Power Ranking Top Playoff Contenders by Their Offenses
Some may still hold on to the old adage of "defense wins championships," but college football is definitely getting more and more offensively focused each year.
This season, the top contenders in the race for the second College Football Playoff can all boast great offensive success. Whether the success stems from several star players, improvement in major areas or just a continued tradition of lighting up scoreboards, those competing for the final four have plenty of weapons in their arsenal.
With Tuesday night's release of the second College Football Playoff rankings of the season in mind, let's power rank the top contenders by their offensive prowess.
The following countdown contains the teams in the coveted top four spots and those in the No. 5 through No. 8 zone—an area of great debate among fans and the committee itself. (Of course, several teams outside the Top Eight still have their shot at getting into the playoff, but we'll limit this piece to the Top Eight.)
Each of these playoff contenders has been ranked mostly by its performance in both yards per play and Football Outsiders' S&P+ ratings, an opponent-adjusted efficiency metric that weighs factors such as success rate and explosiveness. Close calls in the numbers were subjectively decided by the eye test, taking overall talent and depth-chart situations into account.
How would you rank the offenses in the Top Eight of the College Football Playoff rankings? Sound off below.
8. Iowa
1 of 8
S&P+ Offensive Rank (Total/Pass/Rush): 44/50/63
Yards-Per-Play Rank (Total/Pass/Rush): 47/47/43
Iowa might be last of eight playoff contenders on this particular list, but it's not like the Hawkeyes aren't flying as high as the others right now because of a bad offense.
Head coach Kirk Ferentz's team has made tremendous strides on offense in 2015, especially in the area of explosiveness. The Hawkeyes have recorded 13 plays of 40 or more yards through their first nine wins of the season. As Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports noted in October, Iowa had 13 in 2013 and 2014—combined.
What's been the difference for the Hawkeyes? The switch to a more mobile and risk-taking quarterback in C.J. Beathard has given the coaching staff confidence to open things up downfield. Beathard has a deep unit of receivers and tight ends, as seven targets have recorded at least 135 receiving yards this season.
The Hawkeyes have also been able to overcome the latest wrath of the "AIRBHG," as shifty backup Akeem Wadley filled in well for Jordan Canzeri, who returned to the depth chart from injury this week. Iowa won't make scoreboard operators sweat too much, but it has plenty of assets to be dangerous for any opponent.
7. Alabama
2 of 8
S&P+ Offensive Rank (Total/Pass/Rush): 35/40/19
Yards-Per-Play Rank (Total/Pass/Rush): 60/71/51
Alabama's offense isn't at the same incredible level it was at this time last season, but the Crimson Tide have been efficient on that side of the ball when they've needed it the most.
Leading the way for the offense is running back Derrick Henry, who pulled off an incredible heist of LSU running back Leonard Fournette's Heisman Trophy hype with a masterful performance against the Bayou Bengals. He ran for 210 yards and three touchdowns, giving him a national-best 17 in that category this season.
Starting quarterback Jake Coker has been up-and-down with a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 11-7, but he's completed at least 75 percent of his passes in each of the Tide's last three games. Electric true freshman Calvin Ridley has broken out to become the team's leading receiver, and Football Outsiders ranks the Tide offensive line as a top-25 unit nationally.
With such an excellent defense, Alabama doesn't need a high-scoring offense in order to keep winning big games and marching toward the College Football Playoff. But the Tide might just have a Heisman winner on their hands, and he'll continue to be a one-man wrecking ball on the road to the final four.
6. Oklahoma State
3 of 8
S&P+ Offensive Rank (Total/Pass/Rush): 16/30/117
Yards-Per-Play Rank (Total/Pass/Rush): 20/8/97
After going under the radar for most of its undefeated start, Oklahoma State refused to be ignored anymore last Saturday with a monstrous offensive performance against previously undefeated TCU.
The Cowboys did what they do best against the Horned Frogs—gunslinging their way to huge plays in the passing game. Three of Oklahoma State's six offensive touchdowns went for more than 50 yards, and another one went for 48. James Washington, the nation's leading receiver in yards per reception among those who have at least 30 catches this season, grabbed three of those bombs from quarterback Mason Rudolph.
While the passing game is one of the best in the country at making defenses suffer downfield, the Cowboys are sorely lacking in the rushing department. Their S&P+ rushing ranking is one of the worst among Power Five teams, and only 29 percent of their total yardage has come on the ground, per Bill Haisten of the Tulsa World.
If the lack of a true running threat against teams not named "Kansas" or "Texas Tech" will hurt Oklahoma State in the long run remains to be seen, but the explosive passing attack has carried the team to great success so far.
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5. Stanford
4 of 8
S&P+ Offensive Rank (Total/Pass/Rush): 14/13/21
Yards-Per-Play Rank (Total/Pass/Rush): 26/16/24
Last season, an inconsistent offense doomed Stanford to an 8-5 season. This year looked like it might go the same way after the Cardinal only put up six points and 240 yards in a bad loss at Northwestern to open the season.
But since that game, Stanford has turned things around in a tremendous way on offense, and that turnaround is a huge reason why the one-loss Cardinal are strong playoff contenders. They currently rank 14th in the offensive S&P+ ratings, ahead of several big-time programs known for their offenses.
Do-it-all running back Christian McCaffrey is the star of the Stanford show, contending for the Heisman Trophy with 1,560 yards of total offense and nine touchdowns through nine games. Senior back Remound Wright is a touchdown force near the goal line, and a powerful and talented offensive line is hitting top form at just the right time.
