FB: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Browneagle64]

It appears that the low rated teams in the SCIAC all had a pretty good day. I am glad to hear that they still have a fight left in them. 

Sounds like Dolittle and his amazing offense pulled a good one out of the stags.
THe same can be said about the poets who wrote the biggest tragic poem last night for the pups.


Hearing the Oxy webcast during the first half was awesome, hearing it during the second half was priceless. (Just kidding) Congrats to Oxy on winning their 3rd SCIAC crown outright.

Get ready for the last week Oxy and SCIAC fans. It appears that the tigers are ready to get even more better. What the tigers need to do in the following week is get stronger,get hyped and ready to put in a awesome fight to "keep the shoes" that have not left the Rock since 2000, and not over look the poets. Evenmore, although many can say that the poets are a joke, i like to tell every one that these kids and their coaches like to make other teams throw fits. I am sure this happened to the young pups yesterday.

In all, Oxy plays like focused warriors and all the freshmen add more as soon as they understand why the rivalry game against the poets is a big game for Oxy...
Tooth, was this a big rivarly for you guys back in the 50's..

TTTTTTTHEEEEEEEEEEE SHOOOOOOOOOEssss. Go tigers.

[dawg gone it]

BE....more better?   

The dawgs did themselves in for the most part...not taking away from the effort of the Poets who...wanted the game more than UR did.

[DawgHeaven]

Yes the Bulldogs are about as low as can be right now.  When was the last time the Bulldogs had a losing season?  Probably before OxyBob was a Tiger fan.  Oxy, enjoy this because you deserve it, but make sure you take a close look at Linfield.  They lose an all everything quarterback and are staying home for the playoffs.  The Dawgs will Bite Back.

[leopride1]

The backup Martinez guided the Leo's to victory, but Doolittle came in to finish the job when Martinex got hurt.  It was good game, CMS has some athletes on the offensive side of the ball.

Hats off to Whittier for the win, no doubt they EARNED it.  What the Poets and Sagehens lack in skill, they makeup with heart.  I'm glad for Whittier.

How about the SCIAC this year?  With the exception of Oxy, it was a pretty crazy year with some interesting outcomes.  Good luck to Oxy in the playoffs.

As for the Leo's,  lets take it to the Panthers once again...

[Browneagle64]

Couldn't have said it any better Leo. This is why i am also glad that teams like these leave everything out on the field. Its true what people say about teams that will not be making to the  big dance always looking for that big win. Especially if they have nothing to lose. Both the leos and Poets earned it. Even the hens were close to feeding off of Cal Lu's hangover.

[Sabretooth Tiger]

So the new top 25 is out and Oxy drops from no. 8 to no. 11 with Central and Whitworth stepping ahead of the Tigers.  That makes no sense at all save to the extent that the voters were influenced by the NCAA regional rankings . . . so now the national top 25 is consistent with the West Regional rankings by the NCAA, with the top 5 west regional teams now ranked ahead of Oxy by D3.  Yes, the West has 6 teams in the top 11 national slots, with Oxy being no. 6 and 11 respectively.

I'm not sure how the close wins by Central and Whitworth warranted this jump over the Tigers.  Maybe they should have been ahead to begin with, that I could understand . . . but I really don't understand how this move happens now, save for the influence of the NCAA rankings.

tooth

[RFB]

So the new top 25 is out and Oxy drops from no. 8 to no. 11 with Central and Whitworth stepping ahead of the Tigers.  That makes no sense at all save to the extent that the voters were influenced by the NCAA regional rankings . . . so now the national top 25 is consistent with the West Regional rankings by the NCAA, with the top 5 west regional teams now ranked ahead of Oxy by D3.  Yes, the West has 6 teams in the top 11 national slots, with Oxy being no. 6 and 11 respectively.

I'm not sure how the close wins by Central and Whitworth warranted this jump over the Tigers.  Maybe they should have been ahead to begin with, that I could understand . . . but I really don't understand how this move happens now, save for the influence of the NCAA rankings.

tooth

Oxy will be traveling to Whitworth for the first round.

[Pat Coleman]

So the new top 25 is out and Oxy drops from no. 8 to no. 11 with Central and Whitworth stepping ahead of the Tigers.  That makes no sense at all save to the extent that the voters were influenced by the NCAA regional rankings . . . so now the national top 25 is consistent with the West Regional rankings by the NCAA, with the top 5 west regional teams now ranked ahead of Oxy by D3.  Yes, the West has 6 teams in the top 11 national slots, with Oxy being no. 6 and 11 respectively.

I doubt the voter panel gives one bit of credence to the regional rankings. At most, there might be two coaches out of 25 voters who are also on regional NCAA committees or have been recently.

And you don't think winning at Linfield merits moving up? Isn't Linfield a far better team than anyone Occidental has faced?

[Sabretooth Tiger]

So the new top 25 is out and Oxy drops from no. 8 to no. 11 with Central and Whitworth stepping ahead of the Tigers.  That makes no sense at all save to the extent that the voters were influenced by the NCAA regional rankings . . . so now the national top 25 is consistent with the West Regional rankings by the NCAA, with the top 5 west regional teams now ranked ahead of Oxy by D3.  Yes, the West has 6 teams in the top 11 national slots, with Oxy being no. 6 and 11 respectively.

I doubt the voter panel gives one bit of credence to the regional rankings. At most, there might be two coaches out of 25 voters who are also on regional NCAA committees or have been recently.

And you don't think winning at Linfield merits moving up? Isn't Linfield a far better team than anyone Occidental has faced?

