3/14/07 Division A Poll is out!!

[CATLAX MAN]

Now if they really have looked as bad as you suggest then I'm sure this will show in future games.

I'm not sure that is the case. The toughest team left on the balance of their schedule is Cal Poly. It may not show up until the WCLL playoffs and maybe not even then. It appears that the WCLL, as a whole, is not as strong as it has been in recent years.

And for that matter, Northeastern only plays one ranked team as well. So they just have to not screw up the rest of the way.

This is also true. Once a team gets up in the ratings, a team tends to hold that spot ......until they screw up.

[DG]

I love all the talk about strength of schedule...

I'm def gonna be remembering all of this once the college football season starts up and I'm fighting with folks about their teams' SOS, or lackthereof.

The only difference will be that the teams who win weak conferences will at least get an opportunity to play for something, as they are not eliminated from nationals based on structural issues.

[umdlax7]

A tough schedule is not always rewarded.

[JerzWB]

The problem for Simon Fraser is that they really don't have a chance the rest of the year to prove whether or not they are legit because Oregon is the only ranked team they play. And for that matter, Northeastern only plays one ranked team as well. So they just have to not screw up the rest of the way.

So how can a team like that be in the top 10? Northeastern has only, and will only play 1 team in the top 25 the entire season (unless New Hampshire or BC can put something together). So because they beat AZ on their (AZ's) third game in three days they are locked in the top ten? They don't have any competition (top 25) the rest of the year, and they shouldn't lose a game. Assuming that they do win out, or even lose just one game in an upset, are they locked in the top 10 from one afternoons performance? Is that just the way things are?

Next, I have to agree with hamlax14 that the AZ drop might have been a bit much, but zona will have their chance to get back in the top 6 or 7 in there next two games (#17 TAMU, Colorado #7). Then they have a shot at the 3-5 spot (or higher) if they can take down #1 Oregon in their game following Colorado. We get to see what kind of team Zona is this year. Relax AZ, you control your own destiny.

I am still not convinced of that UM-Duluth is a top five team yet. We will see in the upcoming days.

[Daniel Morris]

So how can a team like that be in the top 10? Northeastern has only, and will only play 1 team in the top 25 the entire season (unless New Hampshire or BC can put something together). So because they beat AZ on their (AZ's) third game in three days they are locked in the top ten? They don't have any competition (top 25) the rest of the year, and they shouldn't lose a game.

Actually, Northeastern played another top 25 team in UCSD, but they have since dropped out of the rankings. And have you considered NE was playing their fourth game in a week's time, their fifth game overall (AZ has played nine in a month's time) without any real time to practice to make adjustments or corrections. Maybe Northeastern is just good? They will have a chance to win out, and going undefeated, regardless of your schedule, isn't easy. The PCLL isn't blessed with the proximity of high ranking teams that the west coast has. A trip is scheduled nearly a year beforehand based on how teams played in that season. Hence the UC San Diego game. Had they knowm, NE may have chosen to play AZ State or even Chapman or Sonoma while out west, but hindsight is 20/20. And if BC upsets UCSB, they will be a Top 25 team as well, so that BC trip will be one to watch.

[Albert Man]

Regarding the talk of Northeastern's big move up the poll... This is a team that was playing in their first couple games of the year (something that people seem to be bringing up as an excuse for other teams' bad performances) and playing away from home, and yet they delivered. It's not unrealistic to move a team that much when they played their first 4 games that would make an impression.

Having seen many of the top 15 teams play this year, I would actually say they may be under-ranked by a couple critical spots. The talk on here is that they don't play many more ranked teams, as if they don't deserve their current ranking. I think it's a shame they don't have more teams, so that they could possibly move up to where they may actually belong. If they stay healthy, they will give teams alot of matchup problems.

[Theflow]

Since everyone else is doing it, here are my issues:

Voters seem to put the name and repuation of teams ahead of what they have done on the field in many cases.

- Does Sonoma get to be #6 at 2-3 with their only wins against Nevada and Santa Clara? Not even close.

-People just cannot ever move Lindenwood out of the top 16. They have lost to all ranked teams except to the now unranked Illinois.

-Texas A and M upsets Colorado. This is a big deal, but they jump into the top 25 EIGHT SPOTS UP? Maybe if they beat ASU and U of A, but that kind of jump does not seem justified right away.

-Florida makes a big jump when they have only beaten #22 Georgia and #22 Michigan State, but have lost to all other top 20 ranked teams (EDITED). What could justify moving them up to #16?

I think it is time that we better look at what teams do on the field. Not how good we think they are, or if they just had a bad game. That does not matter. Any team can win on any day, and that is what we need to respect. When BYU still gets 3 first place votes over Oregon who beat them and the #4 and #6, there is a major problem with bias.

[Beta]

-Florida makes a big jump when they have only beaten #22 Georgia, and have lost to anyone else ranked, including #20 Michigan State. What could justify moving them up to #16?

