Final 2008 Gridiron Power Index (GPI), National Champion Richmond Reigns Supreme

[CSN-info]

http://www.championshipsubdivisionnews.com/skins/andreas_01/img/GPI.JPG
College Sporting News
The Gridiron Power Index (GPI), the index ranking for the NCAA Division I FCS and an official top indicator of at-large playoff selection for the NCAA committee finishes the 2008 season with the Division I National Champion University of Richmond Spiders in the top spot.

The Colonial Athletic Association, the largest league in the FCS has seven teams in the top 25; the Southern and Big Sky Conferences have four each; the Missouri Valley Football Conference has three, the Southland Conference has two; and the Big South, Great West Football, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conferences plus the Ivy and Patriot Leagues have one each. (all games completed)

Read more » http://www.championshipsubdivisionnews.com/index.php/2009/01/24/final-2008-gridiron-power-index-gpi-nati?blog=5

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pretty tight at the top

[MplsBison]

How is Harvard ranked 15?

They didn't play anyone.

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How is Harvard ranked 15?
They didn't play anyone.You need to see more FCS. xpeacex

[Cleets]

How is Harvard ranked 15?

They didn't play anyone.

Nobody enjoys your hard-on for Harvard more than I do..!!! xlolx
I believe the Bison finished ranked 51st... not only did they play "nobody" they lost to everybody

[uofmman1122]

Big Sky #2!?!?

Le Gasp! xeekx xlolx

[Big Al]

Meh. How are we supposed to accept this GPI as valid? From what I can tell, it starts with the supposition that Richmond is the #1 team and then works back from there. Somehow, UNI, who Richmond beat with 14 seconds on the clock is #6 and JMU, who got absolutely smoked by Montana ends up #2? I don't think so.

Yes, yes. This is where someone will say "This is a measure of the entire season, not just one game." or some other such nonsense. I don't buy it.

[GannonFan]

More than a month after the National Title game and now th GPI let's us know who the champ is? Man, it was hard typing that sentence while laughing hysterically. When does Pete's Poll come out, that carries a little more weight these days. xlolxxlolxxlolxxlolx

[Tribe4SF]

Nobody enjoys your hard-on for Harvard more than I do..!!! xlolx
I believe the Bison finished ranked 51st... not only did they play "nobody" they lost to everybody

xrotatehx A little confused there, Cleets. UND was 51st...NDSU was 33rd.

They played the usual tough MV schedule, and beat Southern Illinois.

[danefan]

Harvard is 15th because of their overinflated status in the human polls.

I can't figure out why people voted them so high. They never got above 20 in my ranking - they had no wins to warrant a vote any higher.

[brownbear]

Harvard is 15th because of their overinflated status in the human polls.

I can't figure out why people voted them so high. They never got above 20 in my ranking - they had no wins to warrant a vote any higher.

They couldn't even beat quality Ivy opponents!!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3173/2900073608_323da756ef.jpg?v=0

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More than a month after the National Title game and now th GPI let's us know who the champ is? Man, it was hard typing that sentence while laughing hysterically. When does Pete's Poll come out, that carries a little more weight these days. all the football games have to be over and all the rankings have to be out before the final GPI can be done. Furthermore the GPI does not "let us know who the champ is" because we have a tournament that does that. The tournament winner is not always on top of the GPI. .

ON TOPIC

Yeah the polls and computers are at odds a bit but I also think that people underestimate the Ivy League.

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They couldn't even beat quality Ivy opponents!!8. Ivy League (46.74)
15. Harvard (15.63)
32. Brown (29.13)
43. Penn (35.63)
45. Yale (38.38)
68T. Princeton (53.13)
80. Cornell (58.88)
93. Columbia (67.25)
106. Dartmouth (75.88)

Harvard's only loss was to Brown. They beat Lehigh, Lafayette, and Holy Cross OOC. Good win for Brown though, broke a long losing streak:
2008-09-27 @ Brown 24 Harvard 22
2007-09-22 @ Harvard 24 Brown 17
2006-09-23 Harvard 38 @ Brown 21
2005-09-24 @ Harvard 38 Brown 35 O1
2004-09-25 Harvard 35 @ Brown 34
2003-09-27 @ Harvard 52 Brown 14
2002-09-28 Harvard 26 @ Brown 24
2001-09-22 @ Harvard 27 Brown 20
2000-09-23 Harvard 42 @ Brown 37


Brown beat Stony Brook but lost to Holy Cross and Rhode Island OOC. They also lost to Yale in conference.

[JMU DJ]

How has no one brought this up xlolx

CAA proves yet again they are the best conference

xhomerx

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CAA proves yet again they are the best conferenceyou forgot to add, AGAIN! xlolx xnodx

[BigHouseClosedEnd]

Wow, there goes GF's credibility out the window. For any others who might be uninformed, all the football games have to be over and all the rankings have to be out before the final GPI can be done. Furthermore the GPI does not "let us know who the champ is" because we have a tournament that does that. The tournament winner is not always on top of the GPI. GF and his brothers billk and 89 say the same silly things all the time about the GPI. Sorry, UD trio, I like it and so does the majority here. Maybe post something new instead of the same old thing over and over, year after year, or just skip the thread.

