The university rankings lists that organizatons publish should be read large "with a grain of salt." If you are interested in graduate work, you obviously need to direct your search towards thoase schools that specialize in your field of study. No point in looking at the college of dentistry if you want to study European History.
Even so, I am often amazed at the rankings that people come up with. This one:
Top Colleges and Universities in New Jersey - by university ranking
places Rutgers as number 1 in NJ,
ahead of Princeton. That's bizarre.