Ridge’s upset of Phillipsburg and Piscataway’s win over Franklin has pushed the Chiefs to the top of the Big Central Conference Power Rankings after Week Six. That’s the first change at the top this season.
Since Piscataway moved up from No. 5, and the Stateliners only dropped to No. 2, that moves Elizabeth down one spot to third, while New Providence – thanks to a big win over Dayton – climbed from six to four, while Bridgewater-Raritan dipped one spot to five.
The power rankings are simply based on the state’s Strength Index formula, which helps determine a team’s OSI, and is 60% of the UPR playoff formula. SI values and will change each week as games are played. See the methodology at the bottom of this page.
Rounding out the top ten, Sayreville fell from third to six after a loss at Old Bridge, Somerville rose from eleven to seven. Old Bridge held in eighth with the win over the Bombers, while Rahway fell to ninth – down two spots – and Bernards held in 10th with a comeback victory at Hillside.
Statewide, there’s a new No. 1, and it’s undefeated Donovan Catholic (6-0) out of the Shore Conference, taking over the top spot by nearly three points from Don Bosco Prep, the victim of a wild comeback by Bergen Catholic, which recovered from a 24-0 deficit. Yet, the Crusaders remain below Bosco in the standings, checking in at No. 5. (Remember, SI is the overall body of work, and carries over from the previous year, too.) Glassboro dropped from two to three, and Red Bank Catholic’s loss to Winslow left room for St. Augustine to power its way from 13 to four after a blowout win over Burlington Twp.
Here are other Big Central teams in the state Top 50:
- Piscataway rose 17 places from 47 to 30.
- Phillipsburg dropped from 28 to 33.
- Elizabeth dropped from 34 to 44.
- New Providence pulled up from outside the Top 50 at 51 to 48 this week.
- Bridgewater-Raritan dropped six places to 48.
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.
Out-of-State Opponent SI: Strength Index ratings for non-New Jersey teams are calculated by finding their MaxPreps national ranking, then averaging the SI ratings of the next New Jersey team above and below them in the MaxPreps rankings.
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