Week 2 Conference Rankings

[dystopiamembrane]

Here's my list.
1. Southland
2. Missouri Valley
3. Big Sky
4. Colonial
5. Ohio Valley
6. Southern
7. Big South
8. Ivy
9. Patriot
10. Northeast
11. Mid-Eastern
12. Southwestern
13. Pioneer

[chattanoogamocs]

The way the Big South has beat up on the SoCon head to head the first two weeks...I would actually argue flip-flopping them (though you are looking at the body of work for each conference as a whole and not just head to head)

[Twentysix]

1 MVFC
2 Colonial
2 Big Sky
4 Southland
5 Ohio Valley
5 Big South
7 Southern
8 Patriot


9 MEAC - -
10 Northeast - -
11 IVY - -
12 SWAC - -
13 Pioneer - -

[dystopiamembrane]

Twentysix, please let me know your reasoning for placing the CAA in the second spot.

[Professor Chaos]

Twentysix, please let me know your reasoning for placing the CAA in the second spot.
I would say because they still have 6 likely top 25 teams in Towson, Richmond, Stony Brook, UNH, Villanova, and James Madison. Couple that with having other solid teams like Delaware and Maine who are on the cusp and I think the CAA is as good top to bottom as any conference in the country. I'd still put the MVFC above them because I'm a homer and I think the MVFC has a better top end.

Having the Southland ahead of both the MVFC and CAA is ludicrous if you ask me.

[FCS_pwns_FBS]

The SoCon hasn't looked all that great so far this year, but I hesitate to rank them below the likes of the Big South and OVC. The SoCon never seems to impress in OOC play but tends to vindicate itself come playoff time. At the end of the regular season last year most would've ranked the SoCon third or fourth, but after the playoffs the MVFC was the only league that I think you could argue was better than the SoCon, and it wasn't really all that clear.

The main culprit is people reading too much into FBS wins. There's a host of teams that got nice-looking FBS wins that didn't make the playoffs. See JMU, Indiana State, Youngstown State, and McNeese State among others I'm probably forgetting about. The SoCon tends to get really tough FBS games (yes, Georgia State is an obvious exception, and I don't expect anyone to be overly impressed with wins over them).

[URMite]

I would say because they still have 6 likely top 25 teams in Towson, Richmond, Stony Brook, UNH, Villanova, and James Madison. Couple that with having other solid teams like Delaware and Maine who are on the cusp and I think the CAA is as good top to bottom as any conference in the country. I'd still put the MVFC above them because I'm a homer and I think the MVFC has a better top end.

Having the Southland ahead of both the MVFC and CAA is ludicrous if you ask me.

I'm not sure how good the top of the CAA is other than Towson, but you could add William & Mary to the last group if their game against WVU was any indication. Our top 3 may not match the MVFC but having 9 out of 11 looking pretty good is amazing depth, only URI looks abysmal.

[Professor Chaos]

I'm not sure how good the top of the CAA is other than Towson, but you could add William & Mary to the last group if their game against WVU was any indication. Our top 3 may not match the MVFC but having 9 out of 11 looking pretty good is amazing depth, only URI looks abysmal.
Good call, forgot about W&M. That's 9 teams in the top 30 of this week's AGS poll, not too shabby.

[McNeese75]

I would say because they still have 6 likely top 25 teams in Towson, Richmond, Stony Brook, UNH, Villanova, and James Madison. Couple that with having other solid teams like Delaware and Maine who are on the cusp and I think the CAA is as good top to bottom as any conference in the country. I'd still put the MVFC above them because I'm a homer and I think the MVFC has a better top end.

Having the Southland ahead of both the MVFC and CAA is ludicrous if you ask me.

Nice opinion. I would say the Southland should be about 3rd, behind MVFC and maybe Big Sky, IMHO

[Professor Chaos]

Nice opinion. I would say the Southland should be about 3rd, behind MVFC and maybe Big Sky, IMHO
The Southland has some good teams in it. The top 3 in the SLC are better than the top 3 in the CAA but top to bottom the CAA takes it easily. Both conferences have 2 FBS wins. The SLC is 4-1 OOC against the FCS and the CAA is 8-3. All pretty equal but there's 9 teams from the CAA in the top 30 of the AGS poll. There are 3 SLC teams in the top 30.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

PL has been a real mixed bag. Fordham has definitely carried the banner to this point. Lehigh MUST play better to be taken seriously after a near disaster week one. Colgate has disappointed but OOC struggled are nothing new to them. Lafayette could be middling as usual. Georgetown is the wildcard right now.

