Nike / IL MCLA Division I Poll - 3/26/2013

[CPLaxGM]

As an opposing coach I should probably leave this topic alone, but Stanford is one of the more interesting stories in the MCLA this season and well worth discussing. One of the questions that jumps to mind when assessing Stanford is - how are they affected by their small roster size? They only have 22 field players listed on their roster, and no team makes it through a season without injury.

I don't know if roster size had anything to with today's outcome or not, but as the season progresses and injuries mount, it may be tougher for them to fill in the holes than it would be for some of the larger squads. I don't think there's any question that Stanford has a handful of the most talented players in the MCLA in Farr, Doyle, Hamamoto (I was really impressed by him last season; he's versatile and very difficult to defend both off-ball and with the ball in his stick), Pura, and O'Brien. But that small roster size could certainly be a challenge as they move toward the post-season, whether it's the need to win two games in two days for the WCLL Championship or the insane 4 games in 6 days required to win the title in Greenville. Unfortunately for me, it won't be much of an issue in April when they have a week off between all of their games.

Most of the rosters of the elite teams in the MCLA are probably bigger than they need to be these days, but there are times when having a lot of players available is certainly helpful.

[bhsvideodad]

And BYU won 13-7. Not surprised. Stanford will drop to #6.

The history of BYU is they start the season a little slow, they pick it up. It takes awhile for the team, the players returning from missions to settle in. Best plan would be to play them early in the season.

Actually I thought it would be closer, but I didn't get to the game so I don't know how it went down.

[LaxTV_Admin]

BYU jumped out to an early lead. It was 3-1 when I got there mid way through the first quarter. BYU continued to maintain a 2-3 goal margin into the half. In the third quarter BYU pulled away, but similar to at Cal, Stanford went on a 2 goal run and it seemed like things would be close again, but BYU answered and never let Stanford settle into a groove offensively. Stanford is very talented but so is BYU. Both of these teams could do some real damage this year at their conference tournaments and Greenville.

[Dan Wishengrad]

While most of the poll discussion has been focused on the top 10, the weekly movement in the bottom half of the poll has been interesting to watch so far in '13. The majority of conferences lack a dominant team which won't be challenged for the title - and the all-important AQ that comes with it. April is going to be a ton of fun all around the MCLA.

[LaxTV_Admin]

Couldn't agree more about the bottom of the poll. Seems there are a bunch of teams that could end up vying for the AQ spot come conference tournament time.

On a side note, how bad does the 13-3 loss by UCSB to ASU affect UCSB?

[Ravaging Beast]

On a side note, how bad does the 13-3 loss by UCSB to ASU affect UCSB?

They certainly won't move up, but they seem to do this every year on their spring break trip. Not sure why they schedule tough games after a week of no practice due to taking finals. I may have to show this to Mike Allan. Maybe they should schedule their tough road game when they have been practicing consistently.
2012: CSU 11-3
2011: MSU 11-10, Michigan 21-0
2010: ASU 14-7 (missed the national tournament because of this game)
2009: BYU 11-4
2008: FSU 7-6, Florida 10-8
2007: CSU 8-3
2006: Not sure
2005: Lost to BYU in the snow

[Ben Clark]

On a side note, how bad does the 13-3 loss by UCSB to ASU affect UCSB?

They certainly won't move up, but they seem to do this every year on their spring break trip. Not sure why they schedule tough games after a week of no practice due to taking finals. I may have to show this to Mike Allan. Maybe they should schedule their tough road game when they have been practicing consistently.
2012: CSU 11-3
2011: MSU 11-10, Michigan 21-0
2010: ASU 14-7 (missed the national tournament because of this game)
2009: BYU 11-4
2008: FSU 7-6, Florida 10-8
2007: CSU 8-3
2006: Not sure
2005: Lost to BYU in the snow

Wait, don't talk to him yet - on the phone trying to get UCSB to come to New Hampshire next year...

[LaxTV_Admin]

Here is the Power Rankings from the guys at Bull Dodge

http://lax.tv/link/9285/

[Ravaging Beast]

On a side note, how bad does the 13-3 loss by UCSB to ASU affect UCSB?

