Daily Blog • August 19, 2010

For more than 7 years I have published an “Experience Chart” in my National College Football Preview. The old version of this chart just took into account the overall experience from the 2 deep for each squad. Last year I revised the Experience Chart and created a New and Improved version. The new chart uses 20% of the experience grade from the old chart, 20% from the % of lettermen returning, 20% from the % of tackles returning, 20% from the % of yards returning and 20% from the career starts of the offensive line.

The most experienced teams when using the old chart were usually the service academies which play a lot of seniors and juniors. Using the old method (which is listed below) the top 5 most experienced teams in terms of upperclassmen in the two deep are: 1. Hawaii 2. Navy 3. Army 4. Air Force and 5. UAB. Iowa St ranks the highest among BCS teams coming in at #11.

The least experienced teams using this method are: 120. LSU 119. New Mexico 118. BYU 117. Vanderbilt and 116. Rutgers. The next paragraph is an explanation of how the chart works and below that is the old version of the Experience Chart.

Experience can be a big thing in college football. A player gains valuable experience for every year he plays and becomes a better player because of it. Players also mature physically while they are in college and there is a big difference between a raw 17 or 18 year old true freshman and a mature and physically stronger 22 year old senior. Some teams that send their players away on missions, like BYU, routinely have Seniors up to 25 years old. There is also a coaching adage that for every freshman starter you have, you lose one game. With that in mind, we compiled the following chart. It lists the total amount of senior starters on the team as well as seniors in the two deep. It also shows all of the juniors, sophomores and freshmen starters and the total amount in the two deep.

To formulate a point system, I awarded 3 points for every senior starter (2.5 for every additional senior in the two deep) 2 points for every junior starter (1.5 for every additional junior in the two deep) 1 point for a sophomore starter (0.5 for every additional soph in the 2 deep then subtracted 1 point for every frosh starter and .5 for every frosh in the two deep. The total points column uses that formula to figure out the points awarded to a team. The number before the team is where they came up in my overall ranking of all the teams in the NCAA.

The two-deep was derived from my projected starting line-ups in this years magazine but does include all injuries, transfers and suspensions that have occurred since May. Also this chart accounts for only the 22 positions on offense and defense and does not include special teams players. There have been some notable changes since my blog on June 3rd if you want to compare the changes

