FB: American Southwest Conference

[Reverendbiker]

Cru are playing mighty sloppy today...

But Ryan Redding answered some questions today.  The kid can play...

[umhb2001]

Cru are playing mighty sloppy today...

I didn't see the first half. It seemed that a lot of the miracles came in the second with Redding under center.

[umhb2001]

Sooooo, HPU didn't hold up their end of the bargain. 

You had ONE job HPU! ONE. JOB!

[justafan12]

HPU had one job yes, but so did Belhaven.  Hats off to them.  I was at the game and it really wasn't as close as the final score.  Belhaven did what they wanted to on offense and defense.  Held the "mighty" HPU offense to 276 yards (only 64 yards rushing).  Looking at the stats HPU was 1-10 on 3rd down and 1-3 on 4th down.
Belhaven had 336 yards rushing and more than doubled HPU in time of possession.

[HSUCowboy2015]

HPU had one job yes, but so did Belhaven.  Hats off to them.  I was at the game and it really wasn't as close as the final score.  Belhaven did what they wanted to on offense and defense.  Held the "mighty" HPU offense to 276 yards (only 64 yards rushing).  Looking at the stats HPU was 1-10 on 3rd down and 1-3 on 4th down.
Belhaven had 336 yards rushing and more than doubled HPU in time of possession.

The Blazers are much improved than in years past. I was very impressed with their offensive line when they played here in Abilene. Their loss to Southwestern has me super confused especially after what HSU did this past weekend.

I fully expect that BU and HPU finish 7-3, HSU 9-1, and MHB 10-0. I'm hoping BU and HPU show up in regional rankings.

[crufootball]

HPU had one job yes, but so did Belhaven.  Hats off to them.  I was at the game and it really wasn't as close as the final score.  Belhaven did what they wanted to on offense and defense.  Held the "mighty" HPU offense to 276 yards (only 64 yards rushing).  Looking at the stats HPU was 1-10 on 3rd down and 1-3 on 4th down.
Belhaven had 336 yards rushing and more than doubled HPU in time of possession.

The Blazers are much improved than in years past. I was very impressed with their offensive line when they played here in Abilene. Their loss to Southwestern has me super confused especially after what HSU did this past weekend.

I fully expect that BU and HPU finish 7-3, HSU 9-1, and MHB 10-0. I'm hoping BU and HPU show up in regional rankings.

Agreed on all counts, I am happy that that by and large most of the ASC seems to be on the up rise.

As for the regional rankings I am afraid that since we both agree that Howard Payne and Belhaven appear to be bound for 7-3 they will finish out of the rankings because it would help both HSU and UMHB.

Looking at the 2019 rankings, only 1 3 loss team was in the final reginal regional rankings and that was with 10 teams ranked which I don't think we will be getting this year.

[CowboyAlum261]

HPU had one job yes, but so did Belhaven.  Hats off to them.  I was at the game and it really wasn't as close as the final score.  Belhaven did what they wanted to on offense and defense.  Held the "mighty" HPU offense to 276 yards (only 64 yards rushing).  Looking at the stats HPU was 1-10 on 3rd down and 1-3 on 4th down.
Belhaven had 336 yards rushing and more than doubled HPU in time of possession.

The Blazers are much improved than in years past. I was very impressed with their offensive line when they played here in Abilene. Their loss to Southwestern has me super confused especially after what HSU did this past weekend.

I fully expect that BU and HPU finish 7-3, HSU 9-1, and MHB 10-0. I'm hoping BU and HPU show up in regional rankings.

Agreed on all counts, I am happy that that by and large most of the ASC seems to be on the up rise.

As for the regional rankings I am afraid that since we both agree that Howard Payne and Belhaven appear to be bound for 7-3 they will finish out of the rankings because it would help both HSU and UMHB.

Looking at the 2019 rankings, only 1 3 loss team was in the final reginal regional rankings and that was with 10 teams ranked which I don't think we will be getting this year.

Have to agree. I was really pulling for HPU to finish at 8-2 to give us a chance to get a win over a RRO—but it probably won't happen now. HSU just needs to win out and pray that things fall right for them to get in.

[Ron Boerger]

Look at who else might be in there and whether *they* will have wins against RROs.   I think HSU at 9-1 would be a good bet for a C and I believe the guys on the D3fb podcast this morning said the same.   Plus HSU's loss to UMHB was quite close which will work in their favor against anyone else without a RRO win. 

[HSUCowboy2015]

Look at who else might be in there and whether *they* will have wins against RROs.   I think HSU at 9-1 would be a good bet for a C and I believe the guys on the D3fb podcast this morning said the same.   Plus HSU's loss to UMHB was quite close which will work in their favor against anyone else without a RRO win.

