Westgate power ratings disagree with top 4 of CFP rankings

The College Football Playoff committee released its first set of rankings Tuesday, and the debate has begun anew about what picking the “four best teams” means.

The CFP has Georgia, Alabama, Michigan State and Oregon as its top four, with Ohio State and Cincinnati next in line.

The Westgate SuperBook and other college football power rating services (ESPN FPI and Jeff Sagarin) agree at the top: Georgia and Alabama are the best two teams.

However, the three predictive services all put Ohio State at No. 3 and Oklahoma at No. 4. The Sooners are No. 8 in the CFP rankings.

Discussion has centered on whether Cincinnati is worthy of the playoff if it finishes undefeated. The Bearcats are ranked sixth by the CFP, right in line with the Westgate (fifth), ESPN FPI (seventh) and Sagarin (sixth).

According to the rating services, the teams being propped up by the CFP are Michigan State and Oregon.

The Spartans are rated 21st by the Westgate, 15th by ESPN FPI and 24th by Sagarin. The Ducks are rated 14th by the Westgate, 20th by FPI and 15th by Sagarin.

Of course, games aren’t played on a computer. Oregon is ranked ahead of Ohio State in the CFP because the Ducks beat the Buckeyes on the road 35-28 on Sept. 11.

Likewise, Michigan State fans will scoff that despite the Spartans’ 37-33 victory over Michigan on Saturday, the Wolverines are still rated well ahead of their rival at eighth by the Westgate and fifth by FPI and Sagarin.

The result of one game doesn’t mean much to oddsmakers and professional bettors, but it can mean everything when it comes to filling out the CFP field.

Here are the Westgate’s power ratings of all 130 Football Bowl Subdivision teams, from No. 1 Georgia to No. 130 Massachusetts:

