Week 6 Rankings & NQS Update

It is now confirmed that NQS (NQS explained) will be calculated the normal way this season and will be used for the rankings starting next Monday. Soooo, with that in mind, here’s a look at the current NQS picture for this week’s top 50 teams. 

Note: These rankings include the meets from Monday because, you know, they’re already happened. They will therefore differ from the official week 6 rankings, which do not include Monday meets.

Scores in BOLD can no longer be dropped.


1. Michigan – 197.963

Road Score 1198.525
Road Score 2198.025
Road Score 3
Home/Road Score 1197.950
Home/Road Score 2197.925
Home/Road Score 3197.750
Current NQS:N/A

Michigan has competed at only two road meets thus far so will not have an official NQS until after the Big Five meet this Friday. Sunday’s 197.600 was Michigan’s lowest home score of the season so far and was dropped so doesn’t influence the NQS.


2. Florida – 197.638

Road Score 1197.775
Road Score 2196.975
Road Score 3
Home/Road Score 1198.250
Home/Road Score 2198.150
Home/Road Score 3197.675
Current NQS:N/A

Like Michigan, Florida will not have an NQS until after Friday’s meet because of the team’s home-heavy early schedule and road-heavy late schedule. Florida has the clear edge on Michigan in home scores, but with just one usable road score thus far compared to Michigan’s two road 198s, Florida will have to start getting the away results to keep up.


3. Oklahoma – 197.604

Road Score 1197.900
Road Score 2196.650
Road Score 3
Home/Road Score 1198.200
Home/Road Score 2198.050
Home/Road Score 3197.425
Current NQS:N/A

Oklahoma’s current setup is quite similar to Florida’s, with two home 198s and only one usable road score so far, though Oklahoma lost some ground this week when Florida got a 198 and Oklahoma had a beam dud. One difference in Oklahoma’s favor is that Oklahoma has a busier remaining schedule with 5 road-score opportunities still to come in addition to the home finale against Michigan.


4. Utah – 197.496

Road Score 1197.750
Road Score 2197.275
Road Score 3197.100
Home/Road Score 1197.775
Home/Road Score 2197.675
Home/Road Score 3197.400
Current NQS: 197.440

Unlike the top 3, Utah has an NQS at this point, using that consistent slate of 197s to come up with an already competitive 197.440. The problem for Utah will be that every team ranked above them already has two 198s (one to drop and one to count) while Utah has none, so Utah’s potential to improve upon a #4 ranking will be largely handcuffed until those 198s come.


5. LSU – 197.400

Road Score 1197.825
Road Score 2196.850
Road Score 3
Home/Road Score 1197.975
Home/Road Score 2196.950
Home/Road Score 3
Current NQS:N/A

LSU’s meet cancellations from earlier in the season mean the team has been slightly behind with the number of scores but will officially be caught up following this weekend’s two-meet adventure, with one road meet and one home meet to fill out the picture. With only two scores of LSU level so far, there is a bit more pressure to make sure the remaining meets are mostly good ones, but LSU does have six left.


6. Auburn – 197.250

Road Score 1197.750
Road Score 2197.250
Road Score 3196.050
Home/Road Score 1197.575
Home/Road Score 2197.525
Home/Road Score 3197.350
Current NQS:197.150

Auburn’s current NQS is exceptionally healthy and requires the removal of just that one low road score in order to be a perfectly competitive end-of-season total, one that would compare reasonably with what we’re seeing from #4 Utah. With six meets left and only one absolutely necessary score required, Auburn should have the luxury to manage athletes through March without the pressure to put the ideal lineup out every single time.


7. Alabama – 197.154

Road Score 1197.125
Road Score 2196.925
Road Score 3195.875
Home/Road Score 1197.875
Home/Road Score 2197.650
Home/Road Score 3197.475
Current NQS: 197.010

Alabama will be able to remove that 195 from the road scores easily, but we are currently seeing a large discrepancy between Alabama’s home scores and road scores, and it’s going to be difficult to keep up with Auburn—let alone the top 5—on just the strength of home scores. Alabama will look for a big number at LSU this Friday.


8. Minnesota – 197.095

Road Score 1197.125
Road Score 2196.225
Road Score 3
Home/Road Score 1197.650
Home/Road Score 2197.575
Home/Road Score 3196.900
Current NQS: N/A

Minnesota’s 196.225 loss to Maryland and Pittsburgh on Monday was not the highlight of the season and puts a little more strain on the three remaining road meets if Minnesota is to remain in the top 8 as we go. A road peak at 197.125 like Minnesota and Alabama have is good for now, but will it stay good?


