Week 14 Network Ranking

by Patrick Rhamey

If you want the 4 best teams based solely on their total body of work, this is the ranking.

Obviously, there’s more that goes into it for the committee than that. There’s money. There’s politics. But here’s the ranking based on body of work. No assumptions and no priors going into the season, this is where we end up.

Top 25 (Explanation; Full Ranking)

  1. Michigan (nc)

  2. Florida State (+1)

  3. Washington (+1)

  4. Ohio State (+1)

  5. Penn State (+1)

  6. Oregon (+1)

  7. Liberty (+1)

  8. Georgia (-6)

  9. Missouri (nc)

  10. Ole Miss (nc)

  11. Alabama (nc)

  12. Texas (nc)

  13. LSU (nc)

  14. Oklahoma (+2)

  15. Notre Dame (nc)

  16. Iowa (+1)

  17. James Madison (+1)

  18. Tulane (-4)

  19. Tennessee (nc)

  20. Utah (nc)

  21. Clemson (nc)

  22. Toledo (nc)

  23. NC State (nc)

  24. Kentucky (nc)

  25. Oregon State (nc)

Week 13 Network Ranking

by Patrick Rhamey

Ohio State out, Washington in.

Top 25 (Explanation; Full Ranking)

  1. Michigan (+1)

  2. Georgia (+2)

  3. Florida State (nc)

  4. Washington (+1)

  5. Ohio State (-4)

  6. Penn State (nc)

  7. Oregon (nc)

  8. Liberty (nc)

  9. Missouri (nc)

  10. Ole Miss (nc)

  11. Alabama (nc)

  12. Texas (nc)

  13. LSU (nc)

  14. Tulane (nc)

  15. Notre Dame (nc)

  16. Oklahoma (+1)

  17. Iowa (-1)

  18. James Madison (nc)

  19. Tennessee (+2)

  20. Utah (+2)

  21. Clemson (-1)

  22. Toledo (+3)

  23. NC State (+6)

  24. Kentucky (+13)

  25. Oregon State (-2)

Week 12 Network Ranking

by Patrick Rhamey

Just a reshuffle of the top 4 this week. With Ohio State and Michigan playing each other this weekend, it might clear some space for Washington to move up if they beat Washington State.

Top 25 (Explanation; Full Ranking)

  1. Ohio State (+2)

  2. Michigan (nc)

  3. Florida State (-2)

  4. Georgia (nc)

  5. Washington (nc)

  6. Penn State (+2)

  7. Oregon (nc)

  8. Liberty (+1)

  9. Missouri (+1)

  10. Ole Miss (+1)

  11. Alabama (+1)

  12. Texas (+1)

  13. LSU (+2)

  14. Tulane (nc)

  15. Notre Dame (+4)

  16. Iowa (+2)

  17. Oklahoma (+3)

  18. James Madison (-12)

  19. Louisville (+7)

  20. Clemson (+5)

  21. Tennessee (+1)

  22. Utah (-5)

  23. Oregon State (nc)

  24. North Carolina (nc)

  25. Toledo (+7)

Week 11 Network Ranking

by Patrick Rhamey

Hello Georgia! After defeating Ole Miss, they climb 3 spots into the top 4. Florida State, likewise, seizes the number 1 spot from Ohio State after defeating Miami. James Madison, with its weak schedule, drops down to 6 (and will likely continue to fall) while the lowest ranked undefeated, Liberty, sits at 9, also unlikely to climb further.

UCF beating Oklahoma State has some noteworthy repercussions: OU drops another 3 spots, Texas drops 2, and Alabama stays in place at 12.