WESTGATE RATINGS

1. Georgia, 109.5

2. Alabama, 108.5

3. Ohio State, 101.5

4. Oklahoma, 96.5

5. Cincinnati, 95.5

6. Florida, 93.5

7. Texas A&M, 91.5

8. Michigan, 90.5

9. Wisconsin, 89.5

10. Iowa State, 89.5

11. Mississippi, 89.5

12. Auburn, 89.5

13. Penn State, 88.5

14. Oregon, 88.5

15. Arkansas, 88.5

16. Pittsburgh, 87.5

17. Notre Dame, 87.5

18. Arizona State, 87.5

19. Wake Forest, 86.5

20. Iowa, 86.5

21. Michigan State, 86.5

22. Oklahoma State, 86.5

23. Utah, 86.5

24. North Carolina, 85.5

25. North Carolina State, 85.5

26. Texas, 85.5

27. Baylor, 85.5

28. Kentucky, 85.5

29. Tennessee, 85.5

30. SMU, 84.5

31. Clemson, 84.5

32. Nebraska, 84.5

33. Mississippi State, 84.5

34. Miami (Fla.), 83.5

35. Fresno State, 83.5

36. Houston, 82.5

37. Coastal Carolina, 82.5

38. Virginia, 81.5

39. West Virginia, 81.5

40. Kansas State, 81.5

41. Brigham Young, 81.5

42. UNR, 81.5

43. Southern California, 81.5

44. Oregon State, 81.5

45. Appalachian State, 81.5

46. LSU, 81.5

47. Syracuse, 80.5

48. Minnesota, 80.5

49. Purdue, 80.5

50. UCLA, 80.5

51. California, 80.5

52. Virginia Tech, 79.5

53. Florida State, 79.5

54. Louisville, 79.5

55. Western Kentucky, 79.5

56. Central Florida, 78.5

57. UTSA, 78.5

58. Army, 78.5

59. Western Michigan, 78.5

60. Boise State, 78.5

61. Maryland, 77.5

62. TCU, 77.5

63. UAB, 77.5

64. Marshall, 77.5

65. Liberty, 77.5

66. San Diego State, 77.5

67. Air Force, 77.5

68. Washington, 77.5

69. Louisiana (Lafayette), 77.5

70. Georgia Tech, 76.5

71. Rutgers, 76.5

72. Texas Tech, 76.5

73. Stanford, 76.5

74. Toledo, 75.5

75. Tulsa, 74.5

76. Indiana, 74.5

77. Washington State, 74.5

78. East Carolina, 73.5

79. Boston College, 73.5

80. Colorado State, 73.5

81. Missouri, 73.5

82. Memphis, 72.5

83. Florida Atlantic, 72.5

84. Kent State, 72.5

85. Miami (Ohio), 71.5

86. Utah State, 71.5

87. Illinois, 70.5

88. Ball State, 70.5

89. Central Michigan, 70.5

90. Northern Illinois, 70.5

91. Georgia State, 70.5

92. Northwestern, 69.5

93. South Carolina, 69.5

94. Navy, 68.5

95. Troy, 68.5

96. Tulane, 67.5

97. Duke, 67.5

98. San Jose State, 67.5

99. Wyoming, 67.5

100. Hawaii, 67.5

101. Colorado, 67.5

102. Eastern Michigan, 66.5

103. Buffalo, 66.5

104. South Alabama, 66.5

105. South Florida, 65.5

106. Louisiana Tech, 63.5

107. Middle Tennessee, 63.5

108. UTEP, 63.5

109. Ohio, 62.5

110. Arizona, 62.5

111. Georgia Southern, 62.5

112. Temple, 60.5

113. Old Dominion, 60.5

114. Charlotte, 59.5

115. Bowling Green, 59.5

116. UNLV, 59.5

117. North Texas, 58.5

118. New Mexico, 58.5

119. Arkansas State, 57.5

120. Rice, 56.5

121. Vanderbilt, 56.5

122. Florida International, 55.5

123. Kansas, 54.5

124. Texas State, 54.5

125. Louisiana-Monroe, 54.5

126. Southern Mississippi, 49.5

127. New Mexico State, 48.5

128. Akron, 48.5

129. Connecticut, 47.5

130. Massachusetts, 42.5

BIGGEST RISE

— Central Florida gained four points to 78.5, moving from No. 77 to No. 56, after beating Temple 49-7.

BIGGEST FALLS

— Texas Christian plummeted six points to 77.5, moving from No. 33 to No. 62, after a 31-12 loss to Kansas State that resulted in the departure of longtime coach Gary Patterson.

— Texas State dropped six points to 54.5, moving from No. 114 to No. 124, after a 45-0 loss to Louisiana (Lafayette).

WEEK 10 POINT SPREAD COMPARISON

Here is a comparison of Week 10 point spreads to spreads created by two popular power rating services, ESPN’s FPI and Jeff Sagarin, along with the raw numbers from the Westgate SuperBook (which sometimes differ from actual spreads).

Notes: Power rating spreads are rounded to the nearest half-point and reflect three points added for home-field advantage. ESPN FPI does not produce ratings for Football Championship Subdivision teams. Teams are listed with Associated Press poll ranking where applicable.

Thursday

— Georgia State at No. 24 Louisiana (Lafayette) (-12, total 54), 4:30 p.m.

ESPN FPI: Louisiana -15

Sagarin: Louisiana -13

Westgate: Louisiana -10

Friday

— Virginia Tech (-3, 47½) at Boston College, 4:30 p.m.

ESPN FPI: Virginia Tech -1½

Sagarin: Virginia Tech -2½

Westgate: Virginia Tech -3

— Utah (-7½, 54) at Stanford, 7:30 p.m.

ESPN FPI: Utah -6

Sagarin: Utah -7

Westgate: Utah -7

Saturday

— Army vs. Air Force (-2½, 37), 8:30 a.m. (at Arlington, Texas)

ESPN FPI: Army -2

Sagarin: Air Force -5½

Westgate: Air Force -1

— Missouri at No. 1 Georgia (-39, 59½), 9 a.m.

ESPN FPI: Georgia -35½

Sagarin: Georgia -32½

Westgate: Georgia -39

— No. 6 Ohio State (-14½, 65) at Nebraska, 9 a.m.

ESPN FPI: Ohio State -13

Sagarin: Ohio State -16½

Westgate: Ohio State -14

— No. 10 Wake Forest at North Carolina (-2½, 75), 9 a.m.

ESPN FPI: North Carolina -2

Sagarin: Wake Forest -6

Westgate: North Carolina -2

— Liberty at No. 15 Mississippi (-10, 67½), 9 a.m.

ESPN FPI: Mississippi -12

Sagarin: Mississippi -10½

Westgate: Mississippi -15

— Illinois at Minnesota (-15½, 43½), 9 a.m.

ESPN FPI: Minnesota -13½

Sagarin: Minnesota -16

Westgate: Minnesota -13

— Pittsburgh (-21, 64½) at Duke, 9 a.m.

