The MRI
2026 · Week 11

Liberty

Conference USA · 8–1 · 5–0 in conference · MRI Classic #14

Power+2.9#53 of 138
Résumé+0.75#53 · wins above average
Playoff chance0.8%#39 most likely · -0.4 pts this week
Trendrating by week

Who to root for this week

1 game · top: Oregon State over Boise State, +1.5 pts playoff odds

The games this week that move its playoff odds most, and the side to cheer. Other teams’ games only; its own game is in the schedule below. How these are worked out.

Best winDelaware (30–14)
Worst lossJames Madison (13–20)
Schedule faced-14.6 avg opponent
Schedule ahead-15.3 avg opponent
Roster talent#77 of 127 · worth -2.7, rated +2.9: beating it
Returning production38% of last year's · #69 of 128
Home field+2.8 pts · 87th of 131

How this rating is built

Power = w × (average margin counted + average opponent rating) + (1 − w) × preseason prior, where w = games ÷ (games + 4). After 9 games, w is 69%, so the preseason prior is 31% of this rating. Every game played shrinks that share.

PartValueWeightAdds
Margin counted+22.9 avg× 69%+15.8
Opponents faced-14.6 avg× 69%-10.1
Preseason prior-8.9× 31%-2.8
Power+2.9

This explains how the model reached the number. The opponent ratings come out of the same fitted model, so it is not independent proof that the rating is right.

Results

Expected is the margin the model's ratings imply for that matchup and site. Perf is how far the actual margin beat it — the result against expectation. Adds is a different question: how many points of Power the game contributes, counting its margin and the strength of the opponent together. A game can beat expectation and still add little, or the reverse. Adds, plus the preseason prior, sum to Power (figures are rounded so the column adds up). Hover an Adds figure for its arithmetic.

WkOpponentResult ExpectedPerfAdds
1 at James Madison L 13–20 -5.1 -1.9 -0.1
2 vs Gardner-Webb FCS W 24–23 +39.6 -38.6 -1.9
3 vs Ball State W 51–15 +28.8 +7.2 +1.0
4 at Coastal Carolina W 34–17 +13.5 +3.5 +0.8
5 at Delaware W 30–14 +10.4 +5.6 +1.0
6 vs Sam Houston W 35–3 +28.0 +4.0 +0.8
8 at Kennesaw State W 34–6 +13.7 +14.3 +1.7
9 vs FIU W 49–10 +17.9 +21.1 +2.0
10 at New Mexico State W 30–14 +18.4 -2.4 +0.4
Preseason prior (31% of the rating)-2.8
Power+2.9

Remaining schedule

WkOpponent ProjectedWin prob
11 vs Middle Tennessee +23.1 92%
12 vs Western Kentucky +19.2 88%
13 at Missouri State +15.4 82%

Coaches

CoachYearsRecordMean added
Turner Gill20186-6-0.8
Hugh Freeze2019–202234-15+4.9
Jamey Chadwell2023–202633-14-0.4

Season by season

Best finish: #53 in 2023. 8 seasons rated. The two columns' numbers are not comparable; the rank within each is. Season links open that year's game log.

25 1 150 2018 (MRI Classic): #98 of 130 (6-6)2019 (MRI Classic): #81 of 130 (8-5)2018 (MRI 2.0): #109 of 130 (6-6)2019 (MRI 2.0): #101 of 130 (8-5)2020 (MRI 2.0): #73 of 128 (10-1)2021 (MRI 2.0): #70 of 130 (8-5)2022 (MRI 2.0): #90 of 131 (8-5)2023 (MRI 2.0): #53 of 133 (13-1)2024 (MRI 2.0): #95 of 134 (8-4)2025 (MRI 2.0): #103 of 136 (4-8) MRI 2.0Classic 2018 2025

Finishing rank, best at the top, on an axis running to 150 — this team's own range, not the size of the field. Two lines where both ratings cover a season - MRI 2.0 in red, Classic in grey. Hover a point for the season.

SeasonRec MRI 2.0MRI Classic
2025 4–8 #103 of 136 · -11.66 –
2024 8–4 #95 of 134 · -6.96 –
2023 13–1 #53 of 133 · 3.23 –
2022 8–5 #90 of 131 · -5.63 –
2021 8–5 #70 of 130 · 1.35 –
2020 10–1 #73 of 128 · -1.12 –
2019 8–5 #101 of 130 · -9.61 #81 of 130 · 8.36
2018 6–6 #109 of 130 · -15.27 #98 of 130 · -10.71