[McNeese75]

The Southland has some good teams in it. The top 3 in the SLC are better than the top 3 in the CAA but top to bottom the CAA takes it easily. Both conferences have 2 FBS wins. The SLC is 4-1 OOC against the FCS and the CAA is 8-3. All pretty equal but there's 9 teams from the CAA in the top 30 of the AGS poll. There are 3 SLC teams in the top 30.

xcoolx East Coast Bias!!!!

:D

[Twentysix]

Twentysix, please let me know your reasoning for placing the CAA in the second spot.

More teams overall in the top 25 and a higher average raiting, and their highest team is ranked higher than the southland.

Bigsky ties them even though they have one fewer team in the top 25, they also have the #2 in the top 25.

Southland #1 is ridiculous imo.

[Sam_Kats]

It was 1 guy's opinion...

[crusader11]

At this moment, the NEC should be ranked ahead of the Patriot League.

[Twentysix]

At this moment, the NEC should be ranked ahead of the Patriot League.

Which team in the NEC is stronger than Fordham?

[Professor Chaos]

It was 1 guy's opinion...
This is a message board. Opinions are open for discussion.

[crusader11]

Which team in the NEC is stronger than Fordham?

None, but from top to bottom the NEC has been better than the Patriot League. If we are judging the top team from each conference though, then I agree the PL should be ahead of the NEC.

The NEC is 3-1 against the PL: Bryant 17 - Holy Cross 16, Wagner 28 - Georgetown 21, Sacred Heart 26 - Lafayette 24, Lehigh 51 - Central Connecticut 44 2OT.

[Twentysix]

None, but from top to bottom the NEC has been better than the Patriot League. If we are judging the top team from each conference though, then I agree the PL should be ahead of the NEC.

The NEC is 3-1 against the PL: Bryant 17 - Holy Cross 16, Wagner 28 - Georgetown 21, Sacred Heart 26 - Lafayette 24, Lehigh 51 - Central Connecticut 44 2OT.

We are not judging just the top team, but we are also not ignoring them.

Fordham figures into the league strength of the PL. Every game you posted looks like a pretty even matchup, and you left out the only team to appear to be good from either conference.

[aceinthehole]

None, but from top to bottom the NEC has been better than the Patriot League. If we are judging the top team from each conference though, then I agree the PL should be ahead of the NEC.

The NEC is 3-1 against the PL: Bryant 17 - Holy Cross 16, Wagner 28 - Georgetown 21, Sacred Heart 26 - Lafayette 24, Lehigh 51 - Central Connecticut 44 2OT.

Agreed, so far.

But more egregious is his ranking of the Ivy League! They haven't played a game and we have no reason to suppose they would fair better than the PL or NEC at this point in time.

[Twentysix]

Agreed, so far.

But more egregious is his ranking of the Ivy League! They haven't played a game and we have no reason to suppose they would fair better than the PL or NEC at this point in time.

??? The Ivy is only above the SWAC and Pioneer, which I have little doubt they are better than.

[aceinthehole]

??? The Ivy is only above the SWAC and Pioneer, which I have little doubt they are better than.

Did you see the first post in this thread?


Here's my list.
1. Southland
2. Missouri Valley
3. Big Sky
4. Colonial
5. Ohio Valley
6. Southern
7. Big South
8. Ivy
9. Patriot
10. Northeast
11. Mid-Eastern
12. Southwestern
13. Pioneer

[Twentysix]

Did you see the first post in this thread?

Come on, the guy has the southland as the #1 conference. :p

[McNeese75]

Come on, the guy has the southland as the #1 conference. :p

xlolxxdontknowx

[dystopiamembrane]

The conference strengths I posted were based on my current rankings, not the AGS week 2 poll results. And, they are based on the season so far, no strength of schedule boost for future games.

