Gridiron New Jersey unveils 2023 preseason football Strength Index numbers

Gridiron New Jersey – which does all the official calculations of the NJSIAA’s high school football playoff formula – has unveiled its preseason Strength Index numbers for 2023.

The Strength Index is used as part of the playoff formula to calculate OSI, a team’s Opponent Strength Index, which is 60 percent of the overall UPR, or United Power Ranking. Simply put, a team gets the full value of an opponent’s Strength Index for a win, and half the value of a team’s SI if they lose.

Traditional power points make up the other 40 percent of the UPR formula.

Since power points have no real value at the beginning of each season, Strength Index can be a good measure of a team’s strength of schedule, based on past results. Every year, the final SI from the previous season i used as a starting point, but it is reduced by one-third of the way to 60 for every team in either direction.

For example, a team with an SI of 90 would be reduced by 10, which is one-third of 30 (the difference between 60 and 90.) Similarly, a team with a 51 SI would increase to 54, since three is one-third of nine, the distance from 51 to 60.

The top team in the state according to the Strength Index is Bergen Catholic – which finished 2022 at 11-1 and was the Non-Public Group A champion – with an 94.20 SI. Toms River North – the reigning Group 5 champion, checks in with a 91.5 SI value.

The highest-ranked Big Central team is Ridge, which was 7-3 last year with a very challenging schedule. The Red Devils are ranked 11th in the statewide SI, with an 80.33 Strength Index value.

Following are all the Big Central teams, ranked from highest SI value to lowest:

1. Ridge 80.33
2. North Hunterdon 76.41
3. Westfield 75.54
4. Cranford 75.48
5. Phillipsburg 75.42
6. Hillside 74.77
7. Edison 73.78
8. St. Thomas Aquinas 72.7
9. Watchung Hills 72.32
10. North Brunswick 70.44
11. Brearley 70.09
12. Bernards 68.82
13. Hillsborough 67.4
14. Roselle 66.22
15. Montgomery 66.15
16. Somerville 66
17. Piscataway 65.88
18. Plainfield 65.67
19. Delaware Valley 65.05
20. Summit 65.03
21. Manville 64.29
22. Union 63.56
23. Hunterdon Central 63.5
24. Woodbridge 63.18
25. Linden 62.84
26. Bridgewater-Raritan 62.82
27. St. Joseph-Metuchen 62.51
28. South Hunterdon 62
29. South Brunswick 61.82
30. Sayreville 59.96
31. Colonia 59.93
32. Johnson 59.17
33. South Plainfield 57.73
34. Carteret 57.68
35. Rahway 57.68
36. Old Bridge 56.75
37. East Brunswick 56.48
38. New Providence 54.89
39. Scotch Plains-Fanwood 54.14
40. Elizabeth 53.28
41. Monroe 52.5
42. Franklin 52.01
43. Voorhees 51.36
44. Perth Amboy 50.79
45. JFK 49.39
46. Roselle Park 48.4
47. Spotswood 47
48. Middlesex 46.13
49. New Brunswick 45.85
50. Dunellen 44.72
51. Governor Livingston 44.3
52. Dayton 43.99
53. South River 43.47
54. North Plainfield 41.86
55. Metuchen 39.55
56. JP Stevens 36.82
57. Belvidere 36.08
58. Bound Brook 34.43
59. Highland Park 30.29

Click here for a PDF document with the Strength Index value of every team in New Jersey, as released by Gridiron New Jersey.