RANKING EXPLANATION

#17 Penn State

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

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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
Small effect

Tough schedules

Rewards teams that have faced stronger opponents.

Your importance: 6 out of 10
Moderate boost

Big-game wins

Gives extra credit for beating strong opponents.

Your importance: 6 out of 10
Moderate boost

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
Moderate boost

Team talent

How much proven player talent is already on the roster.

Your importance: 5 out of 10
Moderate boost

Recruiting strength

Rewards teams that have stacked several strong recruiting classes.

Your importance: 5 out of 10
Moderate drag

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
Small effect

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 control18.7990.6410.076
Scoring punch32.820-0.012-0.001
Defensive toughness20.0800.6650.050
Winning1.0000.8190.098
Tough schedules-0.8210.2600.023
Big-game wins1.9041.1970.107
Wins away from home1.9043.0000.134
Statement wins1.0001.0380.046
Close-game gritNot available0.0000.000
Avoiding bad losses18.0000.5440.024
Team talent910.4201.8910.096
Recruiting strength234.4961.0230.052
Returning production0.076-1.326-0.054
Transfer portal impact-7.060-1.243-0.038
Previous-season performance13.6821.2060.049
Recent form26.5000.7760.046

This ranking used completed results through week 2. The stored values below reproduce this ranking’s explanation.