David Wilson ranking system
Description of the Wilson system
[much, much more information to go here]
[include link to David's original description that he wrote]
In the Wilson system, the following principles apply:
- All games are weighted evenly -- distant games matter just as much as recent games
- Location is ignored
- The score is ignored
- The only thing that matters, at all, is whether you win or lose
The system inherently balances results (win/loss) and strength of schedule (who you played). Wins against strong opponents move you up, losses against weaker opponents move you down.
Where to get David's code
I have shared it on GitHub, please download and enjoy!
Example output
Here is the college football top 10 -- from right before the national championship games of January 2024 -- using David's formula in the FBS and then in the FCS.
Full files, conference standings, plus the list of games used are available at: https://talismanred.com/ratings/cf/wilson/
--- Division I FBS ---
W L
- -
1 Washington 14 0 968
2 Michigan 14 0 961
3 Georgia 13 1 926
4 Alabama 12 2 913
5 Oregon 12 2 890
6 Florida St. 13 1 889
7 Texas 12 2 885
8 Mississippi 11 2 878
Ohio State 11 2 878
10 Missouri 11 2 874
|
--- Division I FCS ---
W L
- -
1 S. Dakota St. 14 0 810
2 Montana 13 1 754
3 South Dakota 10 3 744
4 N. Dakota St. 11 4 720
5 Montana St. 8 4 701
6 Idaho 9 4 698
7 Villanova 10 3 697
8 Sacramento St. 8 5 682
9 Albany (NY) 11 4 680
10 UC Davis 7 4 679
|
Quick Links
• Want to create your own ranking?
• Want to browse other ranking systems?
• ...including this author's?
• More to add here...