As the playoffs continue – with sectional title games this weekend – and everyone else wrapped up with regular season play, except for those who keep Thanksgiving rivalries alive, Strength Index continues to be measured across the state.
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 typically use the official NJSIAA Strength Index values calculated by Gridiron New Jersey, which updates them on each team’s page on a weekly basis. However, since those are only updated in the regular season, we do our own unofficial calculations for the entire state.
Here are the Week 10 rankings in the Big Central and statewide.
In the Big Central, a 61-6 win by St. Thomas Aquinas over St. Mary-Rutherford in the opening round of the Non-Public B playoff section propelled the Trojans to No. 1, leapfrogging Ridge, Phillipsburg and Somerville, which fall to second, third and fourth, respectively. Piscataway had been fifth, but dropped with a loss at West Orange, bumping up Hillsborough, despite a sectional semifinal loss at Rancocas Valley.
Winslow remains the No. 1 team, upping its SI this season to 113.02. Millville jumped from fifth to second this week, jumping Bergen Catholic, which falls to No. 3. Union City jumps from sixth to fourth, and Don Bosco Prep moves up one to fifth.
St. Thomas Aquinas jumps from out of the Top 25 to No. 8 after their blowout of St. Mary, passing Somerville and Phillipsburg. The Pioneers drop three places to 11th after a closer-than-usual win score-wise (it wasn’t really that close) over Ocean City, and Phillipsburg dropped two spots, right behind Somerville in 12th.
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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