A penny pinched is still just a penny.
For the cost of one extra flight, the NCAA decided to pair up top 10 teams in the first round, not once, but twice. That’s just plain wrong.
I know the folks in Indianapolis are tired of hearing the term, but the shoe fits.
Perhaps it happens so often that I’ve become anesthetized to it, but the more I reflect on this bracket, the more upsetting it is. What’s the point of adding teams to the bracket if we’re still going to be stuck eliminating Top 10 teams so early?
The fascination over saving first-round flights is interesting, considering that the current policy guarantees second-round flights. When you eliminate one of the two Texas teams early, you guarantee someone flies to or from Texas for the duration of team’s life in the tournament. If you set them up to play in the second round, the reward comes later.
Besides, even if we are indeed to bow down to the altar of “geographic proximity,” why not put UW-Whitewater in the north and Lakeland in the West? Whitewater is much closer to Illinois, which is the gateway to the rest of this bracket. I know this committee has never done much for competitive balance, but how about at least following your own guidelines?
“Once selected, teams will be grouped in clusters according to natural geographic proximity.”
But apparently, only for reasons of saving money, not for balancing the bracket.
NCAA rules of thumb:
1) Don’t spend money on DIII athletics
2) Any questions, see rule 1
It is a bit disconcerting, as you could even tell from the ESPN anchor who, presumably, doesn’t have as much experience in D3 as we do. That’s pretty clear, but Pat is dead on in his analysis – we’re used to it. So is Jay Locey, and Steve Mohr, and Pete Fredenburg…
See, JT, that’s what bothers me. We got the increased money this year to expand the playoffs but we didn’t plan on an extra flight? Creative use of three flights could’ve done wonders here.
I think they took the easy way out when Hardin Simmons lost. It was like, hey, each region has eight teams now!
Thanks to ESPN for the coverage of the brackets. Let the games begin. We all could be in 1A and not have a playoff.
My Dad asks me why I display disdain for DI athletics. Even though I enjoy great games no matter the division. You’d think with all the millions they bring in, they’d drop more that a few hundred thou on the DIII playoffs.
They suck… and I say this after my team got a good draw.
Well said, Pat. The committee could at least think about competitive balance when it would cost 0 dollars to do so. Also, the west and south play in the semifinal although they are definitely the strongest brackets. How does that make sense (or cents)?
Great job on TV, btw.
I figure the West and South will play so that if the two top seeds advance, it’s just one flight, instead of two. The north and east may be able to drive to each other.
Every season come playoff time I think back to what former Trinity great Jerheme Urban told me 3 years ago on selection Sunday. He told me that to be the best you’ve got to beat the best, and that getting into the second and third round of the playoffs isn’t the goal of any team. You’ve got to beat the good teams on the road to Salem.
It’s the right thing for a player to say, but is little consolation to fans.This is like opening presents on Christmas only to find that it’s a flaming bag of doggy doo. Guess I feel worse for Mary Hardin and Occy because they have to go on the road after great seasons. Stupid NCAA goons.
Couldn’t agree more, Pat. How sad it is that #6 Occidental or #1 Linfield is going to be out after the first round. So much for seeing if the SCIAC can continue its momentum after the Tiger’s run last season. They were never even given a chance this year, despite going undefeated and a #6 ranking. #2 UWW and #3 SJU knocking each other out in the 2nd round? Give me a break. That’s a loss for all of D3. UWW could have given some added competition to the North, and maybe even made it to the semis. Now, we won’t hear from either them or the Johnnies after week two. Oh, and let’s have #4 UMHB and #8 Trinity play early YET AGAIN, so that after this Saturday we don’t get to hear from either of these solid teams anymore. Meanwhile, elsewhere there are much weaker teams playing, well….even weaker teams.
I agree as well. As a Concordia-Moorhead fan, I wasn’t particularly happy about our setup (I don’t know much about Coe, but a potential second-round matchup at Linfield doesn’t sound too appealing), but I feel worse for Linfield. The #1 team in the country shouldn’t have to potentially play #6, #9, #2, #4, and #5 to win the national championship.
I feel worse for Linfield. The #1 team in the country shouldn’t have to potentially play #6, #9, #2, #4, and #5 to win the national championship
Why not? I know that it is a tough road, but imagine the games we get to see along the way:
Linfield-Oxy
Linfield-Concordia Moorhead
Linfield-WhiteWater/central
Linfield-UMHB
UMHB/Linfield-MUC.
Of course these are just biased hopes, but man that could make for some great football games. And if Linfield were to go all the way, there would be no question about who’s the best
I am new to D3 football so help me understand why Mt Union, Augustana and North Central all all ranked higher than Wabash, yet they are the 1 seed in their bracket?
Rankings don’t mean anything. The NCAA has their methodology, which is found in the FAQ of the site.
