Rank..Conf...School........Rating

..1.....SEC....Alabama.........101.2
..2.....B1G....Ohio State........96.0
..3.....ACC....Clemson...........95.6
..4.....XII.....Oklahoma.........90.1
..5.....SEC....Georgia............88.0
..6.....B1G....Wisconsin.........88.0
..7.....XII......TCU.................87.0
..8.....SEC.....LSU.................86.8
..9.....PAC.....Stanford..........86.0
.10....PAC.....Southern Cal....85.9

.11....SEC.....Auburn............85.9
.12....ACC....Florida State.....85.7
.13....PAC....Washington.......84.7
.14....B1G....Michigan...........83.4
.15....B1G....Penn State........83.0
.16....SEC....Mississippi St.....82.9
.17....XII.....Oklahoma St......82.8
.18....IND....Notre Dame.......82.1
.19....B1G...Michigan St........81.6
.20....SEC...Ole Miss.............80.9

.21....PAC...Oregon..............80.8
.22....ACC...Louisville...........80.8
.23....ACC...Miami................80.7
.24....XII....Kansas State......80.3
.25....PAC...Utah.................80.2
.26....ACC...Virginia Tech.....79.9
.27....SEC...Florida..............79.8
.28....ACC...Georgia Tech.....79.6
.29....SEC...Texas A&M........79.4
.30....B1G...Iowa................79.0

.31....XII....Baylor...............79.0
.32....SEC...Arkansas...........78.6
.33....SEC...Tennessee.........78.5
.34....XII....West Virginia......78.4
.35....ACC...NC State...........77.9
.36....B1G...Northwestern.....77.0
.37....PAC...UCLA.................76.3
.38....AAC...Memphis..........75.8
.39....MWC..Boise St...........75.7
.40....ACC...Pitt...................75.0

.41....ACC...North Carolina....74.9
.42....B1G...Nebraska...........74.7
.43....PAC...Washington St....74.7
.44....B1G...Minnesota..........74.4
.45....XII....Texas.................74.4
.46....PAC...Arizona State......74.3
.47....SEC...Missouri.............74.0
.48....PAC...California............73.8
.49....AAC...Houston............73.4
.50....ACC...Duke..................73.0


G5 schools in bold

Edits in red. Result of the edit is to remove San Diego State and South Carolina from the Top 50.

Big story is the rise of TCU from mid-major to the class of Texas.

(06-26-2018 11:04 AM)ken d Wrote:  Rank..Conf...School........Rating

..1.....SEC....Alabama.........101.2
..2.....B1G....Ohio State........96.0
..3.....ACC....Clemson...........95.6
..4.....XII.....Oklahoma.........90.1
..5.....SEC....Georgia............88.0
..6.....B1G....Wisconsin.........88.0
..7.....XII......TCU.................87.0
..8.....SEC.....LSU.................86.8
..9.....PAC.....Stanford..........86.0
.10....PAC.....Southern Cal....85.9

.11....SEC.....Auburn............85.9
.12....ACC....Florida State.....85.7
.13....PAC....Washington.......84.7
.14....B1G....Michigan...........83.4
.15....B1G....Penn State........83.0
.16....SEC....Mississippi St.....82.9
.17....XII.....Oklahoma St......82.8
.18....IND....Notre Dame.......82.1
.19....B1G...Michigan St........81.6
.20....PAC...Oregon..............80.8

.21....ACC...Louisville...........80.8
.22....ACC...Miami................80.7
.23....XII....Kansas State......80.3
.24....PAC...Utah.................80.2
.25....ACC...Virginia Tech.....79.9
.26....SEC...Florida..............79.8
.27....ACC...Georgia Tech.....79.6
.28....SEC...Texas A&M........79.4
.29....B1G...Iowa................79.0
.30....XII....Baylor...............79.0

.31....SEC...Arkansas...........78.6
.32....SEC...Tennessee.........78.5
.33....XII....West Virginia......78.4
.34....ACC...NC State...........77.9
.35....B1G...Northwestern.....77.0
.36....PAC...UCLA.................76.3
.37....AAC...Memphis..........75.8
.38....MWC..Boise St...........75.7
.39....ACC...Pitt...................75.0
.40....ACC...North Carolina....74.9

.41....B1G...Nebraska...........74.7
.42....PAC...Washington St....74.7
.43....B1G...Minnesota..........74.4
.44....XII....Texas.................74.4
.45....PAC...Arizona State......74.3
.46....SEC...Missouri.............74.0
.47....PAC...California............73.8
.48....AAC...Houston............73.4
.49....MWC..San Diego St.....73.0
.50....SEC...South Carolina.....72.9


G5 schools in bold

So unless I’m missing something P5 schools not in the top 50 are:
Syracuse, BC, Wake, Duke and UVA from the ACC.
Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Mississippi from the SEC.
Oregon State, Colorado and Arizona from the PAC-12.
Kansas, Iowa State and Texas Tech from the Big-12.
Rutgers, Maryland, Purdue, Indiana and Illinois from the B1G.

