Can you smart people explain how the playoffs work? I know it is the beginning of the season but I am wondering how it all works. By looking at who made the playoffs last season and who did not it is clear to me that the best teams do not necessarily make the playoffs.
Thanks.
Quote from: SpartanMom_2016 on September 06, 2012, 10:54:43 PM
Can you smart people explain how the playoffs work? I know it is the beginning of the season but I am wondering how it all works. By looking at who made the playoffs last season and who did not it is clear to me that the best teams do not necessarily make the playoffs.
Thanks.
Spartan Mom, the FAQ on the front page is a good place to start.
http://www.d3football.com/interactive/faq/playoffs
Spartan? Case? That would make your team Pool B.
Win 'em all! That is about the only advice that I can give. Pool B has bunches of good teams!
Wesley, Case, CMU, Huntingdon, Trinity TX, Centre and Birmingham Southern are all Pool B this season.
Quote from: Ralph Turner on September 06, 2012, 11:15:51 PM
Quote from: SpartanMom_2016 on September 06, 2012, 10:54:43 PM
Can you smart people explain how the playoffs work? I know it is the beginning of the season but I am wondering how it all works. By looking at who made the playoffs last season and who did not it is clear to me that the best teams do not necessarily make the playoffs.
Thanks.
Spartan Mom, the FAQ on the front page is a good place to start.
http://www.d3football.com/interactive/faq/playoffs
Spartan? Case? That would make your team Pool B.
Win 'em all! That is about the only advice that I can give. Pool B has bunches of good teams!
Wesley, Case, CMU, Huntingdon, Trinity TX, Centre and Birmingham Southern are all Pool B this season.
Totally forgot the SCAC folks were Pool B this season. That may make things more interesting especially with UMHB playing Wesley and Trinity. Talk about affecting the South bracket...
32 teams.
24 get in by virtue of winning their conference.
1 bid is set aside for teams who have no conference.
The other 7 bids go to everyone else who is left over.
These are commonly referred to as Pools A, B and C. There is "criteria" for the NCAA selection committee, made up of coaches and ADs, to use to choose the eight teams who don't get in automatically (We call those teams AQ winners, or automatic qualifiers)
As K-Mack succinctly summarized, our Spartans compete with the six other teams listed by Ralph for 1 pool B slot. Then into pool C with the remaining pool B teams and all teams which didn't get in by winning their conference.
Last season the Spartans were probably one or two spots away from getting in. Probably will need to go undefeated or lose a close one to Wittenberg which goes undefeated or possibly 9-1 to have a chance this year.
What is the selection criteria for Pool B?
Pool B is set aside for all teams who do not have access to an automatic bid for winning a conference (so independents and conferences like the UAA who don't have an automatic bid). The selection is basically like an at large bid but only amongst those eligible for Pool B.
Quote from: FCGrizzliesGrad on September 07, 2012, 10:20:58 AM
Pool B is set aside for all teams who do not have access to an automatic bid for winning a conference (so independents and conferences like the UAA who don't have an automatic bid). The selection is basically like an at large bid but only amongst those eligible for Pool B.
What is the selection criteria?
And then there is NESCAC, a conference which chooses not to have any of its members participate in the football playoffs come hell or high water.
Quote from: SpartanMom_2016 on September 07, 2012, 10:44:56 AM
Quote from: FCGrizzliesGrad on September 07, 2012, 10:20:58 AM
Pool B is set aside for all teams who do not have access to an automatic bid for winning a conference (so independents and conferences like the UAA who don't have an automatic bid). The selection is basically like an at large bid but only amongst those eligible for Pool B.
What is the selection criteria?
Ralph provided the link to the FAQ -- this is a good time to go read it. :)
Quote from: Pat Coleman on September 07, 2012, 12:50:11 PM
Quote from: SpartanMom_2016 on September 07, 2012, 10:44:56 AM
Quote from: FCGrizzliesGrad on September 07, 2012, 10:20:58 AM
Pool B is set aside for all teams who do not have access to an automatic bid for winning a conference (so independents and conferences like the UAA who don't have an automatic bid). The selection is basically like an at large bid but only amongst those eligible for Pool B.
