Central Jersey Sports Radio’s estimated Strength Index values following Cutoff Weekend

While Strength Index values are locked in for playoff calculation before Cutoff Weekend – meaning the SI of a team won’t change due to the result of the game – those numbers are still tracked behind the scenes for every single team in New Jersey, all the way up until their season finale, whether that’s in a Consolation game, on Thanksgiving, or the very last state final at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands.

But we’re still keeping track, too. So, as we do all year, we’ll unveil that list each week until the state finals wrap up the weekend of Thanksgiving.

Keep in mind, our numbers are entirely unofficial, as NJ.com – which calculates the official numbers – is not updating the numbers each week, the same as Gridiron New Jersey had done since the advent of the UPR system in 2018.

Strength Index is how a team’s OSI is determined, and OSI is 60 percent of the NJ UPR playoff formula, with power points the other 40 percent.

To calculate OSI, teams get 100 percent of an opponent’s Strength Index (SI) value for a win, and 50 percent for a loss, with defeats at the hands of some non-public teams (multipliers) worth more, anywhere from 70 to 80 percent.

Each week, SI values change based on the final score and the rating of the two teams that played. Here’s an example. SI goes up or down depending on how a team did compared to the difference between the two teams. If Team A (80 SI) plays Team B (60 SI) and Team A wins by 20, there’s no change. If Team A wins by 10, they underperformed by 10 points, and Team B overperformed by 10 points. Team B increases by 2 points to become a 62, and Team A drops to a 78. Team A then gets the full value of Team B for its OSI (62) while Team B gets half the value of Team A (39).

Here are Central Jersey Sports Radio’s official Strength Index values after Week Seven play, now locked in for Week Eight. We also are adding a column this week that will show how much teams have risen or fallen since the preseason.

Please note, Montclair-Kimberly’s SI value has not been updated, since the out-of-state SI value for their Week 8 opponent, Poly Prep (NY)