Category Archives: General

Conference rankings

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Keith and I rank the conferences every summer and they get tweaked after we get through the bulk of non-conference play. We don’t have comments on the Around the Nation page yet (probably a 2009 item) but I thought we’d bring them over here to see what people thought.

1. WISCONSIN INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (WIAC)
Kickoff ’08 ranking: 1st of 27
Non-conference record so far: 14-7
Verdict: Still at the top of the heap, given the depth (La Crosse and River Falls have accounted for five of the seven non-conference losses) and caliber of play and players. Whatever Northwestern (Minn.)’s win over River Falls took away in respect, UW-Whitewater and UW-Oshkosh’s wins over top 10 NAIA programs St. Xavier and Ohio Dominican restored.

2. OHIO ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (OAC)
Kickoff ’08 ranking: 2nd
Non-conference record so far: 7-3
Verdict: Heidelberg, Otterbein adding weight to OAC’s usually tough top half, but conference still can’t match the WIAC’s strength from top to bottom.

3. AMERICAN SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE (ASC)
Kickoff ’08 ranking: 3rd
Non-conference record so far: 8-8
Verdict: Hardin-Simmons’ early resurgence keeps ASC up high, though Mississippi College’s loss to Millsaps was a bad one.

4. COLLEGE CONFERENCE OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN (CCIW)
Kickoff ’08 ranking: 5th
Non-conference record so far: 19-5
Verdict: Wheaton, North Central, Elmhurst and Illinois Wesleyan are a combined 12-0 and only 1-2 North Park has a losing record. The Thunder beat Bethel and the Cardinals beat Ohio Northern in the most significant non-conference games.

5. EMPIRE 8 (E8)
Kickoff ’08 ranking: 4th
Non-conference record so far: 10-8
Verdict: St. John Fisher’s 33-3 loss to Mount Union of the OAC is the only significant non-conference result, but this is the same conference that sent three teams to the playoffs last season, so it holds its ground for the most part.

6. MINNESOTA INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (MIAC)
Kickoff ’08 ranking: 7th
Non-conference record so far: 13-2
Verdict: Only non-conference losses have been to now-ranked teams (Concordia-Moorhead to Willamette, Bethel to Wheaton). Depth, as seven of nine teams are off to winning starts.

7. NORTHWEST CONFERENCE (NWC)
Kickoff ’08 ranking: 6th
Non-conference record so far: 11-10
Verdict: Championship days of 2004 and 1999 looking more distant, but first automatic playoff bid should keep conference play spirited. In key non-conference matchups, NWC went 1-1 vs. MIAC, 0-2 vs. WIAC and 0-1 vs. ASC. Redlands of the SCIAC also dealt Whitworth a convincing defeat.

8. NEW JERSEY ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (NJAC)
Kickoff ’08 ranking: 8th
Non-conference record so far: 3-4
Verdict: Top team no longer an automatic Stagg Bowl contender, but conference is stronger top to bottom, even with new additions.

9. MIDDLE ATLANTIC CONFERENCE (MAC)
Kickoff ’08 ranking: 15th
Non-conference record so far: 13-11
Verdict: Big move up the rankings is a bit deceiving, since middle group of conferences are very evenly matched. MAC gets the edge by virtue of its record so far, including a 4-2 record vs. the ACFC, including Delaware Valley’s two big wins over then-top-10 Wesley and Salisbury. Six 2-1 teams have helped MAC go 2-2 vs. Centennial. Against the ODAC, USAC and NJAC, the MAC is 2-1 vs. each, plus 1-0 vs. the Liberty League but 0-3 vs. the Empire 8.

10. ATLANTIC CENTRAL FOOTBALL CONFERENCE (ACFC)
Kickoff ’08 ranking: 9th
Non-conference record so far: 6-6
Verdict: ACFC goes as Wesley and Salisbury go, and each has a key MAC win (Widener, Albright) and loss (Del Val).

11. CENTENNIAL CONFERENCE (CC)
Kickoff ’08 ranking: 11th
Non-conference record so far: 10-8
Verdict: Four of the eight losses are by the bottom two teams, Gettysburg and Juniata. Illustrating the parity among middle conferences, CC is 8-8 combined against the MAC, ODAC and Liberty League.

12. OLD DOMINION ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (ODAC)
Kickoff ’08 ranking: 12th
Non-conference record so far: 14-9
Verdict: Success came early in non-conference schedule, with five wins against the USAC in Week 1. ODAC is 3-2 vs. Centennial, but the CC took the even matchups (Franklin & Marshall 24, Washington & Lee 0; Johns Hopkins 39, Randolph-Macon 31, 3OT).

