Had a little time on my hand and decided to take a look at our last 5 year rankings vs. our natural rivals by proximity and tradition. Recognizing that we’ve been through a very difficult stretch with the NCAA sanctions coming off the end of the JoePa era, there’s been quite a bit of message board banter over who is the best team in the state, or in the east, etc. (or at least this year there has been).
Bottom line is the Sagarin Rankings for the past 5 years are an objective way to measure the success of each program, since it’s truly an unbiased rating/ranking system that is as good as you can find by the end of the year (meaning once the bowl games have been completed). Here’s a look at the past 5 seasons (2010-2014) Sagarin Rankings:
Penn State Avg. ranking 41
West Virgina Avg. ranking 42
Pitt Avg. ranking 55
Syracuse Avg. ranking 66
Rutgers Avg. ranking 68
Maryland Avg. ranking 73
Temple Avg. ranking 83
*EDIT NOTE: Probably should include Syracuse and Maryland, but will do that later when I get the chance
Finally, the current rankings for 2015 have yet to be finalized, but WVU is 29th, Pitt is 33rd, Temple is 46th, Penn State is 48th and Rutgers is 97th. Temple will no doubt drop after their bowl loss and it remains to be seen how WVU, Pitt and PSU finish until after their respective bowl games
Bottom line is the Sagarin Rankings for the past 5 years are an objective way to measure the success of each program, since it’s truly an unbiased rating/ranking system that is as good as you can find by the end of the year (meaning once the bowl games have been completed). Here’s a look at the past 5 seasons (2010-2014) Sagarin Rankings:
Penn State Avg. ranking 41
West Virgina Avg. ranking 42
Pitt Avg. ranking 55
Syracuse Avg. ranking 66
Rutgers Avg. ranking 68
Maryland Avg. ranking 73
Temple Avg. ranking 83
*EDIT NOTE: Probably should include Syracuse and Maryland, but will do that later when I get the chance
Finally, the current rankings for 2015 have yet to be finalized, but WVU is 29th, Pitt is 33rd, Temple is 46th, Penn State is 48th and Rutgers is 97th. Temple will no doubt drop after their bowl loss and it remains to be seen how WVU, Pitt and PSU finish until after their respective bowl games
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