After reviewing the data, I found two errors. Ole Miss should have been ranked at #20 and Duke at #50. That would knock San Diego State and South Carolina out of the Top 50. I'll edit the OP to show that. It may take more than a few minutes.

(06-26-2018 11:47 AM)MKPitt Wrote:  

(06-26-2018 11:04 AM)ken d Wrote:  Rank..Conf...School........Rating

..1.....SEC....Alabama.........101.2
..2.....B1G....Ohio State........96.0
..3.....ACC....Clemson...........95.6
..4.....XII.....Oklahoma.........90.1
..5.....SEC....Georgia............88.0
..6.....B1G....Wisconsin.........88.0
..7.....XII......TCU.................87.0
..8.....SEC.....LSU.................86.8
..9.....PAC.....Stanford..........86.0
.10....PAC.....Southern Cal....85.9

.11....SEC.....Auburn............85.9
.12....ACC....Florida State.....85.7
.13....PAC....Washington.......84.7
.14....B1G....Michigan...........83.4
.15....B1G....Penn State........83.0
.16....SEC....Mississippi St.....82.9
.17....XII.....Oklahoma St......82.8
.18....IND....Notre Dame.......82.1
.19....B1G...Michigan St........81.6
.20....PAC...Oregon..............80.8

.21....ACC...Louisville...........80.8
.22....ACC...Miami................80.7
.23....XII....Kansas State......80.3
.24....PAC...Utah.................80.2
.25....ACC...Virginia Tech.....79.9
.26....SEC...Florida..............79.8
.27....ACC...Georgia Tech.....79.6
.28....SEC...Texas A&M........79.4
.29....B1G...Iowa................79.0
.30....XII....Baylor...............79.0

.31....SEC...Arkansas...........78.6
.32....SEC...Tennessee.........78.5
.33....XII....West Virginia......78.4
.34....ACC...NC State...........77.9
.35....B1G...Northwestern.....77.0
.36....PAC...UCLA.................76.3
.37....AAC...Memphis..........75.8
.38....MWC..Boise St...........75.7
.39....ACC...Pitt...................75.0
.40....ACC...North Carolina....74.9

.41....B1G...Nebraska...........74.7
.42....PAC...Washington St....74.7
.43....B1G...Minnesota..........74.4
.44....XII....Texas.................74.4
.45....PAC...Arizona State......74.3
.46....SEC...Missouri.............74.0
.47....PAC...California............73.8
.48....AAC...Houston............73.4
.49....MWC..San Diego St.....73.0
.50....SEC...South Carolina.....72.9


G5 schools in bold

So unless I’m missing something P5 schools not in the top 50 are:
Syracuse, BC, Wake, Duke and UVA from the ACC.
Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Mississippi from the SEC.
Oregon State, Colorado and Arizona from the PAC-12.
Kansas, Iowa State and Texas Tech from the Big-12.
Rutgers, Maryland, Purdue, Indiana and Illinois from the B1G.

Rank of P5s not in Top 50:

52 South Carolina
54 Boston College
57 Arizona
58 Texas Tech
65 Iowa State
66 Kentucky
67 Indiana
68 Colorado
69 Wake Forest
72 Maryland
74 Virginia
77 Syracuse
80 Vanderbilt
81 Purdue
84 Illinois
88 Oregon State
92 Rutgers
115 Kansas

(06-26-2018 11:04 AM)ken d Wrote:  Sagarin's Four Year Top 50

You excluded North Dakota State.

Sagarin includes FCS teams in his rankings, and for each of these four seasons, North Dakota State was in his top 50. They were in the 30s 3 out of those 4 seasons and #44 the other season, so they're well within the top 50.