The difference between the SLC and MVFC is 2 hundredths of a point, a dead heat.
The difference between the SLC and CAA is more than 2 tenths of a point. They are in a dead heat with the OVC.

I post my week 2 rankings below.
1: North Dakota State Bison
2: Eastern Washington Eagles
3: Sam Houston State Bearkats
4: McNeese State Cowboys
5: Northern Iowa Panthers
6: Eastern Illinois Panthers
7: Towson Tigers
8: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
9: Richmond Spiders
10: Central Arkansas Bears
11: Montana State Bobcats
12: Montana Grizzlies
13: Cal Poly Mustangs
14: Southern Illinois Salukis
15: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks
16: Youngstown State Penguins
17: Southeastern Louisiana Lions
18: Southern Utah Thunderbirds
19: Wofford Terriers
20: Eastern Kentucky Colonels
21: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
22: Illinois State Redbirds
23: Northwestern State Demons
24: Stony Brook Seawolves
25: Maine Black Bears

[Twentysix]

The conference strengths I posted were based on my current rankings, not the AGS week 2 poll results. And, they are based on the season so far, no strength of schedule boost for future games.

The difference between the SLC and MVFC is 2 hundredths of a point, a dead heat.
The difference between the SLC and CAA is more than 2 tenths of a point. They are in a dead heat with the OVC.

I post my week 2 rankings below.
1: North Dakota State Bison
2: Eastern Washington Eagles
3: Sam Houston State Bearkats
4: McNeese State Cowboys
5: Northern Iowa Panthers
6: Eastern Illinois Panthers
7: Towson Tigers
8: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
9: Richmond Spiders
10: Central Arkansas Bears
11: Montana State Bobcats
12: Montana Grizzlies
13: Cal Poly Mustangs
14: Southern Illinois Salukis
15: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks
16: Youngstown State Penguins
17: Southeastern Louisiana Lions
18: Southern Utah Thunderbirds
19: Wofford Terriers
20: Eastern Kentucky Colonels
21: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
22: Illinois State Redbirds
23: Northwestern State Demons
24: Stony Brook Seawolves
25: Maine Black Bears

Makes sense. 3: Sam Houston State Bearkats
4: McNeese State Cowboys is where your SLC power comes from.

Sam and McNeese are both several spots lower in my poll and NW state is not ranked. The rest of the SLC is in about the same spots you have them.

[CFBfan]

PL has been a real mixed bag. Fordham has definitely carried the banner to this point. Lehigh MUST play better to be taken seriously after a near disaster week one. Colgate has disappointed but OOC struggled are nothing new to them. Lafayette could be middling as usual. Georgetown is the wildcard right now.


If LU had the balls (and they don't!!) to play Colgates OOC they would do no better! GTown beat a pathetic OOC team and plays another bad one this week after losing to an average OOC opponent.

[clenz]

so....the MVFC has 6 of 10 teams in your top 25 (more than the SLC) including 1, 5, and 8 yet top to bottom the SLC is better....?

NW St is a borderline top 25 team as well

quando omni flunkus moritati

[kalm]

Makes sense. 3: Sam Houston State Bearkats
4: McNeese State Cowboys is where your SLC power comes from.

Sam and McNeese are both several spots lower in my poll and NW state is not ranked. The rest of the SLC is in about the same spots you have them.

This. He's giving great regard for McNeese's win but otherwise doesn't regard FBS wins as that important. Plus he has Montana State at 11. Otherwise the Big Sky has the most teams in the top 13. And since we're talking about FBS wins, the BSC has 6 of them over the last... 2 seasons so far. Hell, one of our worst teams beat a SLC top tier team on the road last week.

[Bisonator]

so....the MVFC has 6 of 10 teams in your top 25 (more than the SLC) including 1, 5, and 8 yet top to bottom the SLC is better....?

This. xdontknowx

[kalm]

MVFC and BSC - T1
CAA-3
Southland-4

[Catatonic]

Nice opinion. I would say the Southland should be about 3rd, behind MVFC and maybe Big Sky, IMHO

Has anyone in the Southland lost to a D2 school? Nope.

