Phil Steele Blog • January 12th, 2017

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Strength of Wins/ Pain of Losses College Final.

Strength of Wins

I find this chart to be very interesting every year. How it’s devised is if you beat an FBS opponent you get credit for all their wins over their FBS opponents. Note this chart does not count wins over FCS teams even if they are 11-0.

In this first chart below you can see Strength of Wins. Here you can see Clemson overtook Alabama in the #1 spot on this list with their win in the National Championship. Clemson has wins vs Auburn, Troy, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Boston College, NC State, Florida St, Syracuse, Wake Forest, South Carolina, Virginia Tech, Ohio St and Alabama and those teams have a total of 112 wins. My chart still grades 1 team (Fresno St) as having credit with a win but their foes have not won a single game vs a FBS foe.

Here is the Complete list of Strength of Wins with rank:Games Played Thru 1/9/17

Strength of Wins Strength of Wins Strength of Wins
SU Combined SU Combined SU Combined
Wins Foe Wins Rank Wins Foe Wins Rank Wins Foe Wins Rank
Clemson 14 112 1 Arkansas St 8 43 43 Arizona St 5 20 86
Alabama 14 103 2 Old Dominion 10 42 45 Syracuse 4 20 86
Ohio St 11 79 3 Tulsa 10 41 46 Missouri 4 20 86
Wisconsin 11 74 4 North Carolina 8 41 46 UCLA 4 20 86
Penn St 11 72 5 Vanderbilt 6 41 46 Duke 4 20 86
Washington 12 69 6 Minnesota 9 40 49 UCF 6 18 92
Oklahoma 11 69 6 Toledo 9 40 49 Maryland 6 18 92
Florida St 10 69 6 Kansas St 9 39 51 New Mexico St 3 17 94
Western Mich 13 65 9 Idaho 9 38 52 Akron 5 16 95
Michigan 10 65 9 BYU 9 38 52 Oregon 4 16 95
USC 10 61 11 Memphis 8 38 52 UNLV 4 16 95
Boise St 10 61 11 Army 8 38 52 FIU 4 16 95
Tennessee 9 61 11 Arkansas 7 37 56 ULM 4 14 99
Oklahoma St 10 58 14 Eastern Mich 7 36 57 UTEP 4 14 99
Appalachian St 10 56 15 Mid Tennessee 8 35 58 Charlotte 4 13 101
WKU 11 55 16 Northwestern 7 35 58 Buffalo 2 13 101
Stanford 10 54 17 NC State 7 35 58 Oregon St 4 12 103
Colorado 10 54 17 Kentucky 7 34 61 Cincinnati 4 12 103
Air Force 10 54 17 Colorado St 7 34 61 Arizona 3 12 103
Florida 9 54 17 Baylor 7 33 63 Tulane 4 11 106
USF 11 53 21 Southern Miss 7 32 64 Ball St 4 11 106
Virginia Tech 10 52 22 Ohio 8 31 65 Iowa St 3 11 106
San Diego St 11 51 23 Central Mich 6 31 65 Marshall 3 11 106
Temple 10 51 23 Wake Forest 7 30 67 Nevada 5 10 110
Wyoming 8 51 23 Hawaii 7 30 67 San Jose St 4 10 110
West Virginia 10 50 26 Mississippi 5 30 67 Bowling Green 4 10 110
Louisville 9 50 26 UTSA 6 29 70 East Carolina 3 10 110
Georgia Tech 9 50 26 California 5 29 70 Rice 3 10 110
Troy 10 49 29 Boston College 7 27 72 Virginia 2 10 110
Houston 9 49 29 Miss St 6 27 72 Utah St 3 9 116
Miami, Fl 9 49 29 South Alabama 6 26 74 Rutgers 2 9 116
Nebraska 9 47 32 Miami, OH 6 26 74 Kent St 3 8 118
New Mexico 9 47 32 UL Lafayette 6 26 74 Purdue 3 8 118
Pittsburgh 8 47 32 Notre Dame 4 26 74 Georgia St 3 8 118
Navy 9 46 35 South Carolina 6 24 78 Texas St 2 8 118
LSU 8 46 35 Texas Tech 5 24 78 Florida Atlantic 3 7 122
Utah 9 45 37 Texas 5 23 80 Michigan St 3 6 123
Iowa 8 45 37 GA Southern 5 23 80 Connecticut 3 6 123
Georgia 8 45 37 Indiana 6 22 82 Illinois 3 5 125
Louisiana Tech 9 44 40 TCU 6 22 82 Kansas 2 5 125
Auburn 8 44 40 SMU 5 21 84 UMass 2 4 127
Washington St 8 44 40 North Texas 5 21 84 Fresno St 1 0 128
Texas A&M 8 43 43 N Illinois 5 20 86


Pain of Losses

This next chart we will go over is the Pain of Losses. Here if you lose to an opponent you get credit for all their losses. Clemson (in green) is ranked 5th on this list because they lost to Pittsburgh so they get credit for 5 losses. Buffalo is at the bottom of this list with a combined 63 foe losses. Their foe losses include Albany, Nevada, Boston College, Kent St, Ball St, Northern Illinois, Ohio, Miami, OH, Western Michigan and Bowling Green. Unlike the Strength of Wins chart, the Pain of Losses chart does include a loss to an FCS foe. I count that loss as 4 towards the combined foe loss record due to the weakness of the opponent.

