Around the Nation board

[K-Mack]

What took so long to get Cortland State into your Top 25? You seem to be one of the last ones to do so.

Well, they were always on the radar, as obviously I had some part in ranking them 26th in the 1-234.

But as far as my own personal ranking, there's probably some negligence involved. In the preseason, voters get a spreadsheet of about 60 teams (usually everyone who received votes in the last poll last year, plus playoff teams and a few others), with returning starters and notable offseason changes, like coaches, coordinators and schemes.

For some reason Cortland wasn't on this sheet, and I have this noted on that sheet. Also missing were Trinity, Texas, John Carroll and Hampden-Sydney, but pretty much every other semi-legit team is on there. Some, like ONU, Concordia-Moorhead and North Central were on the list but missing information, although we had requested it. Remember, this is late July/early August we're getting this info though.

I did my intial top 25 based heavily on projections, which relied a lot on number of and quality of returning starters. Had they been on the sheet, or had I looked it up on the side, Cortland's 20 returners (9 off, 9 def, 2 sp) would have earned them strong consideration. As it was, I had them in my 35 or so group, which probably meant I had settled on a top 25 before fully researching the 35-and-over teams not on the spreadsheet.

That poll was done Aug. 4. Later in the month I examined things more fully with Pat and contributed to ranking Cortland 26th in the 1-234.

But when it came to voting Week 1, I worked off my own preseason vote & 26-35 list, not the 1-234. So by not having them on my watch list, and with them not playing Week 1 and beating Morrisville Week 2, it didn't really help get them noticed. Beating Brockport was the one that made me go back and take a closer look, and as I mentioned above, they were right there around 25-27 for me last week.

Basically, I try not to do my preseason rankings solely off of last season's playoff finishes. Cortland had earned a lot of respect staying close to Rowan and Hobart, and I'd sort of lost sight that they also beat Ithaca and Brockport last year.

The good news is polls are fluid, and the more good games a team plays, the more chances to open eyes they have. Cortland could very well be unbeaten this year heading into its final two, vs. Rowan and Ithaca.

[repete]

RE: the article of using d3 football as bait.

Is it just me or did the fact that he teaches sports ethics at the University of  Florida cost him just a little hit of credibility ... ?

['gro]

am I the only one reading this stuff? thought someone would post this by now... from SI.com writer Pete McEntegart's The 10 Spot

"...Up in New England on Saturday, meanwhile, Williams (Mass.) College -- the 10 Spot's Official Division III team -- ended Trinity's 31-game winning streak with a convincing 41-16 home victory. Congratulations to coach Mike Whalen and the Ephs."

[K-Mack]

The guy who writes the 10-spot for ESPN is a Williams grad, that is probably why he will reference D3.

[diehardfan]

Wow, too bad I don't have a job at ESPN so I can promote Wheaton. 

Seriously though, it's fun to get the attention. When D3 grads take over the world, we will have even more.

[frank uible]

diehard: Please bag up 2 dozen of those M&M cookies for me. I'll eat them on the road!

[K-Mack]

am I the only one reading this stuff? thought someone would post this by now... from SI.com writer Pete McEntegart's The 10 Spot

"...Up in New England on Saturday, meanwhile, Williams (Mass.) College -- the 10 Spot's Official Division III team -- ended Trinity's 31-game winning streak with a convincing 41-16 home victory. Congratulations to coach Mike Whalen and the Ephs."

I got five on it that he says nothing when Amherst beats them.

[K-Mack]

Around the Nation is updated with fleshed-out Five Games to Watch and more "But Don't Quote Me."

Upset special and Surprisingly Good Game to come later tonight.

I'm not sure My 26-35 is all that interesting this week. I may write it for the board-watchers only.

[DuffMan]

Keith,

In your blurb about the Saint John's vs. Saint Olaf game, you state that, "They do get the Johnnies in Northfield this time, and St. John's hasn't overwhelmed in either of its MIAC games."