What is the selection criteria?
Ralph provided the link to the FAQ -- this is a good time to go read it. :)
I read the FAQ.
The FAQ talks about the selection criteria for the at large bids, which is Pool C. How does Pool B differ from Pool C if the criteria for selecting teams is exactly the same?
Quote from: frank uible on September 07, 2012, 12:30:24 PM
And then there is NESCAC, a conference which chooses not to have any of its members participate in the football playoffs come hell or high water.
I am familiar with NESCAC as my son was interested in attending a few of the schools in the NESCAC. Ultimately he decided not to attend a NESCAC school but his decision was not football related.
The criteria are the same, true. But the pool of eligible teams is different. B's are the ones not in conferences with automatic bids.
Quote from: Pat Coleman on September 07, 2012, 11:17:18 PM
The criteria are the same, true. But the pool of eligible teams is different. B's are the ones not in conferences with automatic bids.
And there are more than normal this year in Pool B as some have stated.
Wesley, Trinity, and Centre all got bids last year (B, A, and C, respectively). In addition you have the four Presidents Athletic Conference teams, the other SAA and SCAC teams (notably Birmingham-Southern and Millsaps), Huntingdon, and a couple other usually .500- or lower independents fighting out for that one spot. Seems pretty likely that there will be at least one Pool B-eligible team with one loss taking a Pool C bid.
You mean UAA, not President's.
Quote from: smedindy on September 10, 2012, 03:30:05 PM
You mean UAA, not President's.
Ooops, quite right. Hey, Washington was a president, yeah, that's why I got confused ;)
To get an automatic bid, a conference has to have seven or more members.
The UAA and the Presidents' Athletic Conference are not hard to confuse with one another. The original membership of the PAC was comprised of Western Reserve, Case Tech, John Carroll and the University of Detroit, none of which are current members. Of course Western Reserve and Case Tech have since merged into Case Western Reserve which is now a member of the UAA but not of the PAC.
Just to clear up some potential confusion... Pool B's, as described, are their own group and are selected for an "at-large" bid before Pool C since they do not have access to an automatic qualifying bid due to the already described scenarios. Then all of the teams left in Pool B that did not get the bid are put into Pool C with all the teams from AQ conferences and the final 7 slots are selected. This is how a "Pool B" team may get another bid as described by Ron Boerger.
Quote from: frank uible on September 10, 2012, 06:56:19 PM
The UAA and the Presidents' Athletic Conference are not hard to confuse with one another. The original membership of the PAC was comprised of Western Reserve, Case Tech, John Carroll and the University of Detroit, none of which are current members. Of course Western Reserve and Case Tech have since merged into Case Western Reserve which is now a member of the UAA but not of the PAC.
Frank-
What you wrote is what Wikipedia says, but they've got the wrong Detroit area school.
Per the PAC site:
1955 Western
Reserve University, John Carroll University and Case
Institute of Technology in Cleveland, and Wayne State University
come together to form the Presidents' Athletic Conference
1958 Four
more schools join the PAC. They were Allegheny College in
Meadville, PA, Bethany College in Bethany, WV, Thiel College in
Greenville, PA, and Washington and Jefferson College in
Washington, PA.
1962 The
University of Ypsilanti (Eastern Michigan) was accepted in
May 1962.
1966 Wayne
State and Eastern Michigan withdrew from the Conference
following the 1966-67
season
Adding to the confusion, CMU and CWRU return as football-only members in 2014.
Still one quibble with the posting: EMU has NEVER been the University of Ypsilanti. It began in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School (the first teacher school in Michigan, and only 6th in the country), became Michigan State Normal College in 1899, Eastern Michigan College in 1956, and since 1959 has been Eastern Michigan University.