Florida beat MSU 10-9.

[Laxbum]

Since everyone else is doing it, here are my issues:

-Florida makes a big jump when they have only beaten #22 Georgia, and have lost to anyone else ranked, including #20 Michigan State. What could justify moving them up to #16?.

Not sure if I read your statement correctly....but UF did beat MSU. I'm not trying to justify that they deserve a #16 ranking, just stating the facts

[westcoastlax]

Catlax Man,
Do you think that CSU should drop out of the top 10 also, because they lost to Oregon by more than Sonoma did and to BYU by one goal as well. No of course you don't think that because for some reason you always go against Sonoma.
It seems to me you've seen sonoma play one game a month a ago and it was their first game of the season. The game against Santa Clara may have been close but I recall in the stats the they scored 7 4th quarter goals to blow the game wide open.

[JerzWB]

Regarding the talk of Northeastern's big move up the poll... This is a team that was playing in their first couple games of the year (something that people seem to be bringing up as an excuse for other teams' bad performances) and playing away from home, and yet they delivered. It's not unrealistic to move a team that much when they played their first 4 games that would make an impression.

I don't think that Northeastern is a bad team. Maybe they deserve to be in the top 10, or 5. But how will we know? They don't play anybody else (top 25). Even when UCSD was ranked (when scheduled) thats only two ranked teams all year. I know that it is tough to schedule a lot of top 25 games being in the PCLL. I wish they did play more top 25 teams to see where they really stand. Thats all I was trying to say. Right now they do deserve their current spot in the polls. I am just curious to see where the voters will put them in the future. Do they deserve / will they stay in the top 10 by not playing anyone in the top 25?

[CATLAX MAN]

Catlax Man,
Do you think that CSU should drop out of the top 10 also, because they lost to Oregon by more than Sonoma did and to BYU by one goal as well. No of course you don't think that because for some reason you always go against Sonoma.

No, they shouldn't and it has nothing to do with going against Sonoma. It's about the facts. CSU came back the very next day after taking that pasting from Oregon and whomped Sonoma by about 10 goals or so. They also beat a ranked Utah team, a ranked UMD team, and almost pulled off an upset against BYU in the course of about a week.

What has Sonoma done this year? The best thing that they can point to is a close loss to BYU at the back end of 3 games in 4 days for BYU and Sonoma being fresh. I've seen them plenty of times over the years and, in my estimation, they are not nearly the team this year that they have been in the past. They have offensive talent, but it is not as deep as in the past. Defensively, Pringle is still solid, but the poles are not as impressive as what they have had in the past.

[Danny Hogan]

Texas A and M upsets Colorado. This is a big deal, but they jump into the top 25 EIGHT SPOTS UP? Maybe if they beat ASU and U of A, but that kind of jump does not seem justified right away.

-Florida makes a big jump when they have only beaten #22 Georgia and #22 Michigan State, but have lost to all other top 20 ranked teams (EDITED). What could justify moving them up to #16?

Since the last poll Florida beat #16 MSU and #20 UGA (the reason MSU and UGA dropped)

TAMU knocked off the #2 team in the country (and is undefeated?)

And quite a few teams 16-20 moved down in the polls because of losses.

Using your own criteria, I can't see why anyone else from #16-25 should be ranked above them (top 25 wins).

And keep in mind the early polls usually show the most movement as the poll becomes more accurate.

[WaterBoy]

I got to see two of Northeastern's games. They are quite good and probably deserving of their ranking.

As for complaints about teams falling out of the lower ranked spots... ultimately:

1) This poll doesn't mean anything
2) If they turn around their season and improve the poll voters will pick up on it
3) If they don't have any more ranked opponents, then they've lost their chance to climb high enough for an AL bid.
4) Win the conference, problem solved. For redemption, please see "2008"

Ultimately, games count. If a team doesn't think a game should count, they shouldn't be playing it. Arizona may have been tired, but I don't think Northeastern was well rested either. Frankly, NU came to So Cal, swept the competition, and were rewarded for it in the rankings.

[sohotrightnow]

Everybody seems to be complaining way too much about where certain teams are ranked and not ranked. The fact is, this is the first time in a long time, perhaps ever in the MDIA/USILA/USLIA, that there are very good teams from several leagues. People should be excited about this, not pointing fingers and saying that "X team was playing their 3rd game in 4 days, thus it is not fair to penalize X team for losing to Y team." Last time I checked, you need to win 4 games in a period of 5 days to be considered the best team in this land.

In previous years, Northeastern may have lost all 3 games they played on the West Coast, proceeded to win their league, and then have people ask "Well, who have they played and beat?" This year, they take care of business, yet people come up with some ridiculous excuse to diminish their accomplishment of beating 3 WCLL-A teams.

Give it a rest people. Embrace the fact that new faces are at the forefront of the league this year.