The Big Sky can't make that claim. Nicholls is arguably the worst team in the SLC, and they notched a win over a FBS school while Northern Colo. was busy losing to D2 Col-Pueblo.

Based on top to bottom rankings, I'd put the Southland ahead of the Big Sky at this point.

[clenz]

Has anyone in the Southland lost to a D2 school? Nope.

The Big Sky can't make that claim. Nicholls is arguably the worst team in the SLC, and they notched a win over a FBS school while Northern Colo. was busy losing to D2 Col-Pueblo.

Prior to last weekend Nichols was 0 dir the last 21 against non NAIA schools...


Yeah....they still rank below UNC

quando omni flunkus moritati

[Houndawg]

This. He's giving great regard for McNeese's win but otherwise doesn't regard FBS wins as that important. Plus he has Montana State at 11. Otherwise the Big Sky has the most teams in the top 13. And since we're talking about FBS wins, the BSC has 6 of them over the last... 2 seasons so far. Hell, one of our worst teams beat a SLC top tier team on the road last week.

Top 13? Why not Top 14? Oh, wait...that invalidates your argument..

[dystopiamembrane]

so....the MVFC has 6 of 10 teams in your top 25 (more than the SLC) including 1, 5, and 8 yet top to bottom the SLC is better....?
There are a number of factors. I show the ones that pushed the numbers.
(And, do note that these conferences are very, very close right now.)
Offense: SLC 1st, MVFC 3rd (behind BSC)
SOS (so far): SLC 1st, MVFC 3rd (behind OVC)

I suspect that this might be the one and only week that the SLC edges the MVFC.
SOS (future): MVFC 1st, SLC 2nd

[clenz]

MVFC BCS wins 2
SLC 0

quando omni flunkus moritati

[McNeese75]

MVFC BCS wins 2
SLC 0

quando omni flunkus moritati

BS on that one. You can say what you want but the ACC is a BCS qualifier for 2013. Is K State better than USF? Probably so but that remains to be seen.

Reality will set in when EWU comes to Huntsville and McNeese goes to UNI.

[dystopiamembrane]

MVFC BCS wins 2
SLC 0
I just go by the numbers that drop out from the algorithm I use.
My mind is far too small to keep every factor in play, even in just the second week.

[Catatonic]

Prior to last weekend Nichols was 0 dir the last 21 against non NAIA schools...


Yeah....they still rank below UNC

quando omni flunkus moritati

Pardon me. I thought the ranking was based on performance this year.

[kalm]

Top 13? Why not Top 14? Oh, wait...that invalidates your argument..

No it doesn't.

[Nickels]

Hell, one of our worst teams beat a SLC top tier team on the road last week.


??xeyebrowx No SLC team played a BSC last week.

[BEAR]

What I want SLC fans to see is this:
SLC has yearly been ranked the #5 conference in the FCS.
SAM, McNeese, UCA and SFA have bolstered that ranking in one way or another year after year.
Now we have SELA making noise and Nicholls accomplishing FBS wins.
Add to that ACU in the conference and it only gets stronger.
I'm not saying its the #1 conference but even a blindman can comprehend it's working its way to the top.
And even though Incarnate Word is struggling coming into the conference, I saw a "never give up" attitude from their players in our game. They've instilled that into their program. If that continues then the conference will be even stronger. Just my two cents.
SLC Strong.

[fmrbearkat]

The Southland has some good teams in it. The top 3 in the SLC are better than the top 3 in the CAA but top to bottom the CAA takes it easily. Both conferences have 2 FBS wins. The SLC is 4-1 OOC against the FCS and the CAA is 8-3. All pretty equal but there's 9 teams from the CAA in the top 30 of the AGS poll. There are 3 SLC teams in the top 30.

So your agreeing that we have 3 teams that would win the CAA but you would still vote the CAA a better conference? What sense does that make? Thats like saying you would rather be in a conference that finishes 4-12 than be the conference with two teams in the national title and the best team that lost a semifinal game. Im not arguing that the MVFC is better and Southland/Big Sky is a toss up as i think SHSU has shown as of late its love for the Big Sky Champions and UCA/McNeese COULD win that conference. Not saying any of us would win it easily but the top 3 in Southland, Big Sky, and MVFC would be alot better games than any game involving a CAA team not named Towson.

