East Region Fan Poll

[HSCTiger74]

The difference I keep trying to define is that in the East, the NEFC and ECFC are vilified for "stealing" an AQ bid...the East is the only region where this complaint is so persistently and whin-ily raised.

And I hate seeing good teams, 8-2/9-1 type teams that are playoff caliber and capable of, if not winning, giving teams half a game, staying home because the system has decided it's easier to have Norwich and Maritime get dominated from the opening kickoff.  Exchanging good Pool C teams with mediocre-to-bad Pool A teams doesn't change the national picture. But I think it affects the quality of the playoffs as a whole, in this region more than others. I think it's good if teams lower in the bracket are capable of winning/playing tough games.

To me, this is what we're missing out on. Compelling early-round games featuring good teams. That's unfortunate, IMO

Well said.  Already +K'd you earlier but would do so again for this post.  Thanks for fleshing this out a little more.  I still am a big fan of AQ's for every qualified conference, but I see/understand your point much better now.

Consider it done. 

[lewdogg11]

I do think AQ's are good.  It's really a way to tell if a team actually is competitive on a regional/national scene that you may not find out otherwise.  It just sucks that there are so many of them.  I know there's nothing that can be done at this point, and it's not the teams' faults or the players faults, but it's how the NCAA made the structure.  This year there will be less to bitch about I think because we probably won't have that 9-1/8-2 runner up in the E8 or NJAC or MAC on the outside looking in that could probably win 2-3 games in the playoffs.  I guess your options then are expansion of the playoffs which probably won't happen, or a re-structuring of the AQ process, or we can just b!tch on message boards each year.  We'll probably b!tch either way. 

If Gallaudet wins a game in the playoffs against a half decent team, I think everyone on here will congratulate them.  So thinking otherwise is a misconception.  It's just that fear of them getting absolutely manhandled that is so aggravating each year. 

And then there's that other fear like last year, that because the conferences are so bad, a second team gets into the playoffs in a Pool C.  There was no need for BOTH Framingham and Bridgewater last year.  Like what if Husson scheduled Maine Maritime and Nichols this year and beat them both instead of losing their OOC's and finished 9-1 with their 1 loss to Gallaudet.  The thought of anyone getting in that way is flat out terrifying.  Salve and Endicott are 1 OOC victory away from causing that again this year. 

I cringed in a similar fashion when St. Lawrence won the LL a few years ago and finished with a 5-6 record on the year.  I'm not strictly bashing the NEFC/ECFC/MASCAC.  If a relatively crappy team makes the playoffs, they are all up for criticism. 

[Mr. Ypsi]

All this whining and bitching about crappy teams in the East just means that we are happier than everybody in the other regions.  We had a saying in the Navy, the only happy sailor is a bitching sailor.  I am revising it to the only happy posters are bitching posters.  Crappy teams make the playoffs by winning their conference or division every year in all sports on all levels.  KS old HS made the NJ state playoffs last year and got to the sectional finals last year with a losing regular season record.  This year the NFC East my very well be won by a team with an 8-8 record or even  possibly a 7-9 record.  Guess what, they make the playoffs and host a wild card game.

KS - the eternal voice of sanity!

My personal favorite is the 2010 d3 World Series.  With 2 weeks left in the regular season, IWU was 14-17.  They then proceeded to go 17-4 the rest of the season (barely edging into the #4 slot of the 4-team conference tourney) and won the national title!

Once the playoffs begin, ya just never know what might happen.  Who'd a thunk George Mason could make the Final Four, but it sure was fun to see!

[lewdogg11]

All this whining and bitching about crappy teams in the East just means that we are happier than everybody in the other regions.  We had a saying in the Navy, the only happy sailor is a bitching sailor.  I am revising it to the only happy posters are bitching posters.  Crappy teams make the playoffs by winning their conference or division every year in all sports on all levels.  KS old HS made the NJ state playoffs last year and got to the sectional finals last year with a losing regular season record.  This year the NFC East my very well be won by a team with an 8-8 record or even  possibly a 7-9 record.  Guess what, they make the playoffs and host a wild card game.

KS - the eternal voice of sanity!

My personal favorite is the 2010 d3 World Series.  With 2 weeks left in the regular season, IWU was 14-17.  They then proceeded to go 17-4 the rest of the season (barely edging into the #4 slot of the 4-team conference tourney) and won the national title!

Once the playoffs begin, ya just never know what might happen.  Who'd a thunk George Mason could make the Final Four, but it sure was fun to see!

