Blue chip (sports)
Blue chips are athletes, particularly high school players, targeted for drafting or signing by teams at the college level. Collegiate players being scouted by professional franchises may also be referred to as blue chips.
Blue chip players are those who have proven themselves to be among the best at their positions in their respective sports and are more sought after and wanted than other players.[1] They are typically perceived as "can't miss" prospects[2] who are desired by most organizations. Blue chip athletes are likely to have an immediate impact on teams that acquire them[2] and have proven skills rather than speculative or untapped potential. Many top recruits eventually go on to be successful at the professional level, especially in basketball and baseball.[3]
Blue-chip ratio in college football
In college football, the term "blue chip" is synonymous with four-star and five-star recruits. In 2013, national recruiting analyst Bud Elliott created a concept known as the "Blue-Chip Ratio" (BCR), which calculates which college football teams have enough talent to win the national championship in any given season. Essentially, the Blue-Chip Ratio is the ratio of blue chips to non-blue chips a team signs over the previous four recruiting classes. Put more simply, it's the percentage of four-star and five-star players on a team. Furthermore, Elliott posits that teams need to have a Blue-Chip Ratio of at least 50% to be able to win a national championship. Since 2011, every national champion has had a BCR of 50% or higher.[4][5][6]
According to Elliott, the Blue-Chip Ratio has been referenced by all major broadcast networks and is closely monitored by head coaches and administrators.[7] It has also been covered and referenced by many other sports journalists.[8][9][10][11][12]
Busting the blue-chip ratio
Elliott has acknowledged: "I don't actually think that the Blue-Chip Ratio will hold forever. Standards are made to be broken." He posits that a team with 45-49% BCR, a transcendent QB, and great injury luck could eventually win a national championship. He has cited 2014 Oregon, 2015 Clemson, 2021 Cincinnati, 2022 TCU, and 2023 Florida State as examples of teams that came close despite having a BCR less than 50%. For the 2024 season, Elliott believes that Tennessee (46% BCR) is the most likely candidate to bust the ratio.[13][14]
Although the expanded twelve-team College Football Playoff will allow greater access to the playoff for less talented teams, the expansion will also require those less talented teams to win three or even four difficult games to win the national championship, possibly making it even more difficult for them to bust the ratio.[15]
Transfers
Elliott does not include transfers in his calculations. Even with the transfer portal and the removal of transfer limitations in the early 2020s, national champions have not relied on outside players thus far. Georgia in 2021 and 2022 made either little or no additions through the use of the portal. Michigan had nine transfers in 2023, regarded as important on the team, but most of the team was still recruited out of high school. The majority of transfers are used to fill holes in a roster, rather than adding talent. Most elite players are recruited out of high school and remain at the school with which they signed.[16][17]
An analysis in 2023 showed that almost every top team's Blue-Chip Ratio decreased when including transfers.[18]
Blue-chip ratio by year
The following are lists of all the teams that had enough talent to win the national championship (BCR of 50% or higher) in recent seasons. Teams that won the national championship are highlighted in bold.
