Home/Road Disparity and RQS Update

As we head toward the postseason, it's natural to wonder how regular season performance is going to translate into performance at Regionals and Championships. Is that big home score really indicative of a team's quality, or are those road scores going to be as good as it gets?

That's why I'm looking at the disparity between home and road scores this week. Below, teams are ranked by the average difference between their top three home scores and their top three road scores. (These are not necessarily the six RQS scores since occasionally more than three road scores count for RQS.) Teams at the top of the list are getting the biggest boost from competing at home (Boise State and Nebraska are scoring over a point better at home on average), and teams at the bottom are getting the smallest. A negative number indicates a higher average on the road.

In general, the larger the disparity between home and road scores, the more questions we should have about realistic performance level, either because of charitable home scoring or a lack of consistency on the road (or both). Note that both Ohio State and West Virginia appear in the top 5. This is why I have been warning about the seeds who get placed in the Ohio State and West Virginia Regionals. We're going to see some scoring fireworks there.

Largest Home/Road Disparity
1. Boise State +1.167
2. Nebraska +1.100
3. Ohio State +0.958
4. Florida +0.908
5. West Virginia +0.900
6. Arkansas +0.767
7. Minnesota +0.642
8. Georgia +0.575
9. Iowa +0.525
10. Oklahoma +0.442
11. Stanford +0.375
12. Penn State +0.367
13. Auburn +0.358
14. UCLA +0.317
15. Kent State +0.308
16. Oregon State +0.208
17. Utah +0.200
18. Arizona +0.183
19. Denver +0.167
20. Illinois +0.100
21. LSU +0.025
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22. Michigan -0.050
23. Kentucky -0.133
24. Central Michigan -0.142
25. Alabama -0.158

As always, RQS:

1. Oklahoma (Current RQS: 197.570)
Road Score 1: 197.625
Road Score 2: 197.450
Road Score 3: 197.375
Road/Home Score 1: 198.375
Road/Home Score 2: 197.875
Road/Home Score 3: 197.525

2. Florida (Current RQS: 197.440)
Road Score 1: 197.575
Road Score 2: 197.300
Road Score 3: 196.575
Road/Home Score 1: 198.425
Road Home Score 2: 198.100
Road/Home Score 3: 197.650

Both Florida and Oklahoma are away this weekend, but since Florida still has that measly little 196.575 counting, the Gators are more likely to improve. They will need a 197.250 to pass Oklahoma if Oklahoma doesn't change. I expect both teams to score much higher than that, but the Gators should move in front as long as they score close to or above the Sooners.


3. Michigan (Current RQS: 197.175)
Road Score 1: 197.550
Road Score 2: 197.300
Road Score 3: 196.925
Road/Home Score 1: 197.375
Road/Home Score 2: 197.350
Road/Home Score 3: 196.925

4. Alabama (Current RQS: 197.125)
Road Score 1: 197.725
Road Score 2: 197.100
Road Score 3: 196.950
Road/Home Score 1: 197.650
Road/Home Score 2: 197.075
Road/Home Score 3: 196.850

Alabama has the slightly lower score to get rid of this weekend, but these teams are close enough that it will probably be back and forth until the last rotation of conference championships.

5. LSU (Current RQS: 197.055)
Road Score 1: 197.275
Road Score 2: 197.100
Road Score 3: 196.975
Road/Home Score 1: 197.500
Road/Home Score 2: 197.050
Road/Home Score 3: 196.875

6. Georgia (Current RQS: 196.985)
Road Score 1: 196.825
Road Score 2: 196.825
Road Score 3: 196.775
Road/Home Score 1: 197.650
Road/Home Score 2: 197.500
Road/Home Score 3: 197.000

7. Utah (Current RQS: 196.940)
Road Score 1: 197.125
Road Score 2: 196.975
Road Score 3: 196.600
Road/Home Score 1: 197.300
Road/Home Score 2: 197.050
Road/Home Score 3: 196.950

8. UCLA (Current RQS: 196.905)
Road Score 1: 197.200
Road Score 2: 196.925
Road Score 3: 196.375
Road/Home Score 1: 197.425
Road/Home Score 2: 197.075
Road/Home Score 3: 196.950

The Bruins' secret weapon is that low road score they can potentially drop after Pac-12s.

