Week 11 FCS Power Rankings

November 14, 2021 · Jason Groomes
 
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.
 
RANK TEAM RATING Won Lost Prev RANK CONFERENCE RATING
1 James Madison 37.31 9 1 1 1 MISSOURI VALLEY 21.95
2 Sam Houston State 36.48 9 0 2 2 AQ7 20.77
3 North Dakota State 32.86 9 1 3 3 COLONIAL 19.56
4 Eastern Washington 32.14 8 2 8 4 SOUTHERN 19.50
5 Villanova 30.75 8 2 7 5 BIG SKY 18.65
6 Montana State 29.74 9 1 4 6 BIG SOUTH 16.92
7 Missouri State 29.64 7 3 6 7 SOUTHLAND 16.89
8 Holy Cross 29.50 8 2 13 8 OHIO VALLEY 15.96
9 East Tennessee State 28.95 9 1 10 9 IVY LEAGUE 15.51
10 Incarnate Word 28.81 8 2 5 10 PATRIOT 12.65
11 Southern Illinois 28.40 7 3 11 11 PIONEER 9.55
12 Southeastern Louisiana 28.08 8 2 12 12 SOUTHWESTERN 8.72
13 Tennessee-Martin 27.52 9 1 16 13 NORTHEAST 8.50
14 Montana 27.32 8 2 17 14 MID-EASTERN 6.42
15 South Dakota State 27.07 7 3 9 15 WESTERN 4.15
16 Monmouth 26.65 7 3 14  
17 Princeton 25.48 8 1 22  
18 UC-Davis 25.19 8 2 18  
19 Northern Iowa 24.89 5 5 15      
20 Stephen F. Austin 24.89 7 3 26      
21 Dartmouth 24.64 8 1 23  
22 Harvard 24.23 7 2 21  
23 Chattanooga 24.22 6 4 20  
24 South Dakota 23.98 7 3 27      
25 Mercer 23.81 7 2 25  
26 Austin Peay 23.45 5 5 28      
27 Jacksonville State 23.36 5 5 30  
28 Sacramento State 22.82 8 2 35      
29 Virginia Military 22.79 6 4 19      
30 Weber State 22.66 5 5 36  
31 Kennesaw State 22.21 9 1 24  
32 Eastern Kentucky 21.89 6 4 29  
33 Samford 21.39 4 6 34      
34 Central Arkansas 21.00 5 5 31      
35 Nicholls 20.90 5 5 32  
36 William & Mary 20.77 6 4 33      
37 Rhode Island 20.76 7 3 41      
38 North Dakota 20.18 5 5 39      
39 Maine 19.85 5 5 45  
40 Fordham 18.99 6 4 38  
41 Richmond 18.81 5 5 52  
42 Furman 18.79 5 5 46      
43 Davidson 18.41 7 2 37  
44 Elon 17.84 5 5 54  
45 Northern Arizona 17.81 4 6 40  
46 Jackson State 17.61 9 1 42  
47 Stony Brook 16.93 4 6 43  
48 Delaware 16.42 5 5 48  
49 North Carolina A&T 16.33 5 5 57  
50 Campbell 16.33 3 7 49      
51 Charleston Southern 16.26 4 5 58      
52 Southeast Missouri State 16.25 3 7 47  
53 Yale 15.94 5 4 51  
54 Murray State 15.75 5 5 64  
55 Columbia 15.64 6 3 55  
56 Portland State 15.50 5 5 56  
57 Abilene Christian 15.45 3 5 68      
58 Illinois State 15.35 4 6 53      
59 Western Carolina 15.33 3 7 44  
60 Towson 15.13 4 6 50      
61 North Alabama 14.89 2 8 60  
62 Florida A&M 14.74 8 2 74  
63 Duquesne 14.59 6 3 69  
64 Hampton 14.44 5 5 67  
65 Youngstown State 14.39 2 7 59      
66 Idaho 14.23 3 7 66  
67 Tennessee State 14.08 5 5 62  
68 Western Illinois 14.03 2 8 65  
69 Prairie View A&M 13.78 7 2 63  
70 Morehead State 13.64 6 4 73  
71 Bryant 13.61 6 4 81  
72 Dayton 13.44 6 4 82  
73 Gardner-Webb 13.41 3 7 61  
74 San Diego 13.15 6 4 71  
75 Albany 12.59 2 8 79      
76 McNeese 12.51 4 6 84  
77 St. Francis 12.29 5 5 83  
78 New Hampshire 12.19 3 7 76  
79 Alabama A&M 12.17 6 3 85  
80 Sacred Heart 12.12 7 3 80  
81 Lafayette 12.11 3 7 70      
82 Robert Morris 12.10 3 6 75  
83 Marist 11.96 5 4 93  
84 Merrimack 11.95 5 5 72  
85 Indiana State 11.94 4 6 77  
86 Norfolk State 11.82 6 4 78  
87 The Citadel 11.80 3 7 86  
88 Wofford 11.10 1 9 87  
89 Alcorn State 10.84 6 4 94  
90 Northern Colorado 10.51 3 7 89  
91 Tennessee Tech 10.33 3 7 91  
92 Colgate 10.15 4 6 96  
93 Northwestern State 9.95 2 8 95  
94 Georgetown 9.95 2 7 88  
95 Idaho State 9.88 1 9 92  
96 Cal Poly 9.43 2 8 102  
97 Brown 8.92 2 7 97  
98 Southern Utah 8.87 1 10 90  
99 South Carolina State 8.71 5 5 98  
100 St. Thomas 8.36 6 3 100  
101 Penn 8.24 3 6 99  
102 Eastern Illinois 8.04 1 9 101  
103 Lehigh 8.01 2 8 108  
104 Southern 7.90 4 6 103  
105 Stetson 7.71 3 6 105  
106 North Carolina Central 7.43 5 5 110  
107 Valparaiso 7.06 4 6 117  
108 Cornell 6.85 2 7 104  
109 Texas Southern 6.74 2 7 111  
110 Bethune-Cookman 6.50 2 8 114  
111 Delaware State 6.29 5 5 115  
112 Presbyterian 6.20 2 8 109  
113 Tarleton State 6.18 5 5 106  
114 Houston Baptist 5.80 0 10 107  
115 Lamar 5.56 1 8 112  
116 Mississippi Valley State 5.31 3 7 123  
117 Grambling State 4.74 3 7 113  
118 Alabama State 4.71 3 6 118  
119 Drake 4.61 2 7 120  
120 Howard 4.58 2 8 119  
121 Butler 4.35 2 8 116  
122 Bucknell 4.19 1 9 121  
123 Central Connecticut State 3.93 3 7 122  
124 Arkansas-Pine Bluff 2.85 2 8 124  
125 Long Island 2.02 2 7 125  
126 Wagner 1.55 0 10 126  
127 Morgan State 1.09 1 9 127  
128 Dixie State 0.86 1 9 128