Every week this season, Central Jersey Sports Radio will continue to 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.
The rankings use the official NJSIAA Strength Index values calculated by Gridiron New Jersey, which updates them on each team’s page on a weekly basis. Our rankings use the official SI calculations as of October 23, 2024.
The top four teams remain the same, but the middle two flip-flopped this week. Phillipsburg holds the top spot, but Somerville is now up one to second, and Ridge drops one spot to third. St. Thomas Aquinas holds in fourth, while the top five is rounded out by Hillsborough. The Raiders supplant the Chiefs and move up from No. 10 with their 27-14 win at Piscataway last Friday night. Piscataway nudged down a spot to sixth.
Big Central Conference Power Rankings after Week 7
As for the state Top 25, all four Big Central Conference teams on the list last week remain. Phillipsburg climbed from 14 to ninth place, while Somerville is up five from 17th to No. 12. Ridge edged down one notch to 17, while St. Thomas Aquinas stayed put at 20.
Statewide, Winslow and Bergen Catholic remain Nos. 1 and 2, while Millville pulled into third and joined the “100 SI Club” this week, jumping Toms River North into third. Union City rose two spots from six to four, while the Mariners round out the top five.
New Jersey Power Rankings – Top 25 after Week 7
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.
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