Pool C -- 2012

[K-Mack]

Still waiting to see a handbook published by the NCAA, but we are closing in on some important dates.  We should see the first regional rankings published next Wednesday (10/31).

It does exist. ATN this week is Pat and I taking a crack at regional rankings since people like yourselves need this kind of thing before Halloween, gosh darn it to heck.

[HScoach]

I think the South's "B" candidates self-cannibalization is going to hurt them vis-a-vis the regional rankings. BSC no longer in contention to be ranked. Millsaps may have one loss but no wins against RR opponents if Trinity doesn't get ranked. Centre probably won't be RRd.

Completely agree with this. The south has imploded amongst the B grouping. Huntingdon lost to BSC and has to play Wesley, BSC lost to Trinity, Wesley and Sewanee?, Wesley lost to UMHB, Trinity lost to UMHB, SRSU, and Centre, Centre lost to W&L and Millsaps, Millsaps lost to Huntingdon and still has to go to Trinity, and CMU lost to both good teams they faced so far...

It was going to be a really strong B/C candidate group if only 1 team was able to put it together. Now it is Wesley's B to lose against Huntingdon, or Huntingdon's to win against Wesley thanks to B-SC imploding, and other than Millsaps, who needs to go to San Antonio to win, there isn't a "C" candidate in the bunch. A 2 loss Huntingdon might be ok if B-SC hadn't imploded, but of course if B-SC hadn't imploded they would have been a C candidate.

A very strange year. CNU loses to LaGrange muddling the USAS, the ODAC is a mess of mediocrity, the PAC is just... odd. I mean, I keep voting for Waynesberg because they don't lose, but they haven't beat anyone and they barely beat everyone they've played. Close game after close game for them, but they keep winning. Outside of UMHB, Wesley, and Johns Hopkins, it just seems like the south is full of teams that can't put it together.

It's the above carnage, as well as lack of defeated teams in the CCIW and E-8 that makes me think that Wastewater has a good chance at a Pool C with 2 losses.

[smedindy]

Well, that's classy. 

[HScoach]

Oops.   Auto spell check on my smart phone.   

[ITH radio]

Still waiting to see a handbook published by the NCAA, but we are closing in on some important dates.  We should see the first regional rankings published next Wednesday (10/31).

It does exist. ATN this week is Pat and I taking a crack at regional rankings since people like yourselves need this kind of thing before Halloween, gosh darn it to heck.

^ likes this

[wally_wabash]

Still waiting to see a handbook published by the NCAA, but we are closing in on some important dates.  We should see the first regional rankings published next Wednesday (10/31).

It does exist. ATN this week is Pat and I taking a crack at regional rankings since people like yourselves need this kind of thing before Halloween, gosh darn it to heck.

Is it on the NCAA publications website or am I terrible at google?  And I do need it.  This is becoming unhealthy. 

[Ralph Turner]

Oops.   Auto spell check on my smart phone.

"UW-Wastewater"!

I spewed my soft drink onto the keyboard when I read this.

That goes into the Hall of Fame of team names (allegedly) butchered by "auto spell check".

That goes right up there with "Horrid Pain" for Howard Payne and "Hardened Sinners" for the Baptist univeristy Hardin-Simmons.

[hazzben]

I think the South's "B" candidates self-cannibalization is going to hurt them vis-a-vis the regional rankings. BSC no longer in contention to be ranked. Millsaps may have one loss but no wins against RR opponents if Trinity doesn't get ranked. Centre probably won't be RRd.

Completely agree with this. The south has imploded amongst the B grouping. Huntingdon lost to BSC and has to play Wesley, BSC lost to Trinity, Wesley and Sewanee?, Wesley lost to UMHB, Trinity lost to UMHB, SRSU, and Centre, Centre lost to W&L and Millsaps, Millsaps lost to Huntingdon and still has to go to Trinity, and CMU lost to both good teams they faced so far...

It was going to be a really strong B/C candidate group if only 1 team was able to put it together. Now it is Wesley's B to lose against Huntingdon, or Huntingdon's to win against Wesley thanks to B-SC imploding, and other than Millsaps, who needs to go to San Antonio to win, there isn't a "C" candidate in the bunch. A 2 loss Huntingdon might be ok if B-SC hadn't imploded, but of course if B-SC hadn't imploded they would have been a C candidate.

A very strange year. CNU loses to LaGrange muddling the USAS, the ODAC is a mess of mediocrity, the PAC is just... odd. I mean, I keep voting for Waynesberg because they don't lose, but they haven't beat anyone and they barely beat everyone they've played. Close game after close game for them, but they keep winning. Outside of UMHB, Wesley, and Johns Hopkins, it just seems like the south is full of teams that can't put it together.

It's the above carnage, as well as lack of defeated teams in the CCIW and E-8 that makes me think that Wastewater has a good chance at a Pool C with 2 losses.

It's a lot broader than just those 2 conferences. One of their biggest hurdles for 'Wastewater'  will just be getting 'on the board' in a deep West region. Willamette's loss this week helps UWW, but what if they turn around and beat Linfield? And assuming Concordia loses to UST, there are legit criteria arguments to be made to put them, also at 2 losses, ahead of UWW. If Concordia beats UST, you have Cobbers with 1 loss and the Pool A. UST and Bethel with 1 loss and Pool C candidates.