9. Cal – 196.960

Road Score 1196.925
Road Score 2196.675
Road Score 3
Home/Road Score 1197.525
Home/Road Score 2197.350
Home/Road Score 3196.325
Current NQS: N/A

Currently, the top 7ish have established a fairly sizable gap between themselves and everyone else, so teams in the challenging pack like Cal will be looking to—surprise!—use a heavy March away schedule to improve those pesky road scores. Note that Cal will drop off the rankings next Monday when NQS kicks in, without enough road scores to get an NQS until the following week.


10. Kentucky – 196.880

Road Score 1196.700
Road Score 2196.275
Road Score 3
Home/Road Score 1197.450
Home/Road Score 2197.450
Home/Road Score 3196.525
Current NQS:N/A

See above. Everything about Cal also applies to Kentucky as the score-scapes and schedules are both very similar right now.


11. Missouri – 196.850

Road Score 1196.875
Road Score 2196.850
Road Score 3196.275
Home/Road Score 1197.650
Home/Road Score 2196.600
Home/Road Score 3
Current NQS:N/A

Missouri is currently in an interesting position because these are already extremely strong scores for Missouri historically (the final NQS last season was 196.444, so the team would basically just have to cough one more time to beat that this season). It’s a win. But if Missouri is entertaining top-10 hopes, that would mean using all five remaining meets to drop these 196s.


12. Denver – 196.800

Road Score 1197.600
Road Score 2196.625
Road Score 3196.600
Home/Road Score 1197.000
Home/Road Score 2196.850
Home/Road Score 3196.125
Current NQS:196.640

Unsurprisingly, Denver has suffered a bit of a score dip following the injury to Brown, though did get back up to 196.8 last Sunday, and did log two 197s in the Before Times. That means this is not at all terrible score picture, if still kind of vulnerable to getting dropped out of the all-important top 16 should the 196s continue. With only two road meets left, Denver will be eager to scoop up that good, good Metroplex goodness this Saturday.


13. Oregon State – 196.755

Road Score 1196.575
Road Score 2
Road Score 3
Home/Road Score 1197.375
Home/Road Score 2197.275
Home/Road Score 3197.000
Current NQS:N/A

Oregon State did itself a solid on Sunday with another 197, which sets the team up favorably to challenge the likes of #11 Missouri and #12 Denver, while also providing a little buffer in the race to the evening session at Pac-12s (a race that is going to get junky with UCLA still presumably going to finish with high scores but Arizona State with a lot more to give and Stanford getting almost 197s now). The question for Oregon State is that this team is still largely road-untested with just one away meet so far that went medium, part of a season schedule that also means Oregon State won’t actually rejoin the rankings until March 6th.


14. Michigan State – 196.611

Road Score 1196.775
Road Score 2196.500
Road Score 3195.875
Home/Road Score 1197.425
Home/Road Score 2196.875
Home/Road Score 3196.475
Current NQS:196.500

This is already obviously better than anyone possibly could have imagined, so, you know…good one? Drop that 195, then chill on the couch. Maintaining top 16 is going to be tough to do with mid-196s hanging around, so those probably do also need to go if MSU is to fend off some of the name brands still ranked lower.


15. UCLA – 196.410

Road Score 1196.850
Road Score 2196.300
Road Score 3194.850
Home/Road Score 1197.650
Home/Road Score 2196.400
Home/Road Score 3
Current NQS:N/A

The red flag for UCLA right now is that bold 196.850 at the top. Since there are just two road meets left on the Bruins’ schedule—Pac-12s and this Sunday’s meet at Arizona State—that 196.850 cannot be dropped and will inhibit how high the team can go because…it’s not a 197. There is perhaps no more urgent performance this coming weekend than UCLA’s at ASU because the score pretty much has to count. If it’s a missed meet, it becomes very tough to see a path for UCLA to the top 10 or a good postseason seeding.


16. Arkansas – 196.370

Road Score 1196.475
Road Score 2
Road Score 3
Home/Road Score 1197.200
Home/Road Score 2197.050
Home/Road Score 3195.675
Current NQS:N/A

Despite a deeply erratic start to the season—with meets that are just as likely to be 197s as they are multi-fall affairs—Arkansas is also sitting on two usable scores with six meets remaining. So there’s time. Much like Oregon State, Arkansas is still an untested road team and will be eager to compare favorably to Missouri in this weekend’s visit to have a chance at upsetting the current conference hierarchy.