Quote from: Mr. Ypsi on September 17, 2012, 08:23:18 PM
Still one quibble with the posting: EMU has NEVER been the University of Ypsilanti. It began in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School (the first teacher school in Michigan, and only 6th in the country), became Michigan State Normal College in 1899, Eastern Michigan College in 1956, and since 1959 has been Eastern Michigan University.
That didn't ring right to me either. I didn't have time to look further. Was actually thinking about a PM to you.
Wayne State was apparently once the College of the City of Detroit, but never the University of Detroit.
Quote from: Dave 'd-mac' McHugh on September 14, 2012, 01:52:49 PM
Just to clear up some potential confusion... Pool B's, as described, are their own group and are selected for an "at-large" bid before Pool C since they do not have access to an automatic qualifying bid due to the already described scenarios. Then all of the teams left in Pool B that did not get the bid are put into Pool C with all the teams from AQ conferences and the final 7 slots are selected. This is how a "Pool B" team may get another bid as described by Ron Boerger.
After big losses by Centre and Trinity last week, my thesis appears flawed. :o ???
Quote from: SpartanMom_2016 on September 07, 2012, 10:33:06 PM
Quote from: Pat Coleman on September 07, 2012, 12:50:11 PM
Quote from: SpartanMom_2016 on September 07, 2012, 10:44:56 AM
Quote from: FCGrizzliesGrad on September 07, 2012, 10:20:58 AM
Pool B is set aside for all teams who do not have access to an automatic bid for winning a conference (so independents and conferences like the UAA who don't have an automatic bid). The selection is basically like an at large bid but only amongst those eligible for Pool B.
What is the selection criteria?
Ralph provided the link to the FAQ -- this is a good time to go read it. :)
I read the FAQ.
The FAQ talks about the selection criteria for the at large bids, which is Pool C. How does Pool B differ from Pool C if the criteria for selecting teams is exactly the same?
The only way it differs is that Pool B is guaranteed to get at least one bid. Then any remaining Pool B teams go into the at-large Pool C.
The criteria for picking teams who do not win automatic bids (Pools B and C) are the same.
Hope we helped.
Yeah Keith. That makes sense, but the uber-strong Pool B that we were expecting this year is looking quite a bit thinner. CMU is doing ok in the UAA, but that's it. The SAA still has some open shots with B-S, Millsaps, maybe Rhodes, but that will sort itself out. Trinity did itself no favors. Huntingdon already has a loss and their schedule is brutal. Wesley took a loss at home. These are all good teams, and there are plenty more, but at this stage of the season, I don't think any of us expected Pool B to have accumulated this many losses among the teams expected to be "elite". Trinity and Huntingdon could easily be 2 loss teams after this weekend. B-SC and Wesley still have to play (assuming B-SC comes from the SAA, and after watching the W&L game last weekend I don't see Centre challenging them). It doesn't seem to me you will have multiple undefeated teams in contention for the Pool B, and there might not even be multiple 1 loss teams. The uber-competitive B that we expected isn't looking that way right now.
Quote from: jknezek on September 18, 2012, 02:07:51 PM
Yeah Keith. That makes sense, but the uber-strong Pool B that we were expecting this year is looking quite a bit thinner. CMU is doing ok in the UAA, but that's it. The SAA still has some open shots with B-S, Millsaps, maybe Rhodes, but that will sort itself out. Trinity did itself no favors. Huntingdon already has a loss and their schedule is brutal. Wesley took a loss at home. These are all good teams, and there are plenty more, but at this stage of the season, I don't think any of us expected Pool B to have accumulated this many losses among the teams expected to be "elite". Trinity and Huntingdon could easily be 2 loss teams after this weekend. B-SC and Wesley still have to play (assuming B-SC comes from the SAA, and after watching the W&L game last weekend I don't see Centre challenging them). It doesn't seem to me you will have multiple undefeated teams in contention for the Pool B, and there might not even be multiple 1 loss teams. The uber-competitive B that we expected isn't looking that way right now.
