East Region Fan Poll

[MRMIKESMITH]

1.   Wesley (1,2,2,3,4)
2.   Montclair State (3,3,3,4,5)
3.   Delaware Valley (1,1,2,4,-)
4.   Brockport (1,1,2,9,9)
5.   Ithaca (2,3,4,6,10)
6.   RPI (5,5,7,7,-)
6.   Hobart (5,6,6,8,10)
8.   Union (4,5,9,10,-)
9.   Alfred (6,8,8,10,-)
9.   Salisbury (7,7,7,-,-)

ORV's: Utica (6,8,-,-,-); CNU (8,9,-,-,-); Stevenson (9,-,-,-,-); Springfield (10,-,-,-,-)

[MRMIKESMITH]

2019 Preseason East Region Fan Poll

Rank      Team           Previous    Points   
1)   Wesley (1)           -          43   
2)   Montclair State      -          37         
3)   Delaware Valley (2)  -          36     
4)   Brockport (2)        -          33
5)   Ithaca               -          30
t6)   RPI                  -          20
t6)   Hobart               -          20
8)   Union                -          16
t9)   Salisbury            -          12
t9)   Alfred               -          12   

Dropped Out: N/A

RV)   Utica (8), CNU (5), Stevenson (2), Springfield (1)

You take an early lunch!! haha. I will try to remember next week!

Did this during my lunch, I can add your's to update for later...

[UfanBill]

So I'm the only one that gives ANY respect to any team from New England in the pre-season poll. Somebody has to emerge as the best team in New England. To be clear there are four NCAA berths that will be awarded as automatic qualifiers. Will any NE team make a run in the playoffs? Not likely BUT the one team that probably has the best chance is Springfield. After being top 25 ranked going into last season and starting last year with two impressive wins their season took a nosedive when starting QB Chad Shade and backup Davis Wells were both knocked out in the 2nd quarter against Union. For a team that relies about 99% on the QB to run their option attack this was catastrophic. Their passing stats from last year were a mind numbing 17/54 with 8 interceptions for a total of 325 yards...yes, this is for the season!  They must know they have to pass the ball more efficently, right? We'll see. Historically their option is unstoppable and maybe it will return to dominance again this year.

Forward to 2019...Shade, Wells and RB Hunter Belzo, who took over as QB last year, are all back. you can expect the Pride will be cranking up their running attack. With some scores to settle, they lost to Union, USSMMA and MIT, it would be no surprise to me to see them atop the NEWMAC and playing mid November. Early OOC games against crosstown rival WNE, Kean and Union will get them ready to roll.  They MAY be in my top 10 to stay.

[NYfootball]

New to doing this :-)

1) Del Val
2) Wesley
3) Montclair
4) Brockport
5) Utica
6) Hobart
7) Ithaca
8) Springfield
9) Union
10) Alfred

[Ice Bear]

Great to see the chatter on here and it's enjoyable to be looking at football polls again. dlip ****ing loves this time of year. Again, thanks to MANDGSU for tallying all the votes. Welcome NYfotball and thanks for throwing your top 10 into the mix.

Ufan may be correct regarding the Pride. dlip has always loved the Pride and their triple option offense since the days of his ****ing man crush on record setting Pride QB Chris Sharpe (who dlip thinks is currently playing ball off the coast of Greenland). If Shade can stay healthy the Pride may certainly be the best NE has to offer. The kid can move but his straight up running style does put him in harms way for someone who carries the ball play after play. dlip wishes the pride well (and hopefully they can stay healthy) aside from their game with Union. They could also crack dlip's top 10 depending on how others fare.

[MRMIKESMITH]

So I'm the only one that gives ANY respect to any team from New England in the pre-season poll. Somebody has to emerge as the best team in New England. To be clear there are four NCAA berths that will be awarded as automatic qualifiers. Will any NE team make a run in the playoffs? Not likely BUT the one team that probably has the best chance is Springfield. After being top 25 ranked going into last season and starting last year with two impressive wins their season took a nosedive when starting QB Chad Shade and backup Davis Wells were both knocked out in the 2nd quarter against Union. For a team that relies about 99% on the QB to run their option attack this was catastrophic. Their passing stats from last year were a mind numbing 17/54 with 8 interceptions for a total of 325 yards...yes, this is for the season!  They must know they have to pass the ball more efficently, right? We'll see. Historically their option is unstoppable and maybe it will return to dominance again this year.

Forward to 2019...Shade, Wells and RB Hunter Belzo, who took over as QB last year, are all back. you can expect the Pride will be cranking up their running attack. With some scores to settle, they lost to Union, USSMMA and MIT, it would be no surprise to me to see them atop the NEWMAC and playing mid November. Early OOC games against crosstown rival WNE, Kean and Union will get them ready to roll.  They MAY be in my top 10 to stay.

Don't talk to me about option. I struggle with my bipolar-ism love/hate for it...One day it can score 50+ on a good team and the next day can only scoring 10 points against a quality team, then the next day scoring 40 against a quality team and then only 10 against a sub-par team. Sometimes I'm not sure if I would rather want to go 8-2, average 500 rush and 30+ points a game to lose to the two best teams on schedule or go 250 yards rushing and 250 passing and go 6-4. At least you know what you are getting with the 8-2 team, while the 6-4 season, you'd look good losing. Then there is the saying that only 3 things can happen when you pass the football, two of them are bad and one is good.