Experienced senior quarterback Kevin Hogan is playing some of the most efficient ball of his successful college career, and nine different Cardinal players have caught touchdown passes from him this season. head coach David Shaw's team has new levels of explosion and efficiency this season, and that could carry Stanford to a berth in the final four.
4. Ohio State
5 of 8
S&P+ Offensive Rank (Total/Pass/Rush): 17/25/11
Yards-Per-Play Rank (Total/Pass/Rush): 24/31/6
Ohio State's offense hasn't been firing on all cylinders this season, but the undefeated Buckeyes are downright scary when they're at that point. They've topped 500 yards four times in nine games, and they posted 499 in another game.
The Buckeyes will address some of their consistency issues with the return of J.T. Barrett to the starting lineup Saturday against Illinois. Ohio State has looked its best offensively with Barrett over postseason hero Cardale Jones at quarterback, with the sophomore getting the ball out to a star-studded receiver group with more efficiency and fewer turnovers.
While the passing game hasn't always been its best, Ohio State has been able to rely on one of the most consistent star players in all of the country—running back Ezekiel Elliott.
"Zeke" has posted at least 100 yards in every game this season and scored multiple touchdowns in four separate games. Combined with Barrett and former starting quarterback Braxton Miller—now a wide receiver—Elliott has excelled for the nation's sixth-best rushing attack in yards per carry.
Ohio State had an extremely close call with Stanford in these power rankings, but the Buckeyes ultimately have more talent and success than the Cardinal when they're at 100 percent. The big-play trio of Barrett, Elliott and Miller edges the Hogan-McCaffrey combo here.
3. Clemson
6 of 8
S&P+ Offensive Rank (Total/Pass/Rush): 7/2/8
Yards-Per-Play Rank (Total/Pass/Rush): 29/24/37
The numbers love top-ranked Clemson's offense, and it's easy to see why. The Tigers are among the top 20 nationally in red-zone scoring percentage, plays of 30-plus yards and first downs. They jump into the top five in most of the factors for the S&P+ ratings, including passing efficiency and success rate on standard downs.
Star sophomore quarterback Deshaun Watson has three times as many touchdowns as interceptions this season—21 and seven, respectively—and he's been able to do it without his ace offensive coordinator Chad Morris and top receiver Mike Williams from last season. Artavis Scott is the new go-to target, freshman Deon Cain grabs the deep balls and tight end Jordan Leggett turns scoring opportunities into six points.
The rushing attack has been a revelation too for the Tigers. Running back Wayne Gallman passed his marks from last year for yards and touchdowns a couple of weeks ago. Watson is coming off the best rushing game of his career too, with more than 100 yards in a huge win over Florida State.
Clemson is fantastic on both sides of the ball and is sprinting toward a spot in the College Football Playoff after knocking off Florida State in Death Valley on Nov. 7. With Watson at the helm, this efficient offense is going to be an insanely tough matchup for anyone it faces the rest of the way.
2. Notre Dame
7 of 8
S&P+ Offensive Rank (Total/Pass/Rush): 6/6/4
Yards-Per-Play Rank (Total/Pass/Rush): 6/14/7
Notre Dame's offensive statistics are incredible this season, and they stand out even more when one considers how many the Irish have lost to injury since the opening weekend.
Since stepping in for Malik Zaire, sophomore quarterback DeShone Kizer has averaged an excellent nine yards per pass attempt, with the majority of those going to touchdown machine Will Fuller out wide. Former wide receiver C.J. Prosise was in Heisman-contending form for most of the season at running back before dropping off against Temple and suffering an injury against Pittsburgh. The Irish's linemen are among the nation's best at their positions.
Even with the key injuries, head coach Brian Kelly and first-year offensive coordinator Mike Sanford have guided the Irish to improvement in almost every major offensive statistical category this season. Notre Dame is still looking for more consistency in the red zone, but even that area looked excellent in its most recent win against a tough Pittsburgh defense.
Notre Dame can beat defenses in a variety of ways for huge plays, and it's already proved it doesn't need to be at 100 percent health in order to be able to do that. That's a testament to both the coaching and talent in South Bend, Indiana, this season.
1. Baylor
8 of 8
S&P+ Offensive Rank (Total/Pass/Rush): 1/7/13
Yards-Per-Play Rank (Total/Pass/Rush): 1/1/2
Spare the cries of "but Baylor hasn't played anybody yet!" No one else in college football is coming close to what Baylor can do on offense against any opponent. In-conference, out-of-conference, Power Five, "Group of Five" or FCS—it doesn't matter.
The Bears are No. 1 in most of the standard offensive metrics, and the opponent-adjusted advanced statistics such as S&P+ still put them on top in terms of efficiency. Even considering Baylor's soft strength of schedule, the offensive numbers are far and away the best in the country.
Quarterback Jarrett Stidham showed against Kansas State last week there shouldn't be a drop-off in total production after the season-ending injury to Seth Russell. Of course, it shouldn't be too hard for a highly rated quarterback to have great success with offensive genius Art Briles standing on the sidelines as head coach and a potentially all-time record-breaking Corey Coleman at wide receiver.
In addition to Stidham and Coleman, running back Shock Linwood is averaging almost eight yards per carry, and his backups are just below a seven-yard clip. Jay Lee and KD Cannon make sure teams can't solely focus on Coleman out wide too. These Bears still have the toughest part of their schedule left to play, but they've got the best weapons to stay in the hunt.
All standard stats courtesy of cfbstats.com. All advanced stats courtesy of Football Study Hall or Football Outsiders.
Justin Ferguson is a college football writer at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.
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