It will be another week until the NCAA releases regional rankings. In a sense, that isn’t so bad because we have some great games this week that will help determine the pecking order, especially in the North and West regions.

I also wanted to remind people of some changes in the playoff selection process this year. One of the main criteria they use to rank and select and eventually seed teams has changed, because instead of using strength of schedule solely in regional games, now every game against a full Division III member counts in strength of schedule.

Also, there was some consternation a week and a half ago when the NCAA forgot that the NESCAC did not accept football playoff bids. So although the NCAA sent an email out to coaches and administrators that said there were four at-large bids to the playoffs, there are actually five at-large bids this year.

Regional rankings won’t match our national rankings. Every year the committee does things a little differently, but often teams have been ranked first by the number of losses they have, then by their strength of schedule, with few exceptions. We have to wait to see how that shakes out this year. Teams’ head-to-head results weigh in, clearly, as do results vs. common opponents.

For more about the playoffs, please check out our Division III football playoff FAQ.