East Region Fan Poll

[Machiavelli]

Early upset Alert:

WPI leads the mighty MIT 7-0 at the half.

[Machiavelli]

Early upset Alert:

WPI leads the mighty MIT 7-0 at the half.

And WPI pulls off the upset of the year!!  Meanwhile WConn continues their utter dominance against exceptional competition leading perennial powerhouse Fitchburg St 27-6 in the late 3rd.

I'm thinking my poll this week will have WConn at around 5 with WPI coming out of nowhere and rising to 8. And if Montclair pulls off their comeback effort vs Wesley, Wesley may drop to 22 even though all common sense says Wesley beats WConn by 100.

The ERFP's mystery is only exceeded by its power. Zoltan!

[wesleydad]

W Conn or Amherst? at 10.  After yesterday why not? 

[Machiavelli]

W Conn or Amherst? at 10.  After yesterday why not?

Throwing in the towel on Wesley this year? 3 1 point losses is just brutal. After yesterday, the Rowan loss looks so much worse and makes way less sense. I still think Wesley rounds out the bottom of the Top 10 though.

Yesterday DOES make me think the NJAC is pretty strong this year. Frosty is a beast, Salisbury might be as well, Montclair is a lot better than many gave them credit for, and Wesley is having a down year but is still better than most of the region. Wesley at 4 in the NJAC is bananas though and feels so strange.

All that said, it also makes me feel the MAC is way down this year. I don't think there is any shame in having 4 NJAC teams in your top 10. I think they all deserve it.

[wesleydad]

W Conn or Amherst? at 10.  After yesterday why not?

Throwing in the towel on Wesley this year? 3 1 point losses is just brutal. After yesterday, the Rowan loss looks so much worse and makes way less sense. I still think Wesley rounds out the bottom of the Top 10 though.

Yesterday DOES make me think the NJAC is pretty strong this year. Frosty is a beast, Salisbury might be as well, Montclair is a lot better than many gave them credit for, and Wesley is having a down year but is still better than most of the region. Wesley at 4 in the NJAC is bananas though and feels so strange.

All that said, it also makes me feel the MAC is way down this year. I don't think there is any shame in having 4 NJAC teams in your top 10. I think they all deserve it.

Yea Mach, it is brutal, but I am moving Stevenson back in, their 2 loses are against Frostburg and Del Val.  I agree that the NJAC is clearly the top league in the region and I could keep Wesley in, but I will see if they can win the last 2 and work their way back in.  Del Val looks ok, but their loss to Wesley looks not go good, Misericordia got crushed by Merchant Marine and they may go unbeaten in MAC, and Stevenson got crushed by Frostburg.  Would love to see an E8/NJAC match up next year.  That would be some good early season games to see.  MIT losing opens up my 10 spot.

[Machiavelli]

Based on everything I know about football, I'd be hard pressed to put anyone other than DV definitively in the top 10 from the MAC, and with that, they'd only be there based on their history and the fact that they HAVE been there before.

For the easy part, I'd see 4 from the NJAC, 2 from E8, 2 from LL, 1 from MAC. That leaves a single spot for Mis, Steve, Alfred, Union, Framingham(won't consider WConn unless they beat Framingham, which they won't), CNU, Or Rowan.

[rams1102]

I just sent in my ERFP, so I thought I would share it and get some discussion started. My #10 pick should stir up the Prince. 

1.   B-Port
2.   Frosty
3.   RPI
4.   Salisbury
5.   Ithaca
6.   Montclair
7.   Cortland
8.   Wesley
9.   Del-Val
10. W. Conn

[Machiavelli]

I just sent in my ERFP, so I thought I would share it and get some discussion started. My #10 pick should stir up the Prince. 

1.   B-Port
2.   Frosty
3.   RPI
4.   Salisbury
5.   Ithaca
6.   Montclair
7.   Cortland
8.   Wesley
9.   Del-Val
10. W. Conn

It's all good. Some people just like throwing one away. Clearly you're in that camp. When Framingham puts the boots to them, I'm ok with you putting them at 10. But just say, 'you were right'.

[rams1102]

I just sent in my ERFP, so I thought I would share it and get some discussion started. My #10 pick should stir up the Prince. 

1.   B-Port
2.   Frosty
3.   RPI
4.   Salisbury
5.   Ithaca
6.   Montclair
7.   Cortland
8.   Wesley
9.   Del-Val
10. W. Conn

It's all good. Some people just like throwing one away. Clearly you're in that camp. When Framingham puts the boots to them, I'm ok with you putting them at 10. But just say, 'you were right'.

Who would you put as #10? Now be fair.  I will have the game in my NJAC Pick E'm contest this week.

[Jonny Utah]

I just sent in my ERFP, so I thought I would share it and get some discussion started. My #10 pick should stir up the Prince. 

