Triple Take: Rivalry week 2013


The Hampden-Sydney/Randolph-Macon game always draws a crowd. This year it’s also a winner-take-all game for the ODAC title.
Hampden-Sydney athletics photo

If you’ve never been affiliated with a school that has an intense, no-love-lost rivalry, you’re missing out on one of the sweeter things in life. Because when game time comes, there’s something absolutely all-consuming about how you feel about your team and what you’d like to do to those on the “other team.”

Many teams will be feeling that this weekend, capping the season against their archrival. And if the playoffs are not on the horizon, Week 11 can spell one last chance to make the season memorable by taking home the Bridge Bowl Trophy or Monon Bell or Cortaca Jug or Regents Cup or any of the many other prizes out there.

This week highlights the rivalries, but there’s more to this week than that. With Selection Sunday coming up, there’s so much to play for.

Here’s what Pat, Keith and Ryan have to say about that:

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Second 2013 NCAA regional rankings


The second NCAA regional rankings are now out.

Remember that regional rankings primarily take Division III games into account. Teams are listed with their Division III record first, followed by their overall record. For more information about the playoff format and how participants are determined, check out our FAQ.

Teams that have clinched playoff bids: ASC, Mary Hardin-Baylor; CC, Johns Hopkins; CCIW, North Central; ECFC, Gallaudet; E8, Ithaca; LL, Hobart; MIAC, Bethel; NACC, Concordia (Wis.); NCAC, Wittenberg; NWC, Linfield; SCIAC, Redlands; UMAC, St. Scholastica; USAC, Maryville; WIAC, UW-Whitewater.

EAST

1. Hobart, 8-0, 8-0

2. Ithaca, 8-1, 8-1

3. Lebanon Valley, 8-1, 8-1

4. Rowan, 7-2, 7-2

5. Gallaudet, 8-0, 9-0

6. Framingham State, 8-1, 8-1

7. Alfred, 7-2, 7-2

7. St. John Fisher, 7-2, 7-2

9. Salve Regina, 7-1, 7-2

10. Brockport State, 6-3, 6-3

NOTES:

Lebanon Valley and Rowan leapfrog Gallaudet, which was third last week. Brockport State moving into the rankings, instead of Endicott or Western Connecticut, who each have really low strength of schedule figures, explains Rowan’s boost. Also worth noting that Alfred and St. John Fisher, who clash on Saturday, are tied in the regional advisory committee’s view.

NORTH

1. Mount Union, 9-0, 9-0

2. North Central, 9-0, 9-0

3. John Carroll, 9-0, 9-0

4. Wittenberg, 8-0, 8-1

5. Illinois Wesleyan, 8-1, 8-1

6. Wabash, 8-1, 8-1

7. Wheaton, 7-2, 7-2

8. Hope, 7-2, 7-2

9. Frankin, 6-2, 6-3

9. Heidelberg, 7-2, 7-2

NOTES:

John Carroll’s win over Heidelberg helped it surpass Wittenberg, which it trailed in last week’s first set of regional rankings. Even though Wabash, Wheaton, Franklin and Heidelberg lost, there were no other teams in the North Region ready to move into the rankings. Albion, which faces Hope for the MIAA title in Week 11, is the closest.

SOUTH

1. Mary Hardin-Baylor, 9-0, 9-0

2. Johns Hopkins, 9-0, 9-0

3. Millsaps, 8-0, 9-0

4. Wesley, 4-2, 7-2

5. Thomas More, 8-1, 8-1

6. Maryville, 8-1, 8-1

7. Texas Lutheran, 7-1, 7-1

8. Washington U., 7-2, 7-2

9. Hampden-Sydney, 7-2, 7-2

10. Washington & Jefferson, 7-2, 7-2

NOTES:

Millsaps moved in front of Wesley after its win over Centre, while Texas Lutheran falls from third last week to seventh. That’s bad news for the Bulldogs, who if they missed a Pool B bid, wouldn’t get to the table in Pool C until Thomas More went in first. The Saints play Washington & Jefferson in Week 11.

WEST

1. UW-Whitewater, 8-0, 9-0

2. Bethel, 9-0, 9-0

3. Linfield, 8-0, 8-0

4. UW-Oshkosh, 7-1, 8-1

5. UW-Platteville, 8-1, 8-1

6. Pacific Lutheran, 8-1, 8-1

7. St. Thomas, 7-2, 7-2

8. Wartburg, 7-2, 7-2

9. Concordia-Moorhead, 6-2, 7-2

10. St. John’s, 7-2, 7-2

NOTES:

The last four teams in the rankings are all teams that Bethel has beaten or is scheduled to play; the Royals face St. John’s in Week 11. Still, four regionally ranked opponents isn’t enough to get to the No. 1 spot ahead of UW-Whitewater. Meantime, St. Thomas moved in while Illinois College moved out, on the heels of a win over Concordia-Moorhead and IC’s loss to Cornell. PLU’s position behind Oshkosh and Platteville suggests that the winner of that Week 11 game is on the table for a Pool C bid before the Lutes.

How to use these regional rankings: If you are an at-large candidate, you want to be sure you are the top at-large candidate in your region. That will ensure you get discussed by the national committee and have a chance to be put in the field.

There are 24 automatic bids, three Pool B bids and five Pool C (true national at-large) bids. Selection Sunday is Nov. 17.

Being listed in these rankings is not a guarantee of selection to the playoffs. There is no guarantee an at-large team will be taken from each region.

Around the Nation podcast: Playoff picture takes place


Hardin-Simmons wasn’t a threat to Linfield, Willamette or UMHB but crushed Texas Lutheran.
Hardin-Simmons athletics photo

Subscribe to the Around the Nation Podcast in iTunes.

So let’s see, John Carroll beat Heidelberg, handily, and Wittenberg handled Wabash. Meanwhile, Hardin-Simmons delivered a reality check to Texas Lutheran and Wesley beat a D-I FCS team. (You know, the level known as Division I-AA.) Did John Carroll play its way into the playoffs? Or perhaps we should give them more than just lip service next week vs. Mount Union. Keith talks about what he saw when he watched the John Carroll-Heidelberg game.

Keith and Pat look at the remaining 10 automatic bids and what it will take to win them. Plus a long look at Pool B and another long look at Pool C. That and Continue reading