They certainly won't move up, but they seem to do this every year on their spring break trip. Not sure why they schedule tough games after a week of no practice due to taking finals. I may have to show this to Mike Allan. Maybe they should schedule their tough road game when they have been practicing consistently.
2012: CSU 11-3
2011: MSU 11-10, Michigan 21-0
2010: ASU 14-7 (missed the national tournament because of this game)
2009: BYU 11-4
2008: FSU 7-6, Florida 10-8
2007: CSU 8-3
2006: Not sure
2005: Lost to BYU in the snow

Having thought about it a little more, I think we lost to Michigan on spring break in 2004. So the last time we swept spring break was 2003 in Utah against BYU and Utah.

[LaxTV_Admin]

Some scores of interest

Michigan State 9
Simon Fraser 10

BYU 9
CU 11

Auburn 9
GA Tech 6

Northeastern 9
Pitt 8

Looks like there will be some changes in the poll. For the record Beast, I agreed with you about how good Northeastern is. However, I have not voted them in my poll due to their record. They will be in this week and I won't be dinging Pitt much as they lost to a very talented team.

What do you do with MSU? They have beaten, Illinois & UMD but lost to Fraser and CSU. Are they top 15? How does this affect UMD or does it?

[bhsvideodad]

Fun to see Simon Fraser get a win against a good team. They are always dangerous. BYU losing to CU surprises me. Oregon almost beat CU, but was dominated by BYU. For handicapping games, how many goals is the home field worth? Must be at least two.
I thought BYU would be floating up close to the top, now it looks like CU.

[Ravaging Beast]

What do you do with MSU? They have beaten, Illinois & UMD but lost to Fraser and CSU. Are they top 15? How does this affect UMD or does it?

I think Michigan State will get better. They do not have many game under their belt. But they are not a top 15 team at this point.

[Ravaging Beast]

My poll that sort of incorporates some predictions.
1. CSU
2. Colorado
3. ASU
4. BYU
5. Chapman
6. Stanford
7. UCSB
8. BC
9. Sonoma
9. Cal
9. Oregon
12. Texas
13. Grand Canyon
14. Northeastern
15. Cal Poly
16. Pitt
17. MSU
18. Davenport
19. Simon Fraser
20. Duluth

[LaxTV_Admin]

My poll that sort of incorporates some predictions.
1. CSU
2. Colorado
3. ASU
4. BYU
5. Chapman
6. Stanford
7. UCSB
8. BC
9. Sonoma
9. Cal
9. Oregon
12. Texas
13. Grand Canyon
14. Northeastern
15. Cal Poly
16. Pitt
17. MSU
18. Davenport
19. Simon Fraser
20. Duluth

Not sure I love it, but not terrible either. Here is what I submitted today

1. CSU
2. CU
3. ASU
4. BYU
5. Chapman
6. Stanford
7. UCSB
8. SSU
9. Cal
10. Boston College
11. Oregon (probably hardest team to place in my opinion)
12. Texas
13. Simon Fraser
14. Georgia Tech
15. Oregon State
16. Davenport
17. UConn
18. Pitt
19. Grand Canyon
20. MSU
21. UMD
22. Cal Poly
23. Northeastern
24. UGA
25. Virginia Tech

Let the roasting begin .

[Ravaging Beast]

Not sure I love it, but not terrible either. Here is what I submitted today

1. CSU
2. CU
3. ASU
4. BYU
5. Chapman
6. Stanford
7. UCSB
8. SSU
9. Cal
10. Boston College
11. Oregon (probably hardest team to place in my opinion)
12. Texas
13. Simon Fraser
14. Georgia Tech
15. Oregon State
16. Davenport
17. UConn
18. Pitt
19. Grand Canyon
20. MSU
21. UMD
22. Cal Poly
23. Northeastern
24. UGA
25. Virginia Tech

Let the roasting begin .

I like your top 12. I think BC, Cal, Sonoma, and Oregon could go in any order. However, did you realize that Ga Tech lost to unranked Auburn this week? Yeah, they beat Pitt, but maybe Pitt is not that great. I think what Davenport and Grand Canyon have done this season warrants a higher ranking. Also, did you make this poll before Davenport beat Simon Fraser? Maybe you are just going for an overall approach rather than the "what have you done for me lately" approach that I take.