50 thoughts on “NCAA’s updated regional rankings”

1. Pat/Keith, your thoughts on Ithaca’s chance on making the playoffs should they beat Cortland, and Hobart/Alfred lose? 5%? 10%?

2. Kind of depends on what else happens, but I had Ithaca 11th on my Pool C list, where seven get in. Even if you get Capital to lose, Baldwin-Wallace would pass you in the criteria, and both might get in ahead of you.

   Not sure you can get ahead of Hobart — even if they lose you’d have similar criteria and they beat Alfred where Ithaca did not. Even with a loss and an Ithaca win Alfred has a comparable QOWI and the head-to-head advantage.

3. never thought i’d see ithaca ranked below a nefc team.

4. what are the chances of alfred getting in after they beat fisher?

5. http://www.d3football.com/dailydose/?p=266 We covered this yesterday in our playoff projections.

6. yea i know, but i was wondering what the likely hood of it is, or are they gonna get sqrewed again like last year

7. Umm, don’t lose two games and you won’t have to worry about getting “screwed.”

8. but the team that got in last year lost 2 games as well

9. I think the point is if you lose one game you are pretty safe. If you lose two, all bets are off. Alfred, like basically everyone, had its destiny in its own hands and hasn’t done what it takes to guarantee getting into the playoffs.

10. pcole,

    Good to see you have mellowed in your responses to comments perceived as lacking in logic or “missing the point.”

11. I don’t think you can take such a small slice of my writings and judge me either way, positively or negatively.

12. Still no love for Millsaps…

13. You’re not going to get it, not with three regional losses. Do you see anyone on the list with three regional losses?

14. pcole,

    I was making an observation, not passing a judgment.

15. If Millsaps can beat TU, I’ll give them some love… but I’m with TU!!!

16. I hope this is accurate. This means the ‘U’ would host Hobart at home if the #1 vs. #8, #2 vs. #7 format hold true. I thought Union should be ahead of St. J Fisher but that would mean we’d play Rowan. I would hate to be any school playing Rowan in the first round.

    East Region
    No. School, In-Region, Overall
    1. Wilkes 9-0 9-0
    2. Springfield 8-1 8-1
    3. St. John Fisher 8-1 8-1
    4. Union 7-1 7-1
    5. Hobart 7-1 7-1
    6. Rowan 5-1 6-2
    7. Cortland State 7-1 8-1
    8. Alfred 7-2 7-2
    9. Curry 10-0 10-0
    10. Ithaca 6-2 7-2

17. Reddogg9 has counted his chickens before they are hatched… Alfred is a really good football team, no doubt… Their two losses – a tough one at Springfield, but their loss to Hobart at home may just be their Waterloo (no pun intended)… Fisher for the first time this year, may have all their starters ready… Injuries sure do hurt (again, no pun intended) just ask Cortland… Don’t count the Cardinals out; their lone loss came against a fired-up Springfield – with four or five defensive players out – not an excuse, just a fact… This will be a great game on Saturday, with two pretty awesome teams, but Fisher comes away with the win…

18. These regional rankings aren’t the same as seeds. See playoff predictions for more likely matchups (b/c the NCAA attempts to avoid rematches from the reg season so you are not going to see Union vs. Hobart in the 1st rd).

19. CC.

20. Good Afternoon?

    I can only say that it appears that the West will get shorted, again, unless a UW LaCrosse goes North, or something like that? Anyway, this horse appears to be dead, so why keep kicking it?

    Although, the West regional rankings do have me a little confused? Where did Cal Lutheran come from? They have two losses (one to a very weak 4 – 4 team) and there margin of victory over common opponents (lets say with Linfield) are as follows: Cal Lutheran beat Willamette by 10 and Pacific Lutheran by 3. Well, Linfield beat Willamette by 28 and Pacific Lutheran by 23. And Linfield’s only Division III losses (2) have come at the hands of the #7 & #9 Nationally ranked teams. Seems that there is something fuzzy going on at the NCAA’s? I guess we’ll tune in on Sunday to find out how fairly the West gets treated (AGAIN) this year? (And more specifically, Linfield this time.)