Top 25 (Explanation; Full Ranking)

  1. Florida State (+1)

  2. Michigan (+1)

  3. Ohio State (-2)

  4. Georgia (+3)

  5. Washington (nc)

  6. James Madison (-2)

  7. Oregon (+1)

  8. Penn State (-2)

  9. Liberty (nc)

  10. Missouri (+3)

  11. Ole Miss (-1)

  12. Alabama (nc)

  13. Texas (-2)

  14. Tulane (nc)

  15. LSU (nc)

  16. Memphis (nc)

  17. Utah (+1)

  18. Iowa (+1)

  19. Notre Dame (+2)

  20. Oklahoma (-3)

  21. Troy (+2)

  22. Tennessee (nc)

  23. Oregon State (+1)

  24. North Carolina (+5)

  25. Clemson (+8)

Week 10 Network Ranking

by Patrick Rhamey

Not a ton of movement this week, though Georgia continues to creep up. Top 6 see no changes.

Top 25 (Explanation; Full Ranking)

  1. Ohio State (nc)

  2. Florida State (nc)

  3. Michigan (nc)

  4. James Madison (nc)

  5. Washington (nc)

  6. Penn State (nc)

  7. Georgia (+2)

  8. Oregon (-1)

  9. Liberty (+1)

  10. Ole Miss (+1)

  11. Texas (+2)

  12. Alabama (+2)

  13. Missouri (-1)

  14. Tulane (+3)

  15. LSU (nc)

  16. Memphis (+2)

  17. Oklahoma (-1)

  18. Utah (+1)

  19. Iowa (+4)

  20. Kansas (+6)

  21. Notre Dame (nc)

  22. Tennessee (nc)

  23. Troy (+9)

  24. Oregon State (+3)

  25. UCLA (-5)

Week 9 Network Ranking

by Patrick Rhamey

Down falls Oklahoma - and by extension, Texas, Alabama, Ole Miss, etc. Georgia remains behind compared with the popular polls but makes a big leap into the top 10.

As one of the 8 undefeateds, JMU is in the top 4. Note, JMU has a better body of work than Washington, Air Force, Georgia, or Liberty. If they all win out, however, it is likely Georgia (with their much more challenging schedule going forward) and Washington will surpass JMU.

Top 25 (Explanation; Full Ranking):

  1. Ohio State (+3)

  2. Florida State (+1)

  3. Michigan (+2)

  4. James Madison (+3)

  5. Washington (+3)

  6. Penn State (+3)

  7. Oregon (+4)

  8. Air Force (+5)

  9. Georgia (+6)

  10. Liberty (+6)

  11. Ole Miss (-1)

  12. Missouri (nc)

  13. Texas (-11)

  14. Alabama (-8)

  15. LSU (-1)

  16. Oklahoma (-15)

  17. Tulane (nc)

  18. Memphis (+4)

  19. Utah (+4)

  20. UCLA (+4)

  21. Notre Dame (+8)

  22. Tennessee (+4)

  23. Iowa (+4)

  24. USC (+11)

  25. Fresno State (-6)

Week 8 Network Ranking

by Patrick Rhamey

Down goes North Carolina, all the way out of the top 25. That win, then, translates to a big boost for undefeated JMU, which defeated UVA earlier in the season. Penn State also falls out of the top four, replaced by Ohio State.

Top 25 (Explanation; Full Ranking)

  1. Oklahoma (nc)

  2. Texas (nc)

  3. Florida State (+1)

  4. Ohio State (+3)

  5. Michigan (+1)

  6. Alabama (+4)

  7. James Madison (+6)

  8. Washington (nc)

  9. Penn State (-6)

  10. Ole Miss (+1)

  11. Oregon (+7)

  12. Missouri (+2)

  13. Air Force (-1)

  14. LSU (+1)

  15. Georgia (+1)

  16. Liberty (+1)

  17. Tulane (+4)

  18. Wyoming (+1)

  19. Fresno State (+1)

  20. UNLV (+4)

  21. Kentucky (+1)

  22. Memphis (+1)

  23. Utah (+2)

  24. UCLA (+4)

  25. Oregon State (+1)

Week 7 Network Ranking

by Patrick Rhamey

Down goes Washington State (hard). As long as Alabama keeps winning, it’s going to keep making Texas and Oklahoma look pretty good. Meanwhile, Georgia languishes at 16. Why? Well, I’ll put it this way: undefeated JMU has more impressive wins. It’ll shake itself out in the long run, but Georgia hasn’t yet provided any tangible evidence in terms of the quality of their wins for their popular number 1 position.