ESPN FPI: Pittsburgh -23

Sagarin: Pittsburgh -19½

Westgate: Pittsburgh -17

— Louisiana Tech at UAB (-14, 49½), 9 a.m.

ESPN FPI: UAB -10½

Sagarin: UAB -9½

Westgate: UAB -17

— Kansas State (-24, 55½) at Kansas, 9 a.m.

ESPN FPI: Kansas State -21½

Sagarin: Kansas State -23½

Westgate: Kansas State -24

— No. 23 SMU (-4½, 71) at Memphis, 9 a.m.

ESPN FPI: SMU -6

Sagarin: SMU -7

Westgate: SMU -9

— Georgia Tech at Miami (Fla.) (-10, 63), 9:30 a.m.

ESPN FPI: Miami -12

Sagarin: Miami -10

Westgate: Miami -10

— Appalachian State (-21, 68½) at Arkansas State, 11 a.m.

ESPN FPI: Appalachian State -19

Sagarin: Appalachian State -19½

Westgate: Appalachian State -21

— North Texas (-5, 48) at Southern Mississippi, noon

ESPN FPI: North Texas -1

Sagarin: North Texas -3

Westgate: North Texas -6

— Temple at East Carolina (-15, 54½), noon

ESPN FPI: East Carolina -17½

Sagarin: East Carolina -17½

Westgate: East Carolina -16

— Louisiana-Monroe at Texas State (-3½, 59), noon

ESPN FPI: Texas State -4

Sagarin: Louisiana-Monroe -2½

Westgate: Texas State -3

— California (-12½, 51½) at Arizona, noon

ESPN FPI: California -9

Sagarin: California -13

Westgate: California -15

— No. 5 Michigan State (-3, 54) at Purdue, 12:30 p.m.

ESPN FPI: Michigan State -3½

Sagarin: Michigan State -2

Westgate: Michigan State -3

— Tulsa at No. 2 Cincinnati (-22½, 55), 12:30 p.m.

ESPN FPI: Cincinnati -23½

Sagarin: Cincinnati -24

Westgate: Cincinnati -25

— Navy at No. 8 Notre Dame (-21, 46), 12:30 p.m.

ESPN FPI: Notre Dame -27½

Sagarin: Notre Dame -25

Westgate: Notre Dame -22

— No. 11 Oklahoma State (-3, 49½) at West Virginia, 12:30 p.m.

ESPN FPI: Oklahoma State -2

Sagarin: Oklahoma State -6

Westgate: Oklahoma State -2

— No. 14 Baylor (-6½, 58) at TCU, 12:30 p.m.

ESPN FPI: Baylor -3½

Sagarin: Baylor -7

Westgate: Baylor -5

— No. 12 Auburn at No. 13 Texas A&M (-3½, 49), 12:30 p.m.

ESPN FPI: Texas A&M -3

Sagarin: Texas A&M -1

Westgate: Texas A&M -5

— Idaho State at No. 17 Brigham Young (no line), 12:30 p.m.

ESPN FPI: Not available

Sagarin: BYU -38½

Westgate: Not available

— Wisconsin (-13½, 37½) at Rutgers, 12:30 p.m.

ESPN FPI: Wisconsin -6½

Sagarin: Wisconsin -11½

Westgate: Wisconsin -10

— Rice at Charlotte (-6, 52), 12:30 p.m.

ESPN FPI: Charlotte -8

Sagarin: Charlotte -6½

Westgate: Charlotte -6

— Middle Tennessee at Western Kentucky (-15, 67), 12:30 p.m.

ESPN FPI: Western Kentucky -9

Sagarin: Western Kentucky -7½

Westgate: Western Kentucky -19

— No. 22 Penn State (-10, 55½) at Maryland, 12:30 p.m.

ESPN FPI: Penn State -10½

Sagarin: Penn State -11

Westgate: Penn State -8

— Rhode Island at Massachusetts (no line), 12:30 p.m.

ESPN FPI: Not available

Sagarin: UMass -2

Westgate: Not available

— South Alabama at Troy (-4, 47½), 12:30 p.m.

ESPN FPI: Troy -7½

Sagarin: Troy -4½

Westgate: Troy -5

— Colorado State (-3½, 40½) at Wyoming, 12:30 p.m.