Baseball is an ENTIRELY different situation.  You can ride a couple hot pitchers or bats in the postseason, and the overall talent level is much more even. 

[ECoastFootball]

Every NCAA tournament there is works the same way. All those 16-15 seeds that make the NCAA men's hoop tourney would finish dead last in the ACC, but they don't just let the ACC get 12 bids. That's not how the NCAA works.

[ECoastFootball]

And then there's that other fear like last year, that because the conferences are so bad, a second team gets into the playoffs in a Pool C.  There was no need for BOTH Framingham and Bridgewater last year.  Like what if Husson scheduled Maine Maritime and Nichols this year and beat them both instead of losing their OOC's and finished 9-1 with their 1 loss to Gallaudet.  The thought of anyone getting in that way is flat out terrifying.  Salve and Endicott are 1 OOC victory away from causing that again this year. 

Agree completely. Bridgewater lost their playoff game when they lost to Framingham. It was ridiculous they got an at large last year.

[Bombers798891]

Every NCAA tournament there is works the same way. All those 16-15 seeds that make the NCAA men's hoop tourney would finish dead last in the ACC, but they don't just let the ACC get 12 bids. That's not how the NCAA works.

Talk about apples to oranges.

AQs take up a larger portion of D-III football bids (67%) than D-I basketball (45%). Add in the whole Pool B thing and smaller tournament sizes and here's the types of teams from major conferences that miss the postseason.

D-III football: 9-1 teams like Rowan in 2010 and Cortland in 2006
D-I basketball: 19-12 teams like Miami in 2013

[AUKaz00]

Week 9 Fan Poll 

Team	Record	Points	Last Rating	Next Week
1   Hobart( 5 )	7-0	50	1	vs. St. Lawrence
2   Ithaca	7-1	45	3	at #5 Salisbury
3   Lebanon Valley	7-1	36	5	vs. Stevenson
4   Alfred	6-2	32	9	vs. Utica
5   Salisbury	5-3	28	2	vs. #2 Ithaca
6   St. John Fisher	6-2	27	4	at Buffalo State
7   Rowan	6-2	26	7t	at Kean
8t  Delaware Valley	6-2	8	10	at Wilkes
8t  Lycoming	5-3	8	7t	vs. FDU-Florham
10  Widener	5-3	6	6	vs. King's

Dropped Out:


Also Receiving votes:               
Brockport State 4
St. Lawrence 3
Albright 2

            
Voting Distribution:            

Hobart (1,1,1,1,1)
Ithaca (2,2,2,2,2)
Lebanon Valley (5,3,3,3,5)
Alfred (3,4,4,5,7)
St. John Fisher (4,6,5,8,4)
Rowan (7,5,7,4,6)
Delaware Valley (9,8,NR,10,9)
Lycoming (NR,10,NR,7,8)
Widener (NR,9,9,9,NR)
Brockport State (8,NR,10,NR,NR)
St. Lawrence (NR,NR,8,NR,NR)
Albright (10,NR,NR,NR,10)


Key Matchups:
#2 Ithaca at #5 Salisbury

[dlippiel]

I do think AQ's are good.  It's really a way to tell if a team actually is competitive on a regional/national scene that you may not find out otherwise.  It just sucks that there are so many of them.  I know there's nothing that can be done at this point, and it's not the teams' faults or the players faults, but it's how the NCAA made the structure. This year there will be less to bitch about I think because we probably won't have that 9-1/8-2 runner up in the E8 or NJAC or MAC on the outside looking in that could probably win 2-3 games in the playoffs.  I guess your options then are expansion of the playoffs which probably won't happen, or a re-structuring of the AQ process, or we can just b!tch on message boards each year.  We'll probably b!tch either way. 

If Gallaudet wins a game in the playoffs against a half decent team, I think everyone on here will congratulate them.  So thinking otherwise is a misconception.  It's just that fear of them getting absolutely manhandled that is so aggravating each year. 
And then there's that other fear like last year, that because the conferences are so bad, a second team gets into the playoffs in a Pool C.  There was no need for BOTH Framingham and Bridgewater last year.  Like what if Husson scheduled Maine Maritime and Nichols this year and beat them both instead of losing their OOC's and finished 9-1 with their 1 loss to Gallaudet.  The thought of anyone getting in that way is flat out terrifying.  Salve and Endicott are 1 OOC victory away from causing that again this year. 

