Around the Nation board

[K-Mack]

Also watch the UMHB punting game.   Hunter Hamrick is excellent.

He got a lot of work today. Whitewater got a nice day from Nick Croak too. In a tight defensive struggle where field position is paramount, the importance of a good punter really shines through.

More initial thoughts on the game day from Alliance & Belton blog. I'll be writing about this for ATN this week as well.

[KennethK]

Anyone know where the final four games are played this year.  Is it by seed or does it change each year by region?

[d-train]

Anyone know where the final four games are played this year.  Is it by seed or does it change each year by region?

No one knows yet. As the four brackets are set up, the selection committee also ranks the four brackets (appearently by assigning a 1-4 rank to the top seed of each bracket and having that serve as each bracket's seed). A higher seeded team will always host, but if seeds of semi-final teams are equal - they refer to the seeding of their respective brackets.

[HScoach]

It's safe to assume however that Mount and Whitewater will be the #1 and #2 seeds nationally, which means the East and South brackets will be traveling in the semi's if the higher seeded teams hold serve.

Only real question is which bracket (East or South) has to go thru MUC's or WWW's bracket to get to Salem.

[d-train]

It's safe to assume however that Mount and Whitewater will be the #1 and #2 seeds nationally, which means the East and South brackets will be traveling in the semi's if the higher seeded teams hold serve.

Only real question is which bracket (East or South) has to go thru MUC's or WWW's bracket to get to Salem.

That's true. While not predetermined, the national #1 and #2 are pretty obvious. Does Wesley and the 'South' look to be the likely #3? 

[PA_wesleyfan]

 Well the concensus around the boards has Wesley possibly being the #1 seed in the East if certain teams lose.  And considering that the Wolverines are already ranked #1 in the south I would think that they are right now the #3 seed with the 4th seed going to whatever bracket isn't in. That could change I suppose with an upset or two. 

[K-Mack]

If Cortland State beats Rowan and Ithaca to finish undefeated, I would expect them to be the other No. 1 seed.

Of course, they could lose both games and miss the playoffs at this juncture, so it's really up in the air.

If not Cortland, I would go with Wilkes if they finish unbeaten or Hobart if they beat Union.

I think any of these teams could logically function as a No. 1, and there are plenty of East playoff-worthy teams at this point, so I would expect Wesley to top out in the South.

I don't think the Wolverines have the SOS to jump UWW or MUC, but in theory, if the criteria were right, they could host even though the Polls think UWW and MUC are 2 and 1.

[K-Mack]

Unfairly, but conveniently, copied from the Pool C thread:

Matt:

Nice numbers crunching.

Heck yeah. I love when I'm thinking about something and someone else has already gone through the numbers and scenarios.

Taking these numbers, subbing NC for Wheaton on the Pool A list and not considering the two-regional-loss teams at the moment, these are our unofficial likely playoff contenders:

Assuming these are the Pool A...

Mary Hardin-Baylor ASC
Dickinson Centennial
North Central CCIW
St. John Fisher Empire 8
Mt. St. Joseph HCAC
Concordia (Wis.) IBFC
Central IIAC
Hobart Liberty League
Hope MIAA
Wilkes MAC
St. Norbert MWC
St. John's MIAC
Curry NEFC
Cortland State NJAC
Wabash NCAC
Mount Union OAC
Washington & Lee ODAC
Occidental SCIAC
Trinity (Texas) SCAC
Averett USAC
UW-Whitewater WIAC

Here are the Pool B candidates with one or less regional losses...

Carnegie Mellon 10.286    7-0, 8-0
Whitworth    9.429    7-0, 8-0
Wesley      11.400    5-0, 8-0
Rockford    9.625    7-1, 7-2
Wash. and Jeff.   9.429    6-1, 7-1
Linfield    10.200    4-1, 5-2

I'll just take the top four listed Pool B teams and place the rest with the Pool C to get an idea of who will be battling for the seven remaining at-large bids...

Springfield    11.375    7-1, 7-1 (vs 3-5 Hartwick, at 2-6 Norwich)
Capital    11.250    7-1, 7-1 (vs 1-7 Muskingum, at 6-2 Baldwin-Wallace)
Wartburg    10.625    7-1, 7-1 (vs 2-6 Cornell, vs 4-4 Dubuque)
Bethel       10.500    7-1, 7-1 (vs 0-8 Augsburg, at 9-0 St. John's)
Coast Guard    10.125    7-1, 7-1 (vs 1-7 Framingham State)
Franklin    9.625    7-1, 7-1 (at 6-2 Defiance, vs 3-5 Hanover)
Hardin-Simmons    11.143    6-1, 6-1 (at 5-3 Texas Lutheran, vs 3-6 McMurry)
Union       10.286    6-1, 6-1 (at 7-0 Hobart, at 5-2 RPI)
Chr. Newport     9.429     6-1, 6-2 (vs 6-2 Averett, vs 2-5 Ferrum)
Ithaca       9.286    6-1, 7-1 (at 6-2 Alfred, at 8-0 Cortland State)
UW-La Crosse    9.800    4-1, 6-1 (vs 3-5 UW-River Falls, at 4-4 UW-Oshkosh)
Rowan       9.000    4-1, 5-2 (vs 8-0 Cortland State, vs 1-7 William Paterson)

OK,
I took W&J and Linfield out of the Pool C picture for now, and struck through Rockford and Coast Guard, who I don't think have a chance where they are listed. Coast Guard must beat Curry in the NEFC title game to go, in my humble opinion.

