OOC play is over (thank goodness for most of the USAC teams) and the conference slate gets started up this coming weekend. I typically don't like to try and rank teams in a particular order I believe more in the "bucket" method. With this being the case I see 3.5 buckets of teams in the USAC this year.
Bucket 1 conference contenders- Belhaven, Huntingdon, and Maryville (alphabetical order)
Belhaven- This was a strong returning roster and it makes sense that they are in this spot. The only question I think that remains is what happens when they get tested. We won't know that until October 7th against Huntingdon.
Huntingdon- This is a battle tested bunch with a bad loss on the resume but they rebounded nicely. The QB seems to be making steady progress and the defense has returned to form since the Berry game.
Maryville- Solid OOC slate of games and they also have the best QB in the league I think. There is not a ton of questions about this team at this point but they go to Brevard which could be seen as a trap game this weekend.
Bucket 2a and 2b middle of the pack could surprise a contender- Brevard 2a, Greensboro 2b, and Methodist 2b
Brevard- They at least play some defense. They had 2 close losses and even though the Hampden-Sydney game score is much larger spread it was a tie game through almost 3 quarters of play. They are better than Methodist and Greensboro I think but not by so much to make another bucket
Greensboro- This is the biggest surprise in the conference. I say that due to the fact that the Pride have won a total of 6 games since the 2016 season (no more than one win in any given season) and between the NCWC, SOVA, Methodist, and Brevard games I can see 2-3 wins. It is a shame that they do not play LaGrange this season I think that would be a win also.
Methodist- This is a mild disappointment since I don't think they would have been in the top bucket but should be more on par with Brevard and I think they are a step below them. I still give the SR QB and RB a chance to score points and if the defense can find a way to stop the run and mistakes overall can be minimized.
Bucket 3 the rest LaGrange, NCWC, SOVA
This group was outscored by an average of at least 35 points per game in OOC play. These teams can likely beat either Greensboro or Methodist in the bucket above them but not likely any of the others.
With all this being said I will take Belhaven as the conference champ. They get 2 relatively easy conference games to start and will be 4-0 when Huntingdon comes to town 10/7. Then there are 2 more winnable games before traveling to Maryville 10/28. They will have to get through Brevard the last game of the year but it is in Mississippi. I say this knowing that Huntingdon can easily be the champ also but their schedule does not set up as nicely as they go to Belhaven and have Maryville come to town in back to back weeks and then travel to Brevard in November which could be a cold game for the Alabama boys. I also wonder if they ever amended the conference rule book as to the picking of a conference champion. When they played the shortened spring season in the spring of 2021 the division champs met in the title game. Both Huntingdon and Brevard in the west had 2-1 records in conference play and Brevard's "OOC" game was against Averett who was in the conference at the time but the game was designated that prior to the season starting. It doesn't look like any of Belhaven's games are considered OOC at least per the USAC and Belhaven's websites. If memory serves me the first tie breaker was win percentage and since Belhaven has one more game in conference they can have a better percentage even with one loss. The next tie breaker is head to head and where the Hawks went to the title game was the scoring margin which was the third tie breaker.
In either case the slate is wiped clean and conference play gives all the teams a fresh start. Win and get in!