13. LIBERTY LEAGUE (LL)
Kickoff ’08 ranking: 13th
Non-conference record so far: 10-10
Verdict: In the middle of the 27 ranked conferences, LL is .500 against modest competition so far. Hobart’s win over Carnegie Mellon kept the LL in front of the UAA.

14. UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION (UAA)
Kickoff ’08 ranking: 14th
Non-conference record so far: 8-5
Verdict: Four-team UAA is 5-2 in the first season of its scheduling agreement with the NCAC, with Chicago accounting for both defeats. Washington U.’s 30-27 win against Wittenberg of the NCAC is a significant non-conference win.

15. SOUTHERN COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (SCAC)
Kickoff ’08 ranking: 18th
Non-conference record so far: 9-6
Verdict: Trinity and Millsaps account for three of the wins in a 4-1 mark vs. the ASC, and the ASC teams beaten have a combined 2-10 record. The rest of the SCAC’s non-conference wins have come against teams from the HCAC, SLIAC and outside Division III.

16. IOWA INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (IIAC)
Kickoff ’08 ranking: 10th
Non-conference record so far: 6-8
Verdict: Slow start and lack of a dominant top 25 team hurt the IIAC more than any other conference in our re-ranking, but there’s still not much difference in strength among the middle third of Division III conferences. The IIAC could get credit for much of its damage coming against the MIAC (0-4) and CCIW (1-1), but it was only 1-2 against the MWC. The other four wins were against the Northern Athletics Conference, the UMAC and a non-division team.

17. PRESIDENTS’ ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (PAC)
Kickoff ’08 ranking: 17th
Non-conference record so far: 8-10
Verdict: For a nine-team conference, the depth isn’t there in terms of power teams. It’s Washington & Jefferson and the occasional challenge. PAC teams are 0-4 vs. the OAC, 0-2 vs. the CC and 1-1 vs. the ACFC. The wins are against teams from the NCAC, HCAC, UAA plus an independent and a non-Division III.

18. USA SOUTH ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (USAC)
Kickoff ’08 ranking: 16th
Non-conference record so far: 10-12
Verdict: Bulk of where they’re placed is the result of a 5-7 record against ODAC teams. Three wins came against independents or non-Division III teams, while the USAC is 1-2 vs. the MAC and 0-2 vs. the SLIAC.

19. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (SCIAC)
Kickoff ’08 ranking: 21st
Non-conference record so far: 8-6
Verdict: A 5-6 mark vs. the NWC is decent, and Redlands has bowled a couple non-conference strikes, against Dubuque of the IIAC (46-9) and Whitworth of the NWC (38-7). But three of the SCIAC’s non-conference wins have come against Lewis & Clark and Principia, who haven’t beaten a Division III team other than each other since 2004.

20. NORTH COAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (NCAC)
Kickoff ’08 ranking: 19th
Non-conference record so far: 7-11
Verdict: Beyond the top teams, the strength is questionable, and even the numbers back it up: 2-5 vs. the UAA, 1-3 vs. the PAC. The two wins against the MIAA were Wittenberg beating defending champ Olivet and Denison beating Kalamazoo.

21. MICHIGAN INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION (MIAA)
Kickoff ’08 ranking: 22nd
Non-conference record so far: 11-16
Verdict: It wasn’t just Trine’s win against HCAC champ Franklin that moved the conference up a spot. MIAA teams are 6-2 against the HCAC this season. They are also 0-7 against the CCIW and winless against the PAC, IIAC, OAC and WIAC.

22. HEARTLAND COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (HCAC)
Kickoff ’08 ranking: 20th
Non-conference record so far: 10-12
Verdict: The rise of Franklin to give Mount St. Joseph a consistent challenger and top 25 threat helped last season, but re-ranking was not as kind. The 2-6 MIAA mark was offset by a 2-1 mark against the OAC, but the overall win total is less impressive than it looks. Its three wins against the NCAC were all against struggling Earlham.

23. MIDWEST CONFERENCE (MWC)
Kickoff ’08 ranking: 23rd
Non-conference record so far: 5-4
Verdict: Monmouth’s win against Loras of the IIAC was intriguing, but the MWC is judged by its most successful team, St. Norbert. Wartburg defeated the Green Knights 44-20 in the MWC’s most significant chance to make a move upward.