17. Iowa – 196.285

Road Score 1196.475
Road Score 2196.425
Road Score 3195.950
Home/Road Score 1196.825
Home/Road Score 2196.125
Home/Road Score 3196.125
Current NQS:196.220

By average, Iowa currently sits outside the top 16 places (those who will be seeded at regionals) and will need to go higher than these 196.4s to change that. Iowa has not scored 49 on bars at an away meet so far this year, which is the main thing that will have to change during this month-long road meet streak.


18. Stanford – 196.230

Road Score 1196.275
Road Score 2196.000
Road Score 3195.725
Home/Road Score 1196.900
Home/Road Score 2196.250
Home/Road Score 3
Current NQS:N/A

Last year at this time Stanford had one score on the slate and it was 133. So this is better. 


19. BYU – 196.221

Road Score 1196.450
Road Score 2196.425
Road Score 3195.750
Home/Road Score 1196.775
Home/Road Score 2196.700
Home/Road Score 3195.225
Current NQS:196.110

20. Arizona State – 196.160

Road Score 1196.600
Road Score 2196.550
Road Score 3196.275
Home/Road Score 1196.100
Home/Road Score 2195.275
Home/Road Score 3
Current NQS:N/A

21. Utah State – 196.142

Road Score 1196.800
Road Score 2196.450
Road Score 3196.350
Home/Road Score 1196.425
Home/Road Score 2195.875
Home/Road Score 3194.950
Current NQS: 196.010

Watch out for Utah State to make a push once NQS turns on and that 194 goes away. 


22. Ohio State – 195.950

Road Score 1196.675
Road Score 2195.775
Road Score 3195.025
Home/Road Score 1196.450
Home/Road Score 2196.025
Home/Road Score 3195.750
Current NQS: 195.805

23. Southern Utah – 195.871

Road Score 1195.550
Road Score 2195.000
Road Score 3194.700
Home/Road Score 1196.975
Home/Road Score 2196.550
Home/Road Score 3196.450
Current NQS:195.650

Road score alert. SUU does still have four road meets on the schedule, and the juiciest looking score opportunity in the bunch is Friday’s visit to BYU.


24. Boise State – 195.783

Road Score 1196.525
Road Score 2
Road Score 3
Home/Road Score 1195.975
Home/Road Score 2194.850
Home/Road Score 3
Current NQS:N/A

Meet cancellations and a late start mean Boise State has barely begun. But with six meets currently left on the schedule and only one usable score by this season’s standards, the time is now. This week’s two-meet weekend is a big one.


25. Western Michigan – 195.720

Road Score 1196.100
Road Score 2195.400
Road Score 3194.875
Home/Road Score 1196.225
Home/Road Score 2196.000
Home/Road Score 3
Current NQS:N/A

Western Michigan started so well, but the scores haven’t come lately, and the big lingering question is whether low 196s will be enough to make regionals. They always have been before, but the scores are different this year. 


26. Illinois – 195.658

Road Score 1196.450
Road Score 2196.350
Road Score 3195.650
Home/Road Score 1195.725
Home/Road Score 2195.450
Home/Road Score 3194.325
Current NQS:195.500

27. Georgia – 195.600

Road Score 1196.800
Road Score 2196.125
Road Score 3194.500
Home/Road Score 1196.100
Home/Road Score 2194.475
Home/Road Score 3
Current NQS: N/A

Teams like Georgia are the ones NQS is designed to protect, teams that started poorly and have low averages but are going to end up getting enough scores to be fine. But in terms of definitely, absolutely safe scores, Georgia still has only one of them and six meets remaining, so can’t afford much dawdling.  


28. North Carolina – 195.554

Road Score 1195.325
Road Score 2194.225
Road Score 3
Home/Road Score 1196.475
Home/Road Score 2196.000
Home/Road Score 3195.700
Current NQS:N/A

Road score alert.


29. Kent State – 195.505

Road Score 1196.200
Road Score 2195.600
Road Score 3194.875
Home/Road Score 1195.550
Home/Road Score 2195.300
Home/Road Score 3
Current NQS:N/A

30. NC State – 195.450

Road Score 1196.725
Road Score 2195.125
Road Score 3194.550
Home/Road Score 1195.600
Home/Road Score 2195.250
Home/Road Score 3
Current NQS:N/A

31. Towson – 195.425

Road Score 1195.975
Road Score 2194.975
Road Score 3194.000
Home/Road Score 1196.700
Home/Road Score 2196.225
Home/Road Score 3195.950
Current NQS:195.425

32. West Virginia – 195.395

Road Score 1195.925
Road Score 2195.425
Road Score 3194.000
Home/Road Score 1195.900
Home/Road Score 2195.725
Home/Road Score 3
Current NQS:N/A

33. San Jose State – 195.385

Road Score 1196.550
Road Score 2195.950
Road Score 3192.725
Home/Road Score 1195.975
Home/Road Score 2195.725
Home/Road Score 3
Current NQS:N/A

Watch out for SJSU in the coming weeks. There’s a misleading 192 in there.