(06-26-2018 11:04 AM)ken d Wrote:  Rank..Conf...School........Rating

..1.....SEC....Alabama.........101.2
..2.....B1G....Ohio State........96.0
..3.....ACC....Clemson...........95.6
..4.....XII.....Oklahoma.........90.1
..5.....SEC....Georgia............88.0
..6.....B1G....Wisconsin.........88.0
..7.....XII......TCU.................87.0
..8.....SEC.....LSU.................86.8
..9.....PAC.....Stanford..........86.0
.10....PAC.....Southern Cal....85.9

.11....SEC.....Auburn............85.9
.12....ACC....Florida State.....85.7
.13....PAC....Washington.......84.7
.14....B1G....Michigan...........83.4
.15....B1G....Penn State........83.0
.16....SEC....Mississippi St.....82.9
.17....XII.....Oklahoma St......82.8
.18....IND....Notre Dame.......82.1
.19....B1G...Michigan St........81.6
.20....SEC...Ole Miss.............80.9

.21....PAC...Oregon..............80.8
.22....ACC...Louisville...........80.8
.23....ACC...Miami................80.7
.24....XII....Kansas State......80.3
.25....PAC...Utah.................80.2
.26....ACC...Virginia Tech.....79.9
.27....SEC...Florida..............79.8
.28....ACC...Georgia Tech.....79.6
.29....SEC...Texas A&M........79.4
.30....B1G...Iowa................79.0

.31....XII....Baylor...............79.0
.32....SEC...Arkansas...........78.6
.33....SEC...Tennessee.........78.5
.34....XII....West Virginia......78.4
.35....ACC...NC State...........77.9
.36....B1G...Northwestern.....77.0
.37....PAC...UCLA.................76.3
.38....AAC...Memphis..........75.8
.39....MWC..Boise St...........75.7
.40....ACC...Pitt...................75.0

.41....ACC...North Carolina....74.9
.42....B1G...Nebraska...........74.7
.43....PAC...Washington St....74.7
.44....B1G...Minnesota..........74.4
.45....XII....Texas.................74.4
.46....PAC...Arizona State......74.3
.47....SEC...Missouri.............74.0
.48....PAC...California............73.8
.49....AAC...Houston............73.4
.50....ACC...Duke..................73.0


G5 schools in bold

Edits in red. Result of the edit is to remove San Diego State and South Carolina from the Top 50.

Thanks for your work on this. What would this look like for 5 years or 10?

Outside of simply being interesting information, is there any realignment/expansion purpose to having a consistently high ranking program? Surely it helped TCU but TCU is also in the DFW Metroplex (metro population #4), has good academics (USNEWS #78), and is a former SWC member (previous relationships with current XII members.) Outside of football competitiveness, TCU had: 1) good market/recruiting grounds, 2) good academics, and 3) established relationships with power conference schools.

Using those 3 elements:

Houston has all #1, #3
Memphis and San Diego St each have #1
Boise St has none

Really, none of those four non-power schools are the same quality of an addition as TCU.

Quote:44....B1G...Minnesota..........74.4

Did I miss something about Goofer success over the last four years?

(06-26-2018 02:16 PM)BePcr07 Wrote:  Outside of simply being interesting information, is there any realignment/expansion purpose to having a consistently high ranking program? Surely it helped TCU but TCU is also in the DFW Metroplex (metro population #4), has good academics (USNEWS #78), and is a former SWC member (previous relationships with current XII members.) Outside of football competitiveness, TCU had: 1) good market/recruiting grounds, 2) good academics, and 3) established relationships with power conference schools.

Using those 3 elements:

Houston has all #1, #3
Memphis and San Diego St each have #1
Boise St has none

Really, none of those four non-power schools are the same quality of an addition as TCU.

I think Boise State have number 3. They have played Washington, Oregon, Oregon State and Washington State a lot for like 12 years. None other power conference schools have played them more than those 4.

(06-26-2018 01:05 PM)ken d Wrote:  Rank of P5s not in Top 50:

52 South Carolina
54 Boston College
57 Arizona
58 Texas Tech
65 Iowa State
66 Kentucky
67 Indiana
68 Colorado
69 Wake Forest
72 Maryland
74 Virginia
77 Syracuse
80 Vanderbilt
81 Purdue
84 Illinois
88 Oregon State
92 Rutgers
115 Kansas

South Carolina had an awful 2014-2016 but should be back in the top 50 (and realistically much higher than that) in short order.

