Power Grid: Rating major college football teams on the field and off

Stanford, UCLA, Clemson and Wisconsin are considered the cream of the crop when it comes to elite college football programs in various facets according to the Wall Street Journal’s latest ‘Power Grid’.

The WSJ’s methodology used in determining individual program rankings includes a combination of on-field and off-the-field rating. A team’s on-field rating is ‘an average of the 2014 projected finish by three media outlets (Athlon, Phil Steele and USA Today) and two predictive models (ESPN and Football Outsiders). Off-the-field ratings are somewhat subjective using a scale of six elements: Four-year Academic Progress Rate, recent history of NCAA violations and probation, percentage of athletic department revenues subsidized by students fees and state support; number of players arrested; attendance at last season’s games and overall ‘ick’ factor.’

The horizontal axis assesses on-field strength for this upcoming season while the vertical axis measures shame. Judging by the findings, Florida State and Alabama might be powerhouses on the field but aren’t necessarily model citizens off, placing in the bottom right quadrant. The bottom left quadrant is the area no teams wants to be, marred by a poor academic showing.

Mizzou and Florida are the SEC’s best overall based on this graphic.