Week 4 FCS Power Rankings

 
The Madness FCS Power Rankings
 
The Madness FCS Power Rankings are a relatively basic power rating system when compared to the highly complex systems involving comparative scoring formulas. This system uses no comparative scoring, so any parallel between this and other ranking systems is purely coincidental. There is also no momentum involved in these rankings, so “What have you done for me lately?” does not apply. Everything is valued as a whole. The objective remains the same though; to create an unbiased mechanism to sort the general strength of the 128 teams within the Football Championship Subdivision.
 
Teams are awarded for Wins and Points Scored, then penalized for Losses and Points Allowed. Teams also receive a ‘Stature Constant’. These have been backed by historical data, but can and will be adjusted, if an obvious error has been identified. Teams from the full-scholarship automatic qualifying FCS conferences get the highest value. Non- or less than full-scholarship FCS conference teams get a middle value. And those from non-automatic leagues get the lowest value. This is done to lessen the effects of a superior team in a weak conference from building huge point margins and manipulating the system.
 
Teams will also gain bonuses for beating FCS teams. This has also been tweaked, giving a little more weight to those who beat Power Five teams as opposed to Group of Five teams. Also, a team will be penalized for losing to a school from a class below FCS (Division II, Division III, NAIA, NCCAA). The final piece of the puzzle is an RPI-style Strength of Schedule multiplier, where teams get bonuses and demerits just for playing teams listed previously in this paragraph.
 
The first rankings will appear after Week 4, September 25. These will be available on the Madness no later than Monday every week. There will also be a final edition released after the FCS Championship game in January. Like most ranking systems, a very strong or weak schedule or huge upsets, one way or the other, can have a drastic impact early on. As the season progresses the numbers, and teams, will sort themselves out and be much truer towards the end. So, if the rankings appear a little skewed early on, give it a little time. There’s no bias involved in the ratings and no human factors whatsoever.
 
RANKTEAMRATINGWonLostPrevRANKCONFERENCERATING
1Montana40.1330N/A1MISSOURI VALLEY24.94
2Southern Illinois38.1031N/A2COLONIAL19.47
3James Madison35.7030N/A3AQ718.82
4Missouri State32.4821N/A4SOUTHERN17.68
5Princeton32.4620N/A5IVY LEAGUE15.77
6Villanova32.4331N/A6BIG SKY15.70
7Sam Houston State31.3930N/A7SOUTHLAND14.14
8South Dakota State30.1130N/A8BIG SOUTH11.78
9Northern Iowa29.4321N/A9OHIO VALLEY10.96
10North Dakota State28.5330N/A10PATRIOT9.25
11Incarnate Word27.8931N/A11PIONEER5.56
12East Tennessee State27.4740N/A12SOUTHWESTERN5.15
13Montana State27.0531N/A13NORTHEAST4.47
14Dartmouth25.6320N/A14MID-EASTERN2.89
15Harvard25.0820N/A15WESTERN2.68
16Holy Cross24.6131N/A   
17Mercer24.4421N/A   
18Rhode Island23.9030N/A   
19Youngstown State23.5212N/A   
20Eastern Washington23.3740N/A   
21Samford22.0822N/A   
22UC-Davis22.0440N/A   
23North Dakota21.8821N/A 
24Austin Peay21.8322N/A   
25Abilene Christian21.4031N/A   
26Tennessee-Martin21.3931N/A   
27Southeastern Louisiana21.2121N/A   
28Stephen F. Austin21.2031N/A   
29Illinois State20.0122N/A   
30Campbell19.7312N/A   
31Columbia19.3420N/A 
32Delaware18.2121N/A 
33Virginia Military18.0531N/A 
34William & Mary18.0431N/A 
35Western Illinois17.9513N/A 
36South Dakota17.4822N/A 
37Chattanooga17.3712N/A 
38Weber State17.3013N/A 
39Jacksonville State17.0922N/A 
40New Hampshire17.0731N/A 
41Nicholls17.0412N/A 
42Eastern Kentucky16.7122N/A 
43Merrimack16.0931N/A 
44Richmond16.0222N/A 
45North Carolina A&T15.8912N/A 
46Southeast Missouri State15.8313N/A 
47Furman14.8922N/A 
48Lafayette14.7813N/A   
49Towson14.7213N/A   
50Albany14.4403N/A   
51Charleston Southern14.3912N/A   
52Central Arkansas14.3513N/A   
53Monmouth14.1322N/A   
54Indiana State14.0322N/A 
55Southern Utah13.8413N/A 
56Wofford13.3112N/A 
57Maine13.3013N/A 
58Stony Brook13.0213N/A 
59Elon12.6013N/A 
60Dayton12.5911N/A 
61Kennesaw State12.4021N/A 
62Murray State11.9412N/A 
63Gardner-Webb11.6722N/A 
64Northern Arizona11.6413N/A 
65Lamar11.3022N/A 
66Yale11.1411N/A 
67Northern Colorado10.7122N/A 
68Idaho10.7012N/A 
69Prairie View A&M10.3231N/A 
70Bryant10.1822N/A 
71The Citadel9.6012N/A 
72McNeese9.3913N/A 
73Alabama A&M9.2130N/A 
74Western Carolina9.1804N/A 
75Fordham9.1813N/A 
76Norfolk State8.8722N/A 
77Colgate8.7013N/A 
78Duquesne8.5621N/A 
79Jackson State8.5631N/A 
80Georgetown8.2512N/A 
81Sacramento State8.0322N/A   
82Alcorn State8.0022N/A 
83Stetson7.7221N/A 
84Cal Poly7.6513N/A 
85Davidson7.6421N/A 
86Hampton7.6321N/A 
87Portland State7.3313N/A 
88Idaho State7.0703N/A 
89Eastern Illinois7.0014N/A 
90Houston Baptist6.9903N/A 
91Butler6.4422N/A 
92Tarleton State6.4222N/A 
93Presbyterian6.2322N/A 
94Robert Morris6.1811N/A 
95St. Francis5.7213N/A 
96Morehead State5.5502N/A 
97Cornell5.3202N/A 
98Sacred Heart5.3122N/A 
99St. Thomas5.1321N/A 
100Tennessee State5.0613N/A 
101North Alabama4.6704N/A 
102Penn4.5811N/A 
103Northwestern State4.3103N/A 
104Florida A&M4.2012N/A 
105Southern4.0022N/A 
106Arkansas-Pine Bluff3.9912N/A 
107Bethune-Cookman3.8604N/A 
108North Carolina Central3.8522N/A 
109Brown3.7502N/A 
110Alabama State3.7021N/A 
111Drake3.5613N/A 
112South Carolina State2.6303N/A 
113Delaware State2.2113N/A 
114Marist2.0602N/A 
115Tennessee Tech1.7304N/A 
116Bucknell1.6903N/A 
117Lehigh1.5404N/A 
118San Diego0.5704N/A 
119Grambling State0.5713N/A 
120Wagner0.5304N/A 
121Howard0.4004N/A 
122Texas Southern0.3003N/A 
123Valparaiso-0.0313N/A 
124Central Connecticut State-0.5513N/A 
125Morgan State-0.6503N/A 
126Mississippi Valley State-0.8603N/A 
127Long Island-1.8003N/A 
128Dixie State-2.0903N/A