Blue chips are athletes, particularly high school players, targeted for drafting or signing by teams at the college level. In college football, the term is considered synonymous with four-star and five-star recruits, while in college basketball, the term may also refer exclusively to five-stars. [1] [2] 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. [3] They are typically perceived as "can't miss" prospects [4] who are desired by most organizations. Blue chip athletes are likely to have an immediate impact on teams that acquire them [4] 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. [5]
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 is 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. [6] [7] [8]
According to Elliott, the Blue-Chip Ratio has been referenced by all major broadcast networks and is closely monitored by head coaches and administrators. [9] It has also been covered and referenced by many other sports journalists. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
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 to winning it all despite having a BCR less than 50%. [15] [16]
In fact, it is possible that a team has already busted the Blue-Chip Ratio. According to Elliott, "either due to data changing after the fact, via industry contraction/expansion/merger, or perhaps due to an error of my own, 2010 Auburn no longer seems to meet 50% in the BCR . . . while I am confident that Auburn did meet the threshold when I was back-testing the model a half-decade ago, I can no longer back it up with proof." [17]
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. [18]
For the 2024 season, Elliott believes that Tennessee (46% BCR) is the most likely candidate to bust the ratio. [19]
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. 2021 Georgia and 2022 Georgia made either few or no additions through the use of the portal. 2023 Michigan had nine transfers, 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. [20] [21]
An analysis in 2023 showed that almost every top team's Blue-Chip Ratio decreased when including transfers. [22]
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. Many Blue-Chip Ratios prior to 2014 are unreliable or unavailable, due to a lack of articles listing them, errors or discrepancies in older recruiting rankings, etc. [23] Elliott has listed Blue-Chip Ratios of several national champions before 2014, but not non-champions. Teams that won the national championship are highlighted in bold.
Eleven teams had enough talent to win the national championship during the 2014 season. [32]
Twelve teams had enough talent to win the national championship during the 2015 season. [33]
Thirteen teams had enough talent to win the national championship during the 2016 season. [34]
Ten teams had enough talent to win the national championship during the 2017 season. [35]
Thirteen teams had enough talent to win the national championship during the 2018 season. [36]
Sixteen teams had enough talent to win the national championship during the 2019 season. [37]
Fifteen teams had enough talent to win the national championship during the 2020 season. [38]
Sixteen teams had enough talent to win the national championship during the 2021 season. [39]
Fifteen teams had enough talent to win the national championship during the 2022 season. [40]
Sixteen teams had enough talent to win the national championship during the 2023 season. [41]
Sixteen teams have enough talent to win the national championship during the 2024 season. [42]
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The 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Miami winning its third National Championship during the 1980s, cementing its claim as the decade's top team, winning more titles than any other program.
The 1993 NCAA Division I-A football season saw Florida State crowned national champions, in both the AP and Coaches poll.
The 1995 NCAA Division I-A football season was the first year of the Bowl Alliance.
The 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Notre Dame winning the national championship. The Fighting Irish won the title via a 34–21 defeat of previously unbeaten West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona. With 4 of the final Top 5 teams being independents, 1988 became a focus for fans and critics who wondered how the traditional conferences would deal with the indies.
The 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Miami winning its second national championship of the 1980s in an Orange Bowl game featuring a rare No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup between the top ranked Oklahoma Sooners and the Hurricanes.
The 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Penn State winning the national championship. Coached by Joe Paterno, they defeated Miami (Fl) 14–10 in the Fiesta Bowl. This Fiesta Bowl was the first in the game's history to decide the national championship, launching it into the top tier of bowls.
The 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season saw the Oklahoma Sooners, led by head coach Barry Switzer, win the national championship.
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The 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the Clemson Tigers, unbeaten and untied, claiming the national championship after a victory over Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. This was also the first year of the California Bowl, played in Fresno, California; this game fancied itself as a "junior" version of the Rose Bowl as it pitted the Big West Conference champion vs. the Mid-American Conference champion.
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...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.
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.