FB: Region 4 fan poll

[NCF]

I'm apparently the President of the Illinois Wesleyan Fan Club.

Now that they can't feast at the dessert table every week,(their non-conf. opponents have a combined record of 2-9) we'll see what they're really made of before I jump on their bandwagon.

[smedindy]

Of course, IWU's opponent's opponents include Heidelberg, UW-Oshkosh, undefeated Concordia-Chicago, and Millikin. 

[ExTartanPlayer]

I'm apparently the President of the Illinois Wesleyan Fan Club.

Now that they can't feast at the dessert table every week,(their non-conf. opponents have a combined record of 2-9) we'll see what they're really made of before I jump on their bandwagon.

I've got no beef with a high ranking for IWU, even with a weak slate thus far.  Ranking them #2 seems kinda high, but the CCIW is consistently tough and someone from that league is going to be high in the rankings.  Plus, at this point there's kind of a vacuum behind Mount - several of the "usual suspects" that would normally fill those 2-3-4 spots (North Central, Wheaton, and Wabash) have losses, some of which came against good-but-not-great competition.  Benedictine got slaughtered by Wheaton, so even their win over Albion doesn't give them enough juice for a real high ranking.  Wittenberg has the same wart as IWU: three wins against so-so competition thus far.  Ditto Heidelberg.  Again, ranking them #2 does seem really high, but with a closer look I'm just not seeing how any of the alternatives are clearly BETTER than Illinois Wesleyan.  An argument can be made either way for many of these teams.

[NCF]

I'm apparently the President of the Illinois Wesleyan Fan Club.

Now that they can't feast at the dessert table every week,(their non-conf. opponents have a combined record of 2-9) we'll see what they're really made of before I jump on their bandwagon.

I've got no beef with a high ranking for IWU, even with a weak slate thus far.  Ranking them #2 seems kinda high, but the CCIW is consistently tough and someone from that league is going to be high in the rankings.  Plus, at this point there's kind of a vacuum behind Mount - several of the "usual suspects" that would normally fill those 2-3-4 spots (North Central, Wheaton, and Wabash) have losses, some of which came against good-but-not-great competition.  Benedictine got slaughtered by Wheaton, so even their win over Albion doesn't give them enough juice for a real high ranking.  Wittenberg has the same wart as IWU: three wins against so-so competition thus far.  Ditto Heidelberg.  Again, ranking them #2 does seem really high, but with a closer look I'm just not seeing how any of the alternatives are clearly BETTER than Illinois Wesleyan.  An argument can be made either way for many of these teams.

We'll see how they do against Millikin. I just talked to a friend who has a son at Millikin and while he would agree that Millikin may not be "top tier" in the conference, they are much improved over last year. A few more weeks into the season should help sort things out(I hope).

[smedindy]

It could be a season that sorts itself out once its over...

[NCF]

It could be a season that sorts itself out once its over...

The way it's been going so far-you may be right

[DPU3619]

I've kind of stumbled in to it.  I had them at 5 to start the year, I think.  Then NCC, Wheaton, and Wabash all lost.  I keep moving them up.  I can't penalize them for taking care of the business that we expect them to take care of.  Those other 3 teams haven't done that.  I can't in good conscience rank them below NCC, because NCC should have beaten UW-LaCrosse, but didn't.

[ExTartanPlayer]

I've kind of stumbled in to it.  I had them at 5 to start the year, I think.  Then NCC, Wheaton, and Wabash all lost.  I keep moving them up.  I can't penalize them for taking care of the business that we expect them to take care of.  Those other 3 teams haven't done that.  I can't in good conscience rank them below NCC, because NCC should have beaten UW-LaCrosse, but didn't.

That's kinda what I figured.  This happens in the D1 polls, too - the undefeated teams keep moving up as teams in front of them fall.  IWU at #5 to start the year made perfect sense.  Then all three teams in front of them lost (to opponents that are not CLEARLY superior to IWU - maybe it would be different if they'd lost to a Purple Power, UMHB, or Wesley) and you really had to penalize those teams for doing so.  NCC and Wheaton will have their chance to prove they ought to be above IWU eventually.

[NCF]

I've kind of stumbled in to it.  I had them at 5 to start the year, I think.  Then NCC, Wheaton, and Wabash all lost.  I keep moving them up.  I can't penalize them for taking care of the business that we expect them to take care of.  Those other 3 teams haven't done that.  I can't in good conscience rank them below NCC, because NCC should have beaten UW-LaCrosse, but didn't.

That's kinda what I figured.  This happens in the D1 polls, too - the undefeated teams keep moving up as teams in front of them fall.  IWU at #5 to start the year made perfect sense.  Then all three teams in front of them lost (to opponents that are not CLEARLY superior to IWU - maybe it would be different if they'd lost to a Purple Power, UMHB, or Wesley) and you really had to penalize those teams for doing so.  NCC and Wheaton will have their chance to prove they ought to be above IWU eventually.

When IWU beats NCC or Wheaton, then I will move them ahead.

[smedindy]

BTW, I also have IWU behind North Central and Wheaton. But after Mt. Union it's too close for comfort.

