Week 2 Rankings

[GMACFB]

After a week of play and everyone has played at least 1 game here is my updated conference ranking as Ashland’s offense is still bad and Hillsdale trotted out the same defense as last year with shockingly the same results.
1. Findlay - No question the Oilers had the best win of the weekend handling Truman State easily in a 37-21 win. Up next at Wayne State
2. Tiffin - The Dragons started a little slow but didn’t take them long to show they are still loaded with talent. Tiffin with the 31-17 over Wayne State will be in the GMAC title race again and it might become a 2 team race. Next at Lenore-Rhyne.
3. Northwood - Yes Northwood. They went on the road and beat Gannon 28-14. They were up 21-0 and dominated the game. Defense looked like they will be taking a step up this year. Tough next game home versus SVSU.
4. Ashland - Offense was terrible as they don’t seem to have an offensive weapon. Team didn’t look as athletic as it has in years past. IUP is a good team as the Eagles took a 19-10 defeat and had -1 yards rushing. Wow! Come on Ashland this was a huge disappointment. Next game won’t get better at Ferris State.
5. Thomas More - Davenport beat TM 24-17 and led 21-0 at one point but give the Saints some credit they didn’t fold their tents and played really well in the 2nd half to make it interesting at the end. Davenport is suppose to be a top 3 team in the GLIAC so this is not a terrible loss. Look for TM to bounce back next week against Kentucky Christian.
6. Ohio Dominican - Interesting start for the Panthers as they took a 21-0 lead to start the game and had to hold on late to win 21-14 over Seton Hill. OD had some struggles on special teams causing problems that the defense bailed them out of. Was not pretty but the Panthers will take it. Next at Winston-Salem State.
7. Kentucky Wesleyan - Ok a win over Northern Michigan is nothing special but it is a win. KW only led 16-13 after 3 quarters but went on to win 33-13. Next versus William Jewell.
8. Walsh - With a 14-10 loss to Wheeling the Cavaliers missed a golden opportunity to start the season 2-0 after winning their week 0 game over West Liberty. Defense looks decent for Walsh but the offense took a step backwards this week after looking ok in week 0. Next versus Kentucky Wesleyan.
9. Hillsdale - Officially off of this bandwagon for 2024 after only 1 week. I understand the Chargers played a top 20 team but offensively they have no weapons and the oline was a huge disappointment. Defensively they trotted out the same players that ranked as one of the worse defenses in the league with the same defensive coordinator as last year with shockingly the same results. People running wide open all over the field and they look slower, if that is possible. Coach Shreffler should thank Coach Keevers as I think they took it easy on Hillsdale as this could have been worse than the 42-16 score. Next versus Michigan Tech.
10. Lake Erie - Lost to Ferris State 56-3. Could have been much worse. Thanks Coach Annese for calling off the dogs. Next versus Post.

[DaleDude]

GMACFB - Your assessment of Hillsdale was one-quarter correct, and three-quarters wrong. The Chargers did not "trot out" all the same players on defense, nor offense. Indy, ranked #16, is a good team, no doubt. But Hillsdale had chances to turn that game around and to make it closer, had the ball bounced their way during three Indy fumbles. Also, Indy had two interceptions at the goal line that killed the Charger's drives. Hillsdale's quarterback took his first snaps ever at the collegiate level and showed signs of maturity. Granted, he will have to improve, but he's only a sophomore. Indy's defensive backs were certainly quicker, faster and more talented, but with Hillsdale's academic requirements, it's difficult to recruit the same kind of players that Indy is loaded with. I don't expect Hillsdale to win the conference, or anything close, but your bad mouthing the defensive coordinator and the Charger's overall defense is a low blow to hang on any GMAC team. Hillsdale has plans for a new stadium, a new indoor facility, bigger recruiting budget and they already have a dedicated, hard-working coaching staff. When the two teams played in the GLIAC, Hillsdale handed the Greyhounds big time defeats, including a four-overtime victory that got the attention of ESPN, a rarity for D2 teams. The day will come in the future when the outcome of an Indy/Hillsdale game will end up much differently. Until then, we wish the Greyhounds the best and expect that they will win the GLVC, but playoff wins will be a different story. No D2 college athletic team needs to be called "a huge disappointment," especially for their first game performance with many new and inexperienced players. I say the same for Lake Erie, a school that is facing serious issues. However, their players give it their best each game and for the coaches, recruiting must be a nightmare. Hope that school survives, and thrives. Like your recaps of the games, but tone down the negatives.