1.   B-Port
2.   Frosty
3.   RPI
4.   Salisbury
5.   Ithaca
6.   Montclair
7.   Cortland
8.   Wesley
9.   Del-Val
10. W. Conn

It's all good. Some people just like throwing one away. Clearly you're in that camp. When Framingham puts the boots to them, I'm ok with you putting them at 10. But just say, 'you were right'.

Who would you put as #10? Now be fair.  I will have the game in my NJAC Pick E'm contest this week.

You guys are all wacked.  Here is the top 10.  Don't even argue about it:

1. WConn
2. Salisbury
3. Frosty
4. RPI
5. Cortland
6. Montclair
7. Ithaca
8. Rowan
9. Wesley
10. Brockport

(I may have mixed two teams up by mistake, but this list is final.)

[rams1102]

I just sent in my ERFP, so I thought I would share it and get some discussion started. My #10 pick should stir up the Prince. 

1.   B-Port
2.   Frosty
3.   RPI
4.   Salisbury
5.   Ithaca
6.   Montclair
7.   Cortland
8.   Wesley
9.   Del-Val
10. W. Conn

It's all good. Some people just like throwing one away. Clearly you're in that camp. When Framingham puts the boots to them, I'm ok with you putting them at 10. But just say, 'you were right'.

Who would you put as #10? Now be fair.  I will have the game in my NJAC Pick E'm contest this week.

You guys are all wacked.  Here is the top 10.  Don't even argue about it:

1. WConn
2. Salisbury
3. Frosty
4. RPI
5. Cortland
6. Montclair
7. Ithaca
8. Rowan
9. Wesley
10. Brockport

(I may have mixed two teams up by mistake, but this list is final.)

Rowan at #8 and no Del-Val.

[jmcozenlaw]

DelVal's year is next year, a team that could rival last year. With the sheer amount of seniors they lost from last year, this year is gravy, a mulligan. 9 of 11 defensive starters back in 2019, as well as some injured key players, and the havoc wreaking Nobile twins with three more years to go. A few stud transfers (a la Rowan this year) are also seriously considering the Aggies. 7 out of 11 offensive starters back as well with their best RB currently sitting in the stands. I take very little from the Wesley vs. DelVal game week one. Wesley had/has a much more "talented' team in terms of returners and DelVal was playing their first game with 9 new defensive starters and 7 new offensive starters. Everybody at that game, including friends from Wesley, said that the final score was not indicative of the game. I'd love to see the two teams play next Saturday. I think it would be a much closer game. Also, in that same week one, a pretty average Widener team, in the middle of the pack in the MAC, lost a close one, 41-34 to Rowan. I also give absolutely nothing to the "Misericordia" comment (although their QB backed out of a commitment to Wesley) as they don't play DelVal nor Stevenson. It would be like Rowan being undefeated having beat Wesley and NOT playing Frostburg nor Salisbury. It would not be a "real" undefeated.

The "which conference is better" means squatta to me unless Frostburg (the D2 move actually is showing itself this year) or Salisbury can take out Mount Union, UMHB or even Brockport. Hell, Brockport beat Wesley by three touchdowns last year and needed a last second field goal to beat DelVal in the NCAA Quarterfinals. I'm pretty sure that conference commissioners and college and university presidents don't spend as much as three seconds a year trying to figure out how their football conference can become better than another conference. Not with the number of sports across the spectrum, both men's and women's. When your resources are thinned out across more sports, you can't afford to dominate in all of them. The MAC has outstanding national wrestling programs. I might be wrong but I'm not sure if any of the NJAC football programs even offer the sport. That's aid packages for 25-35 student athletes that take away from what could be given to the largest program in anybody's school.......the football program.

Let's be frank. Until someone from the NJAC or MAC or any other conference steps up and takes out a Mount Union, UMHB or a UWWW, it really doesn't matter where any conference falls in the artificial pecking order. They crown one champion a year. Everybody else stays home and tries........and is unlikely to succeed................although I think the players at an MIT will do all right for themselves whether they go 0-10 or 10-0).

[Jonny Utah]

I just sent in my ERFP, so I thought I would share it and get some discussion started. My #10 pick should stir up the Prince. 

1.   B-Port
2.   Frosty
3.   RPI
4.   Salisbury
5.   Ithaca
6.   Montclair
7.   Cortland
8.   Wesley
9.   Del-Val
10. W. Conn

It's all good. Some people just like throwing one away. Clearly you're in that camp. When Framingham puts the boots to them, I'm ok with you putting them at 10. But just say, 'you were right'.

Who would you put as #10? Now be fair.  I will have the game in my NJAC Pick E'm contest this week.

You guys are all wacked.  Here is the top 10.  Don't even argue about it:

1. WConn
2. Salisbury
3. Frosty
4. RPI
5. Cortland
6. Montclair
7. Ithaca
8. Rowan
9. Wesley
10. Brockport

(I may have mixed two teams up by mistake, but this list is final.)

Rowan at #8 and no Del-Val.

