1982
1982 saw Penn State finish atop the initial RPR after winning their 1st national championship in the major polls following a Sugar Bowl victory over Georgia. The Nittany Lions were boosted by having the nation’s best SOS and tying for the 3rd-best Win %. Orange Bowl champion Nebraska and Georgia finished within the CCT cutoff. When taking a deep dive, the Huskers warranted a closer look. Nebraska had the 2nd-best Win % and best Score Ratio; in addition, the head-to-head match-up between the 2 teams (won by Penn State) was impacted by a controversial play. When taking that into consideration, the Huskers would’ve been the top team had the result in that game been a win or tie without that play standing. So taking all things into consideration, I felt that naming the Nittany Lions and Huskers co-champions was the best route to take.
Co-champion Consideration Threshold: 0.0383; CCT Rating Cutoff: 0.6864
| Rank | Team | Adj. Rating |
| T-1 | Penn St. (AP/C) | 0.7151 (0.7248) |
| T-1 | Nebraska | 0.7151 (0.7055) |
| 3 | Georgia | 0.6901 |
| 4 | Pittsburgh | 0.6628 |
| 5 | UCLA | 0.6615 |
| 6 | So. Methodist | 0.6565 |
| 7 | Clemson | 0.6549 |
| 8 | Florida State | 0.6531 |
| 9 | Arizona State | 0.6464 |
| 10 | So. California | 0.6446 |
| 11 | West Virginia | 0.6426 |
| 12 | Arkansas | 0.6420 |
| 13 | Washington | 0.6405 |
| 14 | Tulsa | 0.6344 |
| 15 | Auburn | 0.6321 |
| 16 | North Carolina | 0.6307 |
| 17 | Texas | 0.6261 |
| 18 | Alabama | 0.6222 |
| 19 | Maryland | 0.6206 |
| 20 | New Mexico | 0.6201 |
| 21 | Fresno State | 0.6195 |
| 22 | Florida | 0.6158 |
| 23 | Boston College | 0.6144 |
| 24 | Oklahoma | 0.6015 |
| 25 | Brigham Young | 0.5992 |
| 26 | Louisiana State | 0.5977 |
| 27 | Ohio State | 0.5952 |
| 28 | Miami, FL | 0.5937 |
| 29 | W. Michigan | 0.5875 |
| 30 | Michigan | 0.5836 |
| 31 | So. Mississippi | 0.5817 |
| 32 | Vanderbilt | 0.5732 |
| 33 | Arizona | 0.5714 |
| 34 | Notre Dame | 0.5705 |
| 35 | San Jose State | 0.5692 |
| 36 | California | 0.5640 |
| 37 | Air Force | 0.5583 |
| 38 | Wichita State | 0.5535 |
| 39 | San Diego State | 0.5471 |
| 40 | East Carolina | 0.5467 |
| 41 | Illinois | 0.5467 |
| 42 | Bowling Green | 0.5466 |
| 43 | Iowa | 0.5437 |
| 44 | Kansas State | 0.5418 |
| 45 | NC State | 0.5405 |
| 46 | Stanford | 0.5400 |
| 47 | Cincinnati | 0.5399 |
| 48 | Miami, OH | 0.5371 |
| 49 | Wisconsin | 0.5369 |
| 50 | Duke | 0.5339 |
| 51 | Hawaii | 0.5304 |
| 52 | Mississippi St. | 0.5296 |
| 53 | Missouri | 0.5286 |
| 54 | Virginia Tech | 0.5269 |
| 55 | Tennessee | 0.5242 |
| 56 | Navy | 0.5190 |
| 57 | C. Michigan | 0.5179 |
| 58 | Temple | 0.5146 |
| 59 | Long Beach St. | 0.5135 |
| 60 | Georgia Tech | 0.5114 |
| 61 | Houston | 0.5103 |
| 62 | Utah | 0.5097 |
| 63 | Toledo | 0.5057 |
| 64 | Oklahoma State | 0.4973 |
| 65 | Texas A&M | 0.4972 |
| 66 | South Carolina | 0.4894 |
| 67 | Rutgers | 0.4882 |
| 68 | LA-Lafayette | 0.4800 |
| 69 | Wyoming | 0.4788 |
| 70 | N. Illinois | 0.4769 |
| 71 | Texas Tech | 0.4759 |
| 72 | Mississippi | 0.4756 |
| 73 | Baylor | 0.4724 |
| 74 | Iowa State | 0.4706 |
| 75 | Army | 0.4695 |
| 76 | Indiana | 0.4679 |
| 77 | Utah State | 0.4677 |
| 78 | Louisville | 0.4602 |
| 79 | Ball State | 0.4569 |
| 80 | Colorado State | 0.4526 |
| 81 | Tulane | 0.4512 |
| 82 | Ohio | 0.4501 |
| 83 | Wake Forest | 0.4428 |
| 84 | Oregon | 0.4408 |
| 85 | Syracuse | 0.4370 |
| 86 | UNLV | 0.4270 |
| 87 | Washington St. | 0.4265 |
| 88 | Texas Christian | 0.4216 |
| 89 | Minnesota | 0.4178 |
| 90 | New Mexico St. | 0.4162 |
| 91 | Virginia | 0.4145 |
| 92 | Kansas | 0.4141 |
| 93 | Purdue | 0.4134 |
| 94 | Colorado | 0.4118 |
| 95 | Michigan State | 0.4105 |
| 96 | Northwestern | 0.4010 |
| 97 | Texas-El Paso | 0.3938 |
| 98 | Oregon State | 0.3902 |
| 99 | Pacific | 0.3879 |
| 100 | Cal St. Fullerton | 0.3875 |
| 101 | Kentucky | 0.3737 |
| 102 | Memphis | 0.3596 |
| 103 | Rice | 0.3461 |
| 104 | E. Michigan | 0.3416 |
| 105 | Kent State | 0.3033 |
Best Win Percentage: Southern Methodist
Best SOS: Penn State
Best Score Ratio: Nebraska