[fmrbearkat]

BS on that one. You can say what you want but the ACC is a BCS qualifier for 2013. Is K State better than USF? Probably so but that remains to be seen.

Reality will set in when EWU comes to Huntsville and McNeese goes to UNI.

THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^

[BisonTru]

Take it or Leave it.

This is compughterratings.com conference rankings:

1. MVC
2. Southland
3. OVC
4. Big Sky
5. CAA
6. Southern
7. Big South
8. Patroit
9. Mid-Eastern
10. Ivy
11. Northeastern
12. SWAC
13. Pioneer

I don't necessarily agree with these rankings (certainly OVC seems too high.) However some side notes, the MVC is ranked higher than the Sun Belt conference. He also has Div II Gulf South ranked above the Patriot conference. He also has 10 non-division I conferences higher than the Pioneer. Again not saying I agree just posting how their computers rank them.

[Twentysix]

Take it or Leave it.

This is compughterratings.com conference rankings:

1. MVC
2. Southland
3. OVC
4. Big Sky
5. CAA
6. Southern
7. Big South
8. Patroit
9. Mid-Eastern
10. Ivy
11. Northeastern
12. SWAC
13. Pioneer

I don't necessarily agree with these rankings (certainly OVC seems too high.) However some side notes, the MVC is ranked higher than the Sun Belt conference. He also has Div II Gulf South ranked above the Patriot conference. He also has 10 non-division I conferences higher than the Pioneer. Again not saying I agree just posting how their computers rank them.

I don't doubt that some DII conferences are better than the Pioneer. I think Ferris probably would have kicked the Pioneer teams around.

Ferris seemed better than a lot of the DI patsy's that come into the fargodome.

[dystopiamembrane]

Take it or Leave it.

This is compughterratings.com conference rankings:

1. MVC
2. Southland
3. OVC
4. Big Sky
5. CAA
6. Southern
7. Big South
8. Patroit
9. Mid-Eastern
10. Ivy
11. Northeastern
12. SWAC
13. Pioneer
Computer rankings often take into account factors that most human brains can't.
Also, early in the season with a limited data set (not that the 12/13 game season isn't a limited set), biases in the weighting of factors from system to system can show themselves in surprising ways.
My guess from this ranking, strength of schedule is important in this system, for example.

[Professor Chaos]

So your agreeing that we have 3 teams that would win the CAA but you would still vote the CAA a better conference? What sense does that make? Thats like saying you would rather be in a conference that finishes 4-12 than be the conference with two teams in the national title and the best team that lost a semifinal game. Im not arguing that the MVFC is better and Southland/Big Sky is a toss up as i think SHSU has shown as of late its love for the Big Sky Champions and UCA/McNeese COULD win that conference. Not saying any of us would win it easily but the top 3 in Southland, Big Sky, and MVFC would be alot better games than any game involving a CAA team not named Towson.
No, I'm not saying the top 3 SLC teams would win the CAA. I think Towson is better than any team in the SLC but I think UCA, SHSU, and McNeese are better as a triumvirate than Towson, Richmond, and New Hampshire (3 best teams in the CAA in my opinion). If you would've read the rest of my post you'd realize what sense that makes. The CAA is solid top to bottom with 9 teams in the AGS top 30 compared to 3 from the SLC. The middle of the SLC is stronger this year than in recent years but it's still not as good top to bottom as the CAA, and in my opinion it's not very close.

[lionsrking2]

No, I'm not saying the top 3 SLC teams would win the CAA. I think Towson is better than any team in the SLC but I think UCA, SHSU, and McNeese are better as a triumvirate than Towson, Richmond, and New Hampshire (3 best teams in the CAA in my opinion). If you would've read the rest of my post you'd realize what sense that makes. The CAA is solid top to bottom with 9 teams in the AGS top 30 compared to 3 from the SLC. The middle of the SLC is stronger this year than in recent years but it's still not as good top to bottom as the CAA, and in my opinion it's not very close.

Actually it's the other way around, the Southland is better than the CAA this year, top to bottom. And it's not close.