Here are projected SI values for Week 1 Out-of-State Opponents based on state formula

While the entire NJISAA UPR playoff formula is very complicated, with caveats seemingly at every turn, the actual calculation of a team’s Strength Index – which helps determine the OSI for playoff qualification – is actually very simple.

You find the difference between the two teams’ ratings before the play, compare that to the difference in the final score, then divide that difference by five. That’s how much one team goes up and the other goes down.

But what do you use for an out-of-state or non-NJSIAA member, where the SI is not regularly calculated?

That’s our cue to give you a quick crash course.

According to the NJSIAA football regulations for 2026, with NJ.com now doing the official calculations instead of the now-defunct Gridiron New Jersey: “In order to assign a Strength Index value to an out of state/non-member opponent, NJ.com will consult MaxPreps national rankings. NJ.com will identify the closest NJSIAA member school, per the rating column, both ABOVE and BELOW the out of state/non-member opponent. The Strength Index for these two NJSIAA member schools will be averaged – the average Strength Index will be the value assigned to the out of state/non-member opponent.”

This week, there are 13 New Jersey NJSIAA-member schools playing out-of-state competition. So, let’s just take Phillipsburg as an example.

The Stateliners play Emmaus (pronounced “em-AY-us”) of Pennsylvania, the second of three PA opponents they will start the season with before getting into the Big Central slate. Emmaus has a 50.7 MaxPreps rating as of Wednesday, September 2nd.

So now, we go to the New Jersey rankings and find the two teams closest to them, above and below. That’s Southern, with a MaxPreps rating of 50.79, while Bridgewater-Raritan is right below them at 50.54 on MaxPreps and a 76.63 SI value. (Yes, one is higher than the other, depending on which system you use, but that’s another discussion for another time.)

The last step is to average the two SI ratings, which gives us a 76.30 Strength Index rating for Emmaus. Phillipsburg has a 77.17 SI rating, meaning the formula considers this a toss-up game: the Stateliners are considered 0.87 points “better” than Emmaus. Essentially, the winner will increase, the loser will decrease.

But, that won’t affect Phillipsburg either way, because teams qualify for the playoffs and are seeded based, in part, on OSI, not SI. And as for Emmaus? Their SI won’t be calculated each week, but the week before the cutoff, their SI will be figured again by the same process, using the MaxPreps rankings.

That said, here’s a look at this week’s out-of-state games involving NJSIAA-member schools, and the SI of their opponents:

• Bergen Catholic: Our Lady of Good Counsel (MD), 78.91
• Don Bosco Prep: Roman Catholic (PA), 85.35
• Delbarton: Erasmus Hall (NY), 67.14
• Immaculata: St. Joseph-by-the-Sea (NY), 67.84
• Morristown-Beard: Christ the King (NY), 43.98
• Paramus Catholic: St. James (VA), 61.59
• Phillipsburg: Emmaus (PA), 76.30
• Pope John: Cardinal Hayes (NY), 75.65
• Ramsey: Suffern (NY), 50.98
• Red Bank Catholic: St. Anthony Melville (NY), 80.25
• Southern: Belmont Charter (PA), 67.84
• St. Joseph-Montvale: Creekside (GA), 92.08
• St. Peter’s Prep: St. Thomas More (CT), 48.81

NJ.com is expected to release “starting” SI numbers for all out-of-state opponents, per the NJSIAA regs, upon conclusion of Week 2. Those numbers will not adjust each week of the season as SI traditionally does, but using the same MaxPreps search, will be updated again after Week 5, and one more time on October 20th in advance of Cutoff Weekend, which is when all the New Jersey teams have their SI’s locked for playoff qualification.

So, for example, the SI value for Emmaus will be whatever MaxPreps turns up after Week 2. That will be used for the Week 3, 4 and 5 standings, with a new SI revealed after Week 5 to be used for standings in Weeks 6 and 7. The values searched on MaxPreps after Week 7 are what will be used for Cutoff Weekend, as well as the SI of New Jersey teams after Week 7. SI will not change – at least not for playoff calculation – after Week 8/Cutoff Weekend games.

Those are the numbers NJ.com will be using in its official calculations, and we will use in our own unofficial calculations as well.

It should be noted, however, that SI calculations are still run behind the scenes for all games – playoffs and what used to be known as “consolations” – through the end of the year to determine the most accurate starting numbers for 2027.