    Speaking of the NAIA making teams pay for their own travel expenses for playoff games, what about a Linfield who has gone out of their way to travel (and at their expense) to the Wisconsin teams and the Texas teams (and the same can be said for the reciprical games/teams) for pre-season games, and played much better competition? That should count “for” something in the short/long run? Shouldn’t it? And not count “against” it. Right?

    It’s like Clint Eastwood said in one of his famous western movies ” Doing the right thing ain’t got no end”!

    Cross your fingers, Division III football fans, maybe all of our comments have been read and “SOMEONE” will take the opportunity to make some small adjustments? Thanks.

21. Oh and there is one other thought that I had. It is regarding the posibility of a West region team being undefeated and having to travel? Well, If UW Lacrosse goes North (seems like a good plan) and the Cal Lutheran’s ranking gets corrected? Then Occidental can host Linfield in the first round and get that “historical home game” that they have been asking for. Only thing is, the last two times they played Linfield, Occi was beaten by 40+ each time. So, this year, when they lose by only 4 touchdowns (if the NCAA allows such a matchup), they will realize that they need to play a tougher schedule and prove that they should host another game sometime in the future?

    Did that make any sense to anyone, besides kittyfan?

22. I am a die hard Linfield football fan. Although I think being in the NorthWest is difficult it isn’t an excuse. Yes, Linfield has flown to Wisconsin and Texas to play good schools. Yes, Linfield plays up a level against DII and plays NAIA as well. Do I think they are getting into the playoffs this year? No. Do they deserve to be? Not sure. If you are an aggressive team schedule wise then you better understand the consequences.

    Having said that, the schedule is not the problem. They had to many turnovers against Whitworth. Is Linfield better, probable but head to head they lost and that is all that matters. If they had won the game this wouldn’t be an issue.

    Lastly, would Linfield win a game or two in the West region? Maybe, if they had to play at Whitewater or the Johnnies then no. Anyone else they could play with. They should have taken care of business last Saturday and this would not be an issue.

    I played at Linfield and truely love the program. You have to put all that a side. Linfield hasn’t done enough to get into the playoffs this year. Sad but true.

    Hopefully they will be back next year.

23. Eagle, if I thought Linfield had a shot at getting in, I would have made a bigger deal about Cal Who being ranked #10. That is a joke…but since I don’t think it matters and neither team is going to get in, I didn’t say much. Glad to see somebody not from Linfield is thinking the same thing. It makes you wonder what the commitee is thinking. I know Tully from Whitworth is on that thing…if he doesn’t think Linfield is as good as his squad, he’s not being honest with himself.

24. Eagle 23

    Your still beating that horse! Even after you said “Anyway, this horse appears to be dead, so why keep kicking it?”

    You are either in one of the strongest conferences or your not. NWC #2 in playoff victories. If you want to be ranked because of playoff victories you have to win the games in the regular season in order to make the playoffs.

    So La Crosse busts their fanny and end up a one loss team and YOUR reward is to go on the road to another regional bracket so (lets say Linfield) has an open slot with two losses in region?

    If Linfield wins one of the two games mentioned we are not having this discussion. Don’t get me wrong I think Linfield is a terrific program with great fans but they came up short this year. Every team every year faces rebuilding/reloading and know the challenges that go with it.

    I don’t think that means the West got “Jobbed”

    There’s ten teams ranked higher in the West for only eight slots in the west bracket as it is.

25. Millsaps has three regional losses six weeks ago. Even if Millsaps beats Trinty, no one is going to give them any respect because of early growing pains. I don’t think pollsters and the average man realizes how many freshman and first year guys are on this squad. Cohension takes time. This just isn’t a team anyone should really want to play right now. They have nothing to lose because no one expected them to be here, nor does anyone to expect them to win… except themselves. This team is simply explosive. It’s ok though, Millsaps doesn’t need the rankings to be a dangerous team, despite beind overlooked since day one. The underdog role seems to be working well.

