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I want to share something I have put together for a few years now and hope some of you will enjoy. This is a composite ranking of the four systems (that I know of) that rank D2 schools each week. To be in the composite a team must be in the top 25 of at least one of the rankings. So currently, 36 teams meet that basic criteria and I'd like to think those are the favorites to at least make the playoffs.
I know Massey and Bennett aren't accurate at this time as they rely on game data for their rankings, which we have none. Then again, at this time the human polls have nothing to rely on either. So all in all everything is a crap shoot to start preseason. Stat systems (Massey and Bennett) do have one (huge?) flaw in comparing the MIAA due to the silo schedule, there is nothing to grab outside of the MIAA to judge against, but we all know that. So those systems tend to really appreciate MIAA schools, as you'll probably see as the season goes on. If this is something others like, I'd post weekly updates as the new rankings come out.
On the right you'll see a couple other indicators, one is the average rank of the four polls...if they don't show up in the D2 poll, which doesn't go beyond 25, then they are moved below into 3 ranking tier, and if they aren't mentioned in AFCA as receiving votes but show up in the Massey or Bennett they are moved to the 2 ranking tier. The second indicator is rank discrepancy* which is simply how far the highest and lowest ranking for the team is apart. As you can see, the rankings generally agree TAMU-C is ranked accurately and generally agree is the best team in the nation to start. VA State on the other hand is liked enough by D2 to be in the top 25 and absolutely hated by Massey. (of note, VA State plays two FCS schools to start, so they may go 0-2 and we still not know much about how good they are until after week 3). I also color code by region as that becomes very important later in the year and it's always good to know what schools are where.
I also have a visual map of all the ranked teams by location if you want to get a sense of the landscape. This map is also a lot of fun when we get deeper in the season to get an idea where playoff teams may have to travel.
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.3692...p5Pm8vG2krtGXs
Enjoy! and comment
*spelled wrong in the document :loser:
I know Massey and Bennett aren't accurate at this time as they rely on game data for their rankings, which we have none. Then again, at this time the human polls have nothing to rely on either. So all in all everything is a crap shoot to start preseason. Stat systems (Massey and Bennett) do have one (huge?) flaw in comparing the MIAA due to the silo schedule, there is nothing to grab outside of the MIAA to judge against, but we all know that. So those systems tend to really appreciate MIAA schools, as you'll probably see as the season goes on. If this is something others like, I'd post weekly updates as the new rankings come out.
On the right you'll see a couple other indicators, one is the average rank of the four polls...if they don't show up in the D2 poll, which doesn't go beyond 25, then they are moved below into 3 ranking tier, and if they aren't mentioned in AFCA as receiving votes but show up in the Massey or Bennett they are moved to the 2 ranking tier. The second indicator is rank discrepancy* which is simply how far the highest and lowest ranking for the team is apart. As you can see, the rankings generally agree TAMU-C is ranked accurately and generally agree is the best team in the nation to start. VA State on the other hand is liked enough by D2 to be in the top 25 and absolutely hated by Massey. (of note, VA State plays two FCS schools to start, so they may go 0-2 and we still not know much about how good they are until after week 3). I also color code by region as that becomes very important later in the year and it's always good to know what schools are where.
I also have a visual map of all the ranked teams by location if you want to get a sense of the landscape. This map is also a lot of fun when we get deeper in the season to get an idea where playoff teams may have to travel.
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.3692...p5Pm8vG2krtGXs
Enjoy! and comment
*spelled wrong in the document :loser:
Comment