24. NEW ENGLAND FOOTBALL CONFERENCE (NEFC)
Kickoff ’08 ranking: 24th
Non-conference record so far: 0-6
Verdict: The good vibes from Curry’s playoff win against the Empire 8 champion last season can only go so far; One of the other 15 teams must win a non-conference game at some point, although chances are few.

25. UPPER MIDWEST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (UMAC)
Kickoff ’08 ranking: 27th
Non-conference record so far: 7-6
Verdict: Down to five teams, including brand new St. Scholastica, Northwestern (Minn.)’s defeat of UW-River Falls of the WIAC is alone enough for a bump up a couple notches.

26. ST. LOUIS INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (SLIAC)
Kickoff ’08 ranking: 26th
Non-conference record so far: 8-13
Verdict: The addition of former independents LaGrange and Huntingdon give conference travel budgets a boost, but it’s done the same for the SLIAC’s profile in its first season back on the football field since 1999. The other six teams, however, are just 4-12 in non-conference action.

27. NORTHERN ATHLETICS CONFERENCE (NATHC)
Kickoff ’08 ranking: 25th
Non-conference record so far: 4-20
Verdict: With five teams at 0-3 and only 2-1 Aurora with a winning record, this new mix of former Illini-Badger Football Conference, UMAC and MIAA teams has a long way to climb.

ATN Podcast 22: What conferences are rising?

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Every preseason we rank the conferences for Kickoff, and while the rankings are based mostly on last season and a little on projections, as games get played things tend to change.

It’s clear the MAC is moving back up the conference pecking order. Delaware Valley has forced its way into the lead story twice in three weeks, something which we would rarely do in September. But who is falling based on the first four weeks?

Delaware Valley posed an interesting conundrum, too, in a week without many upsets, in forcing its way into the Top 25. So Keith and I discuss that, some other teams that could get in, games that are getting onto the radar and falling below them, and more in this week’s Around the Nation podcast.

Happy Monday morning, everyone. Listen in while you’re doing your TPS reports and try not to think about the economy.

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Triple Take: It’s Guru Bowl Week!

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Before Pat and Keith were ever colleagues at D3football.com, they were on opposite sides of Catholic/Randolph-Macon clashes, at about the time when the two teams began to have thrilling enough games to begin calling it a rivalry. That must have the boys a little giddy this week, so for our weekly Triple Take look at highlights from Saturday’s lineup, we brought in the steady hand of Around the mid-Atlantic columnist Ryan Tipps. Because someone’s got to give some serious analysis while the jokesters yuk it up.

Game of the Week
Ryan’s take: No. 6 Salisbury at Delaware Valley. The last time the Aggies played at home, they felled one of D-III’s predicted titans of 2008. That team, Wesley, also happens to be the biggest conference rival of Salisbury. When it comes to using a common opponent to predict the strength of teams, it doesn’t get any more straight-forward than this. At stake for Delaware Valley is proof that it could be the biggest threat to the rest of the MAC teams. For Salisbury, at stake is one of seven crucial regional games that will go a long way toward a fragile Pool B bid.
Keith’s take: No. 16 Ithaca at No. 11 St. John Fisher. We try not to double up picking the same game, but I think this is pretty obviously the G.O.T.W. for Week 4. I mentioned it a bit in Around the Nation, but otherwise Pat can do the heavy lifting …
Pat’s take: No. 16 Ithaca at No. 11 St. John Fisher. Ithaca does seem a little bit more put together at this point but with Dan Juvan playing on a bad right ankle and wearing a protective boot this week, plus St. John Fisher having the home field, I think that levels things out a bit. Plus, repeat after me, there’s no love lost when these two teams met. That’s from our Sportscaster Clichés 101 textbook. Bet you thought I was going to say something about throwing out record books. Hah! Not that predictable.

Surprisingly close game
Ryan’s take: Gettysburg at Muhlenberg. The Bullets’ 0-3 record is highly deceiving. Muhlenberg is ranked fifth in the country, but Gettysburg has been playing good teams with surprising intensity. Gettysburg traded last year’s running shoes for this year’s throwing arm, but whether that can penetrate the Mules’ stout defense is the biggest question mark.
Keith’s take: WPI at RPI. I never get this category right, but it’s about highlighting a good game, not me being right. Worcester Polytech has given up just 17 points in the two wins since their five-overtime opener against Mass-Dartmouth. RPI is heading into Game 3 of a nine-game slate and has one fewer game under its belt. If both defenses are playing as well as they have been (WPI allows 250 yards per game, RPI 272), it should be a good one.
Pat’s take: No. 14 Franklin at Trine. The MIAA has gone a long time between signature wins — in fact, I can’t name one at the moment. But Trine has looked good so far and Franklin has drifted up fairly high in the rankings, especially for an HCAC team.

