FB: Region 4 fan poll

[HOPEful]

I am one of the voters that has Trine ahead of Albion. As a Hope and MIAA fan, I am excited for the game this weekend between the two. And I'm kinda pulling for Trine because I'd love to see the regular season finale between Hope and Trine play out to be an MIAA Championship game.

[archgemini24]

Outside of Hope getting beat by Adrian or Heidelberg pulling off the extreme upset and beating Mount, I'm not sure there's a game this weekend that'll shift these rankings much.

Not so hypothetical question to the group, if Heidelberg loses to Mount 40-7, do they move in your rankings?

I don't think any team below team would do any better, and no team above them would do any worse. A score like that would probably leave them where they are (and said score we got: 49-14). I had been thinking that the only team left that could move up in spite of a "good" loss to Mount would be Ohio Northern, but they just lost to Capital...

And, of course, Ohio Northern gets their close loss to Mount. Thank goodness scoreboard is what matters, because beside that and turnovers, the Bears won everything else and were game today: pass yards, rush yards, total yards, first downs, time-of-possession, and fewer penalties. I know a lot of folks may not be super high on Mount Union, but any team that can do that to the Raiders should have had few issues with most of their schedule, let alone Capital the week before.

I am probably being paranoid, but this whole thing feels like the OAC is down and dragging Mount with it.

[HOPEful]

I'm excited to see this weeks ranking and how many #2 votes Wheaton gained from Mount's close win against ONU.

[Dr. Acula]

I can tell you I know for sure they gained at least 1.

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

It has been posted on the OAC board that 13 of the Two Deep (including the punter) depth chart for Mount Union were not playing vs. ONU.  Most of the Offensive Starters were there, but I think some of the DBs were out.

Take it for what it's worth.  At least we have a playoff system so the games can be determined on the turf/grass.

[HOPEful]

Take it for what it's worth.  At least we have a playoff system so the games can be determined on the turf/grass.

Yes. And let's not forget that we're splitting hairs here between not just the #2 and #3 team in the region, but arguably the country. With all due respect to Mount Union, Whitewater, and Mary Hardin Baylor, at this point in the season I personally think Wheaton is the second best team in the country.  They just got beat early on to the best team in the country.

[USee]

I wouldn't agree with that. The Thunder have a great team and their strength lies in their DLine and OLine, which is a great place to be strong for  a deep run in the playoffs. I think this is the best Dline and Oline (together) I have ever seen at Wheaton. But they have flaws that will only be revealed  against another team with a top 5 Oline and Dline who can minimize their advantage up front.

I think the Thunder at #4-6 nationally is the right spot. 

[HOPEful]

I wouldn't agree with that. The Thunder have a great team and their strength lies in their DLine and OLine, which is a great place to be strong for  a deep run in the playoffs. I think this is the best Dline and Oline (together) I have ever seen at Wheaton. But they have flaws that will only be revealed  against another team with a top 5 Oline and Dline who can minimize their advantage up front.

I think the Thunder at #4-6 nationally is the right spot.

I didn't expect a unanimous agreement. Your point is actually exactly why I think they ARE the number 2 team in the country. UWW, Mount, and MHB all have flaws too. As a rule of thumb, I'll take the team with two dominant lines. I'm not sure North Central has any flaws

Also, I don't think Central is getting enough love yet. That team is really good and I wouldn't be shocked to see them beat someone "they shouldn't" in the playoffs.

[wally_wabash]

I wouldn't agree with that. The Thunder have a great team and their strength lies in their DLine and OLine, which is a great place to be strong for  a deep run in the playoffs. I think this is the best Dline and Oline (together) I have ever seen at Wheaton. But they have flaws that will only be revealed  against another team with a top 5 Oline and Dline who can minimize their advantage up front.

I think the Thunder at #4-6 nationally is the right spot.

I didn't expect a unanimous agreement. Your point is actually exactly why I think they ARE the number 2 team in the country. UWW, Mount, and MHB all have flaws too. As a rule of thumb, I'll take the team with two dominant lines. I'm not sure North Central has any flaws

Also, I don't think Central is getting enough love yet. That team is really good and I wouldn't be shocked to see them beat someone "they shouldn't" in the playoffs.

I think there's a ceiling for Central that they've more or less hit because of how they went out in 2019.  Beating UW-O was impressive certainly, but they were dominated and beaten in one quarter in Round 2 vs. Wheaton.  I can't really go much higher with Central on my ballot until they do something that erases that last thing I saw them do against a team in the top tier. 