Top 25 (Explanation; Full Ranking):

  1. Oklahoma (nc)

  2. Texas (nc)

  3. Penn State (+2)

  4. Florida State (+2)

  5. North Carolina (+5)

  6. Michigan (-2)

  7. Ohio State (nc)

  8. Washington (+8)

  9. Iowa (+5)

  10. Alabama (-1)

  11. Ole Miss (+4)

  12. Air Force (+14)

  13. James Madison (+11)

  14. Missouri (+14)

  15. LSU (+15)

  16. Georgia (+5)

  17. Liberty (+3)

  18. Oregon (nc)

  19. Wyoming (+4)

  20. Fresno State (+13)

  21. Tulane (+18)

  22. Kentucky (+10)

  23. Memphis (+13)

  24. UNLV (+23)

  25. Utah (-12)

Week 6 Network Ranking

by Patrick Rhamey

Down goes Texas…but not far. Oklahoma leap-frogs Texas into number 1, but wins by Texas past competitors like Alabama keep it afloat. Meanwhile, Louisville catapults into the 3 spot due to not only beating Notre Dame, but also Georgia Tech’s defeat of Miami (which benefits Ole Miss as well).

Top 25 (Explanation; Full Ranking)

  1. Oklahoma (+13)

  2. Texas (-1)

  3. Louisville (+29)

  4. Michigan (+4)

  5. Penn State (-3)

  6. Florida State (+5)

  7. Ohio State (-3)

  8. Washington State (-5)

  9. Alabama (+4)

  10. North Carolina (-1)

  11. Oregon State (+6)

  12. UCLA (+30)

  13. Utah (+6)

  14. Iowa (+25)

  15. Ole Miss (+13)

  16. Washington (-11)

  17. Notre Dame (-11)

  18. Oregon (-6)

  19. Wisconsin (+4)

  20. Liberty (+5)

  21. Georgia (+6)

  22. USC (-12)

  23. Wyoming (+11)

  24. James Madison (-8)

  25. Duke (-7)

Week 5 Network Ranking

by Patrick Rhamey

Texas remains on top with Penn State jumping into the two spot. Shuffling continues, with Georgia falling further behind the other unbeatens (and some one loss teams) and out of the top 25 due to their weak opponents. As the season continues, week to week changes will diminish. Will be interesting to see who can keep up. Obviously Texas v Oklahoma is the big game this week. Outside of that, Penn State has a bye this week, so we may expect them to fall behind, whereas Washington State plays one loss Utah and Ohio State plays undefeated Maryland. Notre Dame also with an opportunity to rise against undefeated Louisville, but any wins by Notre Dame will also help Ohio State in the network.

Top 25 (Explanation; Full Ranking)

  1. Texas (nc)

  2. Penn State (+10)

  3. Washington State (+3)

  4. Ohio State (+5)

  5. Washington (-1)

  6. Notre Dame (+25)

  7. Missouri (+1)

  8. Michigan (-6)

  9. North Carolina (-6)

  10. USC (+14)

  11. Florida State (+3)

  12. Oregon (-7)

  13. Alabama (-3)

  14. Oklahoma (+1)

  15. Miami (-8)

  16. James Madison (+10)

  17. Oregon State (+20)

  18. Duke (-2)

  19. Utah (-8)

  20. Kentucky (+10)

  21. Kansas State (+2)

  22. Texas A&M (-1)

  23. Wisconsin (+9)

  24. Colorado (-7)

  25. Liberty (-7)

Week 4 Network Ranking

by Patrick Rhamey

A very early ranking. Keep in mind, the network treats all teams as equals in week 0. There are no priors. Then, based on wins and losses, it ranks them accordingly. As such, Georgia is way, way down, as they’ve only beaten teams with no wins, unlike Texas, who has much better wins. Expect shifting quite a bit over the course of the next couple weeks, but, we can expect Texas and Michigan to hold their high positions unless they lose.


