Frequently Asked Questions

So just what is this site, anyway?

Computer ratings of all AHSAA-affiliated (Alabama) football-playing schools. Results are based only on games played and who won or lost those games. There is no margin of victory, location, weather, or anything else--just wins and losses.

The information on this page hasn't been updated in a while (a year or longer), but I'll do my best to get it current in July-August '10. Stay tuned.

General disclaimer about rating systems

Most of you have heard this before.  Computer rating systems are completely objective; that is, they consider no human factors.  The ASWA "polls" are built on tradition, regional biases, and opinion. I can safely say that these two computer ratings, and probably all others too, have none of that--I enter the scores, I run a program, I get the results.

As such, some folks will consider computer systems "flawless;" others will consider them hopelessly flawed.  I could argue the point from both sides.  I prefer to examine a rating system from the perspective of why it is rating a particular team at a given level.  Are teams being rewarded for tough victories?  Does a team's easy schedule reflect in its ranking?  Is a team's schedule so abnormal that there is no way that team can be ranked fairly?  These are all questions to bear in mind when looking at the results of a particular system.

We will never know the true ordered ranking of the Division I-A college teams, let alone all 300-plus high school teams in this state.  However, I think this system is an improvement.

"You are north Alabama based, and north Alabama biased."

(Buzzer sound) Sorry, thanks for playing. The ratings can be run on my computer at home, at work, in New York, and once I even updated them from a bar in England. No matter what computer is used, the results are the same. I graduated high school over 10 years ago, didn't go to the reunion, and have no kids--I have no allegiance to any school, north, south, city, or country.

On the subject of north Alabama bias, keep in mind that 60 percent of football playing schools are in Shelby County or points northward. Population in Alabama is also biased toward the north. News coverage is, too, thanks to the Birmingham market. Is the bias that some "see" here actually a part of the ratings, or is something bigger going on? Remember, high school football isn't always the answer.

"You don't consider a team's history or what great players they had last year, so your system is flawed."

This was once said to me by a former newspaper columnist in the state. I couldn't disagree more. Your shot at this year's playoffs is based on this year's performance, not who graduated or who's coaching or that you resodded your field this summer. Any good coach will tell his team this, to start the year. Each season stands alone, both on the field and in the computers.

"The ratings are a joke.  I would say more, but they speak for themselves." or "What a pathetic rating system."

I would appreciate constructive criticism or specific questions, not generalized blubber about the ratings.  If this is your sentiment, please learn how computer rating systems work before you come back--this page is obviously not for you.

I get lots of messages like this. Please don't send me more of them.

Legal Disclaimers

It bears repeating that this page is in no way affiliated with, sponsored by, or sanctioned by the Alabama High School Athletic Association.  You may visit the AHSAA's web site by clicking here.

The caretaker of these pages makes no money by producing these ratings--these pages are solely for your personal amusement. The donations you send are used to keep the site going; it costs about $100 a year to host a domain with enough "tools" to keep a complicated site like this functional. Because some of my information has been stolen and repackaged lately, I have copyright notices here and there, but I wouldn't put all this on the web if I didn't want to share it! All I ask is that if you use my information, please provide a link to the page and let me know. Thank you.

What rating systems are used for your rankings?

1. I use a carbon copy of the rating system developed by David Wilson.  His site, including an example, can be found here.  His system works very good in a case like this, where all teams are rated and have varying strength levels.  I use a "fudge factor" in the first 4 weeks to keep the ratings from looking completely haywire early in the season.

2. I also use my personal recreation of the system by John Wobus.  I have recreated the code the best I can, and I am probably as close as I'm going to get.  This system is similar to the one by Colley.  It is best suited for a group of teams in one division (not six, as we have in Alabama)--so I have to adjust the result so that 6A teams are rated higher, 1A teams lower, etc.

My team's record is wrong!  The score is wrong!  The score is missing!  What can I do?

You can e-mail me at with your team's scores.  If there is one error, there could be others, and I would appreciate your help in sorting them out.  Inevitably, schools fail to report game results to the AP or even to the AHSAA (they fine schools each week for failing to report scores!!)...so if you know one that I don't, please send it to me. I will pass on any corrections I receive.

My team is better than what your rating suggests.  What can I do?

This is a rating made by computer.  It is NOT my opinion, it is NOT important, it is NOT relevant to the playoff process.  The AHSAA office knows I compile this rating, and it has no impact on any work they do.   This is an educational experience for all of us.  If you email me complaining about where your team is rated or telling me that 'my rating system' is bad, I will delete without reading further.

On using the ratings early in the season

Just like a team's record, their early-season computer rating doesn't mean much.  The ratings should begin to take shape around the end of September.  Weekly review of the Colley method showed that his ranking for college teams became representative after about five games--so by Week 5, I think the results here will begin to have meaning.

"So you make no money and you get hate mail. Why are you doing this?"

A few reasons.  First, there are very few places where we can get complete information about high school sports in this state. The AHSAA is just now coming into the Internet age, and al.com and similar places are also just now catching up (and their sites are so fancy and ad-ridden that pages are slow to load). What I try to do is provide all scores of all football games as quickly as possible, with no bias. Large schools and small schools alike. Plus, this site provides INSTANT results. As soon as I type in a score, it goes into the system and the ratings and rankings are updated. No waiting around. This, to me, is the most major benefit of this site.

Another good reason is that, well, I'm a nerd that loves sports.  This kind of stuff is fun to me.  Also, I believe in fairness and equality and want to see a rating system that will treat all teams fair regardless of location, history, or any other reason.  The writers polls DO NOT meet this criteria. Finally, one day I envision a "true" state championship tournament where the top 32 teams overall, regardless of class and of geography, compete for the ultimate prize.  This system may be a start to that (check out the way Illinois does their football tournament, for example). (Further note: for that matter, Ohio, Louisiana, Wyoming, and others already use a computer ranking to determine playoff teams, using a system much like the two here.)

"Who the heck are you?"

My name is not David Wilson or John Wobus; they created these two ratings systems, I just run the computer code. I'll be happy to share my story if you email me.  Until then, I'll tell you I am a late 1990's graduate of a Class 1A school in northwest Alabama. I was a student at the University of Oklahoma during their 2000 championship season, and recently finished my Ph.D. at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. I've moved on to Boulder, Colorado, but still maintain this site because I enjoy it so much.

"I like what you're doing.  Can I help?"

Sure.  Email me and we can talk about it.  The most help I need is in getting those scores that are unreported and hard to find.  You can reproduce the ratings (Wilson's code is freely available on his web page).  If someone is willing to share scores with me (and they are accurate and reliable!), I'll be glad to mention you as a contributor on the front page.  If you want to learn more about sports ratings, or computer programming, or atmospheric science and meteorology (my profession), I'll also gladly share my limited knowledge.

Again, email questions or comments to (click to send mail).