NJSIAA returns out-of-state opponents to OSI, power points calculations for 2024

In a part of the NJSIAA Football Regulations we overlooked – maybe because it made our job easier and we hoped they were gone forever – out-of-state opponents once again count toward the calculations for Opponent Strength Index (OSI) and power points, part of the NJ UPR formula for playoff calculation.

In advance of 2023, the NJSIAA decided it would not include out-of-state opponents in the calculations. Previously, those games counted toward traditional power points and OSI. But for power points, the opponent’s group size had to be figured out, and an equivalent found. For OSI, it used MaxPreps national rankings, then found the New Jersey school closest to it, using the Jersey school’s current SI. The closest team above it would be used for road games (the argument being that a road game should be worth more) and the closest below it would be used or home games (with the opposite argument applying here).

Now, they’re back, but in slightly different ways.

For power points, the group size does not need to be known, because group size no longer is a factor in power points.

For OSI, the MaxPreps national rankings will continue to be used, however, the two New Jersey teams both above and below will be used, and their Strength Index values averaged to come up with the SI value for the out-of-state opponent.

In a hypothetical situation, let’s say Team A plays out of state opponent “Brooklyn.” One would look on the MaxPreps national rankings to find Brooklyn, which might have a rank of 385. Team B is the closest New Jersey team above them on MaxPreps, with an SI value of 72, and Team C is the nearest New Jersey school below them, with an SI value of 62.

In that case, the average of the two teams – 67 – would be used for “Brooklyn.”

That SI will be updated once more, on cutoff weekend, when all the New Jersey SI values are locked in for playoff calculation.

It should be noted that since MaxPreps uses a proprietary system of rankings, different from New Jersey and the NJSIAA, there could be instances where the closest team below them might have a higher SI than the closest team ahead of them. That would simply be a product of two different systems for determining team strength.