Top 25 rankings

[Jukebox Hero]

Yea, hard for anyone to complain about this week's poll. (unless they complained about it last week...)

Status quo is good

[Matt Barnhart (kid)]

I am not 100% sure it has ever happened in our poll.

I checked ... you can be 100% sure that it hasn't

[Ralph Turner]

This week's Top 25 question...

Will Mount Union leapfrog UMHB to take over 2nd place?

Inquiring minds want to know...

[empire8fan]

you think MUC would of jumped MHB this week with MUC beating JC 70-0 and MHB winning by 7 over a team that has had one season of more than 3 wins in the past 5 years.

[Pat Coleman]

The past five years are not anywhere near as relevant as this year.

[reality check]

Pat

OK UMHB beat a team by 7 that has less than 3 wins this year too.   

[Ralph Turner]

Empire8, Pat covered this while I was doing the research.  Texas Lutheran resumed football in 1998.  They finally settled on this coaching staff about 4 years ago.  We in the ASC believe that Texas Lutheran would probably win the championship in at least 8-10 other D3 conferences.

They have 5 losses in the last 12 games:  2004 losses to #14 Trinity 32-41,  to #2 UMHB 27-36, and to #4 HSU 29-59, the week before HSU locked up the first round playoff bye.  This year, they have a 23-31 loss to #13 Trinity ( Trinity had already played a game and TLU was opening on the raod) and a 21-28 loss to #2 UMHB.

Probably their best chance at a playoff berth is to earn a 3-way tie in the ASC and win the coin flip.  

The fact that UMHB lost 8 points and MUC gained 6 points from week 2 to week 3 tells me that several voters saw something in MUC.

[smedindy]

And while this is nice discussion, it really is all irrelevant as we move toward November, when the chips will be down, and all of us will spout various and sundry sports cliches in order to justify our opinions and hyperbole.

Not that I don't...

[K-Mack]

This week's Top 25 question...

Will Mount Union leapfrog UMHB to take over 2nd place?

Inquiring minds want to know...

I thought long and hard about it. I even penciled it in while I did the rest of my poll. But if I stick to my general criteria of rewarding teams that play the toughest competition, I can't penalize UMHB for beating a team I've had hovering in the 20s and 30s most of the year (I usually rank down to 35 or so I know who to watch for in coming weeks).

I don't really want to judge 70-0 much different than 35-0 or 42-0 ... the zero is almost more important. Offensively, you never know who calls off the dogs when, really.

In any case, beating JCU by 70 was an eye-opener, but in this case, UMHB should be helped by beating TLU, and we also have some circumstantial data to compare UMHB and MUC ... in that UMHB won at MUC last season. I know last season is last season, but one could also argue UMHB has more back.

Basically, I think it's a situation for voters to watch. If UMHB looks really poor in a win one week, and MUC continues to look sharp, I would definitely flip the two in my top three.

FWIW.

[Trin9-0]

Just out of curiosity I was wondering how those responsible for the top 25 poll base their votes on teams from the NESCAC. Trinity (CT) for example, for the past 2 or 3 seasons, has started the season in the "others recieving votes" section of the poll. After they win all of their games they eventually sneak into the top 25 usually finishing in the low 20s.

I realize it's not a very important issue because Trinity (CT) nor any other NESCAC school is eligibel for the playoffs because of their self-imposed ban.  But I was just curious if the voters have ever even seen a Trinity (CT) or NESCAC game, or if their inclusion into the national poll is just D3football.com's way of throwing a bone to the team with the nations longest current win streak (22).

Thanks.

[Ron Boerger]

As far as I'm concerned, until the NESCAC decides to play nicely with others (as it does in other sports), Trinity (CT) is simply the best football team in Division IV.  If I had a vote in the poll, the Bantams would not merit any consideration until that time. 

[reality check]

...the best football team in Division IV.

That's great.

[xxxxxxxxxxxx]

New AFCA poll:

http://www.afca.com/lev3.cfm/1084

[njlincolnlion]

Ranking Comparison between d3football and AFCA.

AFCA                                          d3football

Linfield                                           Linfield
Mt. Union                                       Mary Hardin-Baylor
Mary Hardin Baylor                        Mt. Union
Rowan                                           Hardin-Simmons
Hardin-Simmons                            Rowan
St. Johns                                       Washington & Jefferson
Washington & Jefferson                Ohio Northern
Ohio Northern                               Occidental
Wheaton                                       St. Johns
Ithaca                                           Salisbury
Occidental                                     UW-Whitewater
UW-Whitewater                            Delaware Valley
Trinity (TX)                                    Trinity (TX)
Carthage                                      UW-LaCrosse
St. John Fisher                              Ithaca
Salisbury                                       Concordia-Moorhead
Delaware Valley                            St. John Fisher
UW-LaCrosse                                Carthage
Concordia-Moorhead                    UW-Eau Claire
Alma                                             Wheaton
Wooster                                       Hampden-Sydney
Hampden-Sydney                         Capital
Hobart                                          McDaniel
Bridgewater                                  Bridgewater
Cortland State                              Christopher Newport

Coaches give very little respect to S.O.S

[cawcdad]

They must give something, strength of schedule wise. Otherewise why is UW - Stevens Point (0-2 vs. Hardin-Simmons and Linfield) ahead of Whitworth (2-0 vs. Redlands and La Verne) by eight places in the others recieving votes?