FB: Region 4 fan poll

[wally_wabash]

I'm beginning to change my opinion on 2 through 7 being interchangeable. I've watched a lot of these teams so far this year, and I'm starting to think that NCC, Franklin, and Wabash may be the haves while Wheaton, Heidi, and Witt may be the have nots. That's just my opinion from the eye test, and it's certainly alright if folks disagree with that.  I understand the logic of Franklin being 5 or Wabash being 7, but I just don't see how either of those things can be possible after seeing Franklin play Mount Union and Butler and seeing what Wabash has done defensively, for example.

I posted my ranks here, so it goes without much explanation that I agree 100% with the bolded sentence. 

I think this week is the week when I really try to dig in a little more and reassess some things.  For instance, I'm wondering if I don't need to be giving John Carroll more consideration amongst the 5-7 group.  The Streaks have been really impressive.  It's going to be time to really dig into the numbers this week.   Everybody will have at least 4 games down after Saturday so the numbers start to paint a pretty good picture. 

[ExTartanPlayer]

As annoying as a certain fan was, I don't think Heidelberg has done anything to deserve being dropped from that first category.  Sure they've given up a few more yards and points than Wabash, but look at those games closely: most of that has come long after the game was decided (they led Ohio Northern 55-12 and Wilma 66-6, and while neither of those teams are especially good, they are not any worse than the competition Wabash has faced).  I understand perhaps knocking Witt into the next tier because of the common data point with Franklin (not just the final result, but how Witt was utterly dismantled while Franklin traded blows on pretty even terms), and maybe Wheaton showed a crack by letting a mediocre Benedictine hang around for a while, but I don't think Heidelberg has shown any significant weakness just yet.

John Carroll does look interesting.  I think they'll continue winning for a few weeks yet - what I'll actually be looking for from them is a) continued dominance and b) how B-W and Otterbein do the next few weeks.  Last year, B-W and Ott were the 3rd and 4th best OAC teams, and Carroll has beaten both decisively; if the next few weeks provide data that B-W and Ott are both still decent, then JCU probably deserves more consideration, even if their next few wins are against blah competition.

[ADL70]

"Have nots" might better be described as "lacking a little something."

[DPU3619]

"Have nots" might better be described as "lacking a little something."

Agreed. That did come off a bit more negative than I intended. I like Heidi. I just don't think they could handle Franklin, NCC, or Wabash right now. That's why those three are 2, 3, and 4 on my ballot respectively.

[smedindy]

My #10 revereted back to OWU. Almost pulled the trigger for Olivet, but...

[Li'l Giant]

I went with Adrian at #10.

[aueagle]

Unranked & dangerous...just where I would
want the Bishops headed into Crawfordsville

[Mr. Ypsi]

My 'real' #10 would be Adrian, but I put Olivet there for a well-earned 'shout-out' - they have already won 2.5 times as many games this year as in their last five seasons total!  I still think they will finish 5-5 (or at best 6-4), so this is probably the last chance to honor them.

[BashDad]

Unranked & dangerous...just where I would
want the Bishops headed into Crawfordsville

Just how you planned it.

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

I think I'm going to have a change or two on my ballot. I'm going back and looking at some teams for my Top 25 and will probably shuffle things around a bit

[Mr. Ypsi]

VOTERS: If Wes's week is the same as previously, he can post the poll tonight or else we will have to wait until Thursday.

Get those ballots in NOW!

[wally_wabash]

Mine is in.

[NCF]

Mine is in.

ditto

[DPU3619]

In all it's magnificent glory, here's the Week 5 North Region Fan Poll!

1.     Mount Union       70 pts (1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1)
2.     Franklin              58 pts (2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 4, 4)
3.     North Central      57 pts (2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4)
4.     Wabash               49 pts (3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 7)
5.     Heidelberg           36 pts (3, 5, 5, 6, 7, 7, 8)
6.     Wittenberg          35 pts (5, 5, 6, 6, 6, 7, 7)
7.     Wheaton             34 pts (5, 5, 5, 6, 7, 7, 8)
8.     John Carroll         24 pts (6, 6, 8, 8, 8, 8, 9)
9.     Illinois Wesleyan   8 pts (8, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9)
T10. Ohio Wesleyan      3 pts (10, 10, 10, -, -, -, -)
T10. Adrian                   3 pts (10, 10, 10, -, -, -, -)

ARV  Olivet                    1 pt (10, -, -, -, -, -, -)

The North Region Fan Poll is voted on by FCGrizzliesGrad, wally_wabash, Li'l Giant, Mr. Ypsi, NCF, smedindy, and myself.

[wally_wabash]

I'll spell my ballot out a little later, but I'm really shocked at the votes for OWU.  They did get beat in their own building by a 4-1 team.