To be honest, in any sport, the NCAA cares not a whit about rankings.
Thanks for wading in on this, Pat. I was on the Play-off blog yesterday and one of the main themes was, they have always done it this way so live with it! I just think that pointing out the obvious unfairness regardless of what the history of the playoff matches has been can’t be a bad thing. The pressure of public opinion can do wonders some times, certainly not this year, but maybe for future choices by the committee. One more plane ride would have made a huge difference, huh? Unexcusable!
In a perfect world, like Pat posted in Daily Dose, 1 would play 32, 2 would play 31, on down to 16 playing 17. But why pay all that money for college kids to fly (drive) all around the country for five weeks just so us fans can potentially have a Linfield/SJU/UW-Whitewater/MUC semifinals? Like it has already been mentioned, if one of those four schools is the best team in the country, they’ll have to beat one another at some point. Shoot, pretty much anyone (after the first round perhaps) has to play the best to get to the Stagg Bowl.
My team, Bridgewater, would potentially have to beat the #13 (W&J, then #14 (Thiel), then #4 (Mary Hardin-Baylor), then #7 (Delaware Valley) to get to the Stagg Bowl. If we are good enough to be playing for the championship, then we’ll have to beat four top 14 teams. Sure, Linfield will definitely have the toughest first round game (you could argue Trinity as well), but why would pairing the Wildcats with a Curry or Johns Hopkins in the first round (who they’d easily beat) make them anymore the champion than beating a top 10 team in the first round? I think if anything, it’ll make Linfield’s championship run MORE impressive if they knock off #6 (Oxy), #9 (C-Moorhead), #3 (SJU), #2 (UWW), and #4 (UMHB) to get to the Stagg Bowl.
Like it has already been mentioned, at least we don’t have the media (D3football.com), the coaches (AFCA), and various computers picking Linfield and UW-Whitewater to meet in the final. For most of us, it might be “picking a poison” by liking our system (along with DII and DI-AA) more than the DI-A one … but 32 schools currently have a chance to win the title (even if they’ve lost in the regular season) … that’s 30 more than DI-A will have come bowl time for them.
Freedom1st,
I see those HOME playoff games for Linfield!
The 2004 UMHB team played #7 Trinity, #3 HSU, #5 W&J, and #1 MUC on the ROAD, and that was a tougher trip to the playoffs than Linfield plays this year at home!
There we go again. It is all about “we got screwed in the past so it is ok to screw the top 5 teams this year. No! It wasn’t right in the past and it is still not right this year. Especially when Pat has pointed out that pairings could have been better and still met the “geography proximity,” in most cases. WW is about 45 minutes from the Illinois border. The point is, it could have been done better!
Reply to Jmerch-The CCIW, the conference that North Central is a member of is a stronger conference than Wabash plays in. This is the reason Wabash is ranked below those teams.
The CCIW is definately a stronger conference than the conference Wabash is in.
Bracket 1 is one of the toughest I have ever seen. The Champ is going to be from Bracket 1. Bracket 4 is the weakest I have ever seen. Can’t the great teams be spread out? The Bracket 1 Championship game might as well be the Stagg Bowl.
Heads-up, we now have the official seedings:
http://www.d3football.com/playoffs/05/bracket.htm
They don’t even have to do the perfect world #32 vs #1. Keep the regions the way they are (it’s easier for fan travel, too), but they need to use their heads (yeah, right) and make adjustments when it is necessary. Regional border teams can be moved certain years with minimal effect on the budget. Put UWW in the North, dummies. Put the WIAC school(s) in the North every year the West is stacked. Or, put the SCIAC school in the South. On years the South is stacked, put one of the Texas schools in the West and/or one of the more eastern Southern schools in the East. Put a eastern Northern school in the East during years it makes sense. This is not rocket science.
And as far as the “you have to beat the best teams anyway so why not play them right away” line. Please. The odds are if you are playing a bunch of top caliber teams AND your opponent(s) you will face down the road are playing inferior competition, you are at a disadvantage. You are more likely to sustain injuries playing better teams, and let’s not forget you will have to open up your playbook much more just to survive these games, whereas other top ranked teams playing lesser talent can win without having to do so. This can play a factor when teams get to start viewing playoff game tapes later in the playoffs.
This year they couldn’t even get the semifinals right. Why isn’t the West playing the East? Jeesh.
I would love to hear how they figured the East was the second best bracket?
GMAFB. Three two-loss teams in the LEAST bracket and it’s supposedly #2.
Combined bracket records:
WEST 74-3
SOUTH 70-7
NORTH 69-11
LEAST 68-10
You know, I kid about “East coast bias” but things like this make it awfully hard.
