the problem I see. Everyone has their own blend of the two. Obviously there is some guessing and bias at who the best team is. But I like the earn your ranking idea more. A team shouldn’t be rewarded off preseason hype imo. I thought Florida St should have been in to the playoff last year for example. They earned it, regardless of injuries.
We’ve seen that really good teams can lose to mediocre teams on any given week. So playing and winning week in, week out should be rewarded. Less rewarding style points for blowouts. Just ranking off strength of schedule and performance. Or at least more heavily weighted that way. We are never going to get away completely from the beauty contest.
With all the upsets, BYU has earned where they’re at. Now just have to keep winning.