What is Pete's Power Poll?
-Pete's is the country's only poll that concentrates, almost exclusively, on the play-off conferences/teams of NCAA Division I-AA football. It's purpose is to determine the 16 teams that should be awarded a berth into the I-AA play-off. The poll is completely driven on performance, not the opinions of individuals; this makes the poll almost completely unbiased. Pete's means no disrespect to the Ivy, SWAC, or Mid-major programs ... we merely chose to rank those clubs that are eligible for, and historically have participated in the tournament. The SWAC and Ivy have chosen not to participate in the play-off, and even though they are eligible, there has never been a mid-major club selected for the play-off. It will take some time for the poll to develop throughout the season, as teams play more games. The #1 team in any given week is just that ... the #1 team at that point, given the games played so far. Clearly, the later we progress into the season, the less likely teams will move with any significance. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email Pete's.

Here is the final poll of the 2007 season. For those of you that are new to the poll, here is a brief explanation:

• There are many factors that go into our polls. These factors are covered below the poll. However, the initial preseason ranking is the basis for the remainder of the season. The system is specifically designed so that even the team that begins in the last position can still finish the season at number-1.
  
  
• Since this is the first few weeks, there were some very drastic changes. These will begin to decrease as we progress. During the first weeks, there are clubs that taking on opponents that are IA/FBS and sub-FCS/I-AA. Once these game pass, things will really tighten up.
  
  
• Pete's follows only the play-off conferences and leagues that contain post-season eligible teams. We do not track mid-major conferences and their members. With no disrespect to the Ivy, SWAC, or Mid-major programs ... we merely chose to rank those clubs that are eligible for, and historically have participated in the play-off.
  
  
• This year's new teams are Stony Brook, Austin Peay, and Central Arkansas. To be fair, all three of these clubs will begin the season at the 41st position.
  
  
• Pete's Power Poll will change drastically at the beginning of the season, much like the BCS in IA/FBS ball. It will change much less toward the end of the season. The difference is that Pete's wants everyone to see how all of the clubs progress throughout the entire season. We do not wait until mid-season to publish our first poll. In the beginning of the season, it is very common for clubs to move up or down in tremendous fashion. So don't lose faith; as it is more than possible for a club at the bottom to move up to the top. Obviously, the poll will become far more accurate as the season progresses, when teams have more games played ... especially once conference play begins.
  
• To remind everyone, Pete's does not take into account any play-off games in the final rankings. It is not fair to take performance into account when no more than 16-teams are playing. So the final Power Poll is through the end of the regular season.

Here is the final 2007 Pete's Power Poll:

• Points for and against.
• Margin of victory: we do limit the margins so a team is not devastated or over-compensated for an exceptionally good, or poor performance.
• Strength of the opposition (where the opponent is ranked in the previous week's poll).
• Home vs. away vs. neutral.
• Conference vs. non-Conference.
• IA/FBS vs. I-AA/FCS vs. non-scholarship vs. sub-FCS/I-AA: Teams in our poll are awarded more points for victories over IA opposition, less points for DII and mid-major games. Conversely, a loss to a IA clubs is not penalized as harshly as a team ranked in Pete's Poll ... and a loss to a mid-major or sub-IAA opponent is penalized more harshly. We do this in order to encourage teams to play other teams in their own division.