Phillipsburg continues to be the dominant team in the Big Central Conference, still at No. this week in the Week Four Big Central Conference Power Rankings.

But while the Stateliners remain in the state Top Ten, and atop the league rankings, many other Big Central teams shuffled around, and there’s a new No. 1 statewide.

The power rankings are simply based on the state’s Strength Index formula, which helps determine a team’s OSI, which is 60% of the UPR playoff formula. SI values and will change each week as games are played. See methodology at the bottom of this page.

In the league, the top two remained the same with Phillipsburg followed by St. Thomas Aquinas, but Somerville dropped from third to fifth and Bernards went from four to eight, even though both won, just against weaker opponents. New Providence gained a spot to fourth, St. Joseph-Metuchen moved up three spots to third. Old Bridge and Ridge each went up one spot, while a loss by Bridgewater-Raritan knocked the Panthers out of the league top ten, and Woodbridge won, but over 1-4 Linden, dropping them from ten to 15. Rahway and Manville – the second of which is 5-0 – joined the Top Ten.

Statewide, Bergen Catholic’s showdown loss to Don Bosco Prep allowed Glassboro to take over the No. 1 spot, with the Crusaders moving down to two. Washington Township won, but dropped two places to fifth, with DePaul – a winner over 1-4 Paramus Catholic – suffered a similar fate dropping from five to seven. Don Bosco went from four to three. Winslow Twp. joined the Top Five at No. 4

From the Big Central, Phillipsburg moved from nine to eight.

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.

Phillipsburg remains No. 1 again this week in the Big Central Conference Power Rankings, but they are now the lone remaining team from the BCC in the statewide Top 25.

That’s because even though St. Thomas Aquinas beat Franklin 57-45 Friday night in a shootout in North Edison, the state’s Strength Index formula says the Trojans “underperformed” against the Warriors. STA had an SI of 83.98 coming into the game, with a 57.42 rating for Franklin. That meant Aquinas should have won by 26.6 points. They won by 12, and that dropped St. Thomas to an 83.98, while Franklin jumped to a 60.33 SI.

The power rankings are simply based on the state’s Strength Index formula, which helps determine a team’s OSI, which is 60% of the UPR playoff formula. SI values and will change each week as games are played. See methodology at the bottom of this page.

But the Trojans remain No. 2 in the Big Central rankings, while Bernards moved up from fourth, knocking Somerville down a peg.

Statewide, Bergen Catholic moved back into the top spot after a win over Pope John, while Glassboro – which won at Salem Saturday – fell to No. 2. Washington Twp. remains third, while DePaul and Don Bosco flip to fourth and fifth, respectively.

Only Phillipsburg remains in the state Top 25 this week. Aquinas dropped to 28 in New Jersey, while Somerville – which dropped out last week after a loss to Montgomery – is at 36 (down one spot) and Bernards fell nine spots to 37.

New Providence rounded out the top five, up a spot from last week. New Providence checks in at 45, leaving five Big Central teams in the state Top 50.

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.

Now that Gridiron New Jersey has released the official Strength Index numbers for all teams in the Garden State – and we’ve been able to figure out out-of-state opponents based on the latest standings and some simple math – there have been some adjustments in the state and Big Central power rankings.

Previous rankings by CJSR based on unofficial, projected SI numbers saw some changes, since we didn’t have information on out-of-state teams prior to their release after Week Two of play, per NJSIAA rules.

The power rankings are simply based on the state’s Strength Index formula, which helps determine a team’s OSI, which is 60% of the UPR playoff formula. SI values and will change each week as games are played. See methodology at the bottom of this page.

With the new OOS numbers released, St. Thomas Aquinas having fallen to Catholic Memorial (PA) in Week One, and Phillipsburg’s 48-point win over Hunterdon Central, the Stateliners take the new top spot this week in the Big Central power rankings. The Trojans move to No. 2, while Bernards moved up to three and Somerville fell to fourth after a Friday night home loss to Montgomery. Ridge rounds out the top five, moving up three places.

New Providence, Woodbridge, St. Joseph-Metuchen, Elizabeth and Piscataway round out the Top Ten in the league. And 18 of the league’s teams are in the Top 100.

Meanwhile, three Big Central teams continue to be ranked in the Top 25 statewide, with St. Thomas Aquinas the highest of them for a second straight week, holding at No. 6. (Keep in mind, their SI could not be updated this week since they played an out-of-state opponent. Phillipsburg climbs from 17 to 12, while Somerville dropped from 11 to 13.

