Even though we’re down to the final three days and seven games of high school football in New Jersey – as champions are set to be crowned at Rutgers and Met Life Stadium following Thanksgiving – 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 12 rankings in the Big Central and statewide.
In the Big Central, Phillipsburg and Somerville flip-flop, with the Stateliners moving on to the Group 4 championship thanks to a 35-6 win over Ramapo, while Somerville lost in overtime, 36-35 to Mainland in the Group 3 semifinals.
Statewide, Winslow solidified its top spot in the rankings with a 13-7 win Saturday in the Group 4 semifinals over Millville. The Eagles will face Phillipsburg in the Group 4 title game Wednesday, December 4th at Rutgers University, with kickoff time set for 7 pm.
Meanwhile, DePaul moved up from No. 5 to third, while Bergen Catholic moved from No. 7 to fourth, and Don Bosco Prep fell from third to fifth.
Among Big Central teams, Phillipsburg rose four spot to No. 13, while Somerville dropped to right behind them, in 14th. St. Thomas Aquinas dropped two spots to No. 15.
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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