Unless it is a bunch of uber-competitive group of two-loss teams. ;)
Quote from: Ralph Turner on September 18, 2012, 10:12:02 PM
Unless it is a bunch of uber-competitive group of two-loss teams. ;)
Yes, but in terms of "B"s getting into the playoffs at the expense of "C"s, I know the criteria is the same and the committee seemed to have a sea change last year (SJF and SJF certainly backed it up), it is my understanding that a "B" has never gotten a "C". With all the strong teams competing for a "B" this year, I thought this might be the year it happened. Now, however, I think the odds are dropping with each loss. A 2 loss "B" being awarded a "C" seems significantly less likely. But on the heals of last year, who knows? When your "B" pool will contain Wesley, the UAA, the SAA, the SCAC, Huntingdon, and a few others there is a lot of havoc that can be created! Macalaster anyone?
Quote from: jknezek on September 19, 2012, 09:05:50 AM
When your "B" pool will contain Wesley, the UAA, the SAA, the SCAC, Huntingdon, and a few others there is a lot of havoc that can be created! Macalaster anyone?
As a fan of another possible B candidate if the stars align (CMU), I'll be interested to follow Macalaster this season.
If Macalaster goes undefeated AND they are the only undefeated team in Pool B, I will support them getting a Pool B bid, although we can all line up and qualitatively scream that Wesley, Trinity, CMU and whomever else could beat them head to head because of their tougher schedules.
I'm not comfortable with leaving undefeated teams out of the field because we've arbitrarily decided that going undefeated against
their schedule didn't merit a playoff bid. How do we know they aren't better than we think? You never know when we'll leave out an undefeated "weak sister" that actually COULD have won a playoff game.
Worth noting: Macalaster will have to beat three MIAC teams to go undefeated; even if they are three of the lesser MIAC teams, all have a few wins to their credit this season. So they will have to beat a few semi-decent teams from one of Division III's better conferences. If they go undefeated, I think they'll have to earn it.
Agree with jknezek here. I think the Pool B's at large chances in Pool C took a hit on Saturday. Not so much because the teams aren't as good as we thought, but because they went off and lost games that I don't think we expected them to lose. Certainly Centre losing to WL fits. I think Trinity's result to SRSU was a surprise to most, although it may have been difficult to judge SRSU based on their earlier schedule. Wesley's result to UMHB isn't nearly as much of a surprise, but it does do damage to the Wolverines. Consider that they have just three more D3 games left on the schedule: @ Lousiana College, vs. B-SC, @ Huntingdon. None are gimmes and if you're Wesley do you want to go to the selection committee with a 4-2 in-division record? I wouldn't. I know they took SJF over Endicott and maybe CWRU last year, but I certainly wouldn't look at that one invitation as a trend. Let's look at the others...
B-SC: big games left at Wesley, vs. Trinity, and at Centre. I think B-SC has the best chance to wrap up at at least 9-1 and ought to earn an invitation from either Pool B or C.
Trinity: vs UMHB, at B-SC, at Centre. I think the Tigers are in trouble. They can get back on track with a win against the Cru this weekend, but a second loss may well seal their at-large fate.
Centre: vs. Trinity, vs. B-SC...probably the easiest schedule of those I'm looking at here, just two real big games and both are at home. But that easier schedule may also wind up hurting them at selection time.
Also lurking out there is Carnegie Mellon. The Tartans have looked good so far and if they can split (or sweep) their games with Wabash and CWRU they may well wind up as a one loss team (or better) as well.
So, to sum it up because I kind of rambled there....I think you can lock Wesley in if they win the rest of their D3 games. If not, they may get invited but they are far from safe. B-SC will go if they can get two out of their big three. Trinity and Centre probably shouldn't lose any more games.