Around the state, the out-of-state SI release and Week Two results brought some big changes.

The new No. 1 is Glassboro, which now has the state’s longest active win streak at 16 games after Rumson-Fair Haven had its 15-game streak snapped with a loss Friday night to Holmdel, dropping them all the way down to seven. (Both teams happen to be the Bulldogs, by the way.)

Bergen Catholic moves from five to two, likely based in part on the OOS SI numbers coming our, followed by Washington Twp (up five spots to third), DePaul (holding in fourth) and Don Bosco Prep (up from ninth to No. 5).

Only two Big Central teams remain in the state Top 25, as Phillipsburg rose from 12th to 10th place, while St. Thomas Aquinas dropped from No. 6 to 16. Somerville dropped out with its loss to Montgomery.

Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly has last week’s rankings included.

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.

St. Thomas Aquinas – for now – remains the No. 1 team in the Big Central Conference power rankings, but likely would remain there anyway, despite a Week One loss Friday to the top-ranked MaxPreps team from Massachusetts, Catholic Memorial. But a shutout win at Westfield propelled Phillipsburg up over Somerville into the No. 2 spot, with the Pioneers’ winning a much closer tussle at home Friday over Cranford.

The power rankings are simply based on the state’s Strength Index formula, which helps determine a team’s OSI, which is 60% of the UPR playoff formula. SI values and will change each week as games are played. See methodology at the bottom of this page.

Please note, our calculations are typically unofficial, with all results based on scores reported to Gridiron New Jersey, which does the official SI calculations for the NJSIAA.

In addition, out-of-state opponent SI values have not been officially released by Gridiron New Jersey, but are scheduled to come out, per the NJSIAA’s football regulations, after this weekend’s Week 2 games, in conjunction with the site’s initial UPR release, which also will include the official SI numbers for all New Jersey teams.

Meanwhile, three Big Central teams continue to be ranked in the Top 25 statewide, with St. Thomas Aquinas the highest of them for a second straight week, holding at No. 6. (Keep in mind, their SI could not be updated this week since they played an out-of-state opponent. Phillipsburg climbs from 17 to 12, while Somerville dropped from 11 to 13.

Around the state, Rumson-Fair Haven moved up from No. 2 – with an asterisk, since those out-of-state games have not been calculated into SI yet by CJSR – and wrested the top spot away from Winslow Twp., which will face Bergen Catholic this weekend, while Rumson hosts Holmdel. Glassboro pulls up from No. 5 to No. 2, while Winslow drops to third. DePaul fell one spot to fourth and Bergen Catholic fell to 5, but both also faced out-of-state opponents this week.

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.

St. Thomas Aquinas’ 53-6 blowout win over Montclair in the season opener Friday night has propelled the Trojans to the top of the Week 0 Big Central Conference Power Rankings, while moving them into the top ten statewide.

The power rankings are simply based on the state’s Strength Index formula, which helps determine a team’s OSI, which is 60% of the UPR playoff formula. SI values and will change each week as games are played. See methodology at the bottom of this page.

Please note, our calculations are typically unofficial, with all results based on scores reported to Gridiron New Jersey, which does the official SI calculations for the NJSIAA.

Also, while we initially thought there might be some inaccuracies since the SI values of out-of-state opponents were not readily available, and many teams played non-New Jersey competition, the SI of the New Jersey schools that played them were unchanged on Gridiron New Jersey, which officially calculates the playoff formula for the NJSIAA. That said, we believe the following numbers to be correct.

Meanwhile, three Big Central teams are ranked in the Top 25 statewide, but now St. Thomas Aquinas is the highest of them, moving from 13 to No. 6. Somerville hung in at No. 11 after a season-opening win at Schalick. And Phillipsburg – despite being idle in Week Zero – dropped two spots to 17.

Around the state, defending Group 4 champion Winslow remained No. 1 for now, but could have fallen behind Rumson-Fair Haven – which is just 0.9 points behind – depending on how Winslow’s game against IMG Academy (FL) shook out in the rankings. IMG would likely be very high in the MaxPreps national rankings – which is how out-of-state opponents’ SIs are figured, but we don’t have that number available at this moment. Defending Group 1 champ Glassboro beat Haddonfield Saturday night in the Battle at the Beach, but dropped to No. 5.

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.