FB: Region 4 fan poll

[02 Warhawk]

These are my top 10, though not exactly in the same order. I have John Carroll a little lower and Olivet ahead of Albion for previously stated reasons. I definitely have my eye on Denison. I have no problem ranking 4 teams from a conference. The last 3 on here are pretty fungible.

I am surprised someone thinks North Central is not a top 10 North team. Would love to hear the rationale for that. Also was surprised at IWU not being ranked and Franklin still in someone's top 10. Heidleberg is 0-2 and, though they played JCU pretty tough and arguably should have won that game, they are 0-2.

Good stuff.

I was thinking the same thing. That same person also ranked Albion over NCC.

Great poll guys, keep it up.

[Sir Battlescars]

I happened to watch the whole John Carroll/Heidelberg game on Saturday, but obviously very few other folks took the time to tune in. JCU looked really bad for much of the game and if Heidelberg could have been more consistent on offense they would have won by two or three touchdowns. It was Heidelberg's inexperience/mistakes on offense and special teams that kept them from winning the game. It seemed like every time JCU got the ball they were in Heidelberg's territory and they could do very little with it until finally their last two possession of the game. From what I saw John Carroll is not a top 10 team in the country, I don't even think they are a playoff team, and I too think they will lose to another team this year besides Mount.

[wally_wabash]

These are my top 10, though not exactly in the same order. I have John Carroll a little lower and Olivet ahead of Albion for previously stated reasons. I definitely have my eye on Denison. I have no problem ranking 4 teams from a conference. The last 3 on here are pretty fungible.

I am surprised someone thinks North Central is not a top 10 North team. Would love to hear the rationale for that. Also was surprised at IWU not being ranked and Franklin still in someone's top 10. Heidleberg is 0-2 and, though they played JCU pretty tough and arguably should have won that game, they are 0-2.

Good stuff.

I was thinking the same thing. That same person also ranked Albion over NCC.

Great poll guys, keep it up.

I'm not the NCC non-voter...BUT.  I mean, do we know for sure that Albion wouldn't beat North Central?  North Central has a new coach (1-1), they have an unsettled quarterback situation, and an injured star running back.  Do we really know that Platteville is very good?  If somebody wants to take a week off from North Central, I don't think that's insane. 

[Dr. Acula]

I watched the JCU game too.  That's why I voiced my concern over on the OAC page about Mount being pushed at all in the regular season.  Neither of those offenses impressed me.

As for NCC, last week everyone had them somewhere between 4-6.  I too was surprised to see them left off of someone's ballot this week.

I was also surprised to see JCU still getting a 3rd place vote.  My assumption there is someone started them there and hasn't moved them since they won their games.

[USee]

These are my top 10, though not exactly in the same order. I have John Carroll a little lower and Olivet ahead of Albion for previously stated reasons. I definitely have my eye on Denison. I have no problem ranking 4 teams from a conference. The last 3 on here are pretty fungible.

I am surprised someone thinks North Central is not a top 10 North team. Would love to hear the rationale for that. Also was surprised at IWU not being ranked and Franklin still in someone's top 10. Heidleberg is 0-2 and, though they played JCU pretty tough and arguably should have won that game, they are 0-2.

Good stuff.

I was thinking the same thing. That same person also ranked Albion over NCC.

Great poll guys, keep it up.

I'm not the NCC non-voter...BUT.  I mean, do we know for sure that Albion wouldn't beat North Central?  North Central has a new coach (1-1), they have an unsettled quarterback situation, and an injured star running back.  Do we really know that Platteville is very good?  If somebody wants to take a week off from North Central, I don't think that's insane.

A week off isn't insane. We all saw IWU fall off a cliff last year after a great win vs Franklin and then losing to Simpson.  But when NCC was ranked 4th or 5th by everyone (with one 6th) and then disappears, that requires some rationale don't you think? Franklin is getting ranked by some folks at 1-2 having lost at home to IWU (who one person didn't have in their top 10). Heidleberg is ranked 10th at 0-2. NCC lost to a top 25 team on the road in OT. Everyone who had them 4th or 5th now ranks them 6ths or 7th. That seems reasonable.

[wally_wabash]

These are my top 10, though not exactly in the same order. I have John Carroll a little lower and Olivet ahead of Albion for previously stated reasons. I definitely have my eye on Denison. I have no problem ranking 4 teams from a conference. The last 3 on here are pretty fungible.

I am surprised someone thinks North Central is not a top 10 North team. Would love to hear the rationale for that. Also was surprised at IWU not being ranked and Franklin still in someone's top 10. Heidleberg is 0-2 and, though they played JCU pretty tough and arguably should have won that game, they are 0-2.

Good stuff.

I was thinking the same thing. That same person also ranked Albion over NCC.

Great poll guys, keep it up.