Ex -- I didn't bring Macalaster up for any reason than the one you point out. IF they go undefeated, quite an IF but it's possible, they would be hard to leave out. So would a 1 loss Wesley (if that plays out) given who and how much they lost by. IF B-SC runs the SAA and only losses to Wesley, how could you leave them out? They would have wins over several good teams including Trinity. Same with Trinity running the table from here with a win agains B-SC. It's so early the possibilities are endless. But if you were going to ask me pre-season if by week 3 Wesley, Trinity, Centre, Huntingdon etc were all going to have losses, I wouldn't have bet on it. This incredibly strong Pool B looks very awkward right now.
As for your Tartans, they are currently on my South Region watch list. Hard to place because of who they play (mostly non-South Region teams) and a home win, even a big win, over Catholic isn't going to impress me much. But 3-0 has to be respected! Good luck with carrying through on the hot start.
Wally -- I'll say I agree with you, but Pool B has 1 spot this year. If Wesley runs the table I would think they get it. Is a 1 loss B-SC (Wesley) or a 1 loss Centre (W&L), or a 1 loss CMU etc going to be good enough to take a "C"? Yes I know, same criteria and A/B doesn't matter in C selection, but historically it hasn't happened that I know of. 2 history making years in a row? I wouldn't be opposed depending on how other things shake out, I'm just interested in whether it happens.
Good stuff, guys, I essentially agree with everything said.
jknezek, I agree that it's hard to get the Tartans into the South Region rankings because they really don't have any common opponents to evaluate. Even if they beat Wabash (a long shot, but a possiblity) how does one figure out where they rate compared to that mish-mash at the bottom of the South Region fan poll? Also, FTR, in my book there's no way that a 1-loss CMU deserves a C bid unless they put an awfully big scare into Wabash and thoroughly handle everyone else. In my opinion, they're either in through Pool B with an undefeated record, or not in at all.
I don't see any of the B teams taking a Pool C bid for the same reasons you guys have enumerated already: Pool C will be very deep and it now looks like many of the Pool B candidates will have some kind of wart on their resume that you just can't afford when stacked up against a bunch of 9-1 conference runners-up from strong conferences.
This quote, in particular, kind of nails it:
"But if you were going to ask me pre-season if by week 3 Wesley, Trinity, Centre, Huntingdon etc were all going to have losses, I wouldn't have bet on it. This incredibly strong Pool B looks very awkward right now."
I think it's also important to remember the process...one team per region, evaluated against just one other team from the other three regions, repeat until you've got 7 selections. If B-SC were to only lose to Wesley and Wesley gets selected as a Pool B team, B-SC (if we were to take the South Region fan poll as a mock regional ranking which I realize is starting to suspend disbelief a good deal), would probably be the first at large team on the table when Pool C talks start. Are there going to be 7 teams from other regions that get selected before B-SC? I would doubt it.
Obviously, there's a lot of this that is hard to speculate on because we don't have SOS metrics yet, but to me, it looks like one or more of these non-AQ teams, especially in the South Region, would be in a good position to be on the table for Pool C selection.
jknexek- I think what makes the Pool B excess different this year and why there is a real good chance to see one grab an extra bid is the depth of that pool. The dissolution of the SCAC has made Pool B more than just Wesley, Huntingdon, and CWRU which is what is has been for a while now. This year you've got seven extra teams, all playing fairly traditional D-3 schedules. I don't think that the committee has particularly shunned Pool B overflow in the Pool C selection process as much as there really hasn't been quality in that Pool B excess (although CWRU was close last year).
Quote from: wally_wabash on September 19, 2012, 11:22:55 AM
jknexek- I think what makes the Pool B excess different this year and why there is a real good chance to see one grab an extra bid is the depth of that pool. The dissolution of the SCAC has made Pool B more than just Wesley, Huntingdon, and CWRU which is what is has been for a while now. This year you've got seven extra teams, all playing fairly traditional D-3 schedules. I don't think that the committee has particularly shunned Pool B overflow in the Pool C selection process as much as there really hasn't been quality in that Pool B excess (although CWRU was close last year).
That's a great point.