26. Al Dorenkamp, Central College (Iowa), cochair
    Mike Maynard, University of Redlands, cochair
    Steve Johnson, Bethel College
    Eric Raeburn, Coe College
    Scott Squires, California Lutheran University
    Larry Terry, University of Wisconsin, Lacrosse
    John Tully, Whitworth College
    Greg Wallace, Grinnell College

    Here’s your west region committee. This may shed some light on Cal Lu being ranked ahead of Linfield. I know Oxy doesn’t want to play Linfield and Whitworth can’t like the thought of a rematch so there you have Maynard and Squires throwing a little conference love to Oxy with supporting the Cal Who ranking. Tully sure won’t argue, because he doesn’t want Linfield again and the rest of the committee could probably care less because the teams in their conferences would probably beat Linfield anyway in the playoffs. So why would they care if they ranked Cal Who 10th. All the more difficult to sneak in Linfield when they aren’t even ranked in the region…How’s that for a conspiracy theory…you think everybody got together on that…probably not. But then again, the whole LAPD got together on OJ right! 🙂 I don’t think anybody is getting jobbed in the west…

27. It’s about numbers, though, not about age or “cohension” or anything like that.

28. Raiderguy, Catfan, and Downtown48 are on the money.

    Linfield did not get “jobbed” unless you count losing three games as getting “jobbed”. I like Linfield, but I don’t think they have done enough to get in the playoffs, and I don’t think they should be ranked.

    Linfield has only beaten one team all year with a winning record – they lost three time and could not win a big game. I don’t care if they lost to three good teams, they still lost three games. Not only did their wins come against a group that included one winning record, but teams that have horrible records.

    I do like Linfield, and they have had some great teams – just not this year.

    I am having to deal with that with my Augustana Vikings. I love Augie, but I also know they are not getting “jobbed” if they don’t make the playoffs this year. Two early losses hurt their chances big. Then the loss to North Central put them in a three way tie for the CCIW lead. Oddly, they could still make the playoffs with three losses, but some crazy stuff will have to happen.

    Augie will likely finish with a 7-3 record, and will have to root on the CCIW playoff teams. 7-3 is a down year for Augie, but the ride was still fun.

29. As a West honk (it’s nice to see a few more “Westies” on this board in Eagle23, Catfan, and downtown48) I must say I can’t make much of an argument for Linfield getting in with 2 in-region losses and 3 overall. However, if W&J loses to crummy Bethany (1-9 for 3 straight seasons until going 4-5 this year) and suffers their second in-region loss as well (already lost a game by 18 to a 4-5 team), I think Linfield will have a legitimate beef vs. W&J.

30. D3forme

    But W & J is in the South.!!!!!!! I don’t think the NCAA would send Linfield to the south bracket either. They need to win in region.

    Trust me W & J is not going to lose to Bethany.

    Downtown 48,

    You forgot the biggest conspiracy theory player of all in that group.

    Eric Raeburn @ Coe is a MOUNT guy…….OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH and the plot thickens!

31. I forgot …..the W & J coach is a MOUNT guy too. More to the conspiracy theory. The NCAA won’t let W & J lose.

32. Raiderguy, I’m aware W&J is in the South and I didn’t mean to make it sound like Linfield might compete for a spot in that region. I meant that they both are Pool B teams competing for the same final Pool B spot (one team happens to be in the South and one in the West).

    I agree, I don’t see anyway W&J can lose to Bethany, especially since their coach is a Mount guy. But if the unthinkable happened and they did, they are probably even less deserving than Linfield to join the field of 32.

33. Raider…Are there any Circle K’s in Alliance? Strange thinks are afoot! Makes sense to me, the NCAA is always setting the bracket up to favor Mount…what like 7 of the last 10 years now! 😉

34. WOW, if the bosses knew how much productive time was being lost at work discussing D3 football…….YIKES!!!! It’s good to be the boss (but what are all of my employees doing on their computers?!).