Top 25 (Explanation; Full Ranking)

  1. Texas

  2. Michigan

  3. North Carolina

  4. Washington

  5. Oregon

  6. Washington State

  7. Miami

  8. Missouri

  9. Ohio State

  10. Alabama

  11. Utah

  12. Penn State

  13. Rutgers

  14. Florida State

  15. Oklahoma

  16. Duke

  17. Colorado

  18. Liberty

  19. Louisville

  20. Syracuse

  21. Texas A&M

  22. Kansas

  23. Kansas State

  24. USC

  25. Georgia

2023 State of World Liberty Index

by Patrick Rhamey

Disclaimer: data sources used rank freedoms at a 1-2 year lag, so recent political developments are not captured.

The State of World Liberty Index was a combination of indices compiled originally by Nick Wilson in 2006, and I’ve updated that index annually since 2012. My methodology is similar to the original with the following exceptions: I use only the civil liberties portion of Freedom House, economy liberty (Fraser/Heritage) is weighted evenly with social liberty, and the Reporters without Borders Press Freedom Score is of equal weight to each of the Freedom House Civil Liberties sub-components. All changes are done with the purpose of creating the most accurate relative ranking of countries by the degree of liberty (economic and social) enjoyed by the average individual within the state or territory. Note, the ranking is not reflective of, nor directly includes, political or electoral rights. Where data is available, territories or colonies (e.g. Hong Kong) are included.

Also compiled is a ranking on the Conservative-Progressive spectrum, where conservative is more economic liberty relative to social liberty, and progressive is more social liberty relative to economic liberty. This added dimension allows for grouping states by both liberty and ideology, such as Moderate Free (Switzerland) and Moderate Tyranny (Algeria), Progressive Free (Norway) and Progressive Tyranny (Venezuela), and Conservative (somewhat) Free (Hong Kong) and Conservative Tyranny (Eritrea).

A complete ranking, along with past years, is available here: [LINK]

2023 Liberty by Quintile. Colors represent countries grouped by quintiles in order of blue (top 20%), green (20-40%), yellow (40-60%), orange (60-80%), and red (80-100%).

2023 Most Free Countries:

1. Switzerland
2. New Zealand
3. Ireland
4. Denmark
4. Norway
6. Netherlands
6. Sweden
6. Finland
9. Luxembourg
9. Estonia

2023 Most Oppressive Countries:

1. North Korea
2. Syria
3. Venezuela
4. Cuba
5. Sudan
6. Libya
7. Eritrea
8. Iran
9. Yemen
9. Turkmenistan

2023 Five Year Change in Liberty. Blue is an increase in rank by >20 and green >10. Orange is a fall in rank of >10 and red >20 since 2019.

2023 Greatest 5 Year Increase:

1. The Gambia
1. Micronesia
3. Ecuador
4. Uzbekistan
4. Samoa
6. Moldova
7. Mozambique
8. Nepal
8. Barbados
10. Djibouti
10. Sao Tome y Principe
10. Cabo Verde

2023 Greatest 5 Year Decrease:

1. Hong Kong
2. Lebanon
3. Nicaragua
4. Burkina Faso
5. El Salvador
6. Zimbabwe
7. Georgia
7. Jordan
7. Myanmar
10. India

2023 Conservative-Progressive Ranking. Grouped by quintile, red is very conservative, pink is conservative, yellow is moderate, light blue is progressive, and blue is very progressive.

The below graphs the amount of liberty enjoyed by the average citizen of a state (x-axis) by the balance of whether the state more heavily regulates economic or social behaviors (y-axis).

