NFL Needs To Break Out the Computers: Ranking the Teams, BCS-Style

December 8, 2010   ·   Michael Stridsberg   ·   Jump to comments

There are a lot of NFL power rankings on the internet. There are a lot of rankings just on this site. But many of those lists are based on gut instinct and personal observation, or what someone sees on the field - and very rarely are two people going to see the exact same thing.
So it's time to let the computers take over - or more specifically, a mathematical formula. The calculations used here are inspired in part by Mark Anderson of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, who used a ranking formula for his ballot in this year's AP College Football poll. Here's how this variant works (and it's not as difficult as it might sound):
 
-  10 points for a win (the easiest part).
-  One point for each opponent's win, adjusted for record. Example: The opponents of 7-5 Jacksonville have 60 wins this season - but five of those have come from beating Jacksonville, which means the Jags would be actually be getting a point for a loss. Subtracting those wins (which in thi...

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