SJU may have not overwhelmed Carleton or Concordia-Moorhead, but they drubbed Augsburg 60-0, which is a MIAC opponent.

[K-Mack]

Yeah,
I'm not sure if it was you who also e-mailed me, but I am going to fix that.

I put "MIAC" in there to rule out the River Falls game in which they did overwhelm and glazed right over Augsburg.

Thanks.

[K-Mack]

Let's go to the e-mail inbox:

From: "TCNJ Alumni" <xxxxxxxxx@hotmail.com>

NJ held Montclair to 26 russing yards and 200 yds total. It could be a good game vs. Rowan.

I thought about that as an "Also Keep an Eye on" game, and I even thought about trying to beat D.C., Baltimore and Philly traffic to get up there on Friday night.

That could be a good one, it really depends if Rowan is struggling on offense like some think or is just waiting for everything to click and a team to open it up on.

TCNJ has beaten the Profs before and given them some good games in the past, so I definitely wouldn't put it past ol' Trenton State.

[K-Mack]

More mail:

From:  Pete Butler <xxxxxxxx@yahoo.com>
To:  keith@d3football.com
Subject:  Where is the MIAA Love???
Date:  Sunday, October 01, 2006 9:46:46 PM 

keith and the d3 gang,

I love the site and think it is great what you all do for DIII football.  Granted this comment is biased since I played football at Albion for 4 years but...is it that you view the leage as weak for never, ever writing about any MIAA games?  If that is your view I respect that but there are always TONS of articles about the teams in Ohio, Wisconsin and Illinois but NEVER any articles about MIAA teams unless they are a loser to another team.  Where is the love???

Pete,
I'll be straight up with you. The MIAA is 7 of the 234 teams we cover, so as a national columnist, I could go years without featuring an MIAA team if nothing truly unique is going on. Winning, while not the only thing we write about, most certainly helps, whether it's a hot start, an upset or a new team rising up the conference ranks. Quite frankly, the MIAA has had none of those this season, with 2-2 overall being the best record of any conference team. MIAA schools often schedule top competition from the CCIW and surrounding leagues, so you are going to get your names mentioned if you take on those challenges, win or lose.

But also Pete, for the entire site, you can't say never. In past years, Around the Nation has taken a midseason look at every single conference race, and tracked the ones not decided until the end, which is often the case in the MIAA. We have featured league teams on occasion (a Mark Simon piece on Olivet comes to mind), and the MIAA is covered every week in Ryan Briggs' Around the Great Lakes.

"The Love," though, is not something D3 staff gives out on whims, to please people. We do try to spread it around, but we also have to tackle what we feel is interesting to all our readers across the country.

We understand that for each reader, the most important game going on that week is the one his or her school is playing, and everything outside that conference is on the periphery. But between the conference boards, Around the Region and other features, we do the best we can to localize the coverage. Also, several of the site's features depend on the school's cooperation, so coverage may vary from school to school, based on the level of involvement from the SID's office.

If you're comparing three states with about 20 D3 schools each to the coverage of the MIAA, of course it's going to seem imbalanced. And when you take your whole conference and put it up against the backdrop of the entire nation, well, it's inevitable some schools and conferences won't get as much front-page, national coverage as they'd like.

But we don't have anything against the MIAA per se (My wife actually has family in the state, I've been trying to organize a you-see-your-fam, I'll-see-a-game trip for a couple years). Newsworthiness is something we react to, not control, if that makes any sense. Be patient though. These things tend to cycle around, the MIAA will get more love when its teams' play justifies it.

I appreciate the compliments, and I know you want to see Albion make another Stagg Bowl run.

[K-Mack]

Another similar one:

Keith OKeefe <xxxxxxxxxx@yahoo.com>
To:  keith@d3football.com
Subject:  No Love for BC?
Date:  Thursday, October 05, 2006 7:05:47 PM

Keith,

We both played in the ODAC around the same time, (93-97).  I served in the Army for 7 years after BC, and while I was over seas in Bosnia, Afghanistan & Iraq, I followed the ODAC on your site.  I have to say, I've been disappointed in the lack of coverage for the Eagles.  I know we were rivals, but it is truly sad that the most successful team in the ODAC for the past 10 years gets no respect in any of the articles posted on your site.  What gives???