2014
Eleven teams had enough talent to win the national championship during the 2014 season.[19]
- Alabama – 73%
- Ohio State – 68%
- USC – 64%
- Notre Dame – 63%
- LSU – 62%
- Texas – 60%
- Florida State – 56%
- Michigan – 55%
- Florida – 54%
- Auburn – 53%
- Georgia – 51%
2015
Twelve teams had enough talent to win the national championship during the 2015 season.[20]
- Alabama – 77%
- USC – 70%
- Ohio State – 68%
- Notre Dame – 67%
- LSU – 61%
- Florida State – 60%
- Michigan – 59%
- Auburn – 56%
- Texas – 55%
- Texas A&M – 54%
- UCLA – 53%
- Georgia – 51%
2016
Thirteen teams had enough talent to win the national championship during the 2016 season.[21]
- Alabama – 77%
- USC – 70%
- Ohio State – 70%
- LSU – 66%
- Notre Dame – 63%
- Florida State – 60%
- Michigan – 59%
- Auburn – 57%
- UCLA – 55%
- Texas A&M – 53%
- Georgia – 52%
- Clemson – 52%
- Texas – 50%
2017
Ten teams had enough talent to win the national championship during the 2017 season.[22]
- Alabama – 80%
- Ohio State – 71%
- LSU – 65%
- Florida State – 65%
- Georgia – 63%
- USC – 63%
- Michigan – 61%
- Auburn – 59%
- Clemson – 56%
- Notre Dame – 56%
2018
Thirteen teams had enough talent to win the national championship during the 2018 season.[23]
- Alabama – 77%
- Ohio State – 76%
- USC – 71%
- Georgia – 69%
- Florida State – 67%
- LSU – 63%
- Auburn – 62%
- Clemson – 61%
- Michigan – 57%
- Texas – 55%
- Oklahoma – 53%
- Penn State – 53%
- Notre Dame – 51%
2019
_(Cropped-CF).jpg)
Sixteen teams had enough talent to win the national championship during the 2019 season.[24]
- Ohio State – 81%
- Alabama – 80%
- Georgia – 79%
- LSU – 64%
- Florida State – 61%
- Clemson – 60%
- USC – 60%
- Penn State – 60%
- Michigan – 60%
- Texas – 60%
- Oklahoma – 60%
- Auburn – 58%
- Washington – 54%
- Notre Dame – 54%
- Florida – 53%
- Miami – 51%
2020
Fifteen teams had enough talent to win the national championship during the 2020 season.[25]
- Alabama – 83%
- Georgia – 82%
- Ohio State – 80%
- Texas – 64%
- LSU – 63%
- Oklahoma – 63%
- Clemson – 63%
- Florida – 63%
- Michigan – 59%
- Auburn – 59%
- Penn State – 59%
- Notre Dame – 56%
- Washington – 54%
- USC – 50%
- Texas A&M – 50%
2021
Sixteen teams had enough talent to win the national championship during the 2021 season.[26]
- Alabama – 84%
- Georgia – 80%
- Ohio State – 79%
- Clemson – 67%
- LSU – 66%
- Oklahoma – 66%
- Texas – 66%
- Florida – 66%
- Texas A&M – 61%
- Michigan – 58%
- Auburn – 56%
- Oregon – 56%
- Penn State – 56%
- Notre Dame – 55%
- Miami – 55%
- USC – 53%
2022
Fifteen teams had enough talent to win the national championship during the 2022 season.[27]
- Alabama – 89%
- Ohio State – 80%
- Georgia – 77%
- Oklahoma – 71%
- Texas A&M – 70%
- Texas – 68%
- LSU – 66%
- Clemson – 63%
- Notre Dame – 62%
- Florida – 60%
- Oregon – 60%
- Michigan – 59%
- Penn State – 55%
- Miami – 55%
- Auburn – 54%
2023
Sixteen teams had enough talent to win the national championship during the 2023 season.[28]
- Alabama – 90%
- Ohio State – 85%
- Georgia – 77%
- Texas A&M – 73%
- Clemson – 72%
- LSU – 71%
- Texas – 70%
- Oklahoma – 70%
- Oregon – 67%
- Notre Dame – 65%
- Florida – 64%
- Miami – 61%
- Penn State – 55%
- Michigan – 54%
- USC – 52%
- Auburn – 51%
2024
Sixteen teams have enough talent to win the national championship during the 2024 season.[29]
- Ohio State – 90%
- Alabama – 88%
- Georgia – 80%
- Texas A&M – 79%
- Oregon – 76%
- Oklahoma – 73%
- Texas – 72%
- LSU – 70%
- Notre Dame – 67%
- Clemson – 64%
- Florida – 63%
- Miami – 61%
- Penn State – 61%
- USC – 59%
- Michigan – 56%
- Auburn – 53%
See also
References
- ^ Fisher, Derek; Brozek, Gary (September 8, 2009). Character Driven: Life, Lessons, and Basketball. New York City: Simon & Schuster. p. 151. ISBN 9781416580539.