ESPN FPI: Colorado State -1

Sagarin: Colorado State -2

Westgate: Colorado State -3

— Mississippi State at Arkansas (-5, 55½), 1 p.m.

ESPN FPI: Arkansas -2

Sagarin: Arkansas -1

Westgate: Arkansas -7

— North Carolina State (-2½, 56½) at Florida State, 1 p.m.

ESPN FPI: N.C. State -6

Sagarin: N.C. State -7½

Westgate: N.C. State -3

— Tulane at Central Florida (-13, 60), 1 p.m.

ESPN FPI: Central Florida -14

Sagarin: Central Florida -16½

Westgate: Central Florida -14

— Utah State (-18½, 71) at New Mexico State, 1 p.m.

ESPN FPI: Utah State -16½

Sagarin: Utah State -23½

Westgate: Utah State -20

— Marshall (-1½, 57½) at Florida Atlantic, 3 p.m.

ESPN FPI: Florida Atlantic -1

Sagarin: Marshall -1

Westgate: Marshall -2

— No. 21 Coastal Carolina (-19, 59½) at Georgia Southern, 3 p.m.

ESPN FPI: Coastal Carolina -19

Sagarin: Coastal Carolina -18½

Westgate: Coastal Carolina -17

— LSU at No. 3 Alabama (-28½, 66), 4 p.m.

ESPN FPI: Alabama -23½

Sagarin: Alabama -19

Westgate: Alabama -30

— Tennessee at No. 18 Kentucky (-2, 57), 4 p.m.

ESPN FPI: Kentucky -1

Sagarin: Kentucky -5

Westgate: Kentucky -3

— No. 19 Iowa (-12, 40½) at Northwestern, 4 p.m.

ESPN FPI: Iowa -11½

Sagarin: Iowa -13

Westgate: Iowa -14

— Boise State at No. 25 Fresno State (-5, 59), 4 p.m.

ESPN FPI: Fresno State -1½

Sagarin: Boise State -1

Westgate: Fresno State -8

— Old Dominion (-2½, 51) at Florida International, 4 p.m.

ESPN FPI: Old Dominion -1

Sagarin: Old Dominion -6

Westgate: Old Dominion -2

— Oregon State (-10½, 54½) at Colorado, 4 p.m.

ESPN FPI: Oregon State -6

Sagarin: Oregon State -9

Westgate: Oregon State -11

— UNLV at New Mexico (-2, 44½), 4 p.m.

ESPN FPI: UNLV PK

Sagarin: New Mexico -1½

Westgate: New Mexico -2

— No. 7 Oregon (-7, 51) at Washington, 4:30 p.m.

ESPN FPI: Oregon -4

Sagarin: Oregon -6

Westgate: Oregon -8

— Indiana at No. 9 Michigan (-20½, 50), 4:30 p.m.

ESPN FPI: Michigan -20½

Sagarin: Michigan -18

Westgate: Michigan -19

— Florida (-18½, 52½) at South Carolina, 4:30 p.m.

ESPN FPI: Florida -15½

Sagarin: Florida -12

Westgate: Florida -21

— Clemson (-4, 46) at Louisville, 4:30 p.m.

ESPN FPI: Clemson -7

Sagarin: Clemson -6½

Westgate: Clemson -2

— Texas at Iowa State (-6½, 60½), 4:30 p.m.

ESPN FPI: Iowa State -4

Sagarin: Iowa State -5

Westgate: Iowa State -7

— No. 20 Houston (-13, 53) at South Florida, 4:30 p.m.

ESPN FPI: Houston -13½

Sagarin: Houston -15

Westgate: Houston -14

— San Jose State at UNR (-10, 55), 7 p.m.

ESPN FPI: UNR -15

Sagarin: UNR -13½

Westgate: UNR -17

— No. 16 UTSA (-11, 53) at UTEP, 7:15 p.m.

ESPN FPI: UTSA -13½

Sagarin: UTSA -14

Westgate: UTSA -12

— Southern California at Arizona State (-9, 59), 7:30 p.m.

ESPN FPI: Arizona State -4½

Sagarin: Arizona State -4½

Westgate: Arizona State -9

— San Diego State (-7½, 45½) at Hawaii, 8 p.m.

ESPN FPI: San Diego State -9

Sagarin: San Diego State -10

Westgate: San Diego State -7

Contact Jim Barnes at jbarnes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0277. Follow @JimBarnesLV on Twitter.