GPI 11/23/2010, Despite Loss In Overtime, Delaware Remains No. 1

Delaware gets No. 3 Seed in FCS Playoffs, but remains No. 1 in Gridiron Power Index despite loss to Villanova; Montana State Gets No. 4 Seed But Ranks No. 8 In GPI; No. 47 South Carolina State Gets At-Large Bid, but No. 36 Liberty and No. 43 Jacksonville Do Not


CHICAGO - The Gridiron Power Index (GPI), the index ranking for the NCAA Division I FCS and a top indicator of at-large playoff selection sees Delaware remain on top in the GPI rankings to end the regular season, despite their overtime loss to No. 7 Villanova this past weekend.

The top four of the GPI were awarded seeds in the FCS playoffs - Delaware and William & Mary of the Colonial Athletic Association, Appalachian State of the Southern Conference, and Eastern Washington of the Big Sky Conference, though not in the exact same order that they appear in the GPI. Stephen F. Austin (No. 5) did not get a seed in the playoffs, but do host the defending national champions Villanova (No. 7) in an intriguing second-round matchup.

North Dakota State (No. 15) out of the Missouri Valley Conference seemed to amply justify their at-large selection in the FCS playoffs, while the next three at-large non-autobid seven Division I win qualifiers were Jacksonville out of the Pioneer Football League (No. 43), Liberty out of the Big South (No. 36) and South Carolina State out of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (No. 47).

11/23/2010 GPI Top 25

Rank Team
1. Delaware (2.125)
T2. Appalachian State (3.125)
T2. William & Mary (3.125)
4. Eastern Washington (3.75)
5. Stephen F. Austin (4.375)
6. Wofford (7.25)
7. Villanova (7.375)
8. Montana State (7.75)
9. New Hampshire (8.875)
10. Jacksonville State (11.375)
11. Northern Iowa (11.75)
12. Southeast Missouri State (14.875)
13. Western Illinois (15.125)
14. Georgia Southern (16.75)
15. North Dakota State (18.25)
16. James Madison (18.625)
17. Sacramento State (18.75)
18. Massachusetts (18.875)
19. Montana (19.25)
20. Chattanooga (21)
21. Northern Arizona (21.625)
22. South Dakota State (22.75)
23. Richmond (23.125)
24. Penn (23.50)
25. Elon (24.875

Dropping out: Weber State, McNeese State

Full GPI Detail:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?...en&output=html

Conference Ranking:
Rank, League, Total Average

1. Colonial Athletic Association (22.188)
2. Missouri Valley Football Conference (27.234)
3. Big Sky Conference (29.097)
4. Southern Conference (30.403)
5. Great West Conference (38.750)
6. Southland Conference (39.875)
7. Ohio Valley Conference (41.792)
8. Ivy League (57.719)
9. Northeast Conference (58.125)
10. Southwestern Athletic Conference (59.65)
11. Big South Conference (60.554)
12. Patriot League (64.232)
13. Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (66.694)
14. Independents (66.844)
15. Pioneer Football League (70.213)

Conference Ranking Detail:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?...=1&output=html

Column Definitions:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?...=2&output=html