1970

1970 saw a surprise team finish atop the RPR, as Ivy League champion and Lambert Trophy winner Dartmouth secured the top spot. The Mean Green, who shared the best Win % on the year, were also bolstered by the best Score Ratio as well. 1-loss Tennessee and Notre Dame finished within the CCT cutoff, but after evaluating their bodies of work, Dartmouth was able to hold them off to keep sole possession as #1. All 3 major poll champions – Nebraska, Ohio State, and Texas – failed to fall within the CCT cutoff, which has only happened once so far (1980 season).

Note: I rated 118 teams instead of 123, which most rating systems rate for the 1970 season. Based on NCAA Football Record books, the following schools weren’t considered “major college”/FBS-equivalent for 1970 and were not rated: California State-Los Angeles, California-Santa Barbara, Fresno State, Furman, and Long Beach State.

Co-champion Consideration Threshold: 0.0367; CCT Rating Cutoff: 0.6984

RankTeamRating
1Dartmouth0.7352
2Tennessee0.7017
3Notre Dame0.7015
4Texas (C/NFF)0.6942
5Toledo0.6894
6Nebraska (AP/F)0.6866
7Auburn0.6746
8Arizona State0.6719
9Ohio State (NFF)0.6686
10Michigan0.6595
11LSU0.6552
12Yale0.6507
13Arkansas0.6444
14Harvard0.6348
15Georgia Tech0.6278
16Stanford0.6273
17Air Force0.6117
18Houston0.6116
19San Diego State0.6081
20Western Michigan0.5999
21Southern California0.5903
22Boston College0.5846
23Oklahoma0.5844
24Tulane0.5840
25Miami, OH0.5840
26Texas Tech0.5811
27Mississippi0.5802
28Alabama0.5788
29Cornell0.5783
30Penn State0.5777
31Florida State0.5764
32Cincinnati0.5753
33Washington0.5690
34Colorado0.5683
35UCLA0.5681
36New Mexico0.5593
37Louisville0.5588
38Northwestern0.5533
39Princeton0.5528
40Georgia0.5513
41North Carolina0.5503
42Florida0.5458
43Memphis0.5427
44West Virginia0.5426
45Villanova0.5403
46Tulsa0.5384
47Kansas State0.5355
48Oregon0.5339
49Utah0.5329
50West Texas A&M0.5317
51Mississippi State0.5306
52Oregon State0.5296
53Dayton0.5295
54Wake Forest0.5286
55Missouri0.5263
56UTEP0.5257
57California0.5254
58Pennsylvania0.5190
59Duke0.5178
60Iowa State0.5171
61Syracuse0.5120
62Kansas0.5113
63Southern Mississippi0.5066
64Rice0.5038
65South Carolina0.4975
66Wisconsin0.4952
67Ohio0.4947
68SMU0.4927
69Vanderbilt0.4886
70Pittsburgh0.4884
71Purdue0.4868
72Oklahoma State0.4774
73Columbia0.4751
74Arizona0.4748
75Colorado State0.4744
76Michigan State0.4729
77Virginia Tech0.4713
78Pacific0.4677
79Minnesota0.4649
80New Mexico State0.4578
81Utah State0.4565
82Virginia0.4545
83TCU0.4516
84Rutgers0.4459
85Northern Illinois0.4420
86Bowling Green0.4407
87San Jose State0.4349
88Marshall0.4341
89Illinois0.4311
90Miami, FL0.4286
91Kent State0.4282
92Idaho0.4279
93Brown0.4278
94North Texas0.4239
95Colgate0.4228
96William & Mary0.4221
97Kentucky0.4194
98Richmond0.4159
99Brigham Young0.4149
100Clemson0.4146
101Texas A&M0.4143
102The Citadel0.4093
103Navy0.4059
104Iowa0.4005
105NC State0.3915
106East Carolina0.3897
107Baylor0.3873
108Army0.3867
109Washington State0.3792
110Maryland0.3657
111Buffalo0.3631
112Wyoming0.3611
113Xavier0.3331
114Indiana0.3145
115Davidson0.3095
116Wichita State0.3082
117Holy Cross0.2963
118VMI0.2943

Best Win Percentage: Arizona State/Dartmouth/Toledo
Best SOS: Alabama
Best Score Ratio: Dartmouth