Alabama football is No. 1 in the country according to the College Football Playoff rankings, but it would still make the final four in academics.
New America, a Washington D.C. think-tank, ranked each of the top 25 schools in terms of their graduation success rate — or GSR — and determined how the players from the top 25 fare compared to the school’s general student body.
The GSR is an NCAA metric that, unlike the federal graduation rate, doesn’t penalize schools for having players who transfer or leave for the pros–as long as those players depart in good academic standing. The higher the school’s graduation success rate, the higher they start out in New America’s rankings.
TCU was on the outside looking in when the playoff rankings were released, but the Horned Frogs place first in the academic poll, followed by UCLA and Alabama, with Clemson rounding out the top academic four. Oregon is ranked No. 14 in GSR, and Florida State is the lowest placing playoff team at 22nd. Alabama’s Sugar Bowl opponent Ohio State came in sixth and Auburn was ranked No. 11.
Alabama football is ranked second in the SEC in GSR this season, and graduated 14 players last Saturday — seven receiving bachelor’s degrees and seven receiving master’s. It also, according to a UA release, leads the nation with seven players having already earned their master’s degrees, and is tied for the national lead in number of graduates on the roster this bowl season.
