Patriot League Strength Of Schedule

[DFW HOYA]

With all PL teams having announced schedules, people might be surprised that Colgate, even vs. Syracuse, may not have the toughest out of conference schedule. Based on Sagarin ratings (admittedly imperfect, but something to compare against) and 2009 records, here's the non-conference breakdown:

1. Lehigh (Drake, Villanova, Princeton, UNH, Harvard)
Toughest: Villanova (#30)
Weakest out of PL: Princeton (#213)
Out of conference W/L: 43-16 (.728)
Out of conference Ivy League opponents: 2
Out of conference full scholarship opponents: 2
Avg. Sagarin rating of OOC opponents: 141.1

2. Lafayette (Penn, Princeton, Harvard, Columbia, Stony Brook)
Toughest: Penn (#116)
Weakest out of PL: Princeton (#213)
Out of conference W/L: 29-22 (.568)
Out of conference Ivy League opponents: 4
Out of conference full scholarship opponents: 1
Avg. Sagarin rating of OOC opponents: 168.0

3. Colgate (Monmouth, Furman, Syracuse, Princeton, Cornell)
Toughest: Syracuse (#83)
Weakest out of PL: Cornell (#222)
Out of conference W/L: 21-31 (.403)
Out of conference Ivy League opponents: 2
Out of conference full scholarship opponents: 2
Avg. Sagarin rating of OOC opponents: 173.8

4. Holy Cross (Howard, UMass, Harvard, Brown, Dartmouth)
Toughest: Massachusetts (#121)
Weakest out of PL: Howard (#238)
Out of conference W/L: 22-30 (.423)
Out of conference Ivy League opponents: 3
Out of conference full scholarship opponents: 2
Avg. Sagarin rating of OOC opponents: 179.0

5. Bucknell (Duquesne, Marist, Dartmouth, Cornell, Penn)
Toughest: Penn (#116)
Weakest out of PL: Duquesne (#233)
Out of conference W/L: 22-30 (.423)
Out of conference Ivy League opponents: 3
Out of conference full scholarship opponents: None
Avg. Sagarin rating of OOC opponents: 198.3

6. Georgetown (Davidson, Yale, Wagner, Sacred Heart, Marist)
Toughest: Yale (#190)
Weakest out of PL: Sacred Heart (#232)
Out of conference W/L: 22-30 (.423)
Out of conference Ivy League opponents: 1
Out of conference full scholarship opponents: None
Avg. Sagarin rating of OOC opponents: 211.0

Fordham, ineligible for PL title (Bryant, URI, Columbia, Assumption, Yale)
Toughest: Columbia (#180)
Weakest out of PL: Assumption (Division II, considered #246 in Sagarin rating)
Out of conference W/L: 20-32 (.384)
Out of conference Ivy League opponents: 2
Out of conference full scholarship opponents: 1
Avg. Sagarin rating of OOC opponents: 203.2

[Sader87]

With all PL teams having announced schedules, people might be surprised that Colgate, even vs. Syracuse, may not have the toughest out of conference schedule. Based on Sagarin ratings (admittedly imperfect, but something to compare against) and 2009 records, here's the non-conference breakdown:

1. Lehigh (Drake, Villanova, Princeton, UNH, Harvard)
Toughest: Villanova (#30)
Weakest out of PL: Princeton (#213)
Out of conference W/L: 43-16 (.728)
Out of conference Ivy League opponents: 2
Out of conference full scholarship opponents: 2
Avg. Sagarin rating of OOC opponents: 141.1

2. Lafayette (Penn, Princeton, Harvard, Columbia, Stony Brook)
Toughest: Penn (#116)
Weakest out of PL: Princeton (#213)
Out of conference W/L: 29-22 (.568)
Out of conference Ivy League opponents: 4
Out of conference full scholarship opponents: 1
Avg. Sagarin rating of OOC opponents: 168.0

3. Colgate (Monmouth, Furman, Syracuse, Princeton, Cornell)
Toughest: Syracuse (#83)
Weakest out of PL: Cornell (#222)
Out of conference W/L: 21-31 (.403)
Out of conference Ivy League opponents: 2
Out of conference full scholarship opponents: 2
Avg. Sagarin rating of OOC opponents: 173.8

4. Holy Cross (Howard, UMass, Harvard, Brown, Dartmouth)
Toughest: Syracuse (#83)
Weakest out of PL: Massachusetts (#121)
Out of conference W/L: 22-30 (.423)
Out of conference Ivy League opponents: 3
Out of conference full scholarship opponents: 2
Avg. Sagarin rating of OOC opponents: 179.0

5. Bucknell (Duquesne, Marist, Dartmouth, Cornell, Penn)
Toughest: Penn (#116)
Weakest out of PL: Duquesne (#233)
Out of conference W/L: 22-30 (.423)
Out of conference Ivy League opponents: 3
Out of conference full scholarship opponents: None
Avg. Sagarin rating of OOC opponents: 198.3

6. Georgetown (Davidson, Yale, Wagner, Sacred Heart, Marist)
Toughest: Yale (#190)
Weakest out of PL: Sacred Heart (#232)
Out of conference W/L: 22-30 (.423)
Out of conference Ivy League opponents: 1
Out of conference full scholarship opponents: None
Avg. Sagarin rating of OOC opponents: 211.0

Fordham, ineligible for PL title (Bryant, URI, Columbia, Assumption, Yale)
Toughest: Columbia (#180)
Weakest out of PL: Assumption (Division II, considered #246 in Sagarin rating)
Out of conference W/L: 20-32 (.384)
Out of conference Ivy League opponents: 2
Out of conference full scholarship opponents: 1
Avg. Sagarin rating of OOC opponents: 203.2

I wish the Cuse was on our plate and UMass must be considered our strongest non-leaguer not our weakest, no?

[DFW HOYA]

Corrected.

[RichH2]

Gee thanks DFW,already knew we had a very difficult OOC for nextseasonxviolinx, now in the midst of my usual summer optimism for LU for the upcoming season you burst my bubble xnodx, add in Gate and LC and we have a daunting task ahead of us for a decent season.xrolleyesx

[Fordham]

DFW - Columbia's rated higher than Yale and URI? Surprised. Surprised and too lazy to check. :D

[Sader87]

Strength of schedule be ****ed....the Gate has the best OOC schedule by far now.

[TheValleyRaider]

Strength of schedule be ****ed....the Gate has the best OOC schedule by far now.

I'm not convinced

Even without the Sagarin ratings, Nova/UNH is a great pair for Lehigh, and Harvard is better than our other 3.

Not sure Lafayette's is tougher than ours, but that's not really an argument worth having xtwocentsx

[Franks Tanks]

Strength of schedule be ****ed....the Gate has the best OOC schedule by far now.

Villinova may be at about the same level of Syracuse, and UNH and Furman are pretty similar.

It really depends on how good Syracuse turns out to be next year.

[ngineer]

Villinova may be at about the same level of Syracuse, and UNH and Furman are pretty similar.

It really depends on how good Syracuse turns out to be next year.

Well, VU's rating is #30 and 'cuse is ...#83?!xconfusedx