9. Oregon State (Current RQS: 196.790)
Road Score 1: 197.175
Road Score 2: 196.825
Road Score 3: 196.300
Road/Home Score 1: 197.275
Road/Home Score 2: 196.925
Road/Home Score 3: 196.725

10. Stanford (Current RQS: 196.590)
Road Score 1: 197.075
Road Score 2: 196.450
Road Score 3: 196.025
Road/Home Score 1: 197.275
Road/Home Score 2: 197.200
Road/Home Score 3: 196.200

11. Nebraska (Current RQS: 196.565)
Road Score 1: 196.300
Road Score 2: 196.150
Road Score 3: 196.150
Road/Home Score 1: 197.675
Road/Home Score 2: 197.175
Road/Home Score 3: 197.050

12. Auburn (Current RQS: 196.510)
Road Score 1: 196.725
Road Score 2: 196.575
Road Score 3: 196.025
Road/Home Score 1: 197.175
Road/Home Score 2: 196.825
Road/Home Score 3: 196.400

13. Denver (Current RQS: 196.340)
Road Score 1: 196.800
Road Score 2: 196.400
Road Score 3: 196.150
Road/Home Score 1: 197.200
Road/Home Score 2: 196.600
Road/Home Score 3: 196.050

14. Minnesota (Current RQS: 196.250)
Road Score 1: 197.175
Road Score 2: 195.550
Road Score 3: 195.525
Road/Home Score 1: 196.800
Road/Home Score 2: 196.775
Road/Home Score 3: 196.600

15. Arkansas (Current RQS: 196.090)
Road Score 1: 196.350
Road Score 2: 195.650
Road Score 3: 195.625
Road/Home Score 1: 197.100
Road/Home Score 2: 196.650
Road/Home Score 3: 196.175

16. Penn State (Current RQS: 196.085)
Road Score 1: 196.700
Road Score 2: 196.300
Road Score 3: 195.150
Road/Home Score 1: 196.975
Road/Home Score 2: 196.700
Road/Home Score 3: 195.575

17. Illinois (Current RQS: 196.030)
Road Score 1: 196.350
Road Score 2: 196.300
Road Score 3: 195.450
Road/Home Score 1: 196.300
Road/Home Score 2: 196.125
Road/Home Score 3: 195.975

18. Arizona (Current RQS: 195.960)
Road Score 1: 196.125
Road Score 2: 195.950
Road Score 3: 195.800
Road/Home Score 1: 196.500
Road/Home Score 2: 196.075
Road/Home Score 3: 195.850

19. Kentucky (Current RQS: 195.860)
Road Score 1: 196.500
Road Score 2: 196.075
Road Score 3: 195.525
Road/Home Score 1: 196.375
Road/Home Score 2: 195.825
Road/Home Score 3: 195.500

20. Ohio State (Current RQS: 195.815)
Road Score 1: 195.950
Road Score 2: 195.575
Road Score 3: 195.000
Road/Home Score 1: 196.850
Road/Home Score 2: 196.300
Road/Home Score 3: 196.250

21. West Virginia (Current RQS: 195.780)
Road Score 1: 195.775
Road Score 2: 195.450
Road Score 3: 195.150
Road/Home Score 1: 196.550
Road/Home Score 2: 196.375
Road/Home Score 3: 196.150

22. Kent State (Current RQS: 195.755)
Road Score 1: 195.800
Road Score 2: 195.800
Road Score 3: 195.450
Road/Home Score 1: 196.250
Road/Home Score 2: 196.050
Road/Home Score 3: 195.675

23. Boise State (Current RQS: 195.665)
Road Score 1: 195.575
Road Score 2: 195.425
Road Score 3: 194.700
Road/Home Score 1: 196.575
Road/Home Score 2: 196.325
Road/Home Score 3: 196.300

24. Central Michigan (Current RQS: 195.620)
Road Score 1: 195.875
Road Score 2: 195.875
Road Score 3: 195.575
Road/Home Score 1: 196.125
Road/Home Score 2: 195.725
Road/Home Score 3: 195.050

25. Iowa (Current RQS: 195.600)
Road Score 1: 195.875
Road Score 2: 195.325
Road Score 3: 195.200
Road/Home Score 1: 196.375
Road/Home Score 2: 195.875
Road/Home Score 3: 195.725