FB: Region 4 fan poll

[wally_wabash]

I usually have this done by the end of the SNF game.  Not this week.  This week this exercise is hard. 

[USee]

My poll is in. I agree, very difficult this week.

[NCF]

My top five stayed the same---until these teams start playing each other. The bottom five changed yet again.

[Li'l Giant]

I spent a fair amount of time yesterday a.m. over coffee and breakfast tacos getting my ballot sorted. Like NCF my bottom 5 saw some changes.

[DPU3619]

Somebody needs to keep winning because I'm tired of doing math for 15 teams. NRFP:

1. Mount Union                  80 pts (1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1)
2. Wabash                         67 pts (2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 5)
3. John Carroll                   66 pts (2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4)
4. Wittenberg                    54 pts (3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 6)
5. North Central                49 pts (3, 4, 5, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6)
6. Wheaton                       44 pts (4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6)
7. Heidelberg                    27 pts (7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 8, 8, 10)
8. Chicago                        17 pts (7, 7, 8, 9, 9, 10, 10, -)
9. Rose-Hulman                13 pts (8, 8, 8, 9, 10, 10, -, -)
T10. DePauw                      7 pts (9, 9, 9, 10, -, -, -, -)
T10. Mount St Joseph          7 pts (7, 8, -, -, -, -, -, -)

ARV
Franklin                             3 pts  (8, -, -, -, -, -, -, -)
Illinois Wesleyan                 2 pts  (9, -, -, -, -, -, -, -)
Albion                                2 pts  (9, -, -, -, -, -, -, -)
Adrian                                1 pt   (10, -, -, -, -, -, -, -)
Ohio Northern                     1 pt   (10, -, -, -, -, -, -, -)

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

[USee]

my top 10

UMU
Bash
JCU
Wheaton
Witt
NCC
Heidleberg
Mt St Jo
Univ of Chicago
RHIT

I didn't really consider Depauw and I should have.  My last three were a toss up. I bumped Franklin and Adrian to add Chicago and RHiT.

[DPU3619]

Good to see my alma mater back in the poll. It's been quite a long time.

[bashbrother]

Good to see my alma mater back in the poll. It's been quite a long time.

Good show Wes.... looking at the schedule... things could get interesting in November in the NCAC.   Games to be played though.

[bashgiant]

For those who voted for DePauw. Who have they beat or what have they done that would make them a 10 spot? I don't know a whole lot about D3 outside the NCAC, but, it seems like a little bit of a stretch that they would beat Franklin and didn't Ohio Northern hang pretty close with Heidelberg even though the score was like 100 to 90 or something like that. Just curious.
GO BASH!!!!

[Dr. Acula]

I would guess it's more a product of no one really stepping up and laying claim to the last couple of spots more than anything else.  The case for a bunch of those teams is pretty much a wash IMO.  I'm an OAC guy, but ONU's most impressive feat to date is the 17-10 loss to JCU last week.  The WashU win loses luster each week.  BW is shaping up to be a 5-4 team in the OAC.  Berg scored 69 points on them without one scoring drive lasting more than 2:10.

Do I think ONU beats DePauw on a neutral field?  Of course.  But I'm biased.  I don't take issue with who anyone includes in the bottom of the poll because, honestly, who the heck knows at this point??

Thanks everyone for voting though so we have stuff to debate between games!

   

[USee]

Yeah I didn't vote for Depauw but you could ask the same question (and I did) for RHIT, Chicago, and MT St Joes. None of them have a quality win among them. ONU has 2 losses and while I think they would like beat RHIT and Chicago, it's interchangeable at the bottom of the poll.

For me I kept Bash at #2 and JCU #3 for reasons I stated last week. I have Wheaton at #4 because I think that's where they belong and I can't justify NCC with a loss ahead of them right now. They play two weeks from Saturday. Witt is #5 and NCC is #6. I don't have an axe here and NCC may move back up the ranks if they Tyler Dicken is the answer at QB for them. Some good games on the horizon at this point.

[ExTartanPlayer]

Yeah I didn't vote for Depauw but you could ask the same question (and I did) for RHIT, Chicago, and MT St Joes. None of them have a quality win among them. ONU has 2 losses and while I think they would like beat RHIT and Chicago, it's interchangeable at the bottom of the poll.

Agree with all of this, except that I think Chicago's win over Rhodes counts for a little something.  Rhodes was 8-2 last year (and four points from going undefeated, with 10-7 loss to WashU and 35-34 to BSC) and is currently 4-1.  They'll probably be on the fringes of the South RR's.  I'll give Chicago a "quality win" credit there.

I don't have an axe here and NCC may move back up the ranks if they Tyler Dicken is the answer at QB for them. Some good games on the horizon at this point.

Apologies if this is a private/personal answer, and I'm not a CCIW fan but the name rang a bell when I saw that he'd come into a game for them last week.  He started back in 2011 but has not played much the last two years?  Injury, just got beat out, or personal reasons?

[Li'l Giant]

Yeah I didn't vote for Depauw but you could ask the same question (and I did) for RHIT, Chicago, and MT St Joes. None of them have a quality win among them. ONU has 2 losses and while I think they would like beat RHIT and Chicago, it's interchangeable at the bottom of the poll.

I'll post my full ballot later but I voted for DePauw and that was basically my thought. RHIT and MSJ haven't really distinguished themselves either. If DePauw didn't give away the ball 7 times at Witt that game is almost certainly close. That's enough for me to vote them in at 10 among a bunch of teams that are basically fungible.

Agree with all of this, except that I think Chicago's win over Rhodes counts for a little something.  Rhodes was 8-2 last year (and four points from going undefeated, with 10-7 loss to WashU and 35-34 to BSC) and is currently 4-1.  They'll probably be on the fringes of the South RR's.  I'll give Chicago a "quality win" credit there.

Which is why I voted Chicago #9.

[USee]

I did give credit to Chicago for Rhodes win and their defense appears to be the better amongst the bottom dwellers so I gave them the nod above RHIT at #9

[ExTartanPlayer]

We'll know more about Chicago in two weeks.  If they can play a solid game at Bethel, they'll have solidified their spot in the lower echelon of these rankings, even with a loss.

If they get curbstomped...well, they still might be ranked, seeing what a mishmash things are after the top 6 or so.

This week actually looks like a pretty quiet one on the national D3 scene.  Next week offers a bunch of tantalizing matchups with fun angles to them:

Heidelberg's last stand vs. Mount - with a 4-year starter at QB and Cartel Brooks at RB, is Berg's window about to close?
The aforementioned Chicago-Bethel matchup to determine Chicago's status as a contender, pseudo contender, or pretender
UWSP vs. UWP as a survival game in the WIAC race
W & J vs. Bethany (shhhh....if Bethany wins this week, next week will be Bethany's biggest game of the D3fb.com era)
St. John's vs. Gustavus Adolphus (GAC quarterback has been bonkers through five weeks...do we have a new MIAC contender?)