Quote from: wally_wabash on September 19, 2012, 11:22:55 AM
jknexek- I think what makes the Pool B excess different this year and why there is a real good chance to see one grab an extra bid is the depth of that pool. The dissolution of the SCAC has made Pool B more than just Wesley, Huntingdon, and CWRU which is what is has been for a while now. This year you've got seven extra teams, all playing fairly traditional D-3 schedules. I don't think that the committee has particularly shunned Pool B overflow in the Pool C selection process as much as there really hasn't been quality in that Pool B excess (although CWRU was close last year).
True - the last time there were this many quality Pool B teams, there were also more Pool B bids available (look at some of the discussions from 2005, 2006, 2007 on the Pool B thread when there were 3-4 Pool B bids up for grabs).
Pool B teams getting a Pool C bid is not uncommon in baseball where you have several quality teams that were not in Pool A Conferences. However, Pool B teams are moving into conferences whenever it serves their needs, and the Pool A conferences seem to like having the good programs.
Quote from: ExTartanPlayer on September 19, 2012, 10:15:08 AM
Quote from: jknezek on September 19, 2012, 09:05:50 AM
When your "B" pool will contain Wesley, the UAA, the SAA, the SCAC, Huntingdon, and a few others there is a lot of havoc that can be created! Macalaster anyone?
As a fan of another possible B candidate if the stars align (CMU), I'll be interested to follow Macalaster this season.
If Macalaster goes undefeated AND they are the only undefeated team in Pool B, I will support them getting a Pool B bid, although we can all line up and qualitatively scream that Wesley, Trinity, CMU and whomever else could beat them head to head because of their tougher schedules.
I'm not comfortable with leaving undefeated teams out of the field because we've arbitrarily decided that going undefeated against their schedule didn't merit a playoff bid. How do we know they aren't better than we think? You never know when we'll leave out an undefeated "weak sister" that actually COULD have won a playoff game.
Worth noting: Macalaster will have to beat three MIAC teams to go undefeated; even if they are three of the lesser MIAC teams, all have a few wins to their credit this season. So they will have to beat a few semi-decent teams from one of Division III's better conferences. If they go undefeated, I think they'll have to earn it.
I posted this question about Macalaster earlier in this thread. I've been thinking about it a bit since then.
IF Mac goes unbeaten, they'll have to defeat 3 of the weaker MIAC teams. Augsburg has hovered around .500 for the last 5 years, they may be legit this year. But if they lose to Mac no one in our league will view them that way. Carleton hasn't had more than 3 wins in 3 years. Hamline is a joke, they've averaged 2-3 wins during the entire D3football.com era and were winless last year. If that is the reason for giving them an Pool B bid, I'm not convinced they've earned it. The better measuring stick may be their game this weekend against Lewis & Clark. L&C went 7-2 last year and are 2-0 so far this year.
Here's my biggest issues with Mac getting a Pool B. Their SOS will be one of the lowest in the nation.
But more than that, Mac has a very clear route into playoffs...rejoin the MIAC as a full member and compete for the Pool A with the rest of us. I get why they dropped out, they were getting murdered. However, the argument was that they wanted to get back on their feet and when prepared, come back into full league membership. I've got little respect for a team dropping its football team from the conference where all its other sports exist and then complaining that at 10-0 against cherry picked, beatable competition they should have gotten into the dance. That, and I don't think Mac would stand a chance against the top 4 or 5 Pool B teams this year.
It's apples to oranges in my book comparing Mac to a weak team from a weak conference getting a Pool A. I get equal access, and while I hate seeing better teams left home, those Pool A's earned their way in. Mac just strikes me as a different deal. They've got a conference, one they left because they couldn't compete in. So how does dropping to lesser competition by choice, when a route to a legit Pool A was available, now mean they think they've earned their way into the playoffs. You 'deserve it' because you wimped out of the clearest route available to you?
If Mac goes 10-0, their first concern should be about how soon they'll be rejoining the MIAC, not worrying about if they may get into the playoffs. Rant over :)
Are you sure Mac is concerned with the playoffs? Do you know what they 'think'?
