The NCAA released its third 2010 regional rankings today.
Teams are listed with their regional record first, followed by their overall record. For more information about the playoff format and how participants are determined, check out our FAQ.
This is the last ranking we will get to see before the playoff selections are made and the bracket is released on Sunday. Teams which have clinched automatic bids are in bold.
East Region
1. Delaware Valley 8-1 8-1
2. Rowan 8-1 8-1
3. Montclair State 8-1 8-1
4. Cortland State 8-1 8-1
5. SUNY-Maritime 9-0 10-0
6. Maine Maritime 8-1 8-1
7. Alfred 6-2 7-2
8. Springfield 7-2 7-2
9. St. John Fisher 7-2 8-2
10. Endicott 8-2 8-2
Also clinched bids, but unranked: St. Lawrence
North Region
1. Mount Union 8-0 9-0
2. North Central (Ill.) 9-0 9-0
3. Wheaton (Ill.) 8-1 8-1
4. Ohio Northern 7-1 8-1
5. Wittenberg 7-0 9-0
6. Trine 8-0 9-0
7. Franklin 7-1 8-1
8. Illinois Wesleyan 7-2 7-2
9. Baldwin-Wallace 7-2 7-2
10. Wabash 7-1 7-2
Also clinched bids, but unranked: Benedictine
South Region
1. Wesley 5-0 8-0
2. Mary Hardin-Baylor 8-0 9-0
3. DePauw 9-0 9-0
4. Thomas More 9-0 9-0
5. Hardin-Simmons 8-1 8-1
6. Washington and Lee 7-2 7-2
7. Hampden-Sydney 8-1 8-1
8. Salisbury 4-2 6-2
9. Muhlenberg 7-2 7-2
10. Ursinus 7-2 7-2
Also clinched bids, but unranked: None.
West Region
1. St. Thomas 10-0 10-0
2. UW-Whitewater 6-0 9-0
3. Wartburg 9-0 9-0
4. Cal Lutheran 7-1 7-1
5. Coe 6-1 8-1
6. Bethel 8-1 8-1
7. Linfield 6-1 7-1
8. Pacific Lutheran 6-1 7-1
9. Redlands 7-1 7-1
10. Central 8-2 8-2
Also clinched bids, but unranked: St. Norbert
Curious. I wonder what the committee’s seeing in St. Thomas that keeps them above UW-Whitewater. Is it possible that the defending champs (yes, I know last year’s results don’t matter this year) could go undefeated and not be ranked 1st in their region? Or is this just a hint that we’ll see Mount Union moved East and UW-W moved to the North? Either way, can’t wait to see what the bracket looks like on Sunday.
Provided they win on Saturday, I really hope UW-Whitewater doesn’t get penalized for not being able to schedule more in region D. III opponents to start each season. They don’t duck anyone yet I remain concerned that they might not be a number one seed despite the rankings in ACFA and D3 (yes, I know these don’t get factored in these “regional rankings” which may or may not use the best methodology – I hope this can get remedied in the future).
I am not as high on UST as I was last year based on their inconsistencies, particularly in two very close games at SJU and at home versus Bethel University. I think the Linfield game from last year will be a microcosm of things to come again this time around for them. I honestly do not think they will beat UW-W this time around (or give them as much trouble as Willamette did in 2008 or Witt. or Linfield did in 2009) if they get paired up somehow.
I am looking forward to seeing the field of 32 on Sunday.
If UW-Whitewater loses out, I hope they use it as motivation if they are a No 2.
The WIAC seems to get penalized to a degree with the difficulty of the privates in region in WI or in MN scheduling them (particulary UW-Whitewater).
Any chance you could “doctor up” this list by putting some asterisks next to those teams that have clinched their respective conferences and are already in post season play? Thanx!
Art: Thanks for the suggestion. I’ve enhanced it a bit.
While I have to believe Whitewater will move up to that #1 spot. Even if it WAS last year, the Warhawks haven’t beat yet to lose that spot. HOWEVER, I’m also a firm believer in “If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best.” There will be 30 schools gunning for Mt. Union and Whitewater.
Put aside whether having an undefeated Mount Union ranked third in its region is, in a larger sense, correct. In its first two regional rankings, the NCAA ranked Wheaton first, North Central second, and Mount Union third. North Central goes on the road (granted, not a particularly long trip), dominates number one-ranked Wheaton, and gets jumped by Mount Union in the regional rankings. What explains that? It can’t be strength of schedule: North Central’s is 25th, Mount Union’s is 51st. It can’t be record: both are undefeated, and North Central has one more regional win. I’m not arguing North Central is better than, or should be the one seed in a play-off bracket (assuming North Central beats North Park) including, Mount Union. But it can’t really be the case that a team is ranked second for two consecutive weeks, beats the number one-ranked team handily, and . . . is still second, can it?
I am not quibbling with the bulk of your comment, scots: I just want to point out that ‘one more regional win’ isn’t really a factor. It runs more along ‘number of regional losses’ than number of regional wins or regional win pct.
I may be reading these rankings wrong, and I realize when the Selection Committee convenes they will mean no more than the D3football.com poll, but I am not concerned in the least about UW-W getting a #2 seed.
If the Selection Committee ranks the teams similarly (a big assumption), I think this simply means that that Mount goes east and UW-W goes north.
The East region holds no number one seed. So there are essentially two #1 seeds to split between UW-W, St. Thomas, and North Central. Assuming they win on Saturday, UW-W will get a #1 seed unless they are ranked behind both STU and NCC.
