Week 8 FCS Football Power Rankings

October 24, 2022 · 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 Holy Cross 38.54 7 0 1 1 COLONIAL 19.19
2 Sacramento State 35.53 7 0 4 2 MISSOURI VALLEY 19.12
3 Delaware 33.10 6 1 2 3 BIG SKY 18.87
4 Incarnate Word 31.07 7 1 3 4 ATLANTIC SUN 18.59
5 William & Mary 30.71 6 1 5 5 SOUTHERN 18.53
6 Montana State 29.59 7 1 14 6 IVY LEAGUE 15.92
7 Southeast Missouri 28.86 6 1 10 7 PATRIOT 15.12
8 South Dakota State 28.78 7 1 12 8 WESTERN 13.82
9 Samford 27.94 6 1 9 9 OHIO VALLEY 13.53
10 Chattanooga 27.85 6 1 15 10 SOUTHLAND 13.49
11 Weber State 27.42 6 1 11 11 BIG SOUTH 12.28
12 Mercer 27.28 6 2 7 12 SOUTHWESTERN 7.98
13 Montana 26.93 5 2 8 13 PIONEER 7.69
14 Richmond 26.89 5 2 24 14 MID-EASTERN 7.15
15 North Dakota State 26.52 5 2 16 15 NORTHEAST 6.84
16 Southern Illinois 26.37 5 3 6      
17 Jackson State 26.35 7 0 13      
18 UC-Davis 25.62 3 4 21      
19 Rhode Island 25.42 5 2 25      
20 Fordham 25.29 6 1 19      
21 Princeton 24.42 6 0 18      
22 Idaho 24.29 5 2 22      
23 Eastern Kentucky 24.19 4 3 20      
24 Southeastern Louisiana 23.89 4 3 37      
25 Elon 23.61 5 3 17      
26 Stephen F. Austin 23.27 5 3 23      
27 Furman 23.23 6 2 27      
28 North Dakota 21.96 4 3 29  
29 Monmouth 21.91 4 4 26      
30 Austin Peay 21.76 5 2 33      
31 Penn 21.72 6 0 34  
33 Campbell 21.49 4 3 28      
32 Central Arkansas 21.16 3 4 30      
34 New Hampshire 20.63 6 2 43      
35 Tennessee-Martin 20.36 4 3 38  
36 Youngstown State 19.77 4 3 32      
37 Illinois State 19.30 5 2 41  
38 Northern Iowa 18.89 4 4 42      
39 Harvard 18.73 4 2 31      
40 Gardner-Webb 17.16 3 5 44      
41 Yale 17.11 4 2 40  
42 Southern Utah 16.80 3 5 45      
43 Western Carolina 16.51 3 5 35      
44 East Tennessee State 16.47 3 5 53  
45 Missouri State 16.43 2 5 36  
46 Eastern Washington 16.38 2 5 46      
47 Cal Poly 16.38 2 5 47  
49 Abilene Christian 16.38 5 2 49  
50 Southern 16.35 5 2 48  
48 North Carolina Central 16.15 5 2 39  
51 Villanova 15.92 4 3 52  
52 Davidson 15.83 6 2 50  
53 North Carolina A&T 15.34 4 3 55  
54 Kennesaw State 14.70 3 4 56  
55 Albany 14.36 1 6 54  
56 South Dakota 14.33 2 5 61  
57 St. Francis 13.72 5 2 66  
58 Lafayette 13.59 2 5 63  
59 Columbia 13.53 3 3 51      
60 Butler 13.52 5 2 64  
61 Colgate 13.31 2 5 69  
62 Tennessee Tech 12.74 1 6 59  
63 Prairie View A&M 12.70 4 3 79  
64 Merrimack 12.51 6 2 67  
65 Dartmouth 12.49 2 4 68  
66 Eastern Illinois 12.45 2 5 57  
67 Hampton 12.20 4 3 60      
68 Portland State 12.12 2 5 58  
69 Texas A&M-Commerce 11.97 5 2 78  
70 Northern Arizona 11.45 3 5 72  
71 North Alabama 11.24 1 6 81  
72 St. Thomas 11.24 6 1 76  
73 Cornell 11.10 4 2 71      
74 Nicholls 10.71 2 6 85  
75 Towson 10.70 2 5 80  
76 Indiana State 10.65 1 6 75  
77 Northern Colorado 10.42 2 6 62  
78 Lindenwood 10.24 5 2 74      
79 The Citadel 10.19 2 5 101  
80 Charleston Southern 9.86 1 6 70      
81 Maine 9.84 2 5 65      
82 Valparaiso 9.81 4 3 95  
83 Dayton 9.81 5 2 97      
84 Bryant 9.73 2 5 91  
85 Northwestern State 9.59 3 5 87  
87 Brown 9.55 2 4 84      
86 Tarleton State 9.41 5 2 83  
88 Stonehill 9.40 3 2 77  
89 Lehigh 9.38 1 7 82  
92 Sacred Heart 9.38 4 3 88  
90 Tennessee State 9.36 3 4 104  
91 Texas Southern 9.26 3 4 102  
93 Florida A&M 9.22 5 2 92  
94 Wofford 9.20 1 6 90  
95 Georgetown 9.11 1 6 73  
96 Stony Brook 9.00 1 6 106  
97 Virginia Military 8.81 1 6 89  
98 Alcorn State 8.60 3 4 86  
99 Houston Christian 8.40 2 5 93      
100 McNeese 8.32 1 6 99      
101 Stetson 8.25 3 3 96  
102 South Carolina State 8.08 3 4 109  
103 Idaho State 7.92 1 7 94  
104 San Diego 7.48 3 3 103  
105 Alabama State 7.06 4 3 105  
106 Western Illinois 7.00 0 7 107  
107 Lamar 6.94 0 7 98  
108 Howard 6.59 2 5 113      
109 Delaware State 6.55 4 3 100  
110 Alabama A&M 6.39 3 4 108  
111 Duquesne 5.71 2 5 116      
112 Morehead State 5.60 1 6 111  
113 Marist 5.30 2 5 110  
114 Murray State 5.17 0 8 114  
115 Arkansas-Pine Bluff 4.86 2 5 115  
116 Bucknell 4.81 1 6 118  
117 Morgan State 4.46 2 5 112  
118 Robert Morris 4.34 0 7 117  
119 Grambling State 3.52 1 6 120  
120 Utah Tech 3.52 1 6 119  
121 Bethune-Cookman 3.34 2 5 121  
122 Wagner 2.11 1 6 127  
123 Long Island 1.94 0 7 122  
124 Norfolk State 0.99 1 6 124      
125 Central Connecticut State 0.90 0 7 123  
126 Presbyterian 0.86 1 7 125  
127 Drake 0.04 0 8 126  
128 Mississippi Valley State -1.92 0 8 128