Here are Pool A league races worth watching/still up in the air:

CCIW: North Central/Wheaton/Augustana
E8: Ithaca/Springfield/SJF (Alfred technically alive, but needs upsets)
LL: Hobart/Union/Rochester (still plays Hobart)
MIAC: St. John's/Bethel
NCAC: Wittenberg/Wabash (The Tigers won 19-17, and both have 1 NCAC loss)
NEFC: Curry/Coast Guard
NJAC: Rowan/Cortland
SCAC: Trinity/Millsaps
ODAC: W&L/E&H/Guilford (Bridgewater, H-SC alive but might lose tiebreakers)
USAC: CNU/Averett

Clinched* or very likely won:
ASC: UMHB
CC: Dickinson
HCAC: MSJ* .... (Franklin/Defiance play this week for Pool C chance)
IBFC: Concordia (Wis.)*
IIAC: Central
MAC: Wilkes (King's, DelVal, Widener technically alive)
MWC: St. Norbert *
OAC: Mount Union
SCIAC Occidental *
WIAC: UW-Whitewater

And then there's this:

Key head to head games this week that will impact the playoffs:  (Conf. Records)

Averett (5-0) @ CNU (4-1)
Ithaca (4-1) @ Alfred (3-1)
Franklin (4-1) @ Defiance (4-1)
Hope (5-0) @ Olivet (4-1)
Union (4-0) @ Hobart (4-0)
Bethel (5-1) @ St. Johns (7-0)
Cortland State (6-0) @ Rowan (4-1)
Whitworth (4-0) @ Linfield (4-0)

Don't forget Emory & Henry (3-1) at Washington and Lee (4-1)

So basically is this everything we need to know in one place? If so, sah-weeet!

Let me know if I missed, misappropriated or miscalculated anything.

[K-Mack]

Wheaton should be on the Pool C likely list above.

[PA_wesleyfan]

Boy if King's beats Wilkes what happens?? Those schools are virtually across an alley form each other.. What a week it must be up there?

[K-Mack]

Boy if King's beats Wilkes what happens?? Those schools are virtually across an alley form each other.. What a week it must be up there?

King's picked up its second MAC loss, if I'm not mistaken, but until then they were just like Millsaps ... quietly hanging around even though they had just as much chance at the AQ as the overwhelming favorite.

Weird that W&L gets clubbed and can still clinch this week.

[PA_wesleyfan]

Boy if King's beats Wilkes what happens?? Those schools are virtually across an alley form each other.. What a week it must be up there?

King's picked up its second MAC loss, if I'm not mistaken, but until then they were just like Millsaps ... quietly hanging around even though they had just as much chance at the AQ as the overwhelming favorite.

Weird that W&L gets clubbed and can still clinch this week.

/quote]

   Geesh I should have known that,  i.e 2 losses I live 5 miles from DelVal
I guess there will be some good ECAC games K-Mack!! Better than not havong any games for some good schools!! Still a Kings win would mess up or clear up the East seatings

[labart96]

K-Mack -

You have your rankings mixed up on this preview.  Although, if Union's wins, they could easily just swap out and be what you wrote here:

No. 14 Union (6-1) at No. 20 Hobart (7-0)
Both of these teams seem to be less dominant than their fans expected after last season's playoff runs, but each is poised to go back. Union can clinch the Liberty League with a win, but Hobart still needs to beat 6-2 Rochester in its finale to wrap the league up. The Statesmen also make good Pool C candidates, although the Dutchmen, who lost to Springfield 38-30 early on, cannot afford another defeat. The statistical comparison does not really favor either team, with Union's 210 rushing yards per game being the only outstanding stat. The Dutchmen are slightly more impressive on offense, and the two are about equal on defense. Union's Tom Arcidiacono is the nation's third-leading rusher, and went for 85 yards and a score in last season's 28-18 win vs. Hobart.

[K-Mack]

You are correct. Silly of me to look at the top 25 and repeat "14 and 20" under my breath until I type it in.

I will fix.

[labart96]

You are correct. Silly of me to look at the top 25 and repeat "14 and 20" under my breath until I type it in.

I will fix.

Not a big deal, but hey, we Bart fans want to see our guys keep their rankings while they still can!  I remain hopefully optimistic about the game tomorrow, but you never know what can happen when Bart and Union mix it up!