Around the Nation board

[Pat Coleman]

Hmm, well, I appear to have deleted the Around the Nation board, like a moron. Probably in my attempts to change the poll on top.

Anywho... we were talking about ... uhm, Around the Nation.

[K-Mack]

I am very disappointed, as I had written (shocking, I know) a long post this morning, covering last week and this.

Luckily, I think the board so far was mostly me, not too much of other people's responses that we'll be missing.

Hate that we can't recover it though.

Pat, you will be smited. Mucho.

[K-Mack]

Um, is this where we apologize for jinxing Salisbury?

We did lose one significant thing when Pat deleted the board. Wildcat's road trip horror story. Do you still have it in your sent mail file?

Got nice ONU feedback. I wonder about their appeal. Anyway...

[matblake]

That was a very comprehensive around the Nation.  Very interesting to see how the different conferences match up.  Personally I rely on ATN and ATR to keep me up to date on areas other than the North Region since I have no experience with any of the other regions other than lurking on the MIAC board a couple of years ago. 

[Andy Feltersnatch]

I liked this week's ATN.  Lots of useful information in there about many teams....

One thing sticks out....Rockford College putting up 82 vs. Principia......they put up a 70 spot on them last year.  My question:  Is there bad blood between Rockford and Principia....I mean you have to try to put up 82 points. 

[Ric]

K-Mack ... nice job with the Around the Nation, very nice.

[smedindy]

Considering Rockford used 10 rushers and 3 QBs, I just think it was the case of the backups getting some time in and Principia having no depth at all (32 players, I think). Principa has given up 80, 66, and 82, and then lost to Trinity Bible as well.

[Pat Coleman]

Look for us at UW-Whitewater tomorrow afternoon and at North Central tomorrow night, although we'll be broadcasting that game and will be essentially tied to the press box.

[cawcdad]

Looking at the Getting Serioius story on the front page, you lowered Capitol to 23rd and moved Mount Union to #1. A little prognostication?

[Pat Coleman]

Hmm, little dyslexic.

[cawcdad]

WOW!! You're fast and up late too!!! Have fun tomorrow.

[smedindy]

Pat, like rust, never sleeps.

[Pat Coleman]

Also like fisk.

[ktroutvon]

Keith,

  What is it going to take to get Hobart back into your voting consideration?  I noticed Hopkins on that list.  If H beats Rochester by more than 3 do they get a vote?  I know that's a game that no one really likes to play, but I am making the point that the two are pretty similar, if Hobart isn't better. 

  The main reason I ask is that, barring something crazy, Hobart probably won't lose a game going into Nov. 5th with Union, but won't get much recognition or respect in the meantime b/c the LL doesn't have too many recognized programs. 

[K-Mack]

 Well, first, Hobart and Union are both in the group I look at each week, especially on a week like this one when you have to blow up quite a bit of the top 25 and look at everyone honestly and then reconstruct it.

 Second, I think comparison is a game we have to play in Division III, because we can't watch games on TV or see highlights, and there are just too many games that all kick off at the same time for any one person to see a whole lot of them.

 Personally, I weight performance against good teams very heavily. Sometimes a team can impress in a loss to a good team, and lose a little ground (make you wonder if you were ranking them too high) with a poor game or by struggling against an OK or bad team.

 Of course, this all fluctuates all season ... the teams that are supposed to be OK or bad or good in Week 2 sometimes aren't by Week 7. So as a voter, you constantly have to re-evaluate, or you could end up being guilty of just going by records, which doesn't always tell you a lot.

In Hobart's case, giving up 34/48 and appearing to struggle against RPI looks better when they come back this week and play good defense again (three non-RPI games, 7 points allowed), and if RPI wins a couple more, we start looking at that as an impressive win, and not an escape. But the same way, F&M looked like a good win at the beginning of the year, and now you can't tell as much because they're 2-2 ... Rochester of course won't work as a comparison for a while because it's Johns Hopkins first game and one of Hobart's last. ... It is tough for a team to play a lot of "not well-respected" opponents as you put it, but if their performance against them is consistent, as they win, allowing for maybe one game where a good team struggles/escapes a close call, they'll usually gain ground in the poll.

I think you can and should compare common opponents, and if possible common opponents from leagues. As far as the LL and CC, their teams are right around the same place as far as consideration for my vote, anyway. I have voted for teams from both leagues most weeks.

I guess I should remember to put that disclaimer that if your team isn't mentioned in the 26-35 group, it could be because they got a top 25 vote.

And of course one of the great things about D3 is that the polls give you an idea of who is how strong, but each league champ (for the most part) gets to get in the playoffs and show what they can do regardless of their ranking.