FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[OzJohnnie]

Huh, Bethel lost a vote compared to last week's top 25, but still moved up to 4th because Salisbury lost even more votes and dropped to 5th. I believe that 4th in the nation is as high as BU has ever been - others can chime in to correct me if I'm wrong.

I had Grok go off and do a detailed search of all the d3football.com records and it says,

The highest ranking Bethel University (Minnesota) has ever achieved in the d3football.com Top 25 is #4.  Here are the three highest distinct rankings they have held, with specific examples:

#4 in the 2007 final poll and #4 in the 2025 Week 8 poll (current as of October 27, 2025)
#5 in the 2025 Week 7 poll
#6 in the 2010 final poll and the 2013 final poll

Someone may double check if that is correct, but it seems that this is the second time BU has been ranked #4 and that is the highest ranking.

[GoldandBlueBU]

Huh, Bethel lost a vote compared to last week's top 25, but still moved up to 4th because Salisbury lost even more votes and dropped to 5th. I believe that 4th in the nation is as high as BU has ever been - others can chime in to correct me if I'm wrong.

It was a win over Mac, and as we've learned, those wins are not valued as highly, so BU lost a vote.   

[hazzben]

Trenches on both sides have improved enough to be in the second tier of the MIAC, but still haven't closed the gap SJU or BU. I believe the trajectory is still pointing up under Journell. Lot easier to recruit for a team that is consistently 7-3/8-2 than 2-8, which was more the norm under the previous staff

Agree. As I've said before, if JHU, Carnegie Mellon, Wash U, et al can put very competitive teams on the field at both the conference and national level, there's no reason Carleton can't get there. It's just a matter of program and institutional will.

For the longest time, it was almost like Carleton took being average / below average in football as a sign of academic bona fides. Hopefully that's changing, the MIAC needs all the competitive balance in the 2nd tier that we can get.

[DuffMan]

Yesterday's weather boosted our non-assisted temperature--65 F this morning!  With today being similar, I expect to remain lord of the manor for a while yet. 

[Pat Coleman]

... if JHU, Carnegie Mellon, Wash U, et al can put very competitive teams on the field at both the conference and national level, there's no reason Carleton can't get there.

All three of those schools are much, much larger than Carleton. The NESCAC schools are probably a better comparison -- we just don't have the picture on how they stack up nationally as of right now.

[art76]

Listening to the D3 Podcast while I type. Watched the BU-Mac game last night. I am excited for the possibility of some post season play. I'm not so sure the Royals can play "lights out" consistently enough to get to the final four. They could end up there this year - maybe higher, but outside factors would probably contribute to that success. My vision this season is pretty myopic as I haven't watched a lot of anybody else's games. BU goes to Concordia this Saturday, hosts Carleton the following week, and finishes the season up in Duluth taking on the Saints. There is still as lot of football to play in the MIAC before looking too far forward. Hopefully, these last 3 games can be "tune-up" games to sharpen the weapons in the cache.

[hazzben]

... if JHU, Carnegie Mellon, Wash U, et al can put very competitive teams on the field at both the conference and national level, there's no reason Carleton can't get there.

All three of those schools are much, much larger than Carleton. The NESCAC schools are probably a better comparison -- we just don't have the picture on how they stack up nationally as of right now.

It's funny, I literally deleted a comment about NESCAC comparison. Totally agree we can't tell how they compare. But to push back, "size of school" is something we say all the time doesn't matter for the WIAC. I suppose if you're academically "elite" you can lower your dial a bit more if you have a larger student body, compared to an enrollment of 2k. But then you'd have to prove to me JHU and Wash U are really lowering the bar, as opposed to just being better at marketing themselves to good HS talent that meets the standard.

[hazzben]

Listening to the D3 Podcast while I type. Watched the BU-Mac game last night. I am excited for the possibility of some post season play. I'm not so sure the Royals can play "lights out" consistently enough to get to the final four. They could end up there this year - maybe higher, but outside factors would probably contribute to that success. My vision this season is pretty myopic as I haven't watched a lot of anybody else's games. BU goes to Concordia this Saturday, hosts Carleton the following week, and finishes the season up in Duluth taking on the Saints. There is still as lot of football to play in the MIAC before looking too far forward. Hopefully, these last 3 games can be "tune-up" games to sharpen the weapons in the cache.

And to be fair, so much will determine how the braket is built. In Logan's most recent bracket would, Bethel to the Final 4 is very possible. Honestly, for the entire field of Top 10 teams, it really depends on how long they can avoid North Central. If they're your quad's 1/2 seed, quarterfinals is probably the realistic ceiling. They aren't invicible, but they're the odds on fav over the entire field right now, that's crazy.