    I’ll know that the end of time is near when I start to read threads about D3 Fantasy Football.

    Good luck to all of the playoff and non-playoff student athletes. I don’t see anybody touching Mount Ohio State Union but it should be fun nonetheless!

    My school (Swarthmore) disbanded the program because the football team brought the schoolwide SAT average below 1400. I’m still bitter (but I did enjoy the education and all that it has given me)!!

35. I can see UW Whitewater giving Mt Union all they can handle. I can see St. Johns giving Mt. Union all they can handle. Any one of these three could win it all. There are others that could win it all as well.

    dukefinadv,

    I work in your office and you think you are paying me to work all day! Ha! If you only knew… Just kidding – I live in IOwa.

36. All that truely matters is what’s going on as the season ends, and who’s on fire. You’re right, I can understand why Millsaps isn’t ranked nationally, but that isn’t my point. If you want numbers, then look at the 6 game streak Millsaps has had since that 0-3 start. In six games, Millsaps has outscored opponents 206 to 64. That’s 34.3 ppg to 10.6 ppg. They only team that even slowed the scoring down was Rhodes, who is currently the number seven defense in the country–and the game had no barring on their placement for the SCAC championship.
    My only question is, is this a team you’d like your team to face? If Millsaps were to shock the nation and beat Trinity, the number two seed, they still wouldn’t get love then either. Like I said before… there’s a boat ton of talent, and nothing to lose. That’s a dangerous combination! Just my opinion… just a thought…

37. “You’re right, I can understand why Millsaps isn’t ranked nationally, but that isn’t my point.”

    If that isn’t your point, why are you complaining about lack of love on this topic? You might want to refine your point. 🙂

38. thank you Downtown48,

    Your details regarding the West region committee members explains A LOT! I agree, that neither Oxy nor Whitworth wants to play Linfield in the playoffs this year.

    I only mentioned the error with Cal “Who” (ha ha) only because if (when) the NCAA selection committee makes the decision to move UW LaCrosse to the North (and they should, plus UW La Crosse should get to host their first game as a #3 or #4 seed in the North), and St. Johns (MN) beats Bethel, then those two things combined would move the current #10 into the #8 spot? Seems like a bit of a stretch? Well, what happens if Whitworth loses to Puget Sound (6-2)? (Who Linfield beat handily) Well,they may have a let down after the Linfield game, and then what?

    Ok, I agree, Linfield had 7 turnovers against Whitworth, but they outgained Whitworth 385 yards to 84 for the game, and still found a way to lose the game. Wouldn’t a rematch be fun to see, though? So whatif Linfield gets in, goes to LA and beats Oxy, (again,) then they go to Spokane and correct a wrong? That is what the regional committee members are AFRAID OF. (It is all clear now.)

    Thanks, downtown48 for clearing up the background noise, and the members who are involved.

39. Well now? I just did a little research on this Cal “who” vs Linfield ranking and guess what I found out?

    As it turns out, Linfield beat Puget Sound 42 -17, and (Puget Sound is 7 – 2, and plays Whitworth this weekend) Puget Sound beat Claremont M-S 21 – 0, and Claremont beat Cal “Who” 30 -27. Hmmmm? . . . . .

    Let’s see then, if we do the math, that would mean that Linfield should beat Cal “who” 66 -0 ? Yah, that sounds about right? Let’s see if Maynard, Squires and Tully can overcome there personal bias’s and correct the positioning of these teams? (Just in case the selection committee does the right thing and swings a West team into the North?) And for the record, of course. Ha Ha?

    I like the Clint Eastwood approach. “Doing right, aint got no end!” . . . Make sure that the sun is to your back . . . And then spit . . .

