8. XFBS Playoffs and Ranking Rules

8a. Schedules: The commissioner will use utilities to create a 12-game schedule without bye weeks. Scheduling priority is determined as follows:

• 1. human vs. human match-ups where possible,
  2. teams that are in the same NCAA conference or region,
  3. historically common opponents or rivals play (e.g. USC vs. Notre Dame) or (e.g. Arkansas vs. Texas),
  4. last season finish so best plays best and worst plays worst (i.e. the draft order which is based on playoff finish and final XFBS ranking will be used to ensure best plays best and worst plays worst).

8b. Subdivisons: The league ended the use of subdivisions after the 2024 season, but the commish will try to make sure teams are grouped together in the same division if they are in the same NCAA conference or region. This will eventually get beyond commish control if new owners change teams. Ultimately, it won't matter what division a team is in considering playoffs are purely based on the computer poll.

8c. College Football Playoffs (8 team bracket): Unlike the NCAA, the XFBS does it right! Instead of some potentially biased committee seeding the playoffs, we use unbiased rankings to determine at-large bids and seeding. Plus more than 4 teams get in our playoffs. We allow 8 teams. Playoffs are set as follows

• 1. Top 8 XFBS ranked teams after week 12 games will make the playoffs.
  2. The playoff will use a similar bracket format as the NCAA basketball tournament (we will NOT reseed after each round). First (Elite 8) round is 1 vs. 8, 5 vs. 6, 3 vs. 4, and 2 vs. 7. Second (Final Four) round is 1/8 winner vs. 5/6 winner, 3/4 winner vs. 7/10 winner. Championship game will always match the two Final Four winners.
  3. In the first round (Elite 8), the higher seeds (1, 2, 3, and 4) will play their opponents in non-major bowl games regionally close to their home stadiums (to create the sense of having a home field advantage).
  4. In the second round (Final Four), the higher remaining seeds will play their respective opponents in the major bowls that are projected for that season via the College Football Playoff website. The six major bowls are Peach, Cotton, Fiesta, Orange, Sugar, and Rose.
  5. The XFBS championship game is played in the major bowl or city projected for that season via the College Football Playoff website. The commish will run the ENADD utility to make this game truly neutral (please note: sometimes the utility does not work).
  6. Because the playoff bracket is not reseeded each round the XFBS commish will run a bracket pool for coaches to participate in to win a prize.

8d. XFBS Rankings: This poll was created to give coaches an ability to directly impact their playoff chances and seeding. Over time, teams tend to remain in the same place in a power poll unless there is something factored in to account for the team's current winning or losing streak. This poll places extra emphasis on win / loss streaks. In fact, this poll makes it vitally important to end the regular season with a win streak as it could easily affect your XFBS playoff seed. The poll essentially weighs a team's Standings 'Win' Power Ranking and Loss Power Ranking by another factor called the Streak Adjustment (StkAdj). Early in the season, the XFBS rankings may be somewhat turbulent with teams likely to jump or drop considerably; however, this tends to ease considerably later in the season. Hint: The Loss Power Ranking will have a big impact. Don't lose to the really bad teams! It could hurt you if it ever comes to deciding your fate (i.e. if two teams are 10-1 and one lost to a 10-1 team and the other one lost to a 6-5 team, the one that lost to the 6-5 team will need a long win streak to offset that loss).

• Here is a breakdown of the XFBS ranking components:
  
  THE XFBS RANKING FORMULA: [(W X 2) + Opp W] - [(L X 2) + Opp L] + Streak/Carryover Adjustment - Prev Rank = XFBS SCORE
  Example: 9 wins, 45 Opp W, 3 losses, 10 Opp L, L1 = [(9 X 2) + 45] - [(3 X 2) + 10] + (-1) - 5 = 63 - 16 - 1 - 5 = 41 XFBS Score
  
  
  • W: Purely based on your overall wins as shown in the Standings Power Rankings
  • Opp W: This equates to a Quality Win Bonus. It is based on the "Opp W" amount on the Standings Power Poll. It essentially rewards teams for beating teams with good records.
  • L: Purely based on your overall losses as shown in the Standings
  • Opp L: This equates to a Quality Loss Penalty. It is the opposite of the "Opp W" amount on the Standings Power Poll in that it totals the losses of the opponents you lost to. It essentially punishes teams for losing to teams with bad records.
  • Streak Adjustment: The Streak Adjustment is based on the team's current winning or losing streak (e.g. "W3" in the Standings). Using W3 as an example, the Streak aDjustment would be +3. Using L1 as an example, the streak adjustment is -1. Your current win / loss streak can send you up or down the rankings each week just like in the NCAA. Most importantly, it makes winning the last game of the regular season pivotal for bubble teams hoping to make the playoffs.
  • Carryover Streak:  To bring more sensibility to the early season rankings, the champs and all non-playoff teams (that weren't replaced) that ended on a losing streak carry over their 'streak' from last year. This streak balance is increased until the champs lose or the non-playoff teams win.
  • Prev Rank: This modifier provides some additional stability to the rankings and is particularly critical for week 1. For week 1, we will use each team's final end of season ranking (based on playoff finish) as the Prev Rank modifier to their XFBS score and then in week 2, we will use their week 1 ranking as the Prev Rank modifier, etc. Normal tiebreakers apply after week 1. Keep in mind, if you are having a losing season, this component can potentially help rank you higher at the beginning of the following season if you finish out strong.
    
    
• Tiebreakers: The Streak Adjustment should create a sufficient distinction between teams to avoid requiring a tiebreaker by the end of the season. That said, if needed tiebreakers are as follows:
  • T1 Head-to-Head victories (If 3 or more teams have the same XFBS score, T1 H2H cannot be used as a tiebreaker - in this scenario, the next tiebreaker is used.) followed by
  • T2 highest-to-lowest Total Wins,
  • T3 highest-to-lowest Win Power Score ([your wins X 2] + total wins of opponents that you beat),
  • T4 lowest-to-highest Loss Power Score ([your losses X 2] + total losses of opponents that beat you)and then
  • T5 highest-to-lowest Streak Adjustment will be used as tiebreakers.
  • T6 will be H2H again if needed.
    
    
• To bring more sensibility to the early season rankings, the champs and all non-playoff teams (that weren't replaced) that ended on a losing streak carry over their 'streak' from last year. This streak balance is increased until the champs lose or the non-playoff teams win.
  
  
• Bracket Challenge game: During each playoff we have a Bracket Challenge game. The prize will be winner's choice of:
  • Keeping a junior who would otherwise turn pro due to selection to the all pro team (utility generated)
  • Moving your 4th round draft pick to the top of the 4th round (4th round is the first of the worst-to-best rounds in the XFBS)
  • (can save and redeem any off season - can trade rights to this to anyone for their draft pick in ANY round they are willing to give up but they must use it immediately)
  • This is the bracket scoring system:
    • 2 point for correct Elite 8 game picks.
    • 3 points for correct Final Four game picks.
    • 4 points for final champion pick.
    • Tiebreaker is the closest to total final score (closest under beats closest over the real score total).

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