[Mister36]

Listening to the D3 Podcast while I type. Watched the BU-Mac game last night. I am excited for the possibility of some post season play. I'm not so sure the Royals can play "lights out" consistently enough to get to the final four. They could end up there this year - maybe higher, but outside factors would probably contribute to that success. My vision this season is pretty myopic as I haven't watched a lot of anybody else's games. BU goes to Concordia this Saturday, hosts Carleton the following week, and finishes the season up in Duluth taking on the Saints. There is still as lot of football to play in the MIAC before looking too far forward. Hopefully, these last 3 games can be "tune-up" games to sharpen the weapons in the cache.

And to be fair, so much will determine how the braket is built. In Logan's most recent bracket would, Bethel to the Final 4 is very possible. Honestly, for the entire field of Top 10 teams, it really depends on how long they can avoid North Central. If they're your quad's 1/2 seed, quarterfinals is probably the realistic ceiling. They aren't invicible, but they're the odds on fav over the entire field right now, that's crazy.

He also said there's a possibility that UMU/NCC could end up in the same bracket, with that being mostly possible if Muhlenburg beats JHU (which Bethel would want as it would raise them an NPI seed). So...go Mules!

[HSCTiger74]

... if JHU, Carnegie Mellon, Wash U, et al can put very competitive teams on the field at both the conference and national level, there's no reason Carleton can't get there.

All three of those schools are much, much larger than Carleton. The NESCAC schools are probably a better comparison -- we just don't have the picture on how they stack up nationally as of right now.

It's funny, I literally deleted a comment about NESCAC comparison. Totally agree we can't tell how they compare. But to push back, "size of school" is something we say all the time doesn't matter for the WIAC. I suppose if you're academically "elite" you can lower your dial a bit more if you have a larger student body, compared to an enrollment of 2k. But then you'd have to prove to me JHU and Wash U are really lowering the bar, as opposed to just being better at marketing themselves to good HS talent that meets the standard.

This is an important point. Even when I was in high school many, many years ago I had heard of Washington University (Johns Hopkins was only five miles away, so obviously ...) but I had never heard of Carleton until I joined these boards. It really helps to be a national brand.

[WashedUp]

... if JHU, Carnegie Mellon, Wash U, et al can put very competitive teams on the field at both the conference and national level, there's no reason Carleton can't get there.

All three of those schools are much, much larger than Carleton. The NESCAC schools are probably a better comparison -- we just don't have the picture on how they stack up nationally as of right now.

It's funny, I literally deleted a comment about NESCAC comparison. Totally agree we can't tell how they compare. But to push back, "size of school" is something we say all the time doesn't matter for the WIAC. I suppose if you're academically "elite" you can lower your dial a bit more if you have a larger student body, compared to an enrollment of 2k. But then you'd have to prove to me JHU and Wash U are really lowering the bar, as opposed to just being better at marketing themselves to good HS talent that meets the standard.

This is an important point. Even when I was in high school many, many years ago I had heard of Washington University (Johns Hopkins was only five miles away, so obviously ...) but I had never heard of Carleton until I joined these boards. It really helps to be a national brand.

There's a big difference between the large research universities that are D3 (MIT, Johns Hopkins, Wash U, Carnegie Mellon, U Chicago, etc.) and the liberal arts colleges (Carleton, NESCAC, Pomona, Grinnell, etc.) in terms of brand recognition. Carleton should be able to use academics as a recruiting advantage, but I'm not sure the ceiling is as high as what Johns Hopkins has shown.

[hazzben]

Now that we'll be getting the NESCAC champ in post-season play down the road, it'll be interesting to measure where they stack up. Very interested to see how they stack up nationally, and for comparison with Carleton. I feel like Around the Nation used to guestimate where they thought the NESCAC fell talent-wise back in the day. Can't remember if that's accurate ...

[art76]

FWIW - NCAA Regional Rankings are out - not sure when they started posting them. They're not used anymore to set the post season play, as I understand it, but it is nice to see how teams stack up in the regions. Enjoy!

https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/football/d3/regional-rankings

[CHUBBS PETERSON]

FWIW - NCAA Regional Rankings are out - not sure when they started posting them. They're not used anymore to set the post season play, as I understand it, but it is nice to see how teams stack up in the regions. Enjoy!

https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/football/d3/regional-rankings

Wartburg ahead of North Central; likely a product of 8 wins vs. 7, but amusing none the less.

Having watched NC play a bit, they're ominously good. (thanks, Captain Obvious)

[Pat Coleman]

Now that we'll be getting the NESCAC champ in post-season play down the road, it'll be interesting to measure where they stack up. Very interested to see how they stack up nationally, and for comparison with Carleton. I feel like Around the Nation used to guestimate where they thought the NESCAC fell talent-wise back in the day. Can't remember if that's accurate ...

Keith did include them at least once, based on his eyeball test of a NESCAC game.