.017 | 66 |
| 65 | Auburn | 4-8 | -1.5% | -1.6 | 71 | 0.017 | 56 |
| 66 | Purdue | 4-8 | -2.0% | 1.8 | 56 | -0.028 | 67 |
| 67 | Minnesota | 7-6 | -2.5% | 1.9 | 55 | -0.033 | 69 |
| 68 | Michigan | 3-9 | -4.5% | 0.7 | 63 | -0.038 | 72 |
| 69 | New Mexico | 4-8 | -6.8% | 0.5 | 64 | -0.057 | 81 |
| 70 | Kentucky | 7-6 | -7.3% | -1.1 | 70 | -0.042 | 74 |
| 71 | Temple | 5-7 | -7.6% | -3.6 | 77 | -0.015 | 65 |
| 72 | Northern Illinois | 6-7 | -8.6% | -5.7 | 87 | -0.003 | 60 |
| 73 | Central Michigan | 8-5 | -9.1% | -5.8 | 89 | -0.005 | 61 |
| 74 | Marshall | 4-8 | -9.4% | -3.5 | 76 | -0.033 | 70 |
| 75 | UTEP | 5-7 | -9.5% | -2.7 | 72 | -0.044 | 76 |
| F/+ Rk | Team | Rec | F/+ | S&P+ | Rk | FEI | Rk |
| 76 | Duke | 4-8 | -9.8% | -3.2 | 75 | -0.040 | 73 |
| 77 | Arizona State | 5-7 | -10.8% | -4.4 | 81 | -0.035 | 71 |
| 78 | Western Michigan | 9-4 | -11.2% | -5.0 | 84 | -0.033 | 68 |
| 79 | Fresno State | 6-7 | -11.6% | -4.3 | 80 | -0.044 | 77 |
| 80 | Colorado State | 7-6 | -12.1% | -3.0 | 74 | -0.064 | 84 |
| 81 | UCLA | 4-8 | -12.9% | -0.7 | 67 | -0.105 | 93 |
| 82 | Akron | 5-7 | -14.1% | -6.2 | 93 | -0.046 | 78 |
| 83 | Memphis | 6-7 | -16.0% | -7.3 | 96 | -0.052 | 79 |
| 84 | Colorado | 5-7 | -17.3% | -4.6 | 83 | -0.095 | 89 |
| 85 | Louisville | 5-7 | -18.1% | -5.3 | 85 | -0.092 | 88 |
| 86 | Hawaii | 7-7 | -18.1% | -3.0 | 73 | -0.129 | 100 |
| 87 | Central Florida | 4-8 | -18.4% | -8.3 | 100 | -0.062 | 83 |
| 88 | Kansas State | 5-7 | -18.5% | -5.9 | 90 | -0.089 | 87 |
| 89 | UL-Lafayette | 6-6 | -18.7% | -6.4 | 94 | -0.085 | 85 |
| 90 | UNLV | 5-7 | -19.1% | -5.3 | 86 | -0.102 | 92 |
| 91 | Florida Atlantic | 7-6 | -19.4% | -5.9 | 91 | -0.097 | 91 |
| 92 | Ohio | 4-8 | -20.2% | -10.5 | 106 | -0.059 | 82 |
| 93 | Utah State | 3-9 | -20.7% | -3.8 | 78 | -0.145 | 104 |
| 94 | Syracuse | 3-9 | -20.9% | -5.8 | 88 | -0.114 | 98 |
| 95 | Mississippi State | 4-8 | -22.6% | -7.1 | 95 | -0.113 | 97 |
| 96 | Louisiana Tech | 8-5 | -22.7% | -8.6 | 101 | -0.096 | 90 |
| 97 | Texas A&M | 4-8 | -22.8% | -4.0 | 79 | -0.173 | 112 |
| 98 | Indiana | 3-9 | -23.3% | -4.4 | 82 | -0.168 | 111 |
| 99 | Florida International | 5-7 | -24.0% | -6.0 | 92 | -0.145 | 105 |
| 100 | Arkansas State | 6-6 | -24.0% | -10.6 | 107 | -0.088 | 86 |
| F/+ Rk | Team | Rec | F/+ | S&P+ | Rk | FEI | Rk |
| 101 | Wyoming | 4-8 | -27.5% | -7.8 | 97 | -0.155 | 108 |
| 102 | Middle Tennessee | 5-7 | -27.8% | -12.0 | 109 | -0.108 | 95 |
| 103 | Kent State | 4-8 | -28.0% | -12.3 | 110 | -0.107 | 94 |
| 104 | San Jose State | 6-6 | -28.0% | -11.8 | 108 | -0.111 | 96 |
| 105 | Toledo | 3-9 | -29.0% | -9.2 | 103 | -0.149 | 106 |
| 106 | Iowa State | 2-10 | -29.8% | -9.0 | 102 | -0.160 | 110 |
| 107 | SMU | 1-11 | -30.5% | -9.8 | 104 | -0.156 | 109 |
| 108 | UAB | 4-8 | -31.4% | -12.6 | 111 | -0.132 | 101 |
| 109 | Washington | 0-12 | -33.5% | -8.1 | 98 | -0.243 | 117 |
| 110 | Army | 3-9 | -34.4% | -15.4 | 112 | -0.133 | 102 |
| 111 | Tulane | 2-10 | -34.8% | -9.9 | 105 | -0.206 | 115 |
| 112 | Washington State | 2-11 | -35.3% | -8.3 | 99 | -0.295 | 119 |
| 113 | UL-Monroe | 4-8 | -35.7% | -19.5 | 117 | -0.123 | 99 |
| 114 | Eastern Michigan | 3-9 | -35.8% | -16.3 | 114 | -0.138 | 103 |
| 115 | Miami (Ohio) | 2-10 | -39.1% | -18.2 | 115 | -0.151 | 107 |
| 116 | San Diego State | 3-9 | -44.2% | -15.8 | 113 | -0.212 | 116 |
| 117 | New Mexico State | 3-9 | -44.4% | -18.8 | 116 | -0.185 | 114 |
| 118 | Western Kentucky | 2-10 | -44.7% | -21.1 | 119 | -0.176 | 113 |
| 119 | North Texas | 1-11 | -59.7% | -20.1 | 118 | -0.322 | 120 |
| 120 | Idaho | 2-10 | -63.0% | -24.5 | 120 | -0.285 | 118 |