UWW could certainly still get in. In no small part to the fact that history shows us the carnage probably hasn't stopped. This might be a year when multiple 2 loss teams get in. But there could be several 2 loss teams in the West region alone with better 'criteria' than UWW that might be regionally ranked ahead of them. If that's the case, they could be so buried in the West region C candidates that they never even make it into the discussion. One thing we can all agree on, it's shaping up to be an exciting final push to the end of the regular season!

[Ralph Turner]

I wish that we had regional rankings after week #8.

I think that 2-loss Louisiana College (Losses to UMHB and Wesley and needing a win over HSU) needs some consideration in that group of strong Pool C teams. Right now, I think that they are the first team at the table from the South Region, after Wesley comes off as Pool B (and if Wesley beats Huntingdon this weekend.)

[hazzben]

^ Agree with both statements.

[wally_wabash]

I wish that we had regional rankings after week #8.

I think that 2-loss Louisiana College (Losses to UMHB and Wesley and needing a win over HSU) needs some consideration in that group of strong Pool C teams. Right now, I think that they are the first team at the table from the South Region, after Wesley comes off as Pool B (and if Wesley beats Huntingdon this weekend.)

Right now, I have LC behind Huntingdon, F&M, and Millsaps in the Pool C pecking order in the South.  Let's play the futures game with these teams...

Huntingdon - Will either beat Wesley and be the Pool B (which sets off some bad dominoes for LC...that would push Wesley into Pool C with 2 losses and the Wolverines would HAVE to be in front of LC because they beat LC) or they will lose to Wesley and fall back behind LC in the pecking order.

F&M - Will either beat JHU and be in Pool A or lose and be behind LC with 2-losses.  Of course, if they do beat JHU, that pushes JHU into Pool C, most likely in front of LC. 

Millsaps - If Millsaps gets to 9-1, they become an interesting case.  Is their win% advantage enough to keep them in front of Huntingdon who has a h2h win and a heavy SOS advantage over Millsaps?  If not, then Millsaps, as distasteful as that might be to LC fans, are probably in front of LC.  If Millsaps gets tagged behind Huntingdon, then they probably go behind LC as well.  Just depends on how that h2h result manifests itself in the regional rankings. 

LC's biggest problem is that they don't and won't have a win against a regionally ranked opponent.  There will be 2-loss teams that do.  LC's biggest reason for optimism is that if Wesley beats Huntingdon and JHU beats F&M and Millsaps loses either at Trinity or vs. B-SC, then LC may very well be at the top of the South region's at-large list and getting to the table is half the battle.  Doesn't seem likely that LC would get passed over 7 times.  But there's also the matter of week 11 vs. Hardin Simmons which is definitely not a gimme for LC. 

By comparison, UWW needs a lot more help to get into the serious conversation because the West isn't blowing itself up the same way the South is.  And right now LC is a better at-large candidate than UWW is.  The Warhawks really do need a lot of help in the next 18 days. 

[HScoach]

Oops.   Auto spell check on my smart phone.

"UW-Wastewater"!

I spewed my soft drink onto the keyboard when I read this.

That goes into the Hall of Fame of team names (allegedly) butchered by "auto spell check".

That goes right up there with "Horrid Pain" for Howard Payne and "Hardened Sinners" for the Baptist univeristy Hardin-Simmons.

I really wish I could take credit for naming them that on purpose.     

Though I may have to "accidentally" call them that every once in a while.......

[njf1003]

I wish that we had regional rankings after week #8.

I think that 2-loss Louisiana College (Losses to UMHB and Wesley and needing a win over HSU) needs some consideration in that group of strong Pool C teams. Right now, I think that they are the first team at the table from the South Region, after Wesley comes off as Pool B (and if Wesley beats Huntingdon this weekend.)

Right now, I have LC behind Huntingdon, F&M, and Millsaps in the Pool C pecking order in the South.  Let's play the futures game with these teams...

F&M - Will either beat JHU and be in Pool A or lose and be behind LC with 2-losses.  Of course, if they do beat JHU, that pushes JHU into Pool C, most likely in front of LC. 

F&M's would have to beat GBurg too at GBurg which I almost put as less likely than beating JHU, but we shall see.

[wally_wabash]

I wish that we had regional rankings after week #8.

I think that 2-loss Louisiana College (Losses to UMHB and Wesley and needing a win over HSU) needs some consideration in that group of strong Pool C teams. Right now, I think that they are the first team at the table from the South Region, after Wesley comes off as Pool B (and if Wesley beats Huntingdon this weekend.)

Right now, I have LC behind Huntingdon, F&M, and Millsaps in the Pool C pecking order in the South.  Let's play the futures game with these teams...

F&M - Will either beat JHU and be in Pool A or lose and be behind LC with 2-losses.  Of course, if they do beat JHU, that pushes JHU into Pool C, most likely in front of LC. 

F&M's would have to beat GBurg too at GBurg which I almost put as less likely than beating JHU, but we shall see.

I'll defer to somebody with better knowledge of Centennial football than I, but the feeling I get is that Hopkins is the class of that league by a pretty wide margin.  I'd say that beating Hopkins at home or away or underwater is a more difficult task than beating Gettysburg.  But that's just the sense I get from the fringe. 

In either case, if F&M doesn't beat Hopkins, what they do against Gettysburg in week 11 is moot.  The Hopkins game is the one that really matters as far as F&M's postseason goes. 

[cludad]

Wouldnt PLu have a better shot than UWW if PLu wins out, their 2 loses are against a #3 and #8(assuming linfield and CLU win out also)