The answer is yes!
If you've recently checked GHSA (Georgia high school football) rankings, you may have noticed something that looks a little confusing.
Following Jeff Davis' win over Fitzgerald on Friday, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution moved the Yellow Jackets all the way from No. 7 to No. 2 in Class AA.
Meanwhile, the GHSA currently has Jeff Davis at No. 3 in its Class AA Post Season Ranking (PSR).
Both are correct.
They're simply measuring two different things.
THE AJC RANKING: JEFF DAVIS IS #2
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's newest Class AA ranking looks like this:
1. Heard County — 5-0
2. Jeff Davis — 5-0
3. Thomasville — 4-1
4. Bremen — 5-0
5. Dublin — 4-1
6. Fitzgerald — 4-1
That's a remarkable jump for Jeff Davis. 🔥
Going into Friday night, the AJC had Fitzgerald ranked No. 2 and Jeff Davis No. 7.
Then the Jackets went into Fitzgerald and beat the No. 2-ranked Purple Hurricane.
The new ranking reflects that result in a big way: Jeff Davis climbed five spots, from No. 7 to No. 2, while Fitzgerald dropped from No. 2 to No. 6.
The AJC/GHSF Daily ranking is a statewide high-school football ranking produced by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Georgia High School Football Daily. Unlike GHSA's PSR, the AJC does not publish a mathematical formula that produces these positions (I needed receipts).
That matters because the AJC ranking can respond directly to what happens on the field including the significance of beating a highly ranked opponent.
THE GHSA RANKING: JEFF DAVIS IS #3
GHSA tells a slightly different story.
Its current Class AA Post Season Ranking (PSR) begins:
1. Bremen — 5-0
2. Prince Avenue Christian — 4-0
3. Jeff Davis — 5-0
4. Dublin — 4-1
5. Fitzgerald — 4-1
6. Bleckley County — 4-1
7. Thomasville — 4-1
8. Heard County — 5-0
This one isn't a media poll. It's math.
GHSA calculates each team's PSR using three components:
35% — Winning Percentage (WP) Did WE win?
35% — Opponents' Winning Percentage (OWP) Did the teams WE played win?
30% — Opponents' Opponents' Winning Percentage (OOWP) Did the teams THEY played win?
🧐 HERE'S WHY THIS GETS INTERESTING
Look at Heard County.
The AJC considers undefeated Heard County the No. 1 team in Class AA.
GHSA currently has undefeated Heard County at No. 8.
Neither ranking is wrong. They're each measuring something different.
The AJC ranking is attempting to rank the teams as football teams based on the season and their results.
GHSA has a very specific job: calculate postseason positioning using a predetermined formula that incorporates wins and the records of opponents and opponents' opponents (I know, confusing!).
That's why an undefeated team isn't automatically No. 1 for GHSA.
It's why something completely outside Jeff Davis' own Friday-night game can eventually affect Jeff Davis' rankings.
When previous opponents win or lose games later in the season, those results can affect the strength-of-schedule portions of the formula. 🤪
SO WHICH NUMBER SHOULD JEFF DAVIS FANS USE?
Right now, both.
#2 — AJC/GHSF Daily Class AA Ranking
#3 — GHSA Class AA Post Season Ranking
And there's something else worth remembering as region play continues: the GHSA PSR has actual postseason consequences. Region champions are guaranteed playoff qualification and a first-round home game, and GHSA uses PSR in the process of seeding region champions and the remaining playoff qualifiers.
👉🏻THE BIGGER STORY (IMHO)
Maybe the most interesting number isn't 2 or 3. It's 5-0.
Jeff Davis entered the Fitzgerald game ranked No. 7 by the AJC and No. 5 in the previous GHSA PSR.
After beating Fitzgerald, the Jackets are now: 5-0.
Whether #2 or #3, both ranking systems now have Jeff Davis sitting very near the top of Class AA football in Georgia.
A place we haven’t been since 1962!
--Sophia Allen | GameFace Media