AA Football "Power Rankings" - UPDATED 11/05/13

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Final 19-7 HHS.

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AA power rankings: Undefeated Bozeman tops final regular-season rankings

Slim Kimmel ckimmel@billingsgazette.com

Note: Each week this season, we released the AA football power rankings. These power rankings used the same mathematical formula that Class B uses to determine their final two wildcard teams for the State B playoffs. The formula uses strength of schedule, among other things, as one of the bigger factors.

In the final Class AA football power rankings of the regular season, Bozeman remained in the top spot with 58.200 points. The Hawks' 2.9-point margin over No. 2 Kalispell Glacier is the same as the Wolfpack's margin over No. 5 Billings Skyview. The Hawks were clearly the best team in the class this season, and the rankings reflect that.

Helena Capital, despite its head-to-head loss to Helena High, comes in third. The Bengals finished fourth, unable to overcome their weak strength of schedule to start the season.

CMR finished the regular season on a six-game winning streak, including a home win over Skyview, to finish sixth in the rankings. Butte and Missoula Sentinel tied for seventh.

Kalispell Flathead, Billings Senior, Missoula Big Sky, Billings West, Great Falls and Missoula Hellgate -- all non-playoff teams -- held their positions in the nine through 14 spots.

Overall, the eight playoff teams finished in the top eight of the power rankings. The rankings differ from the actual playoff seeds at Nos. 3, 4, 5 and 6. For the playoffs, Helena High is third, and Capital is fourth. CMR climbed to fifth, and Skyview is sixth.

Reaction: Based on how the regular season played out, the formula did a good job of ranking the teams. Obviously, it's disappointing the formula doesn't use head-to-head results, especially those from late in the season. You can't make a logical argument that Capital should be ranked ahead of Helena High. The Bengals finished with a better record and won the head-to-head matchup Saturday.

West had the most difficult schedule in the class, being the only team to play all eight playoff teams during the regular season. It was definitely a down year for the Bears, but the schedule didn't do them any favors. The strength of schedule is what places West above Great Falls and Hellgate.

What do you think of the formula? Is this a worthy exercise? What kind of tweaks does it need in the future? Should margin of victory, home or away, or any other factors come into play? Let's hear your thoughts!

Rank Team Record Points Previous ranking
1 Bozeman 10-0 58.200 1
2 Kalispell Glacier 9-1 55.300 3
3 Helena Capital 7-3 54.300 2
4 Helena 9-1 53.200 4
5 Billings Skyview 6-4 51.400 5
6 Great Falls CMR 6-4 51.100 7
T7 Butte 6-4 49.900 6
T7 Missoula Sentinel 6-4 49.900 8
9 Kalispell Flathead 3-7 46.600 9
10 Billings Senior 4-6 45.600 10
11 Missoula Big Sky 3-7 43.600 11
12 Billings West 0-10 42.400 12
13 Great Falls 1-9 40.500 13
14 Missoula Hellgate 0-10 40.000 14


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