Been a lot of folks the last few days asking how and why the rankings work. Here is everything you need to know in one spot.
First thing's first, here is the link to the full breakdown of the team rankings for your reference:
https://n.rivals.com/news/rivals-com-football-team-recruiting-rankings-formula
If you're too lazy to click, don't worry I'll explain it since I'm killing time at work and this is getting me closer to 4 o'clock
EXPLANATION
Rivals rates players on a scale from 5.2 through 6.1. Don't confuse this for a player's RANKING as the two are different entities.
6.1 - Five star
6.0 - High-Four star
5.9 - Mid-Four star
5.8 - Low-Four star
5.7 - High-Three star
5.6 - Mid-Three star
5.5 - Low-Three star
5.4 - High-Two star
5.3 - Mid-Two star
5.2 - Low-Two star (usually player that has not been evaluated)
A player's RATING is given a standard point value for the team rankings system:
6.1 - 150
6.0 - 135
5.9 - 120
5.8 - 105
5.7 - 90
5.6 - 75
5.5 - 60
5.4 - 45
5.3 - 30
5.2 - 15
Additionally, players in the Rivals 250 rankings also receive "bonus" points for their specific numerical ranking (see the link for complete breakdown). For example, Parsons is RATED a 6.1 (150 points) player and RANKED #6 overall (76 points) for a total point value of 226.
Rivals only calculates the point totals for each team's top 20 players. This is done to try to mitigate for over-signing by some schools. So while you may a team with 27, 28, 29 recruits and another with 21 or 22, they are both being scored on their top 20 guys. Not here to argue that a school with 29 signees is likely to have more highly ranked kids than one with only 21 kids, that is surely the case for the top schools, but at least these schools are being compared evenly from a mathematical standpoint.
EXAMPLE
Now there is a lot of confusion about overall team recruiting rankings. "If Penn State has more 5 stars and the same number of 4 stars as Texas, how can Texas be ranked high in the recruiting standings?" Well, let's look into it:
For the 2018 cycle, Texas finished with one 6.1 player, four 6.0 players, five 5.9 players, and two 5.8 players in the R250. Penn State finished with two 6.1 players, one 6.0 player, six 5.9 players, and three 5.8 players.
Simple math shows us that Texas players in the R250 had an average rating of 5.93 while Penn State's had an average rating of 5.92. Not a big difference right? 1/100th is essentially even. The difference comes from bonus points. While both teams had 12 players earning bonus points in the R250, Texas had more highly ranked players. The top 6 recruits in the Texas class gained 264 bonus points and their bottom 6 scored 114. Penn State's top 6 pulled in 271 and their bottom 6 yielded just 91. The total bonus points are Texas 378 and Penn State 362.
Penn State's last 8 guys in the calculations will likely be Culpepper, Scruggs, Gordon, Luketa, Hawkins, Humphries, Katshir, SAB/Effner. Of those eight, five are likely to retain their 5.8 rating and 105 points each. The other three are likely to be 5.7 players for 90 points each. The total for these eight would be 795, bringing Penn State's total to 2,627.
The last 8 for Texas would include four players rated 5.8 (times 105) and four players rated 5.7 (times 90) for 780 points and a total of 2,658.
As the standings indicate, Texas is #3 with 2,658 points and Penn State is #4 with 2,627 points.
Hope everyone finds this helpful. Let me know if you have any questions.
First thing's first, here is the link to the full breakdown of the team rankings for your reference:
https://n.rivals.com/news/rivals-com-football-team-recruiting-rankings-formula
If you're too lazy to click, don't worry I'll explain it since I'm killing time at work and this is getting me closer to 4 o'clock
EXPLANATION
Rivals rates players on a scale from 5.2 through 6.1. Don't confuse this for a player's RANKING as the two are different entities.
6.1 - Five star
6.0 - High-Four star
5.9 - Mid-Four star
5.8 - Low-Four star
5.7 - High-Three star
5.6 - Mid-Three star
5.5 - Low-Three star
5.4 - High-Two star
5.3 - Mid-Two star
5.2 - Low-Two star (usually player that has not been evaluated)
A player's RATING is given a standard point value for the team rankings system:
6.1 - 150
6.0 - 135
5.9 - 120
5.8 - 105
5.7 - 90
5.6 - 75
5.5 - 60
5.4 - 45
5.3 - 30
5.2 - 15
Additionally, players in the Rivals 250 rankings also receive "bonus" points for their specific numerical ranking (see the link for complete breakdown). For example, Parsons is RATED a 6.1 (150 points) player and RANKED #6 overall (76 points) for a total point value of 226.
Rivals only calculates the point totals for each team's top 20 players. This is done to try to mitigate for over-signing by some schools. So while you may a team with 27, 28, 29 recruits and another with 21 or 22, they are both being scored on their top 20 guys. Not here to argue that a school with 29 signees is likely to have more highly ranked kids than one with only 21 kids, that is surely the case for the top schools, but at least these schools are being compared evenly from a mathematical standpoint.
EXAMPLE
Now there is a lot of confusion about overall team recruiting rankings. "If Penn State has more 5 stars and the same number of 4 stars as Texas, how can Texas be ranked high in the recruiting standings?" Well, let's look into it:
For the 2018 cycle, Texas finished with one 6.1 player, four 6.0 players, five 5.9 players, and two 5.8 players in the R250. Penn State finished with two 6.1 players, one 6.0 player, six 5.9 players, and three 5.8 players.
Simple math shows us that Texas players in the R250 had an average rating of 5.93 while Penn State's had an average rating of 5.92. Not a big difference right? 1/100th is essentially even. The difference comes from bonus points. While both teams had 12 players earning bonus points in the R250, Texas had more highly ranked players. The top 6 recruits in the Texas class gained 264 bonus points and their bottom 6 scored 114. Penn State's top 6 pulled in 271 and their bottom 6 yielded just 91. The total bonus points are Texas 378 and Penn State 362.
Penn State's last 8 guys in the calculations will likely be Culpepper, Scruggs, Gordon, Luketa, Hawkins, Humphries, Katshir, SAB/Effner. Of those eight, five are likely to retain their 5.8 rating and 105 points each. The other three are likely to be 5.7 players for 90 points each. The total for these eight would be 795, bringing Penn State's total to 2,627.
The last 8 for Texas would include four players rated 5.8 (times 105) and four players rated 5.7 (times 90) for 780 points and a total of 2,658.
As the standings indicate, Texas is #3 with 2,658 points and Penn State is #4 with 2,627 points.
Hope everyone finds this helpful. Let me know if you have any questions.