(06-26-2018 01:27 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(06-26-2018 11:04 AM)ken d Wrote:  Sagarin's Four Year Top 50

You excluded North Dakota State.

Sagarin includes FCS teams in his rankings, and for each of these four seasons, North Dakota State was in his top 50. They were in the 30s 3 out of those 4 seasons and #44 the other season, so they're well within the top 50.

Good eye. While I only rank ordered the 130 schools in the FBS, there surely are some FCS schools who rank higher than some FBS schools.

North Dakota State is the most extreme. Their average rating of 77.7 would put them at #36, between NC State and Northwestern.

I'll try to find some others. They most likely would be found in the Missouri Valley.

(06-26-2018 03:25 PM)ken d Wrote:  

(06-26-2018 01:27 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(06-26-2018 11:04 AM)ken d Wrote:  Sagarin's Four Year Top 50

You excluded North Dakota State.

Sagarin includes FCS teams in his rankings, and for each of these four seasons, North Dakota State was in his top 50. They were in the 30s 3 out of those 4 seasons and #44 the other season, so they're well within the top 50.

Good eye. While I only rank ordered the 130 schools in the FBS, there surely are some FCS schools who rank higher than some FBS schools.

North Dakota State is the most extreme. Their average rating of 77.7 would put them at #36, between NC State and Northwestern.

I'll try to find some others. The most likely would be found in the Missouri Valley.

Just by eyeballing Sagarin's ratings, I think NDSU will be the only FCS team in the top 50 if you average over the last 4 seasons. James Madison was top-50 in each of the last 2 seasons but outside the top 100 in each of the 2 seasons before that.

NDSU’s 4-year Sagarin would put them...
PAC - 6th
B1G - 7th
XII - 7th
ACC - 8th
SEC - 11th

G5 - 1st

NDSU is ranked ahead of 30 of 64 P5 programs and 62 of 62 G5 programs.

So far, I have found at least 13 FCS schools that would rank higher than some FBS schools. Of these, 8 would rank in the Top 100 (11 rank higher than the lowest P5 - Kansas).

There are probably more, but finding them is tedious, and I've already spent enough time searching.

The 13 I found would rank as follows, if they were in the FBS:

36 North Dakota State
72 South Dakota State
75 Northern Iowa
77 James Madison
84 Illinois State
86 Jacksonville State
90 Youngstown State
96 Sam Houston State
102 Eastern Washington
108 Chattanooga
117 New Hampshire
134 Harvard
140 Indiana State

I suspect if you were to compare this list with a list of FCS wins over FBS (and P5) schools, there would be a strong correlation between the two.

(06-26-2018 04:21 PM)ken d Wrote:  So far, I have found at least 13 FCS schools that would rank higher than some FBS schools. Of these, 8 would rank in the Top 100 (11 rank higher than the lowest P5 - Kansas).

There are probably more, but finding them is tedious, and I've already spent enough time searching.

The 13 I found would rank as follows, if they were in the FBS:

36 North Dakota State
72 South Dakota State
75 Northern Iowa
77 James Madison
84 Illinois State
86 Jacksonville State
90 Youngstown State
96 Sam Houston State
102 Eastern Washington
108 Chattanooga
117 New Hampshire
134 Harvard
140 Indiana State

I suspect if you were to compare this list with a list of FCS wins over FBS (and P5) schools, there would be a strong correlation between the two.

Chattanooga took a nose dive last year, or they would be up higher.

(06-26-2018 02:36 PM)Gamecock Wrote:  South Carolina had an awful 2014-2016 but should be back in the top 50 (and realistically much higher than that) in short order.

So ... I must have been in the bathroom when you guys fired Will Muschamp and replaced him with a competent head football coach?

