RANKING EXPLANATION

#41 Penn State

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

Back to rankings
Moderate boost

Game control

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

Your importance: 8 out of 10
Small effect

Scoring punch

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

Your importance: 5 out of 10
Small effect

Defensive toughness

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

Your importance: 5 out of 10
Moderate boost

Winning

Rewards teams for simply winning the games on their schedule.

Your importance: 8 out of 10
Moderate drag

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
Moderate boost

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
Moderate boost

Avoiding bad losses

Rewards teams whose worst result was still competitive.

Your importance: 3 out of 10
Moderate boost

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 boost

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 control7.3110.4940.062
Scoring punch30.350-0.126-0.010
Defensive toughness26.7400.4780.037
Winning1.0001.4060.175
Tough schedules-15.575-1.426-0.133
Big-game wins0.843-0.616-0.058
Wins away from home0.8430.7800.037
Statement wins1.0002.1060.099
Close-game gritNot available0.0000.000
Avoiding bad losses18.0001.7630.083
Team talent910.4201.8910.080
Recruiting strength234.4961.0230.043
Returning production0.076-1.326-0.045
Transfer portal impact-7.060-1.243-0.031
Previous-season performance13.6821.2060.041
Recent form29.3331.5840.099

This ranking used completed results through week 4. The stored values below reproduce this ranking’s explanation.