FB: Region 4 fan poll

[HOPEful]

Why wouldn't Trine be considered a strong team at this point?

I would argue they are. I think they have the potential to be a contender in a game against most teams. But we won't really know until their first playoff game because the best team they've played this season is Hope.

If they stay undefeated (and they should), they should be hosting the first weekend. Win and maybe next year the MIAA will get a smidge more benefit of the doubt. Go Thunder!

[Diezel1]

Why wouldn't Trine be considered a strong team at this point?

Why would they be? There are indications that Trine is a stronger than usual MIAA rep. They handled their schedule with relative ease, but they haven't played a schedule like Whitewater, Platteville, St Johns or even Frostburg. All those teams have played well against top ranked opponents so it's easier to have a feel for their positioning. Rightly or wrongly Trine is strapped with the poor playoff record of previous MIAA champs. It wouldn't surprise me if Trine ends up making a playoff run and ranked in the top 10 this year. It also wouldn't surprise me if they lost in round 1 to a Franklin, Wartburg or Wittenberg either. I hope they beat some people and make them take notice but no one is going to assume that's the case

Would it not be more practical to judge them on their performance in the playoffs than the league in general?

[USee]

You mean playoffs this year? That is true but we are talking about speculative rankings among teams with no apparent comparitive link.

If you are talking about past performance (which is not indicative of future results  ) then, yes, that's probably why Trine (place MIAA Champ here) is not ranked or thought of more highly.

[Diezel1]

I was referencing the past, as it was brought up in topic a few weeks ago. Although they are not comparable to the elite teams in the country, which very few are, Trine was the last MIAA team to win a game in the playoffs.  And even though it isn't great, doesn't a 2-3 record in the playoffs show they can win there?  To me, having the ability to win a game in the playoffs shows you are a "strong" team, no matter what conference you are in. 

[wally_wabash]

I was referencing the past, as it was brought up in topic a few weeks ago. Although they are not comparable to the elite teams in the country, which very few are, Trine was the last MIAA team to win a game in the playoffs.  And even though it isn't great, doesn't a 2-3 record in the playoffs show they can win there?  To me, having the ability to win a game in the playoffs shows you are a "strong" team, no matter what conference you are in.

It shows Trine with a Gagliardi winning quarterback can win in the playoffs.  2017 Trine needs to earn their own stripes. 

[Gregory Sager]

I was referencing the past, as it was brought up in topic a few weeks ago. Although they are not comparable to the elite teams in the country, which very few are, Trine was the last MIAA team to win a game in the playoffs.  And even though it isn't great, doesn't a 2-3 record in the playoffs show they can win there?  To me, having the ability to win a game in the playoffs shows you are a "strong" team, no matter what conference you are in.

Seriously? You're investing the current Trine team with the mojo of the 2010 Trine team, in spite of the fact that there was a 4-6 season and three straight 6-4 seasons in that intervening six-year period for the Thunder?

[USee]

But Greg, the campus is the same, the facilities are the same. Now you are probably going to say that they changed coaches since then too  .

[Diezel1]

I'm told to look at the past and the history of the program. Is that not what I am doing?

[Gregory Sager]

The past is relevant if it's part of a continuous chain of success or failure. F'rinstance, in addition to the other data points that we have on Mount Union, we know that the Purple Raiders are likely to be a formidable opponent in the playoffs because their unbroken string of success stretches back so far and has continually peaked so high. The same thing can be said, albeit to a lesser degree, about the likes of Linfield, North Central, Wesley, Mary Hardin-Baylor, and perhaps a few others. And it goes in the opposite direction if you're talking about a team that's been down forever. But a program such as Trine that has had peaks and valleys? How do you draw relevance from 2010 when the Thunder have had a losing season and three mediocre seasons over a four-year period in between then and now?

[Dr. Acula]

NRFP through games of Week 10:


click to enlarge

The NRFP is voted on by: Captain_Joe08, Dr. Acula, FCGrizzliesGrad, HOPEful, Li'l Giant, Mr Ypsi, NCF,  smedindy, USee, and wally wabash.

I'm column 5.  I have DPU at 10, but strongly considered Hope for my final spot.  It makes me wanna puke (Mike Gundy voice) to put a team that won a dog fight with an 0-9 team on my ballot.

[Diezel1]

I understand your logic, and appreciate the clarification.  I'm not trying to debate that Trine is anywhere close to being on the same level of those schools.  IMHO, those schools would be considered the elite programs in the country.  To me, any team that can go 9-0 to this point is considered a strong team, no matter what their past is.  Are they elite? No, not even close. Are they a good, strong team? If you are in the top 25, I'd say yes.

[Mr. Ypsi]

My ballot is in.  For almost certainly the first time ever, I've voted for TWO MIAA teams two weeks in a row!  (I realize that the opponents have not exactly been stellar, but Hope has won its last three games by a combined 168-18!)  Also, as promised, the winner of the Moanin' Bell is on my ballot, though just barely; to make room I dropped Millikin, who could do NOTHING against the Titan defense.

Did D3 pass a rule against upsets?  Both my national and regional ballots have barely changed since mid-October!

[Li'l Giant]

Did D3 pass a rule against upsets?  Both my national and regional ballots have barely changed since mid-October!

The top of my ballot was basically solid the last month of the season or so. It's been the bottom of the ballot where things got a bit dicey.

My ballot is in early this week. Good luck to everyone in the playoffs.

[Dr. Acula]

Boy, it took a lot of thought to land on someone for that 10 spot this week.  Very, very iffy resumes.  I blame my own conference for laying an egg and not giving us a 2nd team you could even consider.  Parity = mediocrity in the OAC.

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

Are we getting a poll this week? I know we're all dying to know who #10 in the north is this week