Scot I was getting all prepared to write the essentially same post and then saw you had beat me to the punch. I was at the game saturday and I can tell you that North Central beat a very good Wheaton team. Wheaton did play without their starting qb and certainly had some opportunities that were squandered, however overall it was a good win for a very good north central team. I really would be curious to know the rationale behind dropping behind MU after that.
Will St. Norbert’s stay in the West Region or be placed in the North? Will DePauw stay in the South Region or be placed in the North?
I have been to about 6 Bethel College games this year and I am blown away by our control of the game. The St. Thomas – Bethel game I watched was one of the best defensive battles I have seen on a football field. They lost 10-7 to the tommies on a missed extra point and missed short field goal. I just look at a team like Coe and wonder how they can be ahead of Bethel concidering they didnt play all D3 schools and their confrence is not stellar. The MIAC is a tough place for anyone to play. And Bethel crushed Simpson earlier this year. Can anyone explain why Coe gets more respect?
I meant 10-6 At St. Thomas And Coe played Olivet Nazarene which is 0-9 if i’m not mistaken. Bethel just held Hamline to 18 total yards in a 52-0 rout. And hamline almost beat cal lutheran earlier this year
scots nailed it. all you need to know about how bogus these rankings are is what just happened in the north. i’m a mount guy, and they should have been #1 all along, but there is no logic that puts it over north central after north central beats the #1 ranked team in the region.
the D3.com rankings blow this crud out of the water.
uwsystemfan: “I am not as high on UST as I was last year based on their inconsistencies, particularly in two very close games at SJU and at home versus Bethel University.”
Seriously?? That comment makes no sense. UST went 1-1 against SJU and Bethel last year. Both games were close and hard fought. They finished 2nd in the MIAC last year.
This year they are 2-0 against SJU and Bethel. They won the MIAC outright this year. Both games were again close, but that’s what you’d expect from a great rivalry game and a game against a nationally ranked opponent.
Who knows what will happen in the playoffs. But UST brought almost everyone back from last years team. They are a year more mature, mentally and physically. They’re a better team this year than last.
Not at all saying I think UST is better than or will beat UWW should they play. But come on, all evidence points to this years UST squad being better than last years.
@grantbethelmn
1- The IIAC is not a slouch conference. I’d rank the MIAC higher, but Coe, Wartburg and Central are all very legit teams.
2- I agree on the comment regarding Coe’s non-conference, but technically, the committee doesn’t even consider these games, so it’s a wash and Coe probably won’t be penalized.
3- Hamline almost beat PLU, not Cal Lutheran.
4- It’s Bethel University 😉
Author comment by hazzben · November 11, 2010 at 10:10 am
uwsystemfan: “I am not as high on UST as I was last year based on their inconsistencies, particularly in two very close games at SJU and at home versus Bethel University.”
Seriously?? That comment makes no sense. UST went 1-1 against SJU and Bethel last year. Both games were close and hard fought. They finished 2nd in the MIAC last year.
This year they are 2-0 against SJU and Bethel. They won the MIAC outright this year. Both games were again close, but that’s what you’d expect from a great rivalry game and a game against a nationally ranked opponent
The inconsistencies I refer to should have said in regards to some of their sloppy play (which ended up doing them in versus Linfield last year). It is my understanding they had some turnover issues up at SJU and were a missed extra point from SJU from yet another overtime.? A team that wants to be a top four contender for a championship should be beating competitors like SJU and Bethel in a more heavy handed fashion. From what I read about the BU-UST game, that was another one where UST allowed Bethel to hang on. Add a slow first half against Carleton and I start to see a pattern.
I hope both Bethel and Coe get in the field of 32. I am curious how far or deep UST goes this time around and will try to catch their first home game (I live in STP) since I don’t head down to Madison and then UWW until the Thanksgiving game (if UWW gets to hold a round 2 game and they win round 1 – don’t want to just assume as anything can happen – though unlikely).
The bottom line for me is a veteran, battle tested team like UST should be playing better than they are.
They were my “damage dark horse team” last year going into the playoffs. My prediction this year is Linfield.
Hazzben was correct on my few mistakes. I do think Coe and Bethel University should get in the field of 32 regardless since they both lost to undefeated rivals. I still don’t understand why teams are allowed to schedule non-D3 schools.
“Author comment by grantbethelmn · November 11, 2010 at 3:03 pm
Hazzben was correct on my few mistakes. I do think Coe and Bethel University should get in the field of 32 regardless since they both lost to undefeated rivals. I still don’t understand why teams are allowed to schedule non-D3 schools.”
You are assuming that schools are trying to opt out of scheduling D3 schools. But what you want to think about is the reluctance of some schools that are private D3s to schedule some of the public institutions. There is no dearth of private D3s in WI or in MN that should in theory be scheduling all their non-conf. games with the WIAC, but it is not happening evenly across the conference, or even with more than one game per year.
Whitewater would beat St. Thomas by five touchdowns and everyone in here knows it.
Author comment by geiger · November 11, 2010 at 8:00 pm
Whitewater would beat St. Thomas by five touchdowns and everyone in here knows it.
I don’t think anybody knows that for sure. I think I might be willing to risk taking St +35 or perhaps you meant with 2 point conversions for +40. Now I’m really ready to roll.
“Whitewater would beat St. Thomas by five touchdowns and everyone in here knows it.”
I don’t know that. While I think that UW-Whitewater is better than St. Thomas at about 15 or 16 of the 22 starting positions, I don’t think five touchdowns is the amount by which I would favor the Warhawks.