[HOPEful]

I think there's a ceiling for Central that they've more or less hit because of how they went out in 2019.  Beating UW-O was impressive certainly, but they were dominated and beaten in one quarter in Round 2 vs. Wheaton.  I can't really go much higher with Central on my ballot until they do something that erases that last thing I saw them do against a team in the top tier.

Totally fair. And I even agree to a certain extent.

But that was a Wheaton team that beat North Central earlier that season. The same North Central that spanked Delaware Valley, Muhlenberg, and Whitewater on their way to a National Championship. I guess for me, I have a little more tolerance for bad losses because just about everyone has one. Mary Hardin Baylor got spanked by Whitewater the last time we saw them in the playoffs. Unless you're North Central or Mount Union, I can find a bad loss to hold against you.

[USee]

North Central has flaws. If you can stop the run and run the ball you can beat them. Wheaton has both, unfortunately, for some reason, they decided to pass the ball 44 times and run it 27 (for 120 yds) against NCC, despite the fact they have run it 60% and passed 40% in every other game for the last 2 years. NCC's greatest strength on Defense is their secondary. They are elite. Solid Dline with a 1 DE that is great and 2 very good Linebackers. Wheaton played championship defense as they held them to 14 pts (Ethan Greenfield had 55 yds) until the last 90 seconds when they were sending people to try and get the ball back and NCC scored.

There are a couple teams in the top tier that have that profile. I think NCC is the strong favorite, but they aren't unbeatable.

[D3fanboy]

North Central has flaws. If you can stop the run and run the ball you can beat them. Wheaton has both, unfortunately, for some reason, they decided to pass the ball 44 times and run it 27 (for 120 yds) against NCC, despite the fact they have run it 60% and passed 40% in every other game for the last 2 years. NCC's greatest strength on Defense is their secondary. They are elite. Solid Dline with a 1 DE that is great and 2 very good Linebackers. Wheaton played championship defense as they held them to 14 pts (Ethan Greenfield had 55 yds) until the last 90 seconds when they were sending people to try and get the ball back and NCC scored.

There are a couple teams in the top tier that have that profile. I think NCC is the strong favorite, but they aren't unbeatable.

no doubt, I remember a few "unbeatable" Mount teams back in the day that didnt win the last game.  We're dealing with 18-22 (25 in WI) year olds, anything can happen.  Thankfully the NCAA cares so little about D3 that we can have an actual playoff

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

Just waiting on one more ballot who says they'll get it in tonight.

[WRMUalum13]

North Central has flaws. If you can stop the run and run the ball you can beat them. Wheaton has both, unfortunately, for some reason, they decided to pass the ball 44 times and run it 27 (for 120 yds) against NCC, despite the fact they have run it 60% and passed 40% in every other game for the last 2 years. NCC's greatest strength on Defense is their secondary. They are elite. Solid Dline with a 1 DE that is great and 2 very good Linebackers. Wheaton played championship defense as they held them to 14 pts (Ethan Greenfield had 55 yds) until the last 90 seconds when they were sending people to try and get the ball back and NCC scored.

There are a couple teams in the top tier that have that profile. I think NCC is the strong favorite, but they aren't unbeatable.

no doubt, I remember a few "unbeatable" Mount teams back in the day that didnt win the last game.  We're dealing with 18-22 (25 in WI) year olds, anything can happen.  Thankfully the NCAA cares so little about D3 that we can have an actual playoff

Lol "25" in WI 😂. From a d3fb podcast interview I think Wheaton is actually the oldest team IIRC. I think I remember a 26 year old on the roster

[wally_wabash]

North Central has flaws. If you can stop the run and run the ball you can beat them. Wheaton has both, unfortunately, for some reason, they decided to pass the ball 44 times and run it 27 (for 120 yds) against NCC, despite the fact they have run it 60% and passed 40% in every other game for the last 2 years. NCC's greatest strength on Defense is their secondary. They are elite. Solid Dline with a 1 DE that is great and 2 very good Linebackers. Wheaton played championship defense as they held them to 14 pts (Ethan Greenfield had 55 yds) until the last 90 seconds when they were sending people to try and get the ball back and NCC scored.

There are a couple teams in the top tier that have that profile. I think NCC is the strong favorite, but they aren't unbeatable.

no doubt, I remember a few "unbeatable" Mount teams back in the day that didnt win the last game.  We're dealing with 18-22 (25 in WI) year olds, anything can happen.  Thankfully the NCAA cares so little about D3 that we can have an actual playoff

Lol "25" in WI 😂. From a d3fb podcast interview I think Wheaton is actually the oldest team IIRC. I think I remember a 26 year old on the roster

Wheaton has a boatload of superseniors.  One of the main reasons I had them at #1 on my preseason ballot and would (still) not at all be surprised if were they were the last team standing.