I'm not the NCC non-voter...BUT.  I mean, do we know for sure that Albion wouldn't beat North Central?  North Central has a new coach (1-1), they have an unsettled quarterback situation, and an injured star running back.  Do we really know that Platteville is very good?  If somebody wants to take a week off from North Central, I don't think that's insane.

A week off isn't insane. We all saw IWU fall off a cliff last year after a great win vs Franklin and then losing to Simpson.  But when NCC was ranked 4th or 5th by everyone (with one 6th) and then disappears, that requires some rationale don't you think? Franklin is getting ranked by some folks at 1-2 having lost at home to IWU (who one person didn't have in their top 10). Heidleberg is ranked 10th at 0-2. NCC lost to a top 25 team on the road in OT. Everyone who had them 4th or 5th now ranks them 6ths or 7th. That seems reasonable.

That's why we have eight opinions, I think.  We get a good cross section from all perspectives (and perhaps this perspective is one that doesn't buy that North Central is really good just because they have been or doesn't think that you get a mulligan for losing to Platteville).  In the end, North Central is 6th in our poll.  Had they picked up another 5th or 6th place vote, they'd still be 6th overall.  It all works out. 

[Li'l Giant]

I'll admit to being the voter that didn't rank NCC. I didn't like the loss. They have a new coach and uncertainty at QB and then they lost. I'm not sure they are in the top 10 right now. I hesitated. I thought about it a good deal. But, that's it. That's my rationale.

I also had them ranked at 6 the week before. Is 6 to 11 (in my mind they were 11) that big of a fall after a loss this early in the season? I don't think so but clearly I'm the only one that does.

And yes, someone may be voting Franklin in the top 10 at 1-2 but I will also tell you it wasn't me. There aren't any teams with a loss in my 10. Again, I'm sure there are plenty who don't like that rationale but with some teams only playing 2 games so far, I don't think it's crazy given the dearth of data. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[USee]

There is nothing wrong with any of this. We all get to think what we want and vote how we want. I just think it's fun to talk about it and hear how other people vote and their reasons. Remember I am the one who voted Franklin ahead of IWU last year AFTER Franklin's loss to IWU. So what's obvious to some isn't so to others. As Wally said, that's why we have 8 voters.

[Mr. Ypsi]

There is nothing wrong with any of this. We all get to think what we want and vote how we want. I just think it's fun to talk about it and hear how other people vote and their reasons. Remember I am the one who voted Franklin ahead of IWU last year AFTER Franklin's loss to IWU. So what's obvious to some isn't so to others. As Wally said, that's why we have 8 voters.

And LATER you were proven correct.

In a decade or two I may even forgive you for dissing my Titans!

(I don't think the miscreant who left them off their ballot this week had yet come forward.)

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

Since several ballots have been revealed... Mount Union, Wheaton, Wabash, John Carroll, North Central, Wittenberg, Albion, Illinois Wesleyan, DePauw, Rose-Hulman

I was the only one for Rose last week, nice to see a couple others have joined. Hopefully Franklin has those butterfingers fixed by the time they play in Terre Haute next month. They lost 8 fumbles against IWU and Butler, thankfully none against Anderson.

[Dr. Acula]

My ballot mirrored the poll exactly this week.  I'm boring.    

[Mr. Ypsi]

My ballot: UMU, Wheaton, Wabash, JCU, Witt, NCC, IWU, Albion, Adrian, Franklin.

I admit that I DO go somewhat by 'reputation' (if that is the proper word) this early in the season.  Teams like Olivet, DePauw, and Denison need more good results than they so far have to get my vote.  While Franklin is 1-2, they were expected to lose both of those (at least by Kickoff and me ) and utterly destroyed Anderson (only slightly more impressive than Olivet and DePauw's destruction of Earlham).  Occasionally a very good team falls totally down after a 'miracle' class graduates, but much more often good teams remain good and bad teams remain bad, with only gradual changes - the players change, but the coaching, institutional support, etc., change much more slowly.  (And it cuts both ways - 'reputation' is the only thing that kept NCC above my Titans this week [though I think some people may be underestimating how good Platteville is].)

[BashDad]

I love this thread. Carry on.

[DadofBashWarrior..]

I am very familiar with North Central....saw the whole game...they did not shut the door and made a couple bad penalties at the end...but also Platteville must be reckoned with for sure...Platteville gave Whitewater a heck of a game last year and they look even better now...this was a very different game than the NC /Platteville game last year

[USee]

Ypsi,  If you are actually using the kickoff rankings at this point in the season to rank teams and predict outcomes then we should vote you out of this thread.  As Wally said, Franklin may end up ranked but there are too many other good results to choose from for a 1-2 team to be ranked.  Please tell me you actually read the team profiles in kickoff and don't just look at the rankings?