Ohio State Top in New Sustained Win Rate Metric

What Is Sustained Win Rate (SWR)?

Patrick Conn of USA TODAY devised a fresh measurement called sustained win rate to judge college football programs. SWR combines three core inputs: schedule‑adjusted win percentage, recency weighting, and consistency scoring. The metric first refines raw win rates by rewarding or penalizing based on opponent strength, then emphasizes recent seasons, and finally multiplies the weighted win rate by a consistency factor. The goal is to capture both dominance and the ability to maintain success over time.

How Ohio State Stacks Up

Ohio State leads the SWR rankings with a rating of 0.9387, placing it ahead of the nation’s other top programs. The Buckeyes outpace Georgia (0.9069), Alabama (0.8966), Clemson (0.7768) and Notre Dame (0.7639). Within the Big Ten, only Oregon (0.7257) and Iowa (0.6868) break the .700 barrier, while Penn State (0.6721) and Michigan (0.6632) sit just below. Ohio State’s high score reflects strong opponent quality, recent performance, and a steady consistency record.

Big Ten Rankings in Detail

The conference’s full SWR order runs from the elite to the struggling. Ohio State tops the list, followed by Oregon and Iowa as the only sub‑.800 teams. Penn State, Michigan, Washington and USC occupy the middle tier, ranging around the .56 to .66 mark. Purdue, Illinois and Rutgers sit near the bottom, with scores below .13, while Indiana (0.1938) and Maryland (0.1526) hover just over .15. The spread highlights the wide variance in Big Ten performance.

• Ohio State – 0.9387
• Oregon – 0.7257
• Iowa – 0.6868
• Penn State – 0.6721
• Michigan – 0.6632
• Washington – 0.5657
• USC – 0.5548
• Wisconsin – 0.5095
• Minnesota – 0.3896
• Northwestern – 0.2859
• Michigan State – 0.2606
• UCLA – 0.2153
• Indiana – 0.1938
• Maryland – 0.1526
• Nebraska – 0.1504
• Illinois – 0.1262
• Purdue – 0.1011
• Rutgers – 0.0982

What This Means Going Forward

Ohio State’s top placement confirms its status as a consistently dominant program, even by the new metric’s standards. The Buckeyes’ high SWR reflects not just win‑loss totals but also the quality of opponents faced and a solid recent performance streak. While SWR doesn’t capture everything—recent dips for Penn State and Indiana’s historical challenges linger—it underscores how stability can translate into elite rankings. Fans and analysts will likely watch SWR as a complementary tool for evaluating conference strength and bowl eligibility.