Average Sagarin Rating for Football, 2014-2017

1. Alabama (101.21)
2. Ohio State (96.04)
3. Clemson (95.62)
4. Oklahoma (90.13)
5. Georgia (88.00)
6. Wisconsin (87.96)
7. TCU (87.02)
8. LSU (86.79)
9. Stanford (86.02)
10. USC (85.95)
11. Auburn (85.86)
12. Florida State (85.68)
13. Washington (84.75)
14. Michigan (83.36)
15. Penn State (82.96)
16. Mississippi State (82.93)
17. Oklahoma State (82.84)
18. Notre Dame (82.07)
19. Michigan State (81.59)
20. Ole Miss (80.87)
21. Oregon (80.79)
22. Louisville (80.78)
23. Miami-FL (80.66)
24. Kansas State (80.27)
25. Utah (80.19)
26. Virginia Tech (79.94)
27. Florida (79.81)
28. Georgia Tech (79.55)
29. Texas A&M (79.36)
30. Iowa (79.05)
31. Baylor (79.00)
32. Arkansas (78.61)
33. Tennessee (78.50)
34. West Virginia (78.39)
35. NC State (77.95)
36. North Dakota State (77.70)
37. Northwestern (76.99)
38. UCLA (76.28)
39. Memphis (75.78)
40. Boise State (75.74)
41. Pittsburgh (74.97)
42. North Carolina (74.89)
43. Nebraska (74.74)
44. Washington State (74.72)
45. Minnesota (74.42)
45. Texas (74.42)
47. Arizona State (74.29)
48. Missouri (73.99)
49. California (73.79)
50. Houston (73.39)
51. San Diego State (73.00)
52. Duke (73.00)
53. South Carolina (72.92)
54. Navy (72.73)
55. Boston College (72.06)
56. Toledo (71.96)
57. BYU (71.49)
58. Arizona (71.31)
59. Texas Tech (71.27)
60. Louisiana Tech (70.90)
61. Temple (70.80)
62. Appalachian State (70.54)
63. South Florida (70.50)
64. Western Kentucky (70.44)
65. Western Michigan (70.31)
66. Iowa State (70.14)
67. Kentucky (69.81)
68. Indiana (69.04)
69. Colorado (68.76)
70. Wake Forest (68.35)
71. Air Force (67.79)
72. South Dakota State (67.47)
73. Central Florida (67.30)
74. Maryland (67.08)
75. Northern Iowa (66.95)
76. James Madison (66.91)
77. Arkansas State (66.90)
78. Virginia (66.75)
79. Marshall (66.50)
80. Colorado State (66.39)
81. Syracuse (65.88)
82. Northern Illinois (65.82)
83. Utah State (65.80)
84. Illinois State (65.44)
85. Vanderbilt (64.67)
86. Jacksonville State (64.18)
87. Purdue (63.74)
88. Cincinnati (63.22)
89. Georgia Southern (63.01)
90. Youngstown State (62.71)
91. Illinois (62.44)
92. Ohio (62.42)
93. Tulsa (62.35)
94. East Carolina (62.03)
95. Oregon State (61.79)
96. Sam Houston (61.55)
97. Southern Miss (61.43)
98. Central Michigan (61.43)
99. Troy (61.07)
100. Rutgers (60.97)
101. Middle Tennessee (60.72)
102. Eastern Washington (60.68)
103. UAB (60.48)
104. Nevada (60.00)
105. Wyoming (59.98)
106. Army (59.61)
107. Bowling Green (59.38)
108. Chattanooga (59.15)
109. Coastal Carolina (58.78)
110. New Mexico (58.77)
111. Western Illinois (58.45)
112. Fresno State (57.98)
113. Richmond (57.75)
114. Samford (57.57)
115. FAU (57.19)
116. Villanova (57.16)
117. Louisiana-Lafayette (56.87)
118. Akron (56.64)
119. Tulane (56.43)
120. Old Dominion (56.26)
121. Wofford (56.03)
122. Central Arkansas (55.92)
123. New Hampshire (55.90)
124. UTSA (55.89)
125. Montana (55.29)
126. Southern Utah (54.78)
127. SMU (54.69)
128. Southern Illinois (54.66)
129. FIU (54.59)
130. Idaho (54.57)
131. Miami-OH (54.41)
132. Charleston Southern (54.26)
133. Buffalo (54.21)
134. Hawaii (53.81)
135. South Alabama (53.57)
136. Citadel (53.55)
137. South Dakota (53.17)
138. Kansas (53.02)
139. Massachusetts (52.95)
140. San Jose State (52.94)
141. Connecticut (52.89)
142. Rice (52.78)
143. UNLV (52.59)
144. McNeese State (52.48)
145. North Texas (51.93)
146. Louisiana-Monroe (51.56)
147. Weber State (51.12)
148. Georgia State (50.89)
149. Liberty (50.82)
150. Harvard (50.81)
151. Ball State (50.79)
152. Montana State (50.57)
153. Eastern Michigan (50.22)
154. Tennessee-Martin (50.10)
155. Northern Arizona (49.81)
156. New Mexico State (49.61)
157. NC A&T (49.35)
158. UTEP (49.07)