Maybe the problem is the ‘regions’ themselves…. I’ve long complained that the ‘south’ region got changed forever when the ASC grew into it’s current proportions…. the south extends from PA to West TX… The west covers all of CA as far east as ‘some’ of the WI schools, while others are in the North. Pat has mentioned that Lakeland and Whitewater are in different regions…. Maybe now with 32 teams they should consider trying to balance things out in 8 regions. Maybe the regions need to be dynamic and be ‘re-drawn’ after the top 32 teams are identified, and 1-32 has been established and strength of region/travel/???? could be factored in…
Don’t forget to check out Massey RAtings to find out about your team. It shows the WIAC and the CCIW as the two best conferences in the country.
http://masseyratings.com/
New data won’t be avail until tuesday ( I think).
GO AUGIE!
BraCKET 1 has the Stagg winner in it.
I assume it was done the same way it was always done — the brackets have always been seeded by the strength of their No. 1 team, which in this case is Delaware Valley.
SeanGOP,
Congrats on Augies big win Sat.
Palermo,
Agree, the CCIW is no joke. Expect both Augie and North Central to win some games. I llike Augies first round, but North Central’s potential second round better, assuming they can get past a tough first round matchup. Think Augie beats Lakeland rather handlily.
I’d love to see North Central and Augie go at it again if they can both get through to round 3.
horseface,
I’m not sure what you like so much about a potenial second round match-up with Wabash (at Crawfordsville). The only common opponent Wabash and North Central had this year was Wash. U (back to back weeks in September) and both teams had similar results. I’m guessing this bracket goes 1 vs. 2 in Crawfordsville on Dec. 3. The final result being a Wabash championship over Trinity on Dec. 17. (Of course I’m not biased in that prediction at all).
D3forme,
Thank you for addressing the theory of , “got to play the top teams, might as well do it early.” Very well said!!! I would only add to your great points that in some cases , one of the top teams loses their home field advantage as well. way to early Oxy must travel in the first round and #3 St. Johns must travel to WW if they both win out in the second round. You would hope that the championship is decided at the Stagg Bowl which is a neutral field, not in a Regional Championship where one team has home field advantage!
I’d prefer to play Wabash in Crawfordsvegas (Home to the world famous “Touch of A$$”), than Mount Union at their place. Both tough teams and tough places to play, but Mt. Union just doesn’t lose at home. Call it the lessor of two evils.
Not even sure why I’m talking about round two. North Central will have their hands full on Saturday.
Oh, and I wouldn’t bet the farm on those predictions.
These playoffs are far from a perfect science no doubt, but what about the NCAA is? The NCAA basketball tourny has its faults, and the BCS is a joke.
In IL our HS football playoffs are designed into regions the same way. After the first round, whether your the 1 or the 8 seed, you could play on the road. Whoever had less home games at that point gets to host. People, like me, have complained about this since it was put in place about 4 years ago, but in the end the cream always seems to rise to the top. Far from apples to apples but….
Even as a Wally, I must admit that the East and North are not the best bracket and the West is by far the best. My problem is the fact that East and North are the only brackets that look normal where 1 plays 8 and so on for the most part. Where the West has the #1 vs #3 in the bracket. I know polls and regional ranking are different but one vs three is nuts. I don’t care if its been done b4, it should not continue. We need to have the best teams playing the worst teams b/c allowing one team to play their starters for 40 minutes and the other for 60 or perhaps 70 minutes will take a toll. This is unfair and even though it will hurt my Little Giants, I think UWW should’ve been added to the North and given it a lot more clout. I really think the rankings need to be adjusted b/c I know Depauw is and probably UWW is closer to Wabash than Alleghany is and they are in our conference. I just wish the NCAA could get something right but I guess that would be asking far far too much.
Quote from horseface “but Mt. Union just doesn’t lose at home.”
Actually, 4 out of the last 5 losses for Mt. Union have been at home, and the 4th was in Salem at the Stagg Bowl.
2005 ONU 21 MUC 14 at MUC
2004 MHB 38 MUC 35 at MUC
2003 STJ 24 MUC 06 at Salem
1999 Rowan 24 MUC 17 at MUC
1995 WLAX 20 MUC 17 at MUC
The last time MUC lost on the road at a non-neutral site was 1994 at Albion. The final score was 34-33.
The last time MUC lost on the road (non-neutral site) was
Sorry for the duplication, trying to post while my 2 and 4 year olds were harrassing me. 🙂
I’ve got a 3 and almost 2 year old that won’t leave me alone when I’m on the computer. I understand bro.
Thanks for the info. Call it gut feeling then…..I feel better about Wabash than I do MUC in round two….shoot me. Perhaps I should have said “Mt Union just doesn’t lose…..period”. Their record over the past decade speaks for itself.
