D3 Top 25 Fan Poll

[olddog]

Pat,

I have had family that recently played in their conference, I dont know how many games you have seen? ...I have seen many games in the Frontier Conference, the level of play is better than the NWC and SCIAC...their league is one of the better NAIA leagues too.
We can agree to disagree...more kids get pro looks out of that conference than NWC. The talent is just a little better.

[Pat Coleman]

Pat,

I have had family that recently played in their conference, I dont know how many games you have seen? ...I have seen many games in the Frontier Conference, the level of play is better than the NWC and SCIAC...their league is one of the better NAIA leagues too.
We can agree to disagree...more kids get pro looks out of that conference than NWC. The talent is just a little better.

And yet, last year, Whitworth beat Eastern Oregon by 12 and finished right at No. 25 in our poll.

This year, losing to Eastern Oregon, it's eminently reasonable for our voters to think perhaps they don't belong in the poll right now.

[olddog]

Pat, last year is not relevant...EO lost to (I will be a reporter)...26th rated NAIA school College of Idaho at Simplot, which is not an easy place to play...County Fair grounds, beer garden and fans in the north end zone. The place gets a little crazy, not like playing at Ted Runner. This year they catch an improved EO at EO...in a close game. The loss to EO is like losing to a top 25 team in D3...again this is exactly why I am not a fan of polls, so many factors other than football.

[Captainred81]

So is your point that losing to a team that they beat last year by 12, shouldn't count because that school gives out scholarships?  And all this to say you don't like polls because their is more to each game than the final result? 

I'm not quite following. 

[wally_wabash]

In the Bill Connelly top 766, EOU is in a cluster of teams that include Salve Regina, Western Connecticut, MSJ, ONU, and Heidelberg.  If our No. 23 loses to one of those teams, they're gonna slide out of the top 25.  Of course, the top 766 isn't a perfect science, but it gives you an idea of how teams from different divisions compare.  Whitworth, fwiw, is still ranked 80 spots higher in the 766 than EOU.  So the 766 sees that result as a pretty big upset.