40. Oooops, my bad! My math left out the 17 points that Puget Sound scored against Linfield. 😉 So, Linfield beats Cal “Who” 49 – 0? What’s a couple more touchdowns at that point? I feel better now.

41. I’ve got to come clean about something. Like all of you on this site, I love D3 football……the purity and the sanctity of the student athlete. But after watching what Rutgers just did to Louisville, I know the one thing that I missed in attending a small school. The pageantry, the three day long tailgate, the excitement, the rushing on the field, the sea of red. It should be a real productive day in Piscataway tomorrow!!

    Back to reality. DVC at Widener on Saturday in front of a thousand or so.
    But I love it!!!

42. dukefinadv:

    It is a matter of perspective. Pageantry, tailgate parties, excitement, etc. do not reside within the exclusive domain of DI. It’s a matter of publicity accorded to DI. My friends constantly talk about UT, Texas A&M, OU, etc., but I have enjoyed “educating” them about the traditions of Wabash and other DIII programs in Texas and elsewhere. At least, they know more than they did, and hopefully have a greater appreciation. But if not, I don’t really care. The appreciation I feel for DIIIi s not diminshed by my friends’ lack of same. I think your final sentence nailed it.

43. Eagle

    They’re now calling that horse ELMER’S!

    Downtown,

    Ya, it’s a big responsiblity to make the NCAA look good, but somebody has to do it. It might as well be the Raiders. Semifinals since ’96.

44. I refer to nationally in terms of top 25 rankings. I do, though, think Millsaps could make a case for regional rankings. I do believe Millsaps could not only compete with, but also beat several teams on that regional list. Trinity is second on that list, and are still only a five (or close to that) point favorite against Millsaps. Only a five point favorite by the number two seed over an un-ranked team? Raise any eyebrows?

45. dukefinadv: I’ve been to D1 games in Berkeley, LA, Corvallis and Fayetteville, AR, including two weeks ago when the Beavs knocked off ‘SC. None of those experiences were any better than the games I watched at Linfield (occassionally from the funky couches behind the end zone) watching the ‘Kitties pound people.

    Nice to see the West-centric posts, but not so nice that the debate is on Linfield’s playoff worthiness. Do they deserve to get in? Really hard to say yes. Should Whitworth and Oxy be worried about them sneaking in? Oh yeah…

    Okay DIII gurus, what happens if Whitworth loses to UPS? Would Whitworth lose their playoff spot? Does it affect Linfield at all?

46. KittyFan, No and No

    Whitworth is in with 1 loss. Linfield is not affected. Whitworth would still have fewer losses AND the head-to-head win.

    Linfield’s only chance is for something crazy to happen with the other Pool B likely’s who are playing in parts of the country nowhere near Whitworth, UPS, or Linfield.

47. Eagle23,

    It’s time to let go of the dream. Linfield is not going to the playoffs. I agree with you in the fact they are a good team – no doubt.

    Unfortunately, they have yet to win the big game this year. Sure, they beat a 7-2 team, but that’s it. Look at the rest of who they beat – I rest my case.

48. what i want to know is how is ithaca in the top 25 and alfred isnt, since alfred beat ithaca? And hondo, it is gonna be a real good game, and last year we saw what happend when people under estimate alfred. I’m pretty excited to see it tomarrow!

49. Reddogg9… I agree, it will be a great game in rainy Alfred tomorrow… I have been ready for this one since last we met… Alfred and Fisher are two NY teams that have really fine programs throughout their schools, yet Ithaca and Cortland seem to dominate the attention from most, almost regardless as to what’s going on throughout this state… There is a lot of good football from Alfred, to the U of R, Fisher, Hobart, Cortland, Ithaca, Union, RPI, and these kids and these programs deserve the recognition that is due to them… I guess we’re just too small (enrollment of only 2,000), but we’re not too small, or outclassed, on the football field… I look forward to a great game tomorrow, and we’ll not underestimate Alfred…

50. So incase no one paid attention to me, or Millsaps, they romped the #2 seed in the south 34-12.