SR1 Rankings After Week 9

[EastStroud13]

SUPER REGION ONE
1	Charleston (West Virginia)	9-0
2	Kutztown	9-0
3	California (Pennsylvania)	7-1
4	Slippery Rock	7-1
5	Ashland	7-2
6	East Stroudsburg	8-1
7	Findlay	8-1
8	New Haven	6-2
9	Tiffin	7-2
10	Assumption	5-3

http://web1.ncaa.org/champsel_new/ex...n=5&division=2

[IUPNation]

Findlay or East Dennyburg could be Unearned Acdess victims.

Ashland in the playoffs while IUP flushed its season down the toilet. Thanks Torts.

Charleston ahead of Kutztown? Joke.

[ctrabs74]

Findlay or East Dennyburg could be Unearned Acdess victims.

East Stroud might be in worse shape from a strength of schedule standpoint, since they face 5-4 Shepherd and the 3-6 Clarion-ettes to close out the season (having SOS anchors like 3-6 Edinboro, 2-6 Gannon and 2-6 Pace on top of the PSAC East slate isn't exactly helping ESU's cause either). Findlay closes out the season at home vs. 5-4 Northwood and at 7-2 Tiffin, so Findlay might end up playing their way out with a loss to Tiffin (of course, that might end up pushing Tiffin into the playoffs with a win over Findlay; they do have to deal with 4-5 Hillsdale this week, though). Tiffin's losses were to Ashland and 7-2 Lenoir-Rhyne (the latter of which is an in-region game thanks to UNC-Pembroke being in the MEC, and thus, SR1).

(Side note: Lenoir-Rhyne is 8th in the SR2 regional rankings, so they're probably in danger of being left out of the playoffs for similar reasons.)

Ashland in the playoffs while IUP flushed its season down the toilet. Thanks Torts.

Ashland ahead of ESU might seem weird, except for their losses coming to IUP (a loss that looks worse with each passing week, it would seem) and Ferris State (the same Ferris State which beat Grand Valley in Allendale a couple weeks ago). Ashland closes out the season with a pair of SOS anchors in 4-5 Walsh and 2-7 Kentucky Wesleyan.

Charleston ahead of Kutztown? Joke.

Charleston 23, Mon Valley U 19... I don't think the powers that be at Hamer Hall think Charleston is a "joke" even though this season's MEC is pretty much Charleston and nine other spares. That said, other than their win over East Stroud, Kutztown doesn't have the "high value" win that Charleston does over Cal and the rest of the PSAC East (save for East Stroud) hasn't exactly lit the world on fire this year, objectively speaking - the only other PSAC East teams over .500 are Bloomsburg and Shepherd, both at 5-4.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

East Stroud might be in worse shape from a strength of schedule standpoint, since they face 5-4 Shepherd and the 3-6 Clarion-ettes to close out the season (having SOS anchors like 3-6 Edinboro, 2-6 Gannon and 2-6 Pace on top of the PSAC East slate isn't exactly helping ESU's cause either). Findlay closes out the season at home vs. 5-4 Northwood and at 7-2 Tiffin, so Findlay might end up playing their way out with a loss to Tiffin (of course, that might end up pushing Tiffin into the playoffs with a win over Findlay; they do have to deal with 4-5 Hillsdale this week, though). Tiffin's losses were to Ashland and 7-2 Lenoir-Rhyne (the latter of which is an in-region game thanks to UNC-Pembroke being in the MEC, and thus, SR1).

(Side note: Lenoir-Rhyne is 8th in the SR2 regional rankings, so they're probably in danger of being left out of the playoffs for similar reasons.)



Ashland ahead of ESU might seem weird, except for their losses coming to IUP (a loss that looks worse with each passing week, it would seem) and Ferris State (the same Ferris State which beat Grand Valley in Allendale a couple weeks ago). Ashland closes out the season with a pair of SOS anchors in 4-5 Walsh and 2-7 Kentucky Wesleyan.



Charleston 23, Mon Valley U 19... I don't think the powers that be at Hamer Hall think Charleston is a "joke" even though this season's MEC is pretty much Charleston and nine other spares. That said, other than their win over East Stroud, Kutztown doesn't have the "high value" win that Charleston does over Cal and the rest of the PSAC East (save for East Stroud) hasn't exactly lit the world on fire this year, objectively speaking - the only other PSAC East teams over .500 are Bloomsburg and Shepherd, both at 5-4.

Ashland obviously already lost to IUP (in Ohio) and would get smoked against Cal, SRU, Kutztown and ESU. The MEC is historically awful aside from the top team. The GMAC seems to have a whole lot of Seton Hill's this year.

I think you are correct that some worthy PSAC team(s) aren't going to get invited for the purpose of earned access. ESU is a very strong team ... and certainly on the bubble. I'm sure Shepherd would love to pop that balloon this weekend.

[ESU Warrior]

Ashland obviously already lost to IUP (in Ohio) and would get smoked against Cal, SRU, Kutztown and ESU. The MEC is historically awful aside from the top team. The GMAC seems to have a whole lot of Seton Hill's this year.

I think you are correct that some worthy PSAC team(s) aren't going to get invited for the purpose of earned access. ESU is a very strong team ... and certainly on the bubble. I'm sure Shepherd would love to pop that balloon this weekend.

My 2 cents with ESU. If they win out, which isn't a gaurantee, and Kutztown wins the state game, I think it looks good for ESU being the fact that they played KU so tight.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

My 2 cents with ESU. If they win out, which isn't a gaurantee, and Kutztown wins the state game, I think it looks good for ESU being the fact that they played KU so tight.

Agreed. I'd hate to see ESU get bumped in place of a two-loss team.

The Ashland argument will be it lost to IUP (likely finishes 7-3) and Ferris State (elite). Losing to IUP isn't a 'bad loss' as 7-3 is still pretty decent. IUP, for instance, losing to Edinboro, is a 'bad loss'.


You could certainly argue ESU got hosed in men's basketball last year -- not making the NCAA with just 5 losses. But, their metrics were poor due to a really subpar (weak) SOS. They were certainly (my opinion) tournament worthy.

[Ram040506]

My 2 cents with ESU. If they win out, which isn't a gaurantee, and Kutztown wins the state game, I think it looks good for ESU being the fact that they played KU so tight.

ESU will not be left out as a 10-1 team. You can take that to the bank. If you lose to Shep this weekend, then you are in play for the EA bump out. That last spot is going to come down to that Findlay/Tiffin game. The winner of that game will be on cloud 9 and then come crashing down when they realize New Haven takes their spot as the last team for EA.

[ESU Warrior]

ESU will not be left out as a 10-1 team. You can take that to the bank. If you lose to Shep this weekend, then you are in play for the EA bump out. That last spot is going to come down to that Findlay/Tiffin