Who has the best OSI in the state? Hint: It’s a Big Central team

As if anyone who has been following the Big Central Conference all season needs any more proof of how good Phillipsburg is, here’s more statistical proof: the Stateliners have the top OSI among all public schools in the state, and the highest in their league.

OSI is the Opponent Strength Index, and is an average of the Strength Index values of the opponents a team has played. A win gets a team the full value of its opponent, while a loss gets half.

Phillipsburg’s OSI is 72.95, tops among all 288 public schools in the state that are eligible for the playoffs in 2022. (Schools in the Super Football Conference “Ivies” and their NJIC counterparts – with “relief” schedules who are predetermined not to take part in the playoffs – are not included.)

But what does that number mean? How is that different from North Brunswick, which is also 5-0, but has an OSI of 62.44? It means, according to the Strength Index, Phillipsburg has played a more difficult schedule than North Brunswick – teams that, on average, are about 10 points better than those the Raiders have played. Although, both are good enough to be tops in their respective supersection playoff standings, with three games to go before Cutoff Weekend.

The highest OSI of all teams in New Jersey belongs to Don Bosco Prep, with an OSI of 89.5. The Ironmen are the No. 1 team in the state at the moment, according to both the NJ.com Top 20 and the USA Today Network Rankings (which includes MyCentralJersey.com).

They’re followed by Seton hall Prep (76.05), St. Peter’s Prep (75.65) and Bergen Catholic (74.53).

Among public schools, North Hunterdon (5-1) ranks 12th in the state (63.01), with North Brunswick right behind them in 13th. Hillsborough (4-1) is No. 15 at 61.8, and Westfield is 29th, with a 57.77 OSI.

Those being the top four teams in the Big Central in OSI, St. Thomas Aquinas checks in 5th at 61.71, while St. Joseph-Metuchen has a 50.35 OSI, good for 16th overall.

The OSI – as well as power points and the NJ UPR – are calculated by Gridiron New Jersey for the NJSIAA.

Below are the rankings of all the Big Central teams, according to OSI. Non-Publics are in Blue.

Below is a PDF file of all New Jersey schools ranked by OSI. Non-Publics are in Blue.