The Calculation

The teams are ranked each week in the Bowl Championship Series Standings by their BCS Average, which gives equal weight to the BCS Standings three components; the USA Today Coaches Poll, a Harris Interactive College Football Poll and an average of six computer rankings.


Three Components

1. USA Today Coaches Poll
A team's USA Today Coaches Poll Percentage is determined by actual received points in the USA Today Poll divided by a maximum 1575 voting points.

2. Harris Interactive College Football Poll
New to the 2005 BCS formula, the Harris Interactive College Football Poll Percentage is calculated as a percentage of the 114 voters who comprise the poll. Similar to the USA Today Poll, each team's poll percentage is calculated by dividing their actual voting points received by 2850 (the maximum number of points possible in the poll).

3. Computer Rankings Percentage
Teams are assigned an inverse point total (25 for #1, 24 for #2, etc.) for each of their respective computer poll rankings to determine the overall computer component. The highest and lowest ranking for each team is dropped, and the sum total of the remaining four rankings is divided by 100 (the maximum possible points). This figure produces a Computer Rankings Percentage. The six computer ranking providers are Anderson & Hester, Richard Billingsley, Colley Matrix, Kenneth Massey, Jeff Sagarin and Peter Wolfe. Each computer ranking accounts for schedule strength within its formula.