RANKING EXPLANATION

#89 Michigan State

See which factors helped or hurt this team’s ranking.

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Small effect

Game control

Rewards teams that consistently outscore opponents, with schedule strength considered.

Your importance: 8 out of 10
Moderate drag

Scoring punch

Rewards teams that put points on the board, adjusted for who they played.

Your importance: 5 out of 10
Moderate boost

Defensive toughness

Rewards teams that keep opponents off the scoreboard, adjusted for who they played.

Your importance: 5 out of 10
Moderate drag

Winning

Rewards teams for simply winning the games on their schedule.

Your importance: 8 out of 10
Moderate boost

Tough schedules

Rewards teams that have faced stronger opponents.

Your importance: 6 out of 10
Moderate drag

Big-game wins

Gives extra credit for beating strong opponents.

Your importance: 6 out of 10
Small effect

Wins away from home

Gives extra credit for winning road and neutral-site games.

Your importance: 3 out of 10
Small effect

Statement wins

Rewards teams for wins by 14 or more points.

Your importance: 3 out of 10
Not used: evidence unavailable

Close-game grit

Rewards teams that win games decided by eight points or fewer.

Your importance: 2 out of 10
Small effect

Avoiding bad losses

Rewards teams whose worst result was still competitive.

Your importance: 3 out of 10
Small effect

Team talent

How much proven player talent is already on the roster.

Your importance: 5 out of 10
Small effect

Recruiting strength

Rewards teams that have stacked several strong recruiting classes.

Your importance: 5 out of 10
Small effect

Returning production

Rewards teams bringing back more of last season's on-field production.

Your importance: 4 out of 10
Small effect

Transfer portal impact

Rewards teams whose rated transfer additions outweigh their departures.

Your importance: 3 out of 10
Small effect

Previous-season performance

Lets last season's results matter until this season builds its own story.

Your importance: 4 out of 10
Moderate drag

Recent form

Emphasizes how a team performed in its three most recently completed games.

Your importance: 4 out of 10
Show the technical details
FactorRaw valueAdjusted valueContribution
Game control-1.597-0.145-0.020
Scoring punch17.886-1.343-0.114
Defensive toughness23.3410.9640.082
Winning0.400-0.744-0.101
Tough schedules8.4761.4460.147
Big-game wins1.547-0.494-0.050
Wins away from home0.000-0.792-0.040
Statement wins0.200-0.766-0.039
Close-game gritNot available0.0000.000
Avoiding bad losses-28.000-0.654-0.033
Team talent717.4200.4500.011
Recruiting strength207.5130.4430.011
Returning production0.209-0.815-0.017
Transfer portal impact-12.810-1.844-0.028
Previous-season performance-1.481-0.141-0.003
Recent form-21.000-1.766-0.120

This ranking used completed results through week 5. The stored values below reproduce this ranking’s explanation.