While there’s general agreement that RPI rankings do not mean much this early in the season, how about the Sagarin numbers we see posted online and in the USA Today? Too early to view? Wait until January? Or, comparatively speaking, they’re a good judge of the teams’ relative strengths no matter the date? In short, when does Sagarin become relevant? His "Elo Chess" and "Predictor" numbers are "Greek to Me" and probably to others, as well. Your thoughts.
Sagarin (as of 11/19/09) … 347 D-I schools
School / Ranking / Record / SOS
HC / 167 / 0-2 / 143
AU / 186 / 0-3 / 261
BU / 217 / 2-2 / 183
LU / 243 / 1-2 / 157
N / 245 / 1-1 / 240
CU / 292 / 0-2 / 56
LC / 295 / 1-1 / 243
A / 307 / 1-1 / 254