Gridiron Power Index 10/30/2024 – Little Change In Top 10, While Northeast Adds Two More In Top 25
BETHLEHEM, PA – While the top team of North Dakota State and much of the Top 10 did not change much in this week’s Gridiron Power Index, two newcomers in Stony Brook (22) and Harvard (25) added two Northeastern schools to the mix in the GPI this week.
The surprising Seawolves of Stony Brook, out of the CAA, beat William & Mary resoundingly 35-13 to knock the Tribe out of the GPI, and put the Seawolves in. Last week, William & Mary was 19th.
Meanwhile, Harvard beat one of their Rivals Princeton handily 45-13 to have the Crimson re-enter the GPI this week. Earlier in the year they beat New Hampshire, who was in the GPI a couple of weeks ago.
Originally created in 2001 by Ralph Wallace for I-AA.org, the Gridiron Power Index was originally used as a poll average shorthand to quickly compare a variety of different human and computer polling algorithms. Similar to the BCS’ system of analysis of different computer pools and human polls, it was a tool used by the NCAA FCS Playoff Subcommittee to determine at-large bid viability.
The GPI was run and maintained from 2001 to 2015, but it was updated for 2023, and returns for 2024.
The original index had the only two human FCS polls in existence at that time, the STATS Perform FCS Top 25 (then called The Sports Network FCS Top 25) and the USA Today FCS Top 25, which is no longer in existence.
Additionally, it used anywhere from five to eight different computer polls using different methodologies and weights in an effort to get a diverse data set for the Index.
In 2023, the GPI was re-imagined. Returning it to its roots, balancing human intuition and algorithms, a perfect balance of five human polls and five computer polls were decided on, resulting in more balanced index moderating out the inherent flaws in every poll. The highest and lowest rankings are dropped, and the remaining polls are averaged. Whenever possible “Others Receiving Votes” have been included in the index, adding to the richness and accuracy of the data.
The 2024 version of the GPI is comprised of five different human polls (The Analyst FCS Perform Top 25, FCS Coaches, Reddit FCS, Any Given Saturday, and a new addition to the GPI, Redshirt Sports) and five different historic and respected computer polls (Laz Index, Massey Ratings, Sagarin Ratings, Keeper Ratings, and Dwiggins Ratings). All five computer rankings were at one time a part of the original GPI.
GPI Top 25,Week of 10/30/2024
| GPI RANK | TEAM | CONF | W-L | LAST | RAW GPI SCORE |
| 1 | North Dakota State | MVFC | 7-1 | 1 | 1 |
| T2 | Montana State | Big Sky | 8-0 | 2 | 2.5 |
| T2 | South Dakota State | MVFC | 6-2 | 3 | 2.5 |
| 4 | South Dakota | MVFC | 6-2 | 4 | 4.25 |
| 5 | UC Davis | Big Sky | 7-1 | 5 | 5.375 |
| 6 | Montana | Big Sky | 6-2 | 9 | 8.625 |
| 7 | Incarnate Word | Southland | 6-2 | 8 | 8.875 |
| 8 | Southeast Missouri State | BSC-OVC | 8-1 | 7 | 9.375 |
| 9 | Tarleton State | UAC | 7-1 | 10 | 9.5 |
| 10 | Idaho | Big Sky | 6-3 | 11 | 10.375 |
| 11 | Mercer | SoCon | 7-1 | T12 | 12.5 |
| 12 | North Dakota | MVFC | 5-3 | 6 | 12.625 |
| 13 | Rhode Island | CAA | 7-1 | 15 | 13.75 |
| 14 | Central Arkansas | UAC | 6-2 | T12 | 13.875 |
| 15 | Chattanooga | SoCon | 5-3 | 14 | 15.5 |
| 16 | Villanova | CAA | 6-2 | 16 | 16.75 |
| 17 | UT Martin | BSC-OVC | 5-3 | 18 | 18.125 |
| 18 | Richmond | CAA | 6-2 | 17 | 16.625 |
| T19 | Dartmouth | Ivy | 6-0 | T22 | 21.75 |
| T19 | Abilene Christian | UAC | 5-3 | 21 | 21.75 |
| 21 | Illinois State | MVFC | 5-3 | 20 | 22.25 |
| 22 | Stony Brook | CAA | 6-2 | – | 22.875 |
| 23 | East Tennessee State | SoCon | 5-0 | T22 | 26.625 |
| 24 | North Carolina Central | MEAC | 6-2 | T24 | 26.625 |
| 25 | Harvard | Ivy | 5-1 | – | 27.25 |
NOTE: Missouri State and Delaware are not included in the GPI because they are not present in all of the human Top 25 polls, but they are included in the calculation with a red banner on them in the full data set because they are present in a majority of computer and human polls overall.