I don't know whether this year's Linfield team is better than Cal Lu, but what is clear is that Whitworth while ranked lower than Oxy, beat a team that was ranked even lower, so I don't see how that logically leads to stepping up ahead of the Tigers in the D3 national polls.  Moreover, I don't see the Pirates win as particularly convincing . . . it was damn close and based more on self inflicted wounds by Linfield than any type offensive prowess by Whitworth.  85 total offensive yards?  That warrants the climb?

I don't know how a head to head Oxy v. Whitworth or Oxy v. Central game would turn out, though I suspect we'll learn soon enough.  I'm just looking at it from the consistency of the D3 votes throughout the season within that sole context.  If Whitworth had beat a more highly ranked team, then sure.  Or maybe Oxy has been overvalued all year . . . but if that's the case, why is that just being recognized now? 

[Browneagle64]

I'd say let Oxy be ranked were they are. In reality, Coach W and his staff make sure that the kids don't buy into the rankings. All the tigers need to know is who they are planning to play against, whats the scouting report, what things in film can they expose the opposite team and what can they do in that game only. 

The least that i can see the staff do is take some type of newspaper clipping that points out what Pat and the powers that Be of the NCAA said about the rankings, and using it as fuel to stay focused and intense. In the end, i hope that this helps build a fire in every oxy players gut and lets them know that they must do even bigger stuff in the next games to prove that Oxy indeed deserves to be at the top and at the big dance.

[Pat Coleman]

Moreover, I don't see the Pirates win as particularly convincing . . . it was damn close and based more on self inflicted wounds by Linfield than any type offensive prowess by Whitworth.  85 total offensive yards?  That warrants the climb?

I am sure that if Occidental were on the winning end ... or had managed to hold Linfield to 13 points ... you'd be trumpeting it as reason to move Occidental up.

[Sabretooth Tiger]

Moreover, I don't see the Pirates win as particularly convincing . . . it was damn close and based more on self inflicted wounds by Linfield than any type offensive prowess by Whitworth.  85 total offensive yards?  That warrants the climb?

I am sure that if Occidental were on the winning end ... or had managed to hold Linfield to 13 points ... you'd be trumpeting it as reason to move Occidental up.

You know, I was just looking for a logical explanation for what I see as an illogical result.  For what it's worth, I really appreciate your website, the interest that it instigates, and the hard work that goes into it.   If you don't have an explanation or any thoughts on the topic, just say so.  There is absolutely no need to get churlish.  Frankly, I'm with Browneagle and the bulk who recognize that the rankings don't mean  anything, especially since you've pointed out that the D3 rankings have no impact on the regional seedings, which do, in fact, have some impact.

Your response was utterly disrespectful, lacking any indication of thought or substance.  I think you're capable of better.

[CRZK]

Not wishing to throw gas on a fire, I must second some of SabreTooth's observations.

I believe with all honesty a win by Oxy over Linfield done on turnovers and the other teams mistakes would not be followed by a chorus of we need to move up.  It seems Oxy fans, and SCIAC fans would know better.  Whitworth capitalized on mistakes, kudo's to them, but does it rate the jump?

Again, this points out some of the inconsistency within the D3 system in rankings, QOWI, regional rankings and the reality of travel and money.

If Oxy is overrated, (a potentially valid point to argue) then why discover it now?  Is it to justify putting Oxy on a plane to send them to Whitworth (or vice versa?  Oxy is a pool A after all)?  Does bumping off the #24 ranked team (Coe) by Central justify jumping a couple of spots??  Especially in an ot game.  Perhaps Central is overrated?

Perhaps we should be more honest here and on selection Sunday.  How about this.  "Well fans for the second time in a row we will have two highly ranked teams, both arguably in the top ten in the nation poised to knock one out and end their season way too early.  Of course sports fans what this really points out is that the D3 ranking system needs a proviso,  rankings apply to all teams NOT ON THE WEST COAST, especially at playoff time."

By the way, spare me the response,  well Linfield kicked Oxy's a$$.  True they did, they also kicked a lot of other teams as well.  Don't forget that this  current Oxy team still has a lot of the key players from their wins over Willamette and Concordia-Morehead.

I guess the bottom line is, sorry for this rant,  just wish we could call a spade a spade and come out and say rankings just don't matter for teams from certain areas of the country!

[(509)Rat]

Again, this points out some of the inconsistency within the D3 system in rankings, QOWI, regional rankings and the reality of travel and money.

This websites top 25 has nothing to do with two of the three things you mentioned...tooth better teach his fellow SCIAC posters what an illiogical argument is before he goes and criticizes someone else's. 

85 total offensive yards?  That warrants the climb?

If you can beat Linfield with only 85 yards of offense and force (most of them weren't just gimmes) 7 turnovers you are a damn good team.

Its not that Oxy has been overvalued all year, rather voters were holding off on putting Whitworth and Central ahead until they had played some tougher opponents (IMO).  All three teams are undefeated...Whitworth just beat a team that Occidental hasn't been able to beat for the last who knows how many years, in fact it hasn't even been close.  And Central actually played someone in the top 25...and won by the same margin that Occidental beat an unranked Cal lu team.  But as it seems you guys already realize, this poll doesn't mean anything...we don't have a BCS system in d3 football so it doesn't matter much where you are ranked.  You still have to beat the same teams to get to the championship game.  So make a run in the playoffs and then go tell all of the voters "I told you so." 

[RFB]

I feel Oxy vs. Whitworth would be an evenly matched game. Both have good defenses and offenses led by two great quarterbacks. Both are very slippery and are in their third years leading the offense. What is not to like about this matchup? I just hope that if Oxy does have to travel to Spokane that the weather is dry so we can get the real matchup that the teams and alumni/fans deserve.