[GMACFB]

DaleDude you didn’t just compared yourself to Lake Erie did you? The old Hillsdale can’t get talent because of their tight admissions is a pretty old excuse by you. Pretty sure your football team is not made up of all 4.0 students even though I will give it to you Hillsdale is a great academic school. Seems like with them high academics you might actually have a recruiting advantage in this day and age. I think you are in or have friends on the coaching staff and I am not gonna tone it down for your buddies. Fact is since your defensive coordinator has taken over that position you all have had one of the worse defenses in DII and yes you did run out the same defensive players. You had 24 rushing yards, 24. For a team whose strength was suppose to be the offensive line and they only rush for 24 yards I think that’s safe to say it was a huge disappointment. I would bet the oline players would even admit to that and if that’s not a disappointment then you are all in for a long year. Sorry DaleDude as I usually enjoy your comments as well but definitely not taking it easy on your Chargers. Heck I wanted Hillsdale to be good as I think a good Hillsdale football team would be great for our conference.

[SVSUAlum]

GMACFB this is awesome. Can you become a reporter? Seems like you aren’t afraid to ask the hard and right questions. Keep it up!

[Bballfan]

GMACFB this is awesome. Can you become a reporter? Seems like you aren’t afraid to ask the hard and right questions. Keep it up!

Agreed. Pretty good on-target analysis. A little harsh on Hillsdale because they are not that bad, but yea. Findlay is pretty much the odds-on favorite this year.

[DaleDude]

GMACFB - I'm not going to get into a pissing match with you, as I do appreciate most of your post-game analysis. However, I'm also not going to apologize for defending the Chargers. There was a lot going on during that game that neither of us knows anything about. I know that Hillsdale's long, long bus ride to the UP will, as it always does, take it's toll on the players, and the Huskies are no pushover. Would like to see a Charger victory, but I'm not going to bet any money on it. We'll see how well the o-line measures up, especially in the running game. SVSUAlum's suggestion that you become a GMAC reporter, like the GLIAC has, is a good idea. If you take on that assignment, be fair and tone down the negatives. Keep on GMACING!

[Bballfan]

Going to be awful tough for the Chargers to win in the UP. Tech is decent.

Honestly see Ashland and Hillsdale going at it both 0 - 2 to see who can get off the snide. The loser of that game then means their season is pretty much over before it really got started.

[GMACFB]

DaleDude - We really aren’t that different. Actually if you look at my previous post for the preseason I was very high on Hillsdale as to start every year. The problem is I like yourself am old enough to remember how good Hillsdale has been long ago. I still have the early 90’s Hillsdale teams in my head and I know without a doubt a great Hillsdale team would be awesome for our conference. That said I do feel I gave an honest assessment of the Chargers after 1 week, yes a lot can change and I hope it does but the schedule is not friendly at all! Michigan Tech, Ashland, Findlay, at Northwood. They will probably be underdogs in each game and an 0-5 start is a scary scenario. That said do I expect that offensive line to be better, absolutely.
The conference has a big week ahead and it would be great if we can pull a couple of upsets. Ashland plays Ferris State and anything can happen, see last years game. Tiffin plays Lenoir-Rhyne on the road in one of the toughest places to play in the country. Hillsdale plays Michigan Tech and has to take that long road trip but will Tech have a hangover after starting the season with 2 games that went into OT? Northwood plays the Axe Bowl this weekend at home against SVSU. Big rivalry game both looked good in week 1. The last game I will be watching close is Lake Erie versus Post. I have the Storm as favorites in this game, come on Lake Erie this is it! We need a couple of big wins this week, come on GMAC let’s get it done!

[Bballfan]

It Lake Erie is beating another team, that other team must be REALLY bad.

[GMACFB]

It Lake Erie is beating another team, that other team must be REALLY bad.

Post has a pretty bad program but did beat the worse ranked team in DII, according to some websites, last week. The AD at Post deserves a little credit for their schedule as he went out and found games his team can win or be competitive in. Post got their only win for the season last week and it’s the Storms turn this week!

[Bballfan]

Post has a pretty bad program but did beat the worse ranked team in DII, according to some websites, last week. The AD at Post deserves a little credit for their schedule as he went out and found games his team can win or be competitive in. Post got their only win for the season last week and it’s the Storms turn this week!

Would have liked to see Lake Erie play Roosevelt or Northern Michigan. Very bad teams in the GLIAC. Lake Erie is not in the same neighborhood as Ferris and that is such tough matchup. I am sure Ferris struggles to find anybody to play them though.