Before all you Wabash fans jump all over me, I know your squads legit, its just my opinion. I hope NCC gets the chance to play you. We’ve got our hands full with the team that gave MUC all it could handle, and beat ONU, the team that beat MUC at their place this year. I’m getting way ahead of myself here.
Maybe alot of people will have their eyes opened when they see Monmouth play on Saturday against St. John’s.
As kid pointed out, if this were D1-A, if you’re anybody but Linfield or UW-Whitewater, you’d have NO chance of winning the title.
reply to Palermo & SeanGOP – my point exactly….the CCIW is stronger than the conference Wabash plays in. It also appears Mt Union is in a better conference and/or is a stronger team. I was asking why Mt Union, North Central & Augustana are lower seeds than Wabash.
10-0
reply to jmerch-It most likely had to do with them being undefeated when it came down to seeding process. CCIW goes 2-0 in the first round. Place your bets in Vegas!
jmerch,
I’ve given up trying to figure this stuff out. It appears the undefeateds get seated first, then the 9-1’s, 8-2’s etc. I belive strength of schedule, conference (massey rank) and the like come into play when the records are tied. I’m sure its more complicated than this, but this is basically it …..I believe.
Regardless of your allegiances, here is looking forward to the first week of football PLAYOFFS. At least all of this will get decided on the field.
Horseface – it’s all in the FAQ. The NCAA uses their own QOW factor, the regional rankings, etc. They don’t use any outside polls or ratings.
Check out the Massey ratings for schedule strength, team rank and conference rank. And yes the CCIW and WIAC kill the rest. Eight of the top 20 teams in Massey are in the CCIW or WIAC. Why? Because they play good competition – not cupcakes like Wabash does.
http://www.masseyratings.com/rate.php?lg=cf&sub=III&mid=6
I still am p.o.’d at the first bracket. I don’t care how much it costs to send teams around. Don’t stack the top talent (most of the top) in one bracket!! I would kill to have my team in the 4th bracket. Talk about a weak bracket. That bracket is weaker than some conferences – seriously!!
UW Whitewater will win it all this year, and a CCIW team will beat Mount Union. Augustana had a guy with 3 interceptions against Wheaton! Good luck Mount Union against that. That Augie player somehow did not make “Team of the Week”. Oh well, the playoffs is what counts.
SeanGOP,
Beware of the Muskies. Nah, just kidding. I think Augie wins this one, but it might be closer than you think. Lakeland gave Carthage all they could handle this year. Good luck.
I saw that Augie forced 6 Wheaton turnovers last weekend. Man, you guys just find ways to win week in and aweek out.
I’d love to see a North Central-Augie rematch in round 3, I’ll be rooting for Augie regardless if North Central’s outcome. Love to see the CCIW do well.
Actually, Sean, the REAL Massey ratings (using SOS and MOV) are in the far right column (before the conference name). Only Augie (4) and North Central (7) are in the top 20 in that listing.
He puts the one ranking first because that’s the BCS ranking system, which cannot put MOV in its factor.
i wouldn’t give short shrift to Wabash, they’re 15th in that ranking. Believe me, Capital or North Central will be in for a battle.
You have to respect any team that goes undefeated. It takes a lot of skill, a little luck, and tremendous focus. Nobody will give Wabash short shrift.
However, you have to wonder how battle ready that Wabash will be. How many really tough games did Wabash play? The 3rd – 5th teams in their conference have Massey ratings of 107, 123, 128. Have they been tested or are they just well rested?
Meanwhile, there were 6 teams in the CCIW that you had to be ready to play. Some of the final scores were not indicative of how close some of the games were. North Central pulled out some games late, as did Augustana. The bottom team in the CCIW had a Massey rating of 109. Are NCC and Augie battle tested or perhaps mentally and physically tired? Consider too that the 2004 CCIW playoff teams, and preseason choices to return, are done for the season.
We’ll see Saturday. The NCC and Capital game could be a five hour game, so mental toughness will be a factor.
MWFB,
Good post. That’s what I’ve been trying to say, you just said it much more eloquently.
You guy’s keep talking about the Massy rating, who’s #2….and what conference is #3. Not trying to take anything away from Whitewater, in fact would rather SJU had to travel to Linfield than to Whitewater although I can drive to Whitewater to see the game. All I’ve heard all year is Linfield, they blow everybody out because they don’t play anybody. What is their oppts. record, under .500 ? 27-49 and the rest of there conf. is 17-22. After SJU beats Monmouth and WW beats Central I will be in WW for the game on the 26th. I love how Locey tries to be so politically correct by saying the rest of the brackets are just as tough. HA! WW or SJU would LOVE to be in the East or North bracket. Just like the “Nature Boy” Ric Flair always said, “To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best” WHOOOO, so lets put the women and children to bed and go looking for F&*%ing dinner.