The Oklahoma/Florida game was competed 1.8.09. That was the last game right? What the heck needs to be reconciled for 2 weeks?

I agree with the Delaware trio. This is dopey.

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The Oklahoma/Florida game was competed 1.8.09. That was the last game right? What the heck needs to be reconciled for 2 weeks?read... "and all the rankings have to be out" xcoffeex

[JMU DUUUKES LAW]

i love how we didn't even play in the final game and we're #2, straight respect, haha ....

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i love how we didn't even play in the final game and we're #2, straight respect, haha ....Yes, the champ game is for the trophy. Not every team that gets the trophy finishes on top of the GPI which takes into account every game.

[JohnStOnge]

Yes, the champ game is for the trophy. Not every team that gets the trophy finishes on top of the GPI which takes into account every game.

It's that thing about how the best team doesn't always win; which also obviously means that "champion" and "best team in FCS" can be two different things. In fact, if you go by the "average" of ratings and rankings at http://www.mratings.com/cf/compare1aa.htm that happened this year, as it has James Madison ranked #1. And, really, it's not like it doesn't make sense. A power ranking system doesn't assign value to winning any particular game higher because it's a playoff game. It just "looks" at all the games and tries to estimate where teams ranked in terms of how impressive each performance was over the entire season.

When you look at it that way, it's understandable that a number of systems would rank JMU higher than Richmond. JMU had a better winning percentage and also won the head to head matchup. One can say that JMU lost to Montana while Richmond beat the Griz. But, hey, they lost to Villanova and JMU beat the Wildcats.

Anyway, obviously, the objective is to be the champion. Once you do that, whether you were the best team or not is irrelevant. You were good enough to win the championship and you did it.

By the way, to my chagrin, another year during which the average of power ratings and rankings had a team other than the champ ranked #1 was 2002; as McNeese ended up on top by that measure. Again, when you look at it as looking at the whole season, it made sense. McNeese and Western Kentucky played each other twice with McNeese winning one 38-13 and Western Kentucky winning the other 34-14. McNeese had a better record. Power ratings didn't "care" that the Western Kentucky win was in the championship game. But I sure do.

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... another year during which the average of power ratings and rankings had a team other than the champ ranked #1 was 2002; as McNeese ended up on top...Just to clarify, Richmond is on top of the GPI and holding the trophy this year. In 2002, McNeese State was on top of the GPI while Western Kentucky held the trophy.

[MplsBison]

8. Ivy League (46.74)
15. Harvard (15.63)
32. Brown (29.13)
43. Penn (35.63)
45. Yale (38.38)
68T. Princeton (53.13)
80. Cornell (58.88)
93. Columbia (67.25)
106. Dartmouth (75.88)

Harvard's only loss was to Brown. They beat Lehigh, Lafayette, and Holy Cross OOC. Good win for Brown though, broke a long losing streak:
2008-09-27 @ Brown 24 Harvard 22
2007-09-22 @ Harvard 24 Brown 17
2006-09-23 Harvard 38 @ Brown 21
2005-09-24 @ Harvard 38 Brown 35 O1
2004-09-25 Harvard 35 @ Brown 34
2003-09-27 @ Harvard 52 Brown 14
2002-09-28 Harvard 26 @ Brown 24
2001-09-22 @ Harvard 27 Brown 20
2000-09-23 Harvard 42 @ Brown 37


Brown beat Stony Brook but lost to Holy Cross and Rhode Island OOC. They also lost to Yale in conference.


[pet peeve]

Why do people on message boards continue to perpetuate the use of "OOC" to refer to nonconference (NC) games?!?

NC
NC
NC
NC

[/pet peeve]



I hope in my lifetime that we'll get to see the Ivy League become a traditional DI conference complete with scholarships and a post season men's basketball tournament.

The old traditionalists gotta die first.

[BigHouseClosedEnd]

read... "and all the rankings have to be out" xcoffeex

Pardon my ignorance. Which ranking held up the works, and when was it released?

[89Hen]

Wow, there goes GF's credibility out the window. For any others who might be uninformed....
Don't we have an OpEd board? xcoolx

[BDKJMU]

Meh. How are we supposed to accept this GPI as valid? From what I can tell, it starts with the supposition that Richmond is the #1 team and then works back from there. Somehow, UNI, who Richmond beat with 14 seconds on the clock is #6 and JMU, who got absolutely smoked by Montana ends up #2? I don't think so.

Yes, yes. This is where someone will say "This is a measure of the entire season, not just one game." or some other such nonsense. I don't buy it.

If you think losing to a team by 8, outgaining them 419-298, in 1st downs 26-14, TOP 32:30-27:30, and having the opportunity to tie on their last possession is getting "smoked" then you are 'smoking' something. One of the dumbest statements I've seen all year.xrolleyesx.

And BTW, JMU beat UR during the regular season.

[Reign of Terrier]

If you think losing to a team by 8, outgaining them 419-298, in 1st downs 26-14, TOP 32:30-27:30, and having the opportunity to tie on their last possession is getting "smoked" then you are 'smoking' something. One of the dumbest statements I've seen all year.xrolleyesx.