2023 Most Conservative:

1. Bahrain
2. United Arab Emirates
3. Singapore
4. Saudi Arabia
5. Hong Kong
6. Belarus
7. Turkmenistan
8. Azerbaijan
9. Uzbekistan
9. Tajikistan

2023 Most Progressive:

1. Argentina
2. Suriname
3. Dominica
4. Kiribati
5. Belize
6. St. Lucia
6. Barbados
8. Micronesia
9. St. Vincent and the Grenadines
9. Bahamas
9. Timor-Leste

Week 17 Men's Basketball Ranking

by Patrick Rhamey

Top 25 (Explanation; Full Ranking)

  1. Purdue (nc)

  2. Kansas (nc)

  3. Houston (+1)

  4. Kansas State (+1)

  5. Gonzaga (+2)

  6. Baylor (nc)

  7. Alabama (-4)

  8. Connecticut (nc)

  9. UCLA (+1)

  10. West Virginia (+1)

  11. Texas (-2)

  12. Arizona (+2)

  13. Marquette (nc)

  14. San Diego State (-2)

  15. St. Mary’s (nc)

  16. Virginia (nc)

  17. Tennessee (+1)

  18. Duke (+3)

  19. NC State (-2)

  20. Miami (nc)

  21. Auburn (+3)

  22. Missouri (-3)

  23. Arkansas (-1)

  24. Illinois (+5)

  25. TCU (-2)

Week 16 Men's Basketball Ranking

by Patrick Rhamey

Top 25 (Explanation; Full Ranking)

  1. Purdue (+1)

  2. Kansas (-1)

  3. Alabama (nc)

  4. Houston (nc)

  5. Kansas State (nc)

  6. Baylor (nc)

  7. Gonzaga (+5)

  8. Connecticut (+3)

  9. Texas (-2)

  10. UCLA (-2)

  11. West Virginia (+5)

  12. San Diego State (+3)

  13. Marquette (nc)

  14. Arizona (nc)

  15. St. Mary’s (+3)

  16. Virginia (-6)

  17. NC State (+2)

  18. Tennessee (-1)

  19. Missouri (+7)

  20. Miami (-11)

  21. Duke (+3)

  22. Arkansas (-1)

  23. TCU (-1)

  24. Auburn (-4)

  25. Indiana (nc)

Week 15 Men's Basketball Ranking

by Patrick Rhamey

Alabama loses to Tennessee, who then promptly turns around and loses to Kentucky. Some reshuffling in this week’s ranking.

Top 25 (Explanation; Full Ranking)

  1. Kansas (+2)

  2. Purdue (nc)

  3. Alabama (-2)

  4. Houston (+1)

  5. Kansas State (-1)

  6. Baylor (nc)

  7. Texas (nc)

  8. UCLA (nc)

  9. Miami (+4)

  10. Virginia (+2)

  11. Connecticut (-2)

  12. Gonzaga (-2)

  13. Marquette (+1)

  14. Arizona (+2)

  15. San Diego State (-4)

  16. West Virginia (-1)

  17. Tennessee (+3)

  18. St. Mary’s (+1)

  19. NC State (-2)

  20. Auburn (+3)

  21. Arkansas (-3)

  22. TCU (+4)

  23. Iowa State (-2)

  24. Duke (+7)

  25. Indiana (+2)

Week 14 Men's Basketball Ranking

by Patrick Rhamey

Top 25 (Explanation; Full Ranking)

  1. Alabama (+1)

  2. Purdue (-1)

  3. Kansas (nc)

  4. Kansas State (nc)

  5. Houston (nc)

  6. Baylor (+1)

  7. Texas (-1)

  8. UCLA (nc)

  9. Connecticut (nc)

  10. Gonzaga (+4)

  11. San Diego State (nc)

  12. Virginia (+8)

  13. Miami (+3)

  14. Marquette (-2)

  15. West Virginia (+2)

  16. Arizona (-3)

  17. NC State (+5)

  18. Arkansas (+1)

  19. St. Mary’s (-4)

  20. Tennessee (-10)

  21. Iowa State (+2)

  22. Mississippi State (+8)

  23. Auburn (-5)

  24. Missouri (+8)

  25. Florida Atlantic (+3)

Week 13 Men's Basketball Ranking

by Patrick Rhamey

Top 25 (Explanation; Full Ranking)