159. SE Louisiana (49.06)
160. Western Carolina (48.99)
161. William & Mary (48.74)
162. Eastern Illinois (48.56)
163. Dartmouth (48.43)
164. Indiana State (48.40)
165. Furman (48.23)
166. Fordham (48.05)
167. North Dakota (47.95)
168. Cal Poly (47.86)
169. Kennesaw State (47.82)
170. Stony Brook (47.77)
171. Mercer (47.59)
172. Kent State (47.10)
173. Texas State (46.99)
174. Colgate (46.76)
175. Yale (46.16)
176. Princeton (45.94)
177. Albany (45.74)
178. Maine (45.63)
179. Delaware (45.30)
180. Duquesne (45.01)
181. Missouri State (44.61)
182. Eastern Kentucky (44.37)
183. Grambling State (44.11)
184. Penn (43.99)
185. Portland State (43.86)
186. San Diego (43.83)
187. Lehigh (43.48)
188. Southeast Missouri (43.27)
189. Charlotte (43.22)
190. Towson (42.21)
191. St. Francis-PA (42.18)
192. Bryant (42.07)
193. UC Davis (41.74)
194. Sacramento State (41.64)
195. Stephen F. Austin (41.61)
196. Monmouth (41.60)
197. Alcorn State (41.28)
198. Northern Colorado (41.11)
199. Idaho State (40.97)
200. NC Central (40.71)
201. Tennessee State (40.51)
202. Bethune-Cookman (40.25)
203. Holy Cross (39.99)
204. Northwestern State (39.71)
205. Tennessee Tech (39.64)
206. SC State (39.45)
207. Sacred Heart (38.58)
208. Southern (37.67)
209. Elon (37.50)
210. Lamar (37.47)
211. Murray State (37.33)
212. Abilene Christian (37.27)
213. Bucknell (37.23)
214. Presbyterian (36.29)
215. Gardner-Webb (36.25)
216. Prairie View (36.18)
217. Wagner (36.16)
218. Dayton (35.53)
219. Nicholls State (34.89)
220. Rhode Island (33.62)
221. Central Connecticut (33.08)
222. Brown (33.04)
223. Drake (32.30)
224. Hampton (32.12)
225. Lafayette (32.07)
226. VMI (31.95)
227. Jacksonville (31.34)
228. Columbia (30.59)
229. Austin Peay (29.68)
230. Alabama State (29.40)
231. Norfolk State (29.28)
232. East Tennessee (29.23)
233. Cornell (28.76)
234. Georgetown (28.71)
235. Incarnate Word (28.42)
236. Morgan State (26.93)
237. Howard (26.79)
238. Florida A&M (26.20)
239. Marist (23.75)
240. Robert Morris (23.54)
241. Alabama A&M (23.29)
242. Campbell (22.65)
243. Jackson State (22.61)
244. Butler (21.70)
245. Houston Baptist (20.87)
246. Texas Southern (19.87)
247. Morehead State (19.67)
248. Savannah State (17.91)
249. Valparaiso (16.52)
250. Delaware State (16.10)
251. Stetson (14.12)
252. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (11.39)
253. MVSU (9.24)
254. Davidson (4.57)

Sagarin is pretty meaningless comparison tool between subdivisions.

That is because its schedule multiplied by winning. Comparing P5 to G5 its more accurate because G5 has a lower winning percentage than P5.

Some of these FCS conferences have a relatively high winning percentage on a diet of FCS competition so it makes them look better than what they really are.

When it comes to Boise State, Memphis and Houston their programs are pretty equivalent in strength to the Top 30-35 P5. The only difference with G5 is those conferences are not as deep

Using Sagarin to compare P5 teams with G5 teams is the same as using it to compare with FCS teams -- in both cases the gap in the comparison, and the gap in the data, is the lack of common opponents. FCS teams play less than 10% of their games vs. P5 teams. G5 teams also play less than 10% of their games vs. P5 teams. Even common opponents are very few and far between.

So if you don't accept Sagarin at face value (and I'm certainly not saying that you have to) then you're saying that there isn't a solid basis for P5 vs. G5 or G5 vs. FCS comparison at all, and when there's a debate about how the best G5 team or the best FCS team would fare as a member of a P5 conference, it's all just message board argument and posturing, with not enough evidence to prove anyone's argument. But we knew that already.