FB: Region 4 fan poll

[smedindy]

I think what this shows is that even for this reindeer game it's not an easy process.

[ExTartanPlayer]

I think what this shows is that even for this reindeer game it's not an easy process.

That's it!  Make the voters' ballots public!  We need accountability with the millions of BCS dollars at stake...oh, whoops, it's only the Division III fan poll.

Seriously, guys, I appreciate it...arguing over Division I rankings is just so played out, I need something better to do.

[DPU3619]

I did drop a team from my poll, but it was Trine. I had forgotten they lost, so that was a fairly easy fix.  Although, had I not remembered the fish, I probably would have left Trine in there.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Now that the Muskies have lost to the Student Princes (17-7), I freely confess that I was the voter who left them out (I had them 11th).  They almost certainly deserved a ranking based on this season alone, but I just couldn't quite get over that they were still Musky!

I do feel good that I finally moved Witt below the LGs, immediately before Witt laid a big egg.  You see, I'm psychic - I vote based on NEXT week's results!   (Though somehow my powers totally disappear when it comes to Pickems. )

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

If only this were a top 15 then I would be fine filling out my ballot... 8-15 were all close for me. I'm sure at least one team I picked I'll probably be the only one to pick.

[ExTartanPlayer]

Now that the Muskies have lost to the Student Princes (17-7), I freely confess that I was the voter who left them out (I had them 11th).  They almost certainly deserved a ranking based on this season alone, but I just couldn't quite get over that they were still Musky!

You see, I'm psychic - I vote based on NEXT week's results!

Ah-ha!  That's it!

I understand what you're saying above; it's a philosophical difference in the way we all look at rankings.  I try (as much as possible) to rank teams solely based on THIS season's on-field happenings, rather than on prior beliefs, and I try to avoid projecting potential future results into the rankings.

There's nothing wrong with a little future projection; I just don't believe in that, myself...I'd rather wait to change the rankings until after that actually happens.

[DPU3619]

Week 6 North Region Fan Poll, also known as 5 fellers who think completely different on the 9th & 10th best teams in this region:

1.  Mount Union          60 pts (1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1)
2.  North Central         54 pts (2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2)
3.  Illinois Wesleyan     45 pts (3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4)
4.  Wabash                44 pts (3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5)
5.  Wheaton               37 pts (4, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5)
T6. Adrian                  27 pts (6, 6, 6, 7, 7, 7)
T6. Franklin                27 pts (6, 6, 6, 7, 7, 7)
8.   Wittenberg           14 pts (8, 8, 8, 9, 9, 10)
9.   Heidelberg             9 pts (8, 9, 9, 9, -, -)
10.  Ohio Northern        5 pts (8, 10, 10, -, -, -)

RV  Trine                    3 pts (8, -, -, -, -, -)
RV  Baldwin Wallace     2 pts  (9, -, -, -, -, -)
RV  CWRU                  2 pts  (10, 10, -, -, -, -)
RV Carthage               1 pt   (10, -, -, -, -, -)

Corrections Appreciated.  The North Region Fan Poll is voted on by Wes Anderson, wally_wabash, Mr. Ypsi, ADL70, smedindy, & FCGrizzliesGrad.

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

Week 6 North Region Fan Poll, also known as 5 fellers who think completely different on the 9th & 10th best teams in this region:

So which one of us 6 doesn't count as a fella? 

First time there's been some variety like this I think. Only one of the 15 teams I was considering that didn't get a vote was Muskingum

[wally_wabash]

Interesting that ONU hangs on.  I moved ONU out this week because I had to move Musky out and I don't think that ONU can be ahead of Musky just yet.  I figured we'd get some variety at the bottom of this week's poll.  You can cover teams 8-13 or so with a dime.  Very difficult to differentiate down there. 

[B.W. jacket]

How can you still have Ohio Northern at no.# 10 at (3-2), and B.W. (4-1) not ranked and they beat Heidelberg.

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

How can you still have Ohio Northern at no.# 10 at (3-2), and B.W. (4-1) not ranked and they beat Heidelberg.

Not only did 2 people put them at 10th, but someone had them 8th. It wasn't me. It'll be sorted out this week anyways when they play each other.

My ballot was:
1 Mount Union (like everyone)
2 North Central (like everyone)
3 Illinois Wesleyan
4 Wheaton (highest for Wheaton)
5 Wabash (lowest for Wabash)
6 Franklin
7 Adrian
8 Heidelberg (highest for Heidelberg)
9 Wittenberg
10 Case Western Reserve (figured I'd be the only one here... guess not)

Below that I had another 5 teams... they were all in the 8-15 group that I felt were really close...
Baldwin-Wallace
Carthage
Muskingum
Ohio Northern
Trine

[DPU3619]

I'M the other CWRU. I went back and forth between Case & BW a few times. Reckoned Case has the better shot of staying in my poll from now on.

Problem is I want nothing to do with Muskingum any more. ONU left my poll due to no fault of their own last week.

[ExTartanPlayer]

I'm surprised that you guys were so quick to jump the Musky bandwagon.  They're still 4-1, and their only loss is a ten-point loss to another 4-1 opponent.

I know you've got to solve a weird series of scores between the OAC grouping of Musky/Baldwin-Wallace/Heidelberg, but I still think that Musky's overall body of work looks better than a few teams, and I'm surprised they didn't get a single vote.

CWRU is 4-1 with a terrible home loss to 1-3 Rochester and a few pretty nondescript wins; their best win is the season opener against John Carroll, which (IMHO) doesn't hold a candle to Musky's 20-point win over ONU.

FWIW, I'm a UAA alum that generally fights tooth-and-nail to defend the quality of UAA teams, but I think you're overrating CWRU here.  I see your point, Wes, that CWRU has a better shot of "staying in" because they are likely to keep winning (their next few opponents are pretty lightweight), but I don't rank teams that way myself.

Carthage, for instance, is off to a very nice start (four wins, all against teams with a respectable record) but with Wheaton and Illinois Wesleyan yet to come, you can see a loss on the horizon...does that mean you shouldn't rank them now, just because CWRU has an easier schedule ahead?

[DPU3619]

I'd say the fact that I still think of Muskingum as THAT Muskingum probably had a negative influence on me.  Honestly, I think I reserve the right to do that.  I'm not on the selection committee and I don't have to adhere to the selection criteria.  I'm trying to order these teams in such a way that I think 1 would beat 2 who would beat 3 and so on.  We proved on Saturday that Heidelberg > Muskingum, so I put them in.  ONU has 2 losses, so I'm not really that interested in them.  The CWRU results haven't been eye popping, but they're still going to be there because they don't play anybody the rest of the way, unless you consider Wash U a somebody.

I did wonder why a few voters elevated IWU over Wabash despite both schools beating similarily bad teams by similar margins.

EDIT: Maybe there's a place for a ONU/BW winner on my ballot after this week.  I just don't know.  Carthage goes to Wheaton next week.  I guess I'm just confused about what I'm trying to do.  Am I trying to assemble the list of playoff teams?  Am I trying to put the best teams in?  I just dunno yet.  I should get that figured out.

[wally_wabash]

I added Carthage this week and I wasn't super thrilled about it.  At the time it made more sense than trying to sort through the Musky/ONU/B-W quagmire.  There were about 7 teams that you could look at for those 9th and 10th spots this week and there are reasonable cases to be made for any of them.  We'll need another couple of weeks to shave that list back down to just 11 or 12 teams getting votes.