The rankings are based on a pairwise comparison schema between teams akin to how college hockey seeds its NCAA tournament. In this comparison, each of the 346 teams (all non Division 1A is considered “Z-Others”) is compared against each other on the following criteria:
- RPI ranking. Using the NCAA RPI formula, RPI ratings are computed. (neutral site wins and losses worth 1 point, home wins and road losses worth 0.6 points and road wins and home losses are worth 1.4 points). RPI = .50 x Team’s RPI + .25 * Opponent Win % vs Other Opponents + .25 * Opponents’ Opponent Winning %. The team with the higher RPI gets a point.
- Record vs good teams. Teams are compared by winning percentage against >.500 RPI squads. 1/3 of the team’s games must be against good teams to get a qualifying score here. Once again, the higher percentage gets a point. (Wins is the tiebreaker)
- Record vs common opponents. Straightforward. Highest one gets a point.
- Adjusted scoring margin. The scoring margin for each game is calculated (with a cap of 35 points and a 3.5 point home field factor). The scoring margin is then normalized based on the average scoring margin of the team’s opponents against other teams. For instance if Team A outscores Team B by 10 points and Team B has outscored its non-Team A opponents by an average of 3 points, Team A’s adjusted scoring margin is 10 + 3 = 13 points. Higher one gets a point.
- Head to head. The team with the most head to head wins against the other gets as many points as games it is ahead. Usually this is just one game, but if there are rematches, additional points can be added for sweeps.
The points are added across the five categories. Whomever wins out gets the “pairwin”. This comparison takes place for all teams, and thus a number is born.
Rankings through games of 12/26/2011:
| Rank | Team | W | L | RPI | Margin | PairWins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Packers | 14 | 1 | 0.728 (1) | 15.141 (1) | 31 |
| 2 | Saints | 12 | 3 | 0.674 (2) | 13.049 (2) | 30 |
| 3 | Patriots | 12 | 3 | 0.655 (3) | 12.927 (3) | 29 |
| 4 | Ravens | 11 | 4 | 0.641 (5) | 10.39 (5) | 27 |
| 5 | 49ers | 12 | 3 | 0.655 (4) | 12.326 (4) | 27 |
| 6 | Steelers | 11 | 4 | 0.631 (6) | 10.269 (6) | 25 |
| 7 | Texans | 10 | 5 | 0.58 (8) | 9.056 (7) | 24 |
| 8 | Lions | 10 | 5 | 0.582 (7) | 8.715 (8) | 24 |
| 9 | Falcons | 9 | 6 | 0.562 (9) | 7.259 (10) | 21 |
| 10 | Giants | 8 | 7 | 0.524 (13) | 4.071 (18) | 20 |
| 11 | Broncos | 8 | 7 | 0.53 (11) | -0.68 (24) | 18 |
| 12 | Eagles | 7 | 8 | 0.49 (17) | 7.445 (9) | 18 |
| 13 | Raiders | 8 | 7 | 0.526 (12) | -1.091 (25) | 17 |
| 14 | Bengals | 9 | 6 | 0.551 (10) | 4.746 (15) | 16 |
| 15 | Cowboys | 8 | 7 | 0.502 (15) | 5.4 (11) | 16 |
| 16 | Titans | 8 | 7 | 0.499 (16) | 2.418 (20) | 15 |
| 17 | Jets | 8 | 7 | 0.512 (14) | 4.804 (14) | 14 |
| 18 | Bears | 7 | 8 | 0.48 (19) | 5.363 (12) | 12 |
| 19 | Seahawks | 7 | 8 | 0.478 (21) | 4.349 (16) | 12 |
| 20 | Chargers | 7 | 8 | 0.479 (20) | 4.118 (17) | 11 |
| 21 | Cardinals | 7 | 8 | 0.482 (18) | 0.63 (22) | 11 |
| 22 | Bills | 6 | 9 | 0.427 (24) | 0.837 (21) | 9 |
| 23 | Panthers | 6 | 9 | 0.438 (23) | 2.956 (19) | 9 |
| 24 | Dolphins | 5 | 10 | 0.415 (25) | 5.001 (13) | 8 |
| 25 | Chiefs | 6 | 9 | 0.45 (22) | -4.601 (29) | 7 |
| 26 | Redskins | 5 | 10 | 0.407 (26) | -0.091 (23) | 6 |
| 27 | Jaguars | 4 | 11 | 0.373 (28) | -1.567 (26) | 4 |
| 28 | Bucs | 4 | 11 | 0.376 (27) | -6.692 (30) | 4 |
| 29 | Vikings | 3 | 12 | 0.372 (29) | -2.366 (28) | 3 |
| 30 | Browns | 4 | 11 | 0.372 (30) | -1.947 (27) | 2 |
| 31 | Rams | 2 | 13 | 0.329 (31) | -8.325 (32) | 1 |
| 32 | Colts | 2 | 13 | 0.297 (32) | -6.711 (31) | 0 |