Keith

Hey Keith,
always good to hear from a contemporary and a former ODAC'er. But I have to say that on the whole, your beef is not quite as valid as the MIAA guy above.

Aside from Mount Union, St. John's, Rowan and maybe a few of the Texas schools, I can't think of anyone we write about more on a year-to-year basis than Bridgewater. I've been doing this virtually since I finished playing and Bridgewater became a power, and I've written about them pretty much from the start of their ascent until now. Pat Cummings does a really solid job keeping tabs on the Eagles in Around the Mid-Atlantic, the webmaster of BridgewaterFootball.com is a D3football.com contributor and Bridgewater fans are some of the most active on Post Patterns, so if there's something going on with the Eagles, we usually know.

Now, there is a point with successful teams like Bridgewater where their winning the conference isn't really news anymore, and they hardly get mentioned nationally early in the season. That can be by design, as we tend to lay off teams who are a good bet for us to write about come playoff time, when the entire spectrum is 32 or fewer teams, as opposed to 234.

But regionally and on the by-conference topics on the boards, we are noticing the Eagles.

But you weren't saying "where's the Bridgewater coverage the past five weeks?" You imply that there's a historical lack of coverage, no respect and perhaps even a personal grudge.

I don't even know how to respond to that, really. If you would like me to forward you a list of Bridgewater articles done over the years, I can ... I've had to put one together before for a reader. I'd be glad to help. Or try Google.

If you find that there is really a lack of Bridgewater coverage, I cannot imagine what your expectations are. There are 233 other schools in need of some mention too. If you want all Eagles, all the time, BridgewaterFootball.com will take care of you, for sure.

I appreciate your patronage of the site, especially while serving us overseas, and the e-mail. I'd even listen to you reminisce about that 31-7 game at Macon in '96. But I'm not sure I can get on board with the "truly sad" aspect of D3football.com ignoring Bridgewater.

[K-Mack]

Pat's better at this than I am, at least when it comes to being brief:

> Below is the result of your feedback form.  It was submitted by
Jack Shinn (xxxxxx@gvtc.com) on  Monday, October 02, 2006 at 08:51:29 PM
      
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: UMHB
Notes: Can you show something ever about Mary Hardin Baylor/

From:  "Pat Coleman" 
To:  "Jack Shinn"
Cc:  keith@d3football.com
Subject:  Re: Feedback: UMHB
Date:  Monday, October 02, 2006 9:04:38 PM

Jack,

Well, we did cover their game at Christopher Newport -- in fact, our lead
columnist was there and did a column on the game. We're also planning to
be in Belton for the UW-Whitewater game, and potentially in Abilene for
the HSU game.

Once a program gets into elite status, we actually cover them a little bit
less. But we hope this is seen as a sign of respect -- we cover them less
in the regular season because we know we will be writing about them in the
playoffs.

Thanks for writing.

Pat Coleman
D3football.com

Anyway,
the point of this is not to embarass anyone or try to make ourselves look cool.

I just know that other people have similar concerns, and rather than keep the answers to these or any other questions (unless they're meant to be private) just between me and the writer, I feel like answering them in an open fashion starts a better dialogue and hopefully provides answers to more than just one person.

[K-Mack]

-------------- Original message --------------
From: Patrick Cummings <announcerpat@yahoo.com>

> K-Mac
>
> Would it not be more accurate to say that Ursinus's
> defense has three shutouts instead of two? "Allowing
> a safety." I'd say Ursinus's defense has three
> shutouts while the offense allowed two points by way
> of a safety in one of those wins. Since the only was
> to score just two points is to have your offense
> create, or allow the safety, it credits their defense
> even more.
>
> Just my take.
>
> PC

Valid points ... you Centennial homer.