  1. Purdue (nc)

  2. Alabama (+1)

  3. Kansas (-1)

  4. Kansas State (nc)

  5. Houston (+1)

  6. Texas (+2)

  7. Baylor (-2)

  8. UCLA (+3)

  9. Connecticut (+3)

  10. Tennessee (-3)

  11. San Diego State (-1)

  12. Marquette (+4)

  13. Arizona (+1)

  14. Gonzaga (-5)

  15. St. Mary’s (+5)

  16. Miami (+3)

  17. West Virginia (+4)

  18. Auburn (+4)

  19. Arkansas (+8)

  20. Virginia (-5)

  21. New Mexico (-4)

  22. NC State (+1)

  23. Iowa State (+1)

  24. TCU (+1)

  25. Wisconsin (+5)

Week 12 Men's Basketball Ranking

by Patrick Rhamey

Top 25 (Explanation; Full Ranking)

  1. Purdue (+2)

  2. Kansas (+2)

  3. Alabama (-2)

  4. Kansas State (+1)

  5. Baylor (+6)

  6. Houston (+1)

  7. Tennessee (+6)

  8. Texas (-2)

  9. Gonzaga (nc)

  10. San Diego State (+2)

  11. UCLA (-3)

  12. Connecticut (-2)

  13. Florida Atlantic (+2)

  14. Arizona (+5)

  15. Virginia (+3)

  16. Marquette (+5)

  17. New Mexico (nc)

  18. Charleston (-16)

  19. Miami (-3)

  20. St. Mary’s (+2)

  21. West Virginia (+9)

  22. Auburn (-12)

  23. NC State (+6)

  24. Iowa State (-4)

  25. TCU (nc)

Week 11 Men's Basketball Ranking

by Patrick Rhamey

Top 25 (Explanation; Full Ranking)

  1. Alabama (+1)

  2. Charleston (+3)

  3. Purdue (+3)

  4. Kansas (-1)

  5. Kansas State (+3)

  6. Texas (+3)

  7. Houston (-6)

  8. UCLA (-1)

  9. Gonzaga (-5)

  10. Auburn (+3)

  11. Baylor (+5)

  12. San Diego State (+9)

  13. Tennessee (+4)

  14. Connecticut (-4)

  15. Florida Atlantic (+7)

  16. Miami (-2)

  17. New Mexico (+7)

  18. Virginia (nc)

  19. Arizona (+6)

  20. Iowa State (-5)

  21. Marquette (-1)

  22. St. Mary’s (-3)

  23. Wisconsin (+4)

  24. UNC (+6)

  25. TCU (+1)

Week 10 Men's Basketball Ranking

by Patrick Rhamey

A lot of upsets this week, though the top 3 remain unchanged.

Top 25 (Explanation; Full Ranking)

  1. Houston (nc)

  2. Alabama (nc)

  3. Kansas (nc)

  4. Gonzaga (+2)

  5. Charleston (+2)

  6. Purdue (+2)

  7. UCLA (+2)

  8. Kansas State (-3)

  9. Texas (+1)

  10. Connecticut (-6)

  11. Xavier (+2)

  12. Kent State (+13)

  13. Auburn (+8)

  14. Miami (nc)

  15. Iowa State (nc)

  16. Baylor (+16)

  17. Tennessee (-6)

  18. Virginia (+5)

  19. St. Mary’s (+8)

  20. Marquette (-4)

  21. San Diego State (-2)

  22. Florida Atlantic (nc)

  23. NC State (+8)

  24. New Mexico (+12)

  25. Arizona (-5)