I agree! Just very hopeful for a win against a RRO to pair with that loss. You will know more than I do, but does SOS play a factor in the Pool C bids? I've listened every year to these conversations for about 10 years now, but for some reason this answer I cannot remember.

[Ron Boerger]

Look at who else might be in there and whether *they* will have wins against RROs.   I think HSU at 9-1 would be a good bet for a C and I believe the guys on the D3fb podcast this morning said the same.   Plus HSU's loss to UMHB was quite close which will work in their favor against anyone else without a RRO win.

I agree! Just very hopeful for a win against a RRO to pair with that loss. You will know more than I do, but does SOS play a factor in the Pool C bids? I've listened every year to these conversations for about 10 years now, but for some reason this answer I cannot remember.

Yes, SOS is one of the primary criteria.  NCAA SOS is 2/3 Opponent's Winning Percentage, 1/3 Opponent's Opponent's winning percentage.

This is from this year's Soccer pre-Championships manual (football will be releasing theirs soon, I'd think), but the criteria are usually the same across sports:

PRIMARY CRITERIA
The primary criteria emphasize regional competition (all contests leading up to NCAA championships); all criteria listed
will be evaluated (not listed in priority order).
● Won-lost percentage against Division III opponents;
● Division III head-to-head competition;
● Results versus common Division III opponents;
● Results versus ranked Division III teams as established by the final ranking and the ranking preceding the
final ranking. Conference postseason contests are included; and
● Division III strength of schedule;
- Opponents' Average Winning Percentage (OWP);
- Opponents' Opponents' Average Winning Percentage (OOWP).

Note: Contests versus provisional and reclassifying members in their third and fourth years shall count in the primary
criteria. Provisional and reclassifying members shall remain ineligible for rankings and selections.


SECONDARY CRITERIA
If the evaluation of the primary criteria does not result in a decision, the secondary criteria will be reviewed. All the
criteria listed will be evaluated (not listed in priority order). The secondary criteria introduce results against all other
opponents, including those contests versus opponents from other classifications (i.e., provisionals, NAIA, NCAA
Divisions I and II).
● Non-Division III won-lost percentage;
● Results versus common non-Division III opponents;
● Division III non-conference strength of schedule.
Should a committee find that evaluation of a team's won-lost percentage during the last 25% of the season is applicable
(i.e., end of season performance), it may adopt such criteria with approval from the championships committee.
Additionally, input is provided by regional advisory committees for consideration by the soccer committee. In order to
be considered for selection for Pools B or C, an institution must play at least 70% of its competition against Division III
in-region opponents. Coaches' polls and/or any other outside polls or rankings are not used as a criterion by the soccer
committee for selection purposes.

[umhb2001]

Thanks, Ron! That's a good read.

Lots of big games this Saturday. Which three are you paying attention to that are not in the ASC?

[umhb2001]

Oshkosh v Stout

Hendrix v Trinity

Susquehanna v Johns Hopkins

[Cowboy2]

Oshkosh v Stout

Hendrix v Trinity

Susquehanna v Johns Hopkins

There's a lot of good ones. Mine are:

Susquehanna at Johns Hopkins

Washington and Jefferson at Grove City

Birmingham-Southern at Berry

* the UW match ups have my attention too

[umhb2001]

Oshkosh v Stout

Hendrix v Trinity

Susquehanna v Johns Hopkins

There's a lot of good ones. Mine are:

Susquehanna at Johns Hopkins

Washington and Jefferson at Grove City

Birmingham-Southern at Berry

* the UW match ups have my attention too

That Trinity game is important to me because I think they could be a first round opponent.

[umhb2001]

Not a great day for the Cru. Too many drives stopped. Got to hand it to Belhaven for their stout Defense. They really played well. Our D was too much for their vaunted running game. I doubt their OLine will get Team of the Week honors this time.

Redding took a step back after looking good last week. He had too many misses as he replaced King who was dealing with turf toe.

Our passing D looked like Swiss cheese at times. In the second half we went to man and that helped a little, but BU had plenty of chances as they had open catch opportunities but they dropped them.

The Cru forget Ruckman. I hate that.

Brandon Jordan doesn't look like he wants to play from time to time. I can't get a good read on his head and heart.

I expect Redding to get the start next week and possibly against McMurry. He needs more time in game situations with the 1s.

HPU didn't look good against HSU. Next week will be interesting. HSU looking to solidify their resume as a second team from the ASC.