34. Arizona – 195.370

Road Score 1196.050
Road Score 2195.500
Road Score 3195.125
Home/Road Score 1196.400
Home/Road Score 2193.775
Home/Road Score 3
Current NQS:N/A

35. Penn State – 195.358

Road Score 1196.425
Road Score 2195.875
Road Score 3195.325
Home/Road Score 1195.475
Home/Road Score 2194.775
Home/Road Score 3194.275
Current NQS:195.145

36. Maryland – 195.325

Road Score 1195.950
Road Score 2192.925
Road Score 3
Home/Road Score 1196.700
Home/Road Score 2196.125
Home/Road Score 3194.925
Current NQS:N/A

37. Nebraska – 195.225

Road Score 1195.625
Road Score 2195.525
Road Screo 3194.425
Home/Road Score 1196.350
Home/Road Score 2195.500
Home/Road Score 3193.925
Current NQS:195.000

38. Iowa State – 195.200

Road Score 1195.775
Road Score 2195.575
Road Score 3194.075
Home/Road Score 1196.225
Home/Road Score 2194.350
Home/Road Score 3
Current NQS:N/A

39. Washington – 195.050

Road Score 1195.100
Road Score 2194.450
Road Score 3194.000
Home/Road Score 1196.250
Home/Road Score 2195.450
Home/Road Score 3
Current NQS:N/A

Washington has just three road meets left, including Saturday at Metroplex, where a regionals-competitive 196 is starting to look like an absolute must. 


40. UC Davis – 194.963

Road Score 1195.625
Road Score 2195.075
Road Score 3194.700
Home/Road Score 1195.675
Home/Road Score 2194.625
Home/Road Score 3194.075
Current NQS:194.820

41. Rutgers – 194.961

Road Score 1195.750
Road Score 2195.550
Road Score 3195.175
Home/Road Score 1195.950
Home/Road Score 2195.675
Home/Road Score 3194.550
Current NQS:195.340

Since Rutgers has already been able to drop its first-meet 192, Rutgers’ NQS is much higher than a number of the teams that are ranked above on average.


42. Temple – 194.946

Road Score 1195.825
Road Score 2195.800
Road Score 3195.425
Home/Road Score 1194.650
Home/Road Score 2194.525
Home/Road Score 3193.450
Current NQS:194.770

43. Pittsburgh – 194.933

Road Score 1196.450
Road Score 2195.575
Road Score 3194.575
Home/Road Score 1195.800
Home/Road Score 2194.300
Home/Road Score 3192.900
Current NQS:194.630

44. George Washington – 194.908

Road Score 1194.925
Road Score 2194.825
Road Score 3194.750
Home/Road Score 1196.025
Home/Road Score 2194.675
Home/Road Score 3194.250
Current NQS:194.685

45. Northern Illinois – 194.861

Road Score 1195.075
Road Score 2194.550
Road Score 3194.225
Home/Road Score 1196.300
Home/Road Score 2195.950
Home/Road Score 3194.150
Current NQS:194.790

46. New Hampshire – 194.538

Road Score 1195.400
Road Score 2193.625
Road Score 3193.625
Home/Road Score 1196.450
Home/Road Score 2195.875
Home/Road Score 3192.250
Current NQS:194.155

47. Central Michigan – 194.496

Road Score 1195.550
Road Score 2194.650
Road Score 3193.950
Home/Road Score 1196.475
Home/Road Score 2193.425
Home/Road Score 3192.925
Current NQS:194.100

48. Ball State – 194.494

Road Score 1195.675
Road Score 2195.025
Road Score 3194.750
Home/Road Score 1195.850
Home/Road Score 2194.800
Home/Road Score 3194.350
Current NQS:194.920

A not-enough-people meet over the weekend sunk Ball State’s average, but keep an eye out because that score is already dropped for NQS, which is a healthier number. 


49. Eastern Michigan – 194.396

Road Score 1195.200
Road Score 2194.575
Road Score 3194.100
Home/Road Score 1195.025
Home/Road Score 2193.950
Home/Road Score 3193.525
Current NQS:194.235

50. Pennsylvania – 194.067

Road Score 1195.375
Road Score 2194.875
Road Score 3191.300
Home/Road Score 1194.925
Home/Road Score 2194.425
Home/Road Score 3193.500
Current NQS:193.805