Every week this season, Central Jersey Sports Radio will publish the Big Central and New Jersey Power Rankings.
Simply based on the state’s Strength Index formula – which helps determine a team’s OSI, which is 60% of the UPR playoff formula – the rankings will change each week as games are played. See methodology at the bottom of this page.
Please note, our calculations are unofficial, with all results based on scores reported to Gridiron New Jersey, which does the official SI calculations for the NJSIAA.
Phillipsburg moves to the top of the BCC Power Rankings, after a season-opening win over Westfield, while St. Thomas Aquinas falls to No. 2, even though their SI has not changed at all. That’s because they opened with two out-of-state teams the first two weeks, and games against non-NJSIAA member schools are not calculated for Strength Index, since there is no similar system in other states.
Big Central Conference Power Rankings
Meanwhile, three Big Central teams again are ranked in the Top 25 statewide, but this week Phillipsburg takes the top spot among teams from the Big Central. The Stateliners move from No. 19 to 12, two spots higher than St. Thomas Aquinas was last week.
The Trojans drop to No. 20, while Bernards rose two spots this week thanks to a solid win over Hillside, checking in at No. 23 statewide.
New Jersey Power Rankings – Top 25
Strength Index Methodology: Team A and Team B are compared to find the difference between their rankings, which provides the Expected Result. The margin of the final score is figured in positive or negative terms compared to the Expected Result. The difference is divided by five, and the teams increase or decrease by the resulting number.
Example #1: Team A has an SI value of 80, while Team B has an SI value of 60. The Expected Result is +20 for Team A. When the game is played, Team A wins by 30. That is 10 points higher than the expected result. Than number is divided by 5, meaning Team A increases by 2 (Team A now has an SI of 82) while Team B decreases by 2 (Team B now has an SI of 58).
Example #2: In the same scenario, Team A defeats Team B by 20. That is the same as the Expected Result, no there is no change. Team A remains with an SI value of 80, while Team B retains its 60 SI value.
Example #2: Team A defeats Team B by 10. That is 10 points fewer than the expected result. Divide by 5 to get 2, but in this case, Team A drops by 2 points to 78 (because Team A “underperformed”) while Team B increases by 2 points to 62.
Discover more from Central Jersey Sports Radio
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.