...I was never one of those blue-chip prospects, the kind of player who was spotted in junior high, recruited heavily by the who's who of Division I basketball powerhouses, inundated with phone calls and enough mailings to fill a bedroom, and going to bed each night with the thoughts of eager coaches touting their respective programs.
- ^ a b Calhoun, Jim; Ernsberger, Richard Jr. (September 16, 2008). A Passion to Lead: Seven Leadership Secrets for Success in Business, Sports, and Life. New York City: St. Martin's Press. p. 108. ISBN 9780312384661.
Every year there are, maybe, fifteen five-star, blue-chip prospects who—if you believe the recruiting 'experts' and other pundits—are destined for instant college stardom as the first step toward a glittering career in professional basketball.
- ^ Tomik, Jeffrey (2015-02-04). "Do top high school prospects go on to win championships in the pros?". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2015-02-05.
- ^ "Blue-Chip Ratio 2024: These 16 college football teams can actually win the national championship". CBSSports.com. 2024-06-25. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
- ^ "CBS Sports shows Clemson Football has the Blue-Chip Ratio to win the CFP". Yahoo Sports. 2024-06-27. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
- ^ Wasserman, Ari. "Wasserman: The rich are richer than ever, but could a new CFB team win title in '23?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
- ^ "Blue-Chip Ratio 2024: These 16 college football teams can actually win the national championship". CBSSports.com. 2024-06-25. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
- ^ "Why Tennessee threatens to bust 2024 Blue-Chip Ratio with Nico Iamaleava spearheading Josh Heupel's offense". CBSSports.com. 2024-06-26. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
- ^ "Blue-Chip Ratio Suggests Clemson a National Title Contender in 2024". The Clemson Insider. 2024-06-28. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
- ^ "Updated college football recruiting class of 2025 national rankings by blue-chip ratio entering July". Badgers Wire. 2024-07-05. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
- ^ "CBS Sports shows Clemson Football has the Blue-Chip Ratio to win the CFP". Yahoo Sports. 2024-06-27. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
- ^ Wasserman, Ari. "Wasserman: The rich are richer than ever, but could a new CFB team win title in '23?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
- ^ "Blue-Chip Ratio 2024: These 16 college football teams can actually win the national championship". CBSSports.com. 2024-06-25. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
- ^ "Blue-Chip Ratio 2023: The 16 teams who can actually win a national title". 247Sports. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
- ^ "Blue-Chip Ratio 2024: These 16 college football teams can actually win the national championship". CBSSports.com. 2024-06-25. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
- ^ "Blue-Chip Ratio 2024: These 16 college football teams can actually win the national championship". CBSSports.com. 2024-06-25. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
- ^ njdurand (2023-12-24). "Ranking Michigan's transfers from the 2023 Portal Class". Maize n Brew. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
- ^ "Blue-Chip Ratio 2023: The 16 teams who can actually win a national title". 247Sports. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
- ^ Elliott, Bud (2014-02-18). "Who's recruiting at a championship level?". SBNation.com. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
- ^ "Championships: for elite recruiters only". SBNation.com. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
- ^ Elliott, Bud (2016-08-18). "The Blue-Chip Ratio, 2016 season edition". SBNation.com. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
- ^ Elliott, Bud (2017-08-24). "The 2017 Blue-Chip Ratio: Only 10 teams make the national title cut". SBNation.com. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
- ^ Elliott, Bud (2018-08-22). "Blue-Chip Ratio 2018: 13 teams have title-worthy recruiting". SBNation.com. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
- ^ Kirk, Jason (2019-08-08). "Blue-Chip Ratio 2019". Banner Society. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
- ^ "Blue-Chip Ratio 2020: The 15 teams who can win a national title". 247Sports. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
- ^ "Blue-Chip Ratio 2021: The 16 teams who can win a national title". 247Sports. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
- ^ "Blue-Chip Ratio 2022: The 15 teams who can actually win a national title". 247Sports. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
- ^ "Blue-Chip Ratio 2023: The 16 teams who can actually win a national title". 247Sports. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
- ^ "Blue-Chip Ratio 2024: These 16 college football teams can actually win the national championship". CBSSports.com. 2024-06-25. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
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