Most likely Top 25 team to get upset
Ryan’s take: No. 17 Cortland State. Armed with a budding star in freshman quarterback Thomas D’Ambrisi, Kean is in prime position to play the spoiler in the NJAC. The Cougars’ first upset starts here.
Keith’s take: No. 6 Salisbury. I don’t have high hopes for anyone playing a top 25 team this week, but Delaware Valley will come in confident and well-rested after knocking off then-No. 3 Wesley two weeks ago. With the extra week to practice stopping the option and attacking the 3-3-5, the Aggies could pull it off.
Pat’s take: No. 19 Millsaps. Does Rhodes have the defense to slow down the Majors’ offense? Perhaps not, but with Millsaps outscoring opponents 39-9 this year and Rhodes’ defense having allowed just 14 points this season, repeat after me, something’s gotta give. That’s our second sportscaster cliché for the day. Thanks for playing!

They’ll be on your radar
Ryan’s take: Christopher Newport. A delayed opener, an uneasy team and a top 10 opponent. Last week the Captains were two steps behind in a three-step race. This week, against Wilkes, will be a better and more balanced showcase for CNU with conference play on the horizon.
Keith’s take: Catholic. At 3-0 and quietly poised to contend in the wide-open ODAC, the Cardinals must defeat Randolph-Macon, which has become quite a rival. The teams haven’t had a game decided by more than 10 points since 2003. R-MC has struggled, leaving an opening for CUA to be the team to push defending champion Hampden-Sydney.
Pat’s take: Wooster. Although, the Scots should be already, even before the trip to Denison. They’re 2-0 and have outscored opponents 47-8.

Which of last week’s West Region upset victims bounces back the strongest?
Ryan’s take: St. John’s. The Johnnies won’t nail a lopsided victory, but they will gain confidence — and maybe a better understanding of their quarterback situation — against the currently undefeated Gusties.
Keith’s take: St. John’s. Sorry to be a copycat, but the Johnnies don’t lose often, and rarely twice in a row. Gustavus might give St. John’s a run, but I’d be surprised if it were a tight game in the final minutes.
Pat’s take: Central. Albion has won three of its past 13 games, prime for a Central get-well card.

Which long losing streak ends this week?
Ryan’s take: North Park. Dating back to last season, the Vikings have limped through 10 straight losses entering their game against Benedictine. North Park’s most apparent weakness is defending the run. But the team’s solid pass defense should match up well against the Eagles, who have gained almost twice as many yards throwing the ball this season that they have running it.
Keith’s take: Cornell. I’m reaching, but eventually the Rams have to catch a break, right? After 22 IIAC losses in a row, maybe No. 22 Wartburg comes in riding high after the Central win and gets caught napping. By a score of 22-21. This is the topsy-turvy IIAC, after all, it’s not impossible.
Pat’s take: Buffalo State. There just aren’t many long losing streaks left, as Keith pointed out in Around the Nation. I’m going to cast my lot with the Bengals, who have lost eight in a row in heading to Western Connecticut. The Bengals did roll up 278 yards on the ground in a 42-32 loss to TCNJ this past week.

Who wins the Guru Bowl? That would be Pat’s alma mater (Catholic U.) at Keith’s alma mater (Randolph-Macon).
Ryan’s take: Randolph-Macon. It’s certainly hard to ignore a Catholic team that is undefeated and at the opposite end of the conference ladder as R-MC. Both teams are more balanced offensively than they have been in past years, but it’s the Yellow Jackets that have a more threatening defensive secondary and should be able to rein in Catholic quarterback Keith Ricca’s well-defined receiving corps.
Keith’s take: Catholic. Darn. I already said I’d be watching Catholic. Of course I’m pulling for Randolph-Macon. I mean, not professionally, just personally. Well, maybe I could make a case for professionally, since R-MC bouncing back after a rough start would make them a compelling team to follow. I’ve been following this rivalry for a lot of years now, and it tends to alternate years. So my “pick” is based on that. Plus, it makes me appear really fair and balanced!
Pat’s take: Catholic. I have to take this, right? Make sure to tell the guys to remember John Butler knocking down a pass at the end of the game to win in 1994, or Bob Frole pulling down a two-point conversion to tie the 1995 game 50-50.