2017 NCAA NCSS Rankings: Week 4

It's hard to believe we're already this far into the season, but here we are in Week 4. Conference play has begun for some teams, but it's not there in earnest quite yet. That will start to come within the next week or two, but in the meantime we need to continue to stay on top of this.

There were a couple of game cancellations last week due to weather which forced some changes to NCSS scores. I'll try to stay on top of those with this week's rankings, as well as the updates to everything from Week 3. A primer on how this ranking works can be found in my season introductory post. Let's get to it!

1. MAC (1.00, 5.00; LW: 1). The kings stay atop their throne despite a pair of conference games and a bye for NIU. It helps that Toledo and Kent State have Power Five road games this week, with Akron, Bowling Green, and Ball State also hitting the road. Buffalo has a home game against a Group of Five opponent, while Western Michigan gets its dessert in this week.
2. Mountain West (0.83, 4.50; LW: 3). The Mountain West moves up a spot despite three conference games and two byes this week. It helps when Boise State hosts Power Five Virginia, New Mexico has a road game against a Group of Five opponent, and Nevada and UNLV are off to take on Power Five schools at their places.
3. Conference USA (1.07, 4.43; LW: 4). Florida International's game at Indiana got cancelled last week, which brought their Week 3 score down quite a bit. The conference is still in great shape though despite a pair of byes and two conference games on the books. Old Dominion visits Virginia Tech and Louisiana Tech is off to South Carolina for three points apiece, while UTSA, UTEP, and Florida Atlantic all play Group of Five road games this week for two points apiece. Charlotte, Middle Tennessee, and Western Kentucky are home for those types of games for one point apiece.
4. Big Ten (0.29, 4.14; LW: 2). The conference comes down quite a bit, mostly thanks to three conference games and four teams on a bye. Indiana, Maryland, Michigan State, and Ohio State all host Group of Five teams (or in the case of Michigan State, Notre Dame) for a point apiece to account for all the scoring.
5. Sun Belt (0.92, 4.00; LW: 7). It's a strong week for the Sun Belt in terms of this ranking despite Coastal Carolina getting its FCS game in. It helps when GEorgia Southern gets three points for visiting Indiana, and Appalachian State hosts Wake Forest. Road trips for Arkansas State and Georgia State also earn those teams a couple points apiece. New Mexico State, Texas State, and Troy all get one each for Group of Five home games.
6. Big 12 (0.20, 3.60; LW: 5). With three conference games and three byes, that just leaves Texas Tech to get NCSS points, and they get two for going on the road to face Houston.
7. American Athletic (0.58, 3.58; LW: 6).Central Florida had its game against Georgia Tech cancelled due to weather, so they dropped a few points from last week. All in all this isn't a bad week for the conference, considering there are three conference games. UCF heads off to Maryland and Houston welcomes in Texas Tech for three and two points, respectively, while SMU, Tulane, and Tulsa are all at home this week for Group of Five games (though Tulane's is against independent Army). Memphis hosts its FCS game this week.
8. Pac 12 (0.08, 2.92; LW: 8). Five conference games and a bye make for little opportunity for growth. Only Washington State hosting Nevada earns any points for the conference this week.
9. ACC (0.71, 2.79; LW: 9). Georgia Tech's game at Central Florida hurt a little bit; Florida State and Miami had their game postponed, but that doesn't impact NCSS since it's a conference game. Speaking of, there are four of them this week, but some strong non-conference games as well. Syracuse is off to play LSU in Louisiana, while Wake Forest and Virginia get two points apiece for visiting Appalachian State and Boise State, respectively. We also have Group of Five home games for Louisville, Miami, and Virginia Tech.
10. SEC (0.29, 2.21; LW: 10). With conference play picking up, there aren't many opportunities here either. Five conference games and a bye leave just three opportunities for points, and in SEC fashion, it's all fairly weak in terms of NCSS. South Carolina and Tennessee host Group of Five teams for a point apiece, while LSU gets two points for hosting Syracuse.

To see the updated spreadsheet, click here.

Photo from DWRI.com (Photographer uncredited)

Given the high number of conference games this week, every post after this one will probably just be a quick overview of only the games that impact NCSS. In terms of the rankings themselves, it's not many surprises: the Group of Five conferences make up most of the top five, with the Big Ten still being pretty high up there. We also only had three FCS games this week, which is really good.

My weekly independents update gives them an average NCSS ranking of 7 for the season, which is two full points ahead of the MAC for best in the nation. Of course, given the nature of being an independent, this metric is somewhat flawed when it comes to these four schools.

That's it for this week! I'll be back on Monday with a look at the Week 4 Playoff Points based on the weekend's results, and follow that up Tuesday with the Week 5 NCSS rankings!