Here is your complete Pain of Losses Chart with rank: Games Played Thru 1/9/17

Pain of Losses Pain of Losses Pain of Losses
SU Combined SU Combined SU Combined
Loss Foe Losses Rank Loss Foe Losses Rank Loss Foe Losses Rank
Alabama 1 1 1 Iowa 5 20 41 Missouri 8 38 86
Western Mich 1 3 2 Memphis 5 20 41 UCLA 8 38 86
Washington 2 4 3 Utah 4 21 46 Cincinnati 8 38 86
Ohio St 2 4 3 Pittsburgh 5 22 47 Akron 7 39 90
Clemson 1 5 5 Texas A&M 5 23 48 Utah St 9 39 90
Oklahoma 2 6 6 Kentucky 6 24 49 Vanderbilt 7 40 92
USF 2 7 7 Colorado St 6 24 49 Central Mich 7 40 92
USC 3 8 8 Boston College 6 24 49 Miami, OH 7 40 92
Wisconsin 3 8 8 Wake Forest 6 25 52 Illinois 9 40 92
West Virginia 3 9 10 Georgia 5 26 53 ULM 8 41 96
Florida St 3 10 11 North Carolina 5 26 53 Tulane 8 41 96
Michigan 3 10 11 Louisiana Tech 5 27 55 Arizona 9 41 96
Penn St 3 11 13 Arkansas 6 27 55 Iowa St 9 41 96
Appalachian St 3 11 13 NC State 6 27 55 UTSA 7 42 100
Stanford 3 11 13 N Illinois 7 27 55 UL Lafayette 7 42 100
Tulsa 3 11 13 New Mexico 4 28 59 Bowling Green 8 42 100
Colorado 4 11 13 Indiana 7 28 59 Duke 8 43 103
Kansas St 4 11 13 UCF 7 28 59 North Texas 8 44 104
WKU 3 13 19 Arkansas St 5 29 62 Kent St 9 44 104
Troy 3 13 19 Wyoming 6 29 62 Michigan St 9 44 104
LSU 4 13 19 Maryland 7 29 62 Nevada 7 45 107
Florida 4 14 22 Baylor 6 30 65 Notre Dame 8 45 107
Nebraska 4 14 22 South Carolina 7 30 65 UNLV 8 46 109
Auburn 5 14 22 TCU 7 30 65 Ball St 8 46 109
Boise St 3 15 25 Ohio 6 31 68 East Carolina 9 47 111
Oklahoma St 3 15 25 California 7 31 68 Purdue 9 47 111
Louisville 4 15 25 SMU 7 32 70 Georgia St 9 48 113
Georgia Tech 4 15 25 Mid Tennessee 5 33 71 Charlotte 8 50 114
Minnesota 4 15 25 Mississippi 7 33 71 FIU 8 51 115
Old Dominion 3 16 30 Miss St 7 33 71 Rutgers 10 51 115
Air Force 3 17 31 Oregon St 8 33 71 New Mexico St 9 52 117
Virginia Tech 4 17 31 Eastern Mich 6 34 75 Rice 9 52 117
Idaho 4 17 31 Texas Tech 7 35 76 Kansas 10 52 117
Washington St 5 17 31 Arizona St 7 35 76 Connecticut 9 53 120
Toledo 4 18 35 Syracuse 8 35 76 Virginia 10 53 120
BYU 4 18 35 Southern Miss 6 36 79 Marshall 9 55 122
Northwestern 6 18 35 Texas 7 36 79 Florida Atlantic 9 55 122
San Diego St 3 19 38 Oregon 8 36 79 UTEP 8 56 124
Temple 4 19 38 San Jose St 8 36 79 UMass 10 58 125
Navy 5 19 38 Army 5 37 83 Texas St 10 60 126
Tennessee 4 20 41 Hawaii 7 37 83 Fresno St 11 62 127
Houston 4 20 41 South Alabama 7 37 83 Buffalo 10 63 128
Miami, Fl 4 20 41 GA Southern 7 38 86

 

Overall Wins and Losses

In this last chart below you can see the overall wins and losses. As you can see the top teams are Alabama, Clemson and Western Michigan all 1 loss teams. You can also see the quality of opponents Alabama and Clemson has faced as they have credit for at least 24 or more wins than the next team Ohio St (79). The bottom teams are all the 1 & 2 win teams. One of the most interesting things here on this list is Fresno St (in green). If you take a closer look, they are 1-11 but their only win was against an FCS foe (Sacramento St) so they do not get credit for it here.

