Well, already we’ve got shockers and mild surprises coming in from all over the country.
Obviously, the Christopher Newport beating No. 6 UMHB will shake things up, but Salisbury’s high from beating W&J didn’t last, and New York football got another boost with Brockport’s 21-3 win at the Sea Gulls.
Baldwin-Wallace over Augustana is another top 25 team upset, and Cornell beating Alma was a bit of a surprise.
What results are you catching your guys’ attention?
D3Former
You are correct, sorry for the confusion. If I have disrespected the IIAC in any way I’m sorry. The rest of the post I hope is clear. The OAC/Raiders happen to be just a hair better in head to head match-ups. If you notice the time of the post it might explain the error.
I have to get a life or a nap!
Phyco –
Last year I believe anyone could go to the Heisman website to make nominations, so check it out.
Raiderguy, no you didn’t disrespect the IIAC. There are so many conferences in D3 it is easy to get them mixed up or to accidentally type one when you meant another.
Lots of conferences are Mount Union doormats, though — what do those scores prove exactly?
jbed, as a CCIW fan myself I have never seemed to think this site was biased toward one particular part of the country. They have Around the Nation which tends to be a specific story and stories/stats from the nation as a whole. Then they have Around the Region, specific columns directed to specific parts of the country. To me, this site is all about the big picture of Division III football. If the CCIW has a bad week (such as last week) or cannot seem to make the next step to the Stagg Bowl, people have the right to question the overall strength of the conference IMO.
In my opinion, the “conference strength” debate centers around how one defines that measurement. Which is better? Having a very evenly balanced conference (WIAC or CCIW) or having a conference with some great teams and some very poor ones (OAC and MIAC)? Or is it a mixture of both measurements?
At least us D3 folks get a national playoff to decide some of this stuff on the field.
So am I the only one looking forward to the Bridgewater at Ferrum game? Even though it is not a conference game, a win would give the young panthers something to build on. I can say one thing though, FERRUM WILL NOT BE SHUT OUT! Looking for the upset.
The comment by jbed was “being tired” of the CCIW being referenced as fodder for Mount in the playoffs by D3football. With the exception of two games the outcome was not even close. The average spread of all games is 4 touchdowns. If the contests were close then there might be a case for the CCIW conference being a little closer matchup for the OAC. Granted all the games have been against Mt Union and that is not a clear reference for a whole conference but even other games between conference foes has only produced one victory by the CCIW VS. OAC. The scores were only there to support D3’s point and fodder for thought.
I agree with Barnacle! The Ferrum Panthers will not be denied from the scoreboard: Bridgewater 41 – Ferrum 13. Sorry, but you guys need to lay off the moonshine and get it in gear!!
Keith,
Are you serious about coming to Cortaca this season? Please do. I’d like to meet you and hang out before/after the game. It really is a special event, and a thrill to do a photo shoot for.
Gordon,
Agree the East is stepping up this season. Historically these things have been cyclical, with the East at times being the most powerful region for any given year in the mid 80s and early 90s. With the MAC part of the East now, there is greater potential for a strong East run at some point. The problem is I have yet to see a team from the MAC, E8, or LL field a team lately that could be considered more threatening than Rowan. Not that the NJAC is the superior conference, rather that they have a knack for producing the eventual regional winner. Well, ususally they produce Rowan, lol. Perhaps if Widener rose up to past glory?
Perusing the early scores it appears Ithaca and Fisher may both be very, very good this year. I think the winner of Cortland-Brockport in 48 hours will deserve a close watch too as Brockport already has a big intra-regional win under their belt and may be vastly underrated.
Tough to make anything yet of the Liberty. I thought they were excellent last season and made a great accounting of themselves in the playoffs. However I did get a chance to see Hobart in a preseason scrimmage with Cortland, and Hobart looked very small and slow. It was obviously just a scrimmage, but they really did get pushed around. I was not surprised to see them barely beat Dickinson. But Hobart has a good set of coaches and my belief is they will be a lot better in week 11 than they are now.
Union’s loss hurts the Liberty in 2006. The way they lost is troubling. It’s not like Springfield comes onto the field looking to fool you. They line up and run the same option attack at you every season. Union’s run defense must have serious issues for this to happen. I’ve never seen a team with this sort of problem go far come playoff time.
That leaves RPI. I’m impressed with the way they ended 2005, particularly beating Fisher in the ECAC. Let’s face it, knocking off a top NEFC doesn’t mean much so I’m not reading anything into the Endicott win anymore than I think Hartwick is a regional power. But RPI seems like the big hope for a strong LL representative out of the gates.
Thoughts?
Cortland Football:
I think that’s a very good assessment of the East region. Maybe Alfred or Montclair emerges with some playoff aspirations, too.
I also wouldn’t be surprised to see Springfield make a push for the E8 title. Okay, maybe surprised, but not totally stunned. DeLong is a great coach who always builds that program back up in a relatively short period of time.
As for the MAC, the next two weekends will go a long ways to determining who is the favorite. This week it’s Del Val/Wilkes and Widener/Lyco and next week it’s Del Val/Lyco. I’m not sure any of these teams will get past the second round of the playoffs, but we’ll see how they develop.
Agree Gordon. I’m late to the dialogue, but I noticed someone had argued the East was weak due to dilution of too many teams. You brought up that the teams per region are pretty balanced. Well that is the case by definition. I think the original poster’s argument was valid. You need to look at dilution in terms of amount of teams per geographical area. The amount of D3 teams in PA and NY alone seems staggering at times. And they keep making new programs 🙂 I realize Ithaca is quite capable of recruiting out of state. However when recruting NY kids they have 8-10 teams in their area looking at the same talent. Alfred, Fisher, Brockport, Buff State, Hartwick, Hobart, Cortland, Utica, Morrisville, even Wilkes, immediately come to mind.
I forgot Alfred. Actually that is an interesting scenario. They shut out Thiel after graduating Brady? I guess Murray knows a thing or two about coaching defense.
I’ll be shooting on the sidelines for Cortland-Brockport this weekend on a few hours sleep, as I am working overnights at the moment. So expect some pretty bizarre pictures at my website. – Dan
Dan:
Don’t forget that some of those PA teams are actually counted in the South, though (PAC, Centennial).
What the East does have a lot of is non-Division III programs that compete with Division III schools for similar talent. There are a bunch of Division I-AA and Division II schools that, I suspect, dilute the talent pool to some extent.
Good luck with the shoot and the game. Cortland could be the second best team in the East with Union stumbling out of the gates, but Brockport is a very big test.
I think Brockport is the favorite in this one. 21-3 over Salisbury demands attention, and they have won like 8 of the last 11 over Cortland (or something close to that). Big test for both teams but a Brockport win would not surprise me in the least.
Dead serious about coming to Cortaca. Missed my big shot when my cousin was a senior at Ithaca and my grandparents were driving up that week … thought H-SC/R-MC was worth going to that year, but I’m so over that right now.