Next number one team in the D2Football.com Poll is.

[bigmrg74]

Polls don't matter, but they're amusing to argue about. With Ferris going down Saturday, who's your best pick to be the new Number One team in the Nation?

State your case and argue it.

[KleShreen]

I mean I hate it because I think the outcome would be different if GV played them again now, but it has to be Mines. Probably Pitt State #2, GV #3, Ferris #4. I could see Pitt and GV swapping positions, but I think you gotta put the undefeated MIAA team there.

[Argonut]

Mines has played the toughest schedule so far and is unbeaten, so my order based on schedule, road vs home and margin of victory is:

1. Mines
2. Mankato
3. Pitt. St.
4. Grand Valley
5. Delta St.

[d2 football fan]

Agreed that polls mean nothing, but if they meant something, this would be a time that the silo conferences would be kicking themselves. Every other team in the top 5, besides Pitt, has been tested outside of their conference, which lends to their being considered as high as they are. MIAA and GAC (Harding) are doing themselves no favors, regardless of how good they actually are.

1 Mines
2 Pitt St
3 Mankato
4 GVSU
5 Delta St
6 Harding

[Purple Mav Man]

How do I vote for Tiffin?

[CalifOKRA]

My thoughts:

1. Mines
2. Pitt State
3. Grand Valley
4. Ferris
5. Delta

[Bearhof]

I personally think your best teams are in Gulf South and MIAA each year. Haven’t known the mountain west to be that strong over the years. Gran Valley is back in the mix it looks like. NWMS, Valdosta and West Fla have been the dominant teams besides Ferris State. It definitely looks more wide open this year and should make for some interesting playoff matches.

[OldBison]

Agreed that polls mean nothing, but if they meant something, this would be a time that the silo conferences would be kicking themselves. Every other team in the top 5, besides Pitt, has been tested outside of their conference, which lends to their being considered as high as they are. MIAA and GAC (Harding) are doing themselves no favors, regardless of how good they actually are.

1 Mines
2 Pitt St
3 Mankato
4 GVSU
5 Delta St
6 Harding

Not really. If GVS, Ferris, Pitt, Central Missouri, Harding and UIndy win out, Harding more than likely will be hosting and facing lower-seeded, closer teams they should beat. Considering that Ferris/GVS/Pitt/Harding will be facing probably 2 GLVS teams in playoffs, the possibilities for GAC and MIAA teams are pretty much they way they always are in Region 3. When it comes to D2.com rankings here’s what I predict for the top 7: 1. Mines 2. GVS 3. Pitt 4. Ferris 5. MSU 6. DSU 7. Harding

[psugorilla]

Being a Pitt Alum I hate to say this but I think Pitt stays at 3.
1. CSM
2. Grand Valley
3. Pitt St.
4. Ferris
5. Mankato
6. Delta St
At the worst I could see Ferris dropping to 6th but that, to me, would be a stretch.

[Turbonium]

I personally think your best teams are in Gulf South and MIAA each year. Haven’t known the mountain west to be that strong over the years. Gran Valley is back in the mix it looks like. NWMS, Valdosta and West Fla have been the dominant teams besides Ferris State. It definitely looks more wide open this year and should make for some interesting playoff matches.

The Mountain West is decent, not sure if any of these teams mentioned in the poll would stop Air Force.

[Bearhof]

I should have been more specific RMAC is not very well known to be national champion contenders.

[Predatory Primates]

Agreed that polls mean nothing, but if they meant something, this would be a time that the silo conferences would be kicking themselves. Every other team in the top 5, besides Pitt, has been tested outside of their conference, which lends to their being considered as high as they are. MIAA and GAC (Harding) are doing themselves no favors, regardless of how good they actually are.

1 Mines
2 Pitt St
3 Mankato
4 GVSU
5 Delta St
6 Harding

Pitt actually scheduled a noncon this year. They were the only MIAA team who.was able to do so.

I hate the silo. Everyone hates it except for a handful of super lazy AD'S (not even a majority of them by all accounts)who should all be fired.

That said, I think Lincoln has ended it, at least for now.



I don't think any other conference comes close in terms of depth. The RMAC and Gliac have 2 decent teams each. The GSC has 3 or 4. NSIC has 3. Several conferences have none. The MIAA has 5 teams that will all beat each other by a handful of points, and 3 others who can definitely beat the 5 above if they get a good bounce or 2.

The worst thing you could do to a strong conference like that is make them endlessly cannibalize each other in a silo format. It makes the bottom feeder teams want to leave, and every year you have a team like This year's nw team who could probably beat a lot of playoff teams but ends up with 3 or 4 losses.

[Predatory Primates]

As to the original question. Polls are what they are. Mines should be the #1. They are undefeated with one great win and beat all the teams they should have beat. They have one tough game left, and have a great shot to stay undefeated.

[d2 football fan]

Pitt actually scheduled a noncon this year. They were the only MIAA team who.was able to do so.

I hate the silo. Everyone hates it except for a handful of super lazy AD'S (not even a majority of them by all accounts)who should all be fired.

That said, I think Lincoln has ended it, at least for now.

I don't think any other conference comes close in terms of depth. The RMAC and Gliac have 2 decent teams each. The GSC has 3 or 4. NSIC has 3. Several conferences have none. The MIAA has 5 teams that will all beat each other by a handful of points, and 3 others who can definitely beat the 5 above if they get a good bounce or 2.

The worst thing you could do to a strong conference like that is make them endlessly cannibalize each other in a silo format. It makes the bottom feeder teams want to leave, and every year you have a team like This year's nw team who could probably beat a lot of playoff teams but ends up with 3 or 4 losses.

I mostly agree. I would say that the NSIC is in similar position, with a handful of teams significantly better than the rest in their conference and they just take turns beating each other. Unfortunately for Pitt St this year, SFU is not one of those teams. I feel like I can make a pretty strong case for Mankato being a legitimate threat, I'm still unsure about the rest of the conference (Augustana gets their chance this weekend). Bemidji may still be a legit factor as well. Time will tell.

But, when you have silo scheduling it's just hard to know. Is Emporia a genuinely good team (pick any of the 5-2 teams)? It would be easier to tell if they could schedule Harding. I know I'm rehashing old arguments and not trying to go there, except to say, we only assume the depth of any conference because there is no other evidence to confirm or refute the stated strength.

[Predatory Primates]

I mostly agree. I would say that the NSIC is in similar position, with a handful of teams significantly better than the rest in their conference and they just take turns beating each other. Unfortunately for Pitt St this year, SFU is not one of those teams. I feel like I can make a pretty strong case for Mankato being a legitimate threat, I'm still unsure about the rest of the conference (Augustana gets their chance this weekend). Bemidji may still be a legit factor as well. Time will tell.

But, when you have silo scheduling it's just hard to know. Is Emporia a genuinely good team (pick any of the 5-2 teams)? It would be easier to tell if they could schedule Harding. I know I'm rehashing old arguments and not trying to go there, except to say, we only assume the depth of any conference because there is no other evidence to confirm or refute the stated strength.

I agree with all of that. All you have is anecdotal evidence like NW being as tough as they were last year with 2 losses, and Pitt needing the final drive or final play to win 3 or 4 times last year.

Silo scheduling should be straight up outlawed by the ncaa. It's bad for all of D2.


I also dislike scheduling alliances. You basically just make a bigger silo.