Quote from: smedindy on September 19, 2012, 06:50:43 PM
Are you sure Mac is concerned with the playoffs? Do you know what they 'think'?
At this point, they should be concerned with winning against L&C. If they get to 7-0 or 8-0, you can't tell me the players and coaches won't be thinking and dreaming about possibly making the playoffs. Human nature.
But the topic was brought up on this board. So at the very least the D3football.com community is thinking about it.
More than that, I don't think the selection committee contacts eligible at large teams and asks them their level of interest in making the playoffs. My point is simply that given their weak schedule and the reality that they have a defined pathway to a Pool A, that should be how they get in. I understand they're independent right now. But when they made the move to Ind. they stated their goal was to return to the MIAC. IMO, unless they're playing great teams as an Ind. (like many of the others are) then the playoffs shouldn't be on the table. Not when they're located in an area filled with quality competition and they've gone out of their way only to schedule the easiest.
How long has it been since both Macalester and also the playoffs have been uttered in the same breath?
Quote from: frank uible on September 20, 2012, 02:39:49 PM
How long has it been since both Macalester and also the playoffs have been uttered in the same breath?
I know right! After this weekend we may realize it's all premature, or it might actually start to like a discussion with some grounding in reality.
It's definitely premature. But the board was slow so it was a fun discussion. If last year proved anything, it's that the selection committee can surprise. Idle chatter in week 3 isn't worth much except entertainment!
This time last year, if anyone was saying the same thing about Lewis and Clark, it would have been amazingly premature, but they did get within a couple of games of the playoffs. Mac has a long way to go.
Quote from: Pat Coleman on September 20, 2012, 05:18:36 PM
This time last year, if anyone was saying the same thing about Lewis and Clark, it would have been amazingly premature, but they did get within a couple of games of the playoffs. Mac has a long way to go.
L&C would have had the auto seed from the NWC if they had beat Linfield in 2011. Unfortunately for them they got clobbered at the CatDome. But they did have a shot at it. And that was pretty cool to see after all they had gone through the past few years....almost dropping football altogether. I look forward to seeing the Macalester/L&C game this Saturday in Portland since my Wildcats have a bye. I'm looking forward to the game!
Ok, maybe we didn't have to worry about Macalaster going undefeated. Kudos to L & C.
I think it's safe to say that, trailing UMHB 21-0 with 5 minutes still to play in the 1st quarter, we don't have to worry about Trinity(TX) getting a Pool B, C, or Z this year. :o
Quote from: ExTartanPlayer on September 19, 2012, 10:15:08 AM
I'm not comfortable with leaving undefeated teams out of the field because we've arbitrarily decided that going undefeated against their schedule didn't merit a playoff bid. How do we know they aren't better than we think? You never know when we'll leave out an undefeated "weak sister" that actually COULD have won a playoff game.
This is fairly well accepted across the board, and in this system, I don't think we'd ever see a 10-0 team get left out, no matter the quality of its schedule.
Quote from: K-Mack on October 23, 2012, 02:47:16 AM
Quote from: ExTartanPlayer on September 19, 2012, 10:15:08 AM
I'm not comfortable with leaving undefeated teams out of the field because we've arbitrarily decided that going undefeated against their schedule didn't merit a playoff bid. How do we know they aren't better than we think? You never know when we'll leave out an undefeated "weak sister" that actually COULD have won a playoff game.
This is fairly well accepted across the board, and in this system, I don't think we'd ever see a 10-0 team get left out, no matter the quality of its schedule.
I agree with the Guru's statement. We have read of too many interviews with Committee chairs (the people who were actually on the conference calls and in the "smoke-filled" rooms), and the impression that has been conveyed in those newsstories is that "undefeated is undefeated".
Were a Macalester to run the table 10-0, they would be the talk of the Monday morning podcasts during the last 3-4 weeks on the season.