And BTW, JMU beat UR during the regular season.

Well that argument makes me wonder why Wofford isn't ranked higherxconfusedxxconfusedxxconfusedx

statistically speaking, we did better in comparison to Montana with the exception of the scoreboard (which is the only thing that matters BTW)

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... UNI, who Richmond beat with 14 seconds on the clock is #6 and JMU, who got absolutely smoked by Montana ends up #2? I don't think so...
If you think losing to a team by 8, outgaining them 419-298, in 1st downs 26-14, TOP 32:30-27:30, and having the opportunity to tie on their last possession is getting "smoked" then you are 'smoking' something. And BTW, JMU beat UR during the regular season.Yes, all FCS fans who are paying attention know what you are talking about. UNI had a tougher GPI road because the MVFC had a rough year. JMU was unprecedentedly #1 GPI for the entire season and got nipped in the semis. Seeing the laundry list of computers picking JMU top was not that surprising.

[BDKJMU]

Well that argument makes me wonder why Wofford isn't ranked higherxconfusedxxconfusedxxconfusedx

statistically speaking, we did better in comparison to Montana with the exception of the scoreboard (which is the only thing that matters BTW)

JMU beat Wofford in a close game. JMU beat Nova in a close game. JMU lost to Montana in a close game. All of JMU's playoff games had outcomes still in doubt till the last minute. All were close games.

If you're going by the WHOLE SEASON then I think the GPI didn't do a bad job as far as the top 10-15. Since the playoffs aren't seeded past #4, then you can't simply say #5-#8 are the quarterfinal losers.

-Sure could flip JMU & Montana

-#4 Nova some may say is too high but as far as Nova, only 2 FCS losses: to JMU (last second hail Mary) and to JMU by 4 in quarterfinals (JMU TD with 1+ min left). Nova beat UR (taped & saw it on TV). Were up 26-13 before UR made late TD for 26-20 final.

-ASU # 5 also 2 FCS losses JMU (nailbiter) & UR (3 TDs). Again, Nova beat UR.

-UNI #6 also 2 FCS losses. Lost to UR & #11 SIU both nailbiters. Again, Nova beat UR. Could maybe put them ahead of ASU, maybe Nova too. Splitting hairs here.

As far as #7-#10, eh. If Wofford hadn't lost so bad to ASU, maybe they'd be a couple of spots higher.

As far as the final polls and GPI, no one outside of the diehards pays attention to this ***** anyway. For most of the casual fanbase as far as what they remember, its pretty much who won the NC (and maybe who lost it), and that's it.

[bluehenbillk]

Just to clarify, Richmond is on top of the GPI and holding the trophy this year. In 2002, McNeese State was on top of the GPI while Western Kentucky held the trophy.

xlolxxlolxxlolx Did McNeese have a celebration that year? Maybe a McNeese fan can comment if there is a banner or trophy proudly displayed on campus somewhere. I thought the purpose of this faulty system was to guide the selection of at-large playoff teams, so, why even have an end of the year release that comes out as timely as the Annual FCS Preview Magazine?

[StonewallSpider]

If JMU beat Montana, but lost to UR in the NC they would be #1 in the GPI. They had a very strong season and I can see why they are #2.

[wapiti]

[pet peeve]

Why do people on message boards continue to perpetuate the use of "OOC" to refer to nonconference (NC) games?!?

NC
NC
NC
NC

[/pet peeve]

I use NC to refer to National Championship game.
Using NC for both OOC and NC would cause confusion. xeekx

[BDKJMU]

If JMU beat Montana, but lost to UR in the NC they would be #1 in the GPI. They had a very strong season and I can see why they are #2.

Thank you.
-4-1 record over the top 5 in GPI: wins over #1 UR, #4 Nova twice, #5 ASU, close loss to #3 Montana.
-5-1 over top 10: Wofford
-7-1 over top 14: W&M & Maine
-8-1 over top 17: UMass

No one else did anything close to that. Like I said, could flip JMU & Montana since Montana won head to head, but JMU at #2 is perfectly reasonable if you base it off the whole season.

[Rekdiver]

As I said before, Richmond was #1 and Montana #2.
Everything else doesn't matter.

Besides, it's history.

App gets #4 in 2009.

[jmufan999]

App gets #4 in 2009.

ooh that should be an EXCELLENT game. personally, the best teams i saw all year were Nova and Richmond (if Wofford had ANY kind of defense, i'd put them up there, their offense is SICK). if you let Sczcur (WR) beat you (they run the Wildcat ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL the time), you could lose that game. my opinion is if you contain him, you have a good chance. he's quick, though. and he's a former QB, THREW 2 TD's against us, may have run for another. should be a very competitive game. anyway, back to the topic.

[Cleets]

xrotatehx A little confused there, Cleets. UND was 51st...NDSU was 33rd.

They played the usual tough MV schedule, and beat Southern Illinois.

Oh... xlolx
That shows you how much attention I pay to either...

xwhistlex

[Silenoz]

Honestly, the only thing I care about is whether or not we came in first in the playoffs. RPI could have us 15th and I wouldn't bat an eye