[TitanPride]

I've kind of stumbled in to it.  I had them at 5 to start the year, I think.  Then NCC, Wheaton, and Wabash all lost.  I keep moving them up.  I can't penalize them for taking care of the business that we expect them to take care of.  Those other 3 teams haven't done that.  I can't in good conscience rank them below NCC, because NCC should have beaten UW-LaCrosse, but didn't.

That's kinda what I figured.  This happens in the D1 polls, too - the undefeated teams keep moving up as teams in front of them fall.  IWU at #5 to start the year made perfect sense.  Then all three teams in front of them lost (to opponents that are not CLEARLY superior to IWU - maybe it would be different if they'd lost to a Purple Power, UMHB, or Wesley) and you really had to penalize those teams for doing so.  NCC and Wheaton will have their chance to prove they ought to be above IWU eventually.

When IWU beats NCC or Wheaton, then I will move them ahead.

I can understand that logic with respect to NCC, but IWU beat Wheaton last year.  Why is IWU automatically behind Wheaton this year?

[NCF]

I've kind of stumbled in to it.  I had them at 5 to start the year, I think.  Then NCC, Wheaton, and Wabash all lost.  I keep moving them up.  I can't penalize them for taking care of the business that we expect them to take care of.  Those other 3 teams haven't done that.  I can't in good conscience rank them below NCC, because NCC should have beaten UW-LaCrosse, but didn't.

That's kinda what I figured.  This happens in the D1 polls, too - the undefeated teams keep moving up as teams in front of them fall.  IWU at #5 to start the year made perfect sense.  Then all three teams in front of them lost (to opponents that are not CLEARLY superior to IWU - maybe it would be different if they'd lost to a Purple Power, UMHB, or Wesley) and you really had to penalize those teams for doing so.  NCC and Wheaton will have their chance to prove they ought to be above IWU eventually.

When IWU beats NCC or Wheaton, then I will move them ahead.

I can understand that logic with respect to NCC, but IWU beat Wheaton last year.  Why is IWU automatically behind Wheaton this year?

I went back to 1999(that's as far back as I could get on the IWU website) to see the Wheaton vs IWU series. In the last 13 games, IWU has only won five times. However, since IWU's 2004 loss to Wheaton, the two teams have alternated victories. IWU wins in the odd numbered years and Wheaton the even. If that pattern continues, it is IWU's year to lose.

[Mugsy]

I'm apparently the President of the Illinois Wesleyan Fan Club.

Now that they can't feast at the dessert table every week,(their non-conf. opponents have a combined record of 2-9) we'll see what they're really made of before I jump on their bandwagon.

I've got no beef with a high ranking for IWU, even with a weak slate thus far.  Ranking them #2 seems kinda high, but the CCIW is consistently tough and someone from that league is going to be high in the rankings.  Plus, at this point there's kind of a vacuum behind Mount - several of the "usual suspects" that would normally fill those 2-3-4 spots (North Central, Wheaton, and Wabash) have losses, some of which came against good-but-not-great competition.  Benedictine got slaughtered by Wheaton, so even their win over Albion doesn't give them enough juice for a real high ranking.  Wittenberg has the same wart as IWU: three wins against so-so competition thus far.  Ditto Heidelberg.  Again, ranking them #2 does seem really high, but with a closer look I'm just not seeing how any of the alternatives are clearly BETTER than Illinois Wesleyan.  An argument can be made either way for many of these teams.

We'll see how they do against Millikin. I just talked to a friend who has a son at Millikin and while he would agree that Millikin may not be "top tier" in the conference, they are much improved over last year. A few more weeks into the season should help sort things out(I hope).

Remember also that Millikin vs. IWU is somewhat of a rivalry game due to their proximity.  These games often are far closer than they really should be on paper.

Case in point Millikin nearly upset IWU last year (and probably should have).  IWU squeaked out a 28-25 win, requiring a last minute defensive stand with Millikin in FG range.

[DPU3619]

I went back to 1999(that's as far back as I could get on the IWU website) to see the Wheaton vs IWU series. In the last 13 games, IWU has only won five times. However, since IWU's 2004 loss to Wheaton, the two teams have alternated victories. IWU wins in the odd numbered years and Wheaton the even. If that pattern continues, it is IWU's year to lose.

I can't put any stock in that, personally.  Those things aren't even relevant to both head coaches.  While, Eash has been there for 25 years, Thorne wasn't even there in 1999.  If you have a sophomore who plays, he was 8 when you started your sample.

[NCF]

I went back to 1999(that's as far back as I could get on the IWU website) to see the Wheaton vs IWU series. In the last 13 games, IWU has only won five times. However, since IWU's 2004 loss to Wheaton, the two teams have alternated victories. IWU wins in the odd numbered years and Wheaton the even. If that pattern continues, it is IWU's year to lose.

I can't put any stock in that, personally.  Those things aren't even relevant to both head coaches.  While, Eash has been there for 25 years, Thorne wasn't even there in 1999.  If you have a sophomore who plays, he was 8 when you started your sample.

Thorne is NC's coach, Swider is Wheaton's. I just thought it was an interesting trend.