I cringed in a similar fashion when St. Lawrence won the LL a few years ago and finished with a 5-6 record on the year.  I'm not strictly bashing the NEFC/ECFC/MASCAC.  If a relatively crappy team makes the playoffs, they are all up for criticism.

[/b]

A very good post here Lew with some excellent points IDHO.

[Frank Rossi]

And for the Best of the Rest, here's how the ECAC Bowls are beginning to shape up, based on declared teams (subject to change).  Remember that six teams from each region will be selected, assuming the normal three games per region...

ECAC South Eligible Teams (Declared)
------------------------------------
Johns Hopkins (8-0/7-0) (CC Leader)
Gallaudet (8-0/5-0) (ECAC Leader)
Lebanon Valley (7-1/6-1) (MAC Leader)

Wesley (6-2/0-0) (Pool B Possibility)

Waynesburg (7-2/5-2)
Washington & Jefferson (6-2/5-1)
Muhlenberg (6-2/5-2)
Salisbury  (5-3/4-1) (E8 Co-Leader in Losses)
Franklin & Marshall (5-3/5-2)
Widener (5-3/5-2)
Delaware Valley (5-3/4-3)
Albright (5-3/4-3)
Juniata (5-3/4-3)

Cortland (4-4/4-2)
Wilkes (4-4/3-4)
Stevenson (4-4/3-4)
Catholic (4-4/1-4)

Bethany (3-5/3-3)
Carnegie Mellon (3-5/0-1)
Morrisville (3-5/2-3)


ECAC North Eligible Teams (Declared)
------------------------------------
Hobart (7-0/5-0) (LL Leader)
Framingham State (7-1/6-0) (Pool B Possibility)
Endicott (6-2/5-0) (NEFC Co-Leader)
Salve Regina (6-2/5-0) (NEFC Co-Leader)
Alfred (6-2/4-1) (E8 Co-Leader in Losses)

Western Connecticut (6-2/5-2)
St. John Fisher (6-2/3-2)
USMMA (4-2/1-2)

Norwich (5-3/4-1)
SUNY-Brockport (5-3/4-1)
Husson (5-3/4-1)
Bridgewater State (5-3/4-2)
MIT (4-3/2-3)
Springfield (4-3/1-3)

Buffalo State (5-4/3-3)
Mass. Maritime (4-4/2-4)
Hartwick (4-4/1-4)

Utica (3-5/1-4)
SUNY-Maritime (3-5/3-2)
Western New England (3-5/2-3)
Worcester State (3-5/1-5)

[mattvsmith]

Dude!!!!  Becker has won 11 games in 9 years against the worst competition in the country!!!!  Comparing them to Union as an opponent is like comparing a turtle with an egg roll.

And did you really want to pump up a win vs. Rochester?  The LL is awful this year. I wouldn't be all that excited about that one.

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!!!!

I'd like the lizard fried rice and two turtle egg rolls to go, please.

[lewdogg11]

Dude!!!!  Becker has won 11 games in 9 years against the worst competition in the country!!!!  Comparing them to Union as an opponent is like comparing a turtle with an egg roll.

And did you really want to pump up a win vs. Rochester?  The LL is awful this year. I wouldn't be all that excited about that one.

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!!!!

I'd like the lizard fried rice and two turtle egg rolls to go, please.

And dennnnnnnnnn?

[Yanks 99]

Dude!!!!  Becker has won 11 games in 9 years against the worst competition in the country!!!!  Comparing them to Union as an opponent is like comparing a turtle with an egg roll.

And did you really want to pump up a win vs. Rochester?  The LL is awful this year. I wouldn't be all that excited about that one.

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!!!!

I'd like the lizard fried rice and two turtle egg rolls to go, please.

And dennnnnnnnnn?

Hahaha...nice...+k

[ExTartanPlayer]

First RR's.  I have a feeling this won't be very popular in these parts.

EAST
1   Hobart   7-0   7-0
2   Ithaca   7-1   7-1
3   Gallaudet   8-0   8-0
4   Rowan   6-2   6-2
5   Lebanon Valley   7-1   7-1
6   Framingham State   7-1   7-1
7   Alfred   6-2   6-2
8   St. John Fisher   6-2   6-2
9   Salve Regina   6-2   6-2
10   St. Lawrence   6-2   6-2

[fisheralum91]

What in the name of all that is holy..................
Dear lord.... Not popular?
Actually it was a fantastic laugh!
Ive lost faith in polls