[NYfootball]

https://www.facebook.com/D3Huddle/videos/vb.126112447487909/651362258691268/?type=2&theater

FYI guys

[CNU85]

So I'm the only one that gives ANY respect to any team from New England in the pre-season poll. Somebody has to emerge as the best team in New England. To be clear there are four NCAA berths that will be awarded as automatic qualifiers. Will any NE team make a run in the playoffs? Not likely BUT the one team that probably has the best chance is Springfield. After being top 25 ranked going into last season and starting last year with two impressive wins their season took a nosedive when starting QB Chad Shade and backup Davis Wells were both knocked out in the 2nd quarter against Union. For a team that relies about 99% on the QB to run their option attack this was catastrophic. Their passing stats from last year were a mind numbing 17/54 with 8 interceptions for a total of 325 yards...yes, this is for the season!  They must know they have to pass the ball more efficently, right? We'll see. Historically their option is unstoppable and maybe it will return to dominance again this year.

Forward to 2019...Shade, Wells and RB Hunter Belzo, who took over as QB last year, are all back. you can expect the Pride will be cranking up their running attack. With some scores to settle, they lost to Union, USSMMA and MIT, it would be no surprise to me to see them atop the NEWMAC and playing mid November. Early OOC games against crosstown rival WNE, Kean and Union will get them ready to roll.  They MAY be in my top 10 to stay.

Don't talk to me about option. I struggle with my bipolar-ism love/hate for it...One day it can score 50+ on a good team and the next day can only scoring 10 points against a quality team, then the next day scoring 40 against a quality team and then only 10 against a sub-par team. Sometimes I'm not sure if I would rather want to go 8-2, average 500 rush and 30+ points a game to lose to the two best teams on schedule or go 250 yards rushing and 250 passing and go 6-4. At least you know what you are getting with the 8-2 team, while the 6-4 season, you'd look good losing. Then there is the saying that only 3 things can happen when you pass the football, two of them are bad and one is good.

I hate the option! Except y'alls last game in 2004. I liked that game!

[Bombers798891]

They must know they have to pass the ball more efficently, right?

I guess it depends on what their goal is. The game has shifted too far in the passing direction to dominate with it like Ithaca did in the 1980s. Heck, Jim Butterfield recognized as much by the early 1990s, which is why IC's 1991 team was highlighted by a WR (Nick Ismailoff) who set a D-III record for most receiving yards in one postseason with 599 in just four games.

But the option is tough to defend because it's not seen. You're certainly going to be around .500 with a competent QB and a decent defense, in most situations.  And if you've got the right QB for it, you can beat a whole lot of teams, and win a playoff game or two in the right conditions. Salisbury has won at least 7 games in 15 of the past 17 seasons and 9 games six times. For a whole lot of D-III programs, that's an enviable level of success. There's certainly a ceiling to how far those teams go, because the truly elite teams will be able to stop one-dimensional teams. But winning at least seven games a year, with an occasional special season when you get the perfect QB? That's something I think a lot of programs would be very happy with

[jmcozenlaw]

I'm stunned by the love for DelVal given the following reality:

The Aggies lost their four year starter at QB (Darden), their top three receivers (all at least 6'4".......Ellis, Graham and Stewart), three of their five offensive linemen and their all conference fullback/hback. In game #2, a critical game come playoff time, I think they struggle mightily to move the ball against a loaded Wesley defense. And when they do, DelVal also loses their four year punter, All-American Steven Adams (was in a NFL rookie camp, and got CFL looks) who was an amazing weapon at the D3 level. Wesley knows first hand what it is like to be subpar at kicker and/or punter.

DelVal brings a lot back on defense, but Wesley does on offense, including a lightning quick back (Lee), big fast WR's and a huge offensive line. After DelVal won the first two games in the series (2016 and 2017) and Wesley winning last year, I'll set the line at at Wesley -9.5. DelVal covers, but Wesley wins to tie the recent series (last four seasons) up at 2-2. No team, with the exception of Mount Union, Mary Hardin Baylor, Wisconsin Whitewater and maybe one or two I'm missing, beats Wesley 3 out of 4 games (this season's seniors were freshman during game one of the series).........certainly NOT DelVal.

I'm not sure that the Aggies win the MAC and given all that they lost from last year, it shouldn't be a shocker.

[ITH radio]

I'm with you on DVC. I think they'll win most of their games, but wouldn't be surprised if they didn't win the MAC this season.

[jmcozenlaw]

I'm with you on DVC. I think they'll win most of their games, but wouldn't be surprised if they didn't win the MAC this season.

They lost the motherlode on offense as well as a few underclassmen they were counting on to replace them. I hear the defense could be really good but that the offense will struggle, especially early on.

[MRMIKESMITH]

I'm with you on DVC. I think they'll win most of their games, but wouldn't be surprised if they didn't win the MAC this season.

They lost the motherlode on offense as well as a few underclassmen they were counting on to replace them. I hear the defense could be really good but that the offense will struggle, especially early on.

I'm really a defensive minded person and I'll take a defense that can keep you in any game always over an offense that has returning starters.

[CNU85]

I'm with you on DVC. I think they'll win most of their games, but wouldn't be surprised if they didn't win the MAC this season.

They lost the motherlode on offense as well as a few underclassmen they were counting on to replace them. I hear the defense could be really good but that the offense will struggle, especially early on.

I'm really a defensive minded person and I'll take a defense that can keep you in any game always over an offense that has returning starters.

Truth!!!!!

[MRMIKESMITH]

Don't forget to turn in ballots this week, the sooner the better. After Week 1, we have a general idea on how teams look. Plenty of movement up and down on my ballot.