1.  The results are final.  I told you that.
2.  I said don't argue about it.
3.  I don't consider the MAC teams in my poll. 
4.  I forgot about Del Val and would have put them at #8 if I remembered them and didn't lie about my 3rd point to cover myself.

5.  In all seriousness, this should be a good playoff bracket in the East.  I think every team has a shot.  Not sure about Del Val to be honest.  I don't take a lot of stock in week 1 losses, so they might be able to pull off a big upset as well.  RPI will probably play "a good game" but lose to someone much better than them.  Frosty and Salisbury will lose by 70 points if they play Mt. Union in the semifinals or quarterfinals, but what the hell do I know, I pretty much only watch games on my computer.  But I can tell that Ithaca's linebackers always have the biggest arms and biceps in the country.  Those guys are the only guys I can tell a difference in when I watch these games, and that includes a lot of Nescac games (who's teams linebackers and dbacks always appear small)

[Bobcats47]

I just sent in my ERFP, so I thought I would share it and get some discussion started. My #10 pick should stir up the Prince. 

1.   B-Port
2.   Frosty
3.   RPI
4.   Salisbury
5.   Ithaca
6.   Montclair
7.   Cortland
8.   Wesley
9.   Del-Val
10. W. Conn

It's all good. Some people just like throwing one away. Clearly you're in that camp. When Framingham puts the boots to them, I'm ok with you putting them at 10. But just say, 'you were right'.

Who would you put as #10? Now be fair.  I will have the game in my NJAC Pick E'm contest this week.

You guys are all wacked.  Here is the top 10.  Don't even argue about it:

1. WConn
2. Salisbury
3. Frosty
4. RPI
5. Cortland
6. Montclair
7. Ithaca
8. Rowan
9. Wesley
10. Brockport

(I may have mixed two teams up by mistake, but this list is final.)

Rowan at #8 and no Del-Val.

1.  The results are final.  I told you that.
2.  I said don't argue about it.
3.  I don't consider the MAC teams in my poll. 
4.  I forgot about Del Val and would have put them at #8 if I remembered them and didn't lie about my 3rd point to cover myself.

5.  In all seriousness, this should be a good playoff bracket in the East.  I think every team has a shot.  Not sure about Del Val to be honest.  I don't take a lot of stock in week 1 losses, so they might be able to pull off a big upset as well.  RPI will probably play "a good game" but lose to someone much better than them.  Frosty and Salisbury will lose by 70 points if they play Mt. Union in the semifinals or quarterfinals, but what the hell do I know, I pretty much only watch games on my computer.  But I can tell that Ithaca's linebackers always have the biggest arms and biceps in the country.  Those guys are the only guys I can tell a difference in when I watch these games, and that includes a lot of Nescac games (who's teams linebackers and dbacks always appear small)

Frostburg lost to mount last year by 32 not 70 as an fyi

[Machiavelli]

So the question of 'Who would I put at 10?' made me think what my Top 10 would be this week, even though I spelled out how many from each conference. Wesleydad, feel free to use mine for the poll if you want. Here goes:

1. Brockport
2. Frosty
3. Salisbury
4. RPI
5. Montclair St.
6. Cortland St.
7. Wesley
8. Ithaca
9. Delaware Valley
10. Christopher Newport

Now remember I'm an RPI guy and this week Salisbury jumps them for me. I think Salisbury's body of work thus far is just more impressive. But it's entirely possible they lose 2 in a row to end the year. But if they win both, the top 25 voters drastically missed a team. I think if they go 1-1 and play tough games, they should land around 15-18 and get in the playoffs. But as we've seen way too many times with teams that play that type of offense, they have very little room for error. A turnover or an early deficit can bury an option team.

RPI is coming into their own. I fear the Union game as it's more of a headache now and can severely hurt them heading into the playoffs for many reasons. But if they can run the table, it could set them up for a favorable first round matchup and a chance to win 2 possibly. If they lose to Union, I wouldn't be surprised if they get fed to Brockport.

I wasn't sure about Montclair all year, but now I think they are legit.

I'm still not sold on Cortland and they also could drop 2 to end the year.

Wesley's loss to Rowan is strange, but they are 3 safeties short of being ranked like 5th in the country.

Ithaca played to the final play with the beast of the east and had 2 chances to beat RPI on the final play when they decided to run a double reverse screen throwback Statue of Liberty from the 2 yard line.

I respect the he!! out of the Delaware Valley program but I think they are a paper tiger this year. I actually struggled not putting them behind CNU. They'll be back, but this isn't their strongest team ever.

And last but not least, who would I put at 10??? There are a lot of worthy candidates to this point, but CNU lost to both Montclair and Salisbury by just 3. I think they were the easy choice after a little thought. Maybe they got a hall pass getting cancelled with Frosty but who knows how that game shakes out. Can't assume a loss.

So that's my thinking. Even though there are a ton of big games left, I think most of these teams stay here through the end of the year because they are just better than the rest.