Here is your complete Overall Wins and Losses Chart with %:Games Played Thru 1/9/17

Overall Overall Overall
Wins Losses % Wins Losses % Wins Losses %
Alabama 103 1 99.0% Pittsburgh 47 22 68.1% GA Southern 23 38 37.7%
Clemson 112 5 95.7% BYU 38 18 67.9% Notre Dame 26 45 36.6%
Western Mich 65 3 95.6% Northwestern 35 18 66.0% Arizona St 20 35 36.4%
Ohio St 79 4 95.2% Memphis 38 20 65.5% Syracuse 20 35 36.4%
Washington 69 4 94.5% Texas A&M 43 23 65.2% Missouri 20 38 34.5%
Oklahoma 69 6 92.0% Wyoming 51 29 63.8% UCLA 20 38 34.5%
Wisconsin 74 8 90.2% Georgia 45 26 63.4% North Texas 21 44 32.3%
USC 61 8 88.4% New Mexico 47 28 62.7% Duke 20 43 31.7%
USF 53 7 88.3% Louisiana Tech 44 27 62.0% Oregon 16 36 30.8%
Florida St 69 10 87.3% North Carolina 41 26 61.2% Akron 16 39 29.1%
Penn St 72 11 86.7% Arkansas St 43 29 59.7% Oregon St 12 33 26.7%
Michigan 65 10 86.7% Kentucky 34 24 58.6% UNLV 16 46 25.8%
West Virginia 50 9 84.7% Colorado St 34 24 58.6% ULM 14 41 25.5%
Appalachian St 56 11 83.6% Arkansas 37 27 57.8% New Mexico St 17 52 24.6%
Stanford 54 11 83.1% NC State 35 27 56.5% Cincinnati 12 38 24.0%
Colorado 54 11 83.1% Wake Forest 30 25 54.5% FIU 16 51 23.9%
WKU 55 13 80.9% Boston College 27 24 52.9% Arizona 12 41 22.6%
Boise St 61 15 80.3% Baylor 33 30 52.4% San Jose St 10 36 21.7%
Oklahoma St 58 15 79.5% Mid Tennessee 35 33 51.5% Tulane 11 41 21.2%
Florida 54 14 79.4% Eastern Mich 36 34 51.4% Charlotte 13 50 20.6%
Troy 49 13 79.0% Army 38 37 50.7% UTEP 14 56 20.0%
Tulsa 41 11 78.8% Vanderbilt 41 40 50.6% Ball St 11 46 19.3%
Kansas St 39 11 78.0% Ohio 31 31 50.0% Bowling Green 10 42 19.2%
LSU 46 13 78.0% Iowa St 11 41 50.0% Utah St 9 39 18.8%
Nebraska 47 14 77.0% California 29 31 48.3% Nevada 10 45 18.2%
Louisville 50 15 76.9% Mississippi 30 33 47.6% East Carolina 10 47 17.5%
Georgia Tech 50 15 76.9% Southern Miss 32 36 47.1% Buffalo 13 63 17.1%
Air Force 54 17 76.1% Miss St 27 33 45.0% Marshall 11 55 16.7%
Auburn 44 14 75.9% Hawaii 30 37 44.8% Rice 10 52 16.1%
Virginia Tech 52 17 75.4% South Carolina 24 30 44.4% Virginia 10 53 15.9%
Tennessee 61 20 75.3% Indiana 22 28 44.0% Kent St 8 44 15.4%
San Diego St 51 19 72.9% Central Mich 31 40 43.7% Rutgers 9 51 15.0%
Temple 51 19 72.9% N Illinois 20 27 42.6% Purdue 8 47 14.5%
Minnesota 40 15 72.7% TCU 22 30 42.3% Georgia St 8 48 14.3%
Old Dominion 42 16 72.4% South Alabama 26 37 41.3% Michigan St 6 44 12.0%
Washington St 44 17 72.1% UTSA 29 42 40.8% Texas St 8 60 11.8%
Houston 49 20 71.0% Texas Tech 24 35 40.7% Florida Atlantic 7 55 11.3%
Miami, Fl 49 20 71.0% SMU 21 32 39.6% Illinois 5 40 11.1%
Navy 46 19 70.8% Miami, OH 26 40 39.4% Connecticut 6 53 10.2%
Iowa 45 20 69.2% UCF 18 28 39.1% Kansas 5 52 8.8%
Idaho 38 17 69.1% Texas 23 36 39.0% UMass 4 58 6.5%
Toledo 40 18 69.0% Maryland 18 29 38.3% Fresno St 0 62 0.0%
Utah 45 21 68.2% UL Lafayette 26 42 38.2%