Football rankings for Oct. 26

The football season is cruising right along, but which teams have emerged as not just the best in their respective divisions, but in the state.

With eight weeks in the books, here's what the state's top 15 football teams look like, along with rankings for each division. Some teams at the top are expected, while others might be a bit of a surprise.

New Hampshire Top 15

Team (record, division), rating (last week)

1. Goffstown (8-0, Division I), 20.00 (1)
2. Exeter (7-1, Division I), 16.00 (2)
3. Bedford (7-1, Division I), 15.50 (4)
4. St. Thomas (7-0, Division II), 14.86 (5)
5. Souhegan (5-1, Division II), 14.86 (6)
6. Milford (6-1, Division II), 14.57 (7)
7. Newport (6-0, Division III), 14.00 (9)
8. Windham (6-1, Division II), 14.00 (3)
9. Kennett (6-1, Division II), 14.00 (8)
10. Winnisquam (7-0, Division III), 13.43 (15)
11. Salem (6-2, Division I), 13.50 (10)
12. Timberlane (6-2, Division I), 13.00 (11)
13. Pinkerton (6-2, Division I), 13.00 (12)
14. Winnacunnet (5-3, Division I), 11.50 (NR)
15. Kearsarge (5-2, Division II), 11.14 (NR)

Division I

1. Goffstown (8-0), 20.00
2. Exeter (7-1), 16.00
3. Bedford (7-1), 15.50
4. Salem (6-2), 13.50
5. Timberlane (6-2), 13.00
6. Pinkerton (6-2), 13.00
7. Winnacunnet (5-3), 11.50
8. Bishop Guertin (5-3), 11.00
9. Nashua North (5-3), 10.50
10. Merrimack (5-3), 10.50
11. Manchester Central (5-3), 10.00
12. Concord (4-4), 8.50
13. Keene (3-5), 5.25
14. Londonderry (3-5), 5.00
15. Nashua South (2-6), 3.25
16. Portsmouth (1-7), 1.50
17. Dover (1-7), 1.50
18. Alvirne (1-7), 1.50
19. Spaulding (0-8), 0.00
20. Manchester Memorial (0-8), 0.00

Division II

1. St. Thomas (7-0), 14.86
2. Souhegan (6-1), 14.86
3. Milford (6-1), 14.57
4. Windham (6-1), 14.00
5. Kennett (6-1), 14.00
6. Kearsarge (5-2), 11.14
7. Lebanon (5-3*), 10.50
8. Plymouth (4-4*), 10.50
9. Monadnock (5-3), 9.25
10. Trinity (4-3), 7.43
11. John Stark (4-3), 7.14
12. Laconia (4-4), 7.00
13. Sanborn (3-4), 6.29
14. Kingswood (3-4), 5.14
15. Hanover (2-5), 4.00
16. Merrimack Valley (2-5), 3.71
17. Hollis Brookline (2-6), 3.25
18. ConVal (2-6*), 3.00
19. Pembroke (1-6), 1.43
20. Manchester West (0-7), 0.00
21. Pelham (0-7), 0.00

*includes games against out-of-state competition.

Division III

1. Newport (7-0), 14.00
2. Winnisquam (7-0), 13.43
3. Bow (6-1), 10.86
4. Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough (6-1), 10.86
5. Bishop Brady (5-2), 8.86
6. Stevens (5-2), 8.29
7. Somersworth (4-3), 7.43
8. Franklin (4-3), 6.00
9. Campbell (2-5), 4.00
10. Epping-Newmarket (2-5), 3.14
11. Mascoma Valley (2-5), 2.86
12. Farmington-Nute (2-5), 2.86
13. Gilford (2-5), 2.57
14. Raymond (1-6), 1.14
15. Newfound (1-6), 1.14
16. Fall Mountain (0-7), 0.00

How the rankings are done

We took the NHIAA’s football rating system, and gave it a little tweak. Instead of 10 points for a win, we weighted the wins by division, giving 12 for a win over a D1 team, 10 for a win over D2, and eight for a win over D3. Plus, every team got two points for a win by a beaten opponent. The two point totals were added together and divided by the number of games played.