2 Deep Breakdown According to Class

Rank
 Team
SR ST
SR 2D
JR ST
JR 2D
SO ST
SO 2D
FR ST
FR 2D
Pts
1
 HAWAII
12
10
9
7
1
5
0
0
93
2
 NAVY
13
4
7
13
2
5
0
0
87
3
 ARMY
13
7
5
7
4
8
0
0
85
4
 AIR FORCE
10
6
10
8
2
8
0
0
83
5
 UAB
7
8
11
10
4
2
0
2
82
6
 IDAHO
11
7
8
7
3
5
0
3
81
7
 OHIO 
11
6
7
8
4
6
0
2
80
7
 NORTH TEXAS
10
5
7
11
5
5
0
1
80
7
 UTAH ST
10
6
11
8
1
4
0
4
80
10
 UTEP
14
6
6
5
1
8
1
3
79
11
 IOWA ST
10
2
8
13
4
7
0
0
78
12
 AUBURN
13
5
6
7
3
5
0
5
77
12
 NEW MEXICO ST
10
6
9
7
3
5
0
4
77
14
 ARKANSAS ST
9
6
8
8
5
5
0
3
76
14
 MIDDLE TENN
12
3
6
11
3
6
1
2
76
16
 IOWA 
11
5
7
7
4
6
0
4
75
16
 MEMPHIS
10
7
6
7
5
5
1
3
75
18
 KANSAS ST
10
4
8
8
4
7
0
3
74
18
 LOUISVILLE
14
6
6
4
2
3
0
9
74
18
 LOUISIANA TECH
10
6
7
5
5
8
0
3
74
21
 OREGON
12
4
5
9
5
3
0
6
73
21
 CALIFORNIA
9
6
9
6
3
7
1
3
73
21
 WASHINGTON
7
5
8
10
7
5
0
2
73
21
 ARKANSAS 
8
6
11
5
3
7
0
4
73
21
 BOISE ST
9
4
11
6
1
11
1
1
73
26
 NEBRASKA
11
4
6
7
5
7
0
4
72
26
 LOUISIANA
10
4
8
9
3
5
1
4
72
26
 SAN JOSE ST
10
5
6
7
5
8
1
2
72
29
 INDIANA
8
8
9
4
5
3
0
7
71
29
 KANSAS
9
7
6
6
7
3
0
6
71
29
 USF
11
6
3
6
7
7
1
3
71
29
 TCU
14
5
5
4
2
6
1
7
71
29
 NEVADA
9
3
10
6
3
11
0
2
71
34
 NORTH CAROLINA
13
4
3
7
5
6
1
5
70
34
 COLORADO
8
2
9
11
5
6
0
3
70
34
 SYRACUSE
11
4
6
6
5
7
0
5
70
34
 HOUSTON
10
4
9
4
3
10
0
4
70
34
 TEMPLE
10
3
9
8
3
5
0
6
70
34
 KENT
10
5
6
6
5
8
1
3
70
40
 RICE
7
4
11
6
4
9
0
3
69
40
 AKRON
13
2
6
6
3
8
0
6
69
40
 UNLV
12
4
6
6
3
6
1
6
69
40
 ARIZONA
9
5
10
6
3
3
0
8
69
44
 BOSTON COLLEGE
11
4
6
5
4
9
1
4
68
44
 OHIO ST
12
3
7
5
3
7
0
7
68
44
 OREGON ST
9
5
8
4
5
8
0
5
68
44
 STANFORD
10
4
6
7
6
5
0
6
68
44
 TROY
9
3
10
8
2
6
1
5
68
44
 FIU
9
3
5
7
8
11
0
1
68
50
 N ILLINOIS
8
4
9
7
5
5
0
6
67
50
 COLORADO ST
9
5
9
4
3
8
1
5
67
52
 ILLINOIS
7
4
8
9
5
7
2
2
66
52
 MISSOURI
7
2
12
6
3
11
0
3
66
52
 CINCINNATI
7
3
10
8
5
6
0
5
66
52
 SAN DIEGO ST
11
0
8
8
2
11
1
3
66
52
 FAU
10
3
5
6
7
9
0
4
66
57
 EAST CAROLINA
8
5
10
7
1
5
3
5
65
57
 MARSHALL
7
6
9
7
4
3
2
6
65
57
 UCF
9
6
8
2
5
6
0
8
65
57
 TOLEDO
6
3
10
9
5
7
1
3
65
61
 NORTHWESTERN
6
3
11
7
5
7
0
5
64
61
 SOUTHERN MISS
8
6
11
2
1
8
2
6
64
61
 BALL STATE
7
4
7
6
8
8
0
4
64
61
 UTAH
7
8
7
5
6
2
2
7
64
61
 ULM
7
3
12
6
3
6
0
7
64
66
 GEORGIA TECH
10
4
8
3
3
8
1
7
63
66
 WISCONSIN
8
4
10
3
3
10
1
5
63
66
 TEXAS
10
4
8
3
4
6
0
9
63
66
 MIAMI, OH
9
2
6
5
7
12
0
3
63
66
 WASHINGTON ST
8
4
8
6
6
4
0
8
63
71
 USC
8
2
6
10
7
5
1
5
62
71
 SOUTH CAROLINA
8
3
7
6
6
9
1
4
62
71
 GEORGIA
7
3
8
8
6
6
1
5
62
74
 MIAMI, FL
9
3
8
4
5
7
0
8
61
74
 NC STATE
8
1
6
9
8
7
0
5
61
74
 PENN ST
7
3
11
4
4
8
0
7
61
74
 BAYLOR
6
8
6
4
8
4
2
6
61
74
 WEST VIRGINIA
10
3
7
4
5
6
0
9
61
74
 TULSA
5
4
9
7
6
9
2
2
61
74
 BUFFALO
10
4
6
5
3
8
3
5
61
74
 FRESNO  ST
13
0
4
5
4
12
1
5
61
82
 CLEMSON
6
4
7
9
6
6
3
3
60
82
 MINNESOTA
7
2
11
7
4
4
0
9
60
82
 E MICHIGAN
10
4
7
2
3
10
2
6
60
82
 C MICHIGAN
8
1
6
7
8
10
0
4
60
82
 WYOMING
6
3
6
10
9
4
1
5
60
82
 ARIZONA ST
3
3
13
9
4
7
2
3
60
88
 OKLAHOMA ST
6
4
11
3
5
7
0
8
59
88
 TULANE
8
4
4
4
10
8
0
6
59
90
 DUKE
10
2
6
5
6
5
0
10
58
90
 MICHIGAN ST
9
4
7
2
6
6
0
10
58
92
 VIRGINIA TECH
7
3
9
5
6
4
0
10
57
92
 MISSISSIPPI ST
7
2
7
7
8
5
0
8
57
94
 NOTRE DAME
6
3
8
6
6
8
2
5
56
94
 BOWLING GREEN
8
3
8
5
4
6
2
8
56
94
 MISSISSIPPI
9
5
6
3
5
4
2
10
56
97
 TEXAS  TECH
11
2
4
4
6
6
1
10
55
97
 W KENTUCKY
8
1
4
8
10
5
0
8
55
99
 CONNECTICUT
6
2
8
4
8
9
0
7
54
100
 VIRGINIA 
5
2
11
6
4
7
2
7
53
100
 PURDUE
5
2
10
5
5
10
2
5
53
100
 OKLAHOMA
6
3
8
4
6
9
2
6
53
100
 PITTSBURGH
7
2
7
6
7
5
1
9
53
100
 W MICHIGAN
7
4
6
3
7
8
2
7
53
100
 FLORIDA
7
6
9
1
3
5
3
10
53
106
 WAKE FOREST
6
1
9
8
5
5
2
8
52
106
 FLORIDA ST
6
1
8
7
6
8
2
6
52
106
 MICHIGAN
4
6
7
5
7
6
4
5
52
106
 TEXAS A&M
4
3
8
5
8
10
2
4
52
106
 SMU
4
2
12
5
4
9
2
6
52
106
 KENTUCKY
7
0
8
6
6
9
1
7
52
112
 MARYLAND
6
2
8
4
6
10
2
6
51
112
 UCLA
3
3
12
6
5
5
2
8
51
112
 ALABAMA
4
3
9
6
8
4
1
9
51
115
 TENNESSEE
9
3
7
2
4
5
2
12
50
116
 RUTGERS
5
2
7
6
7
9
3
5
49
117
 VANDERBILT
4
3
10
3
4
12
4
4
48
118
 BYU
6
5
7
6
1
5
8
6
46
119
 NEW MEXICO
7
0
6
3
7
11
2
8
44
120
 LSU
6
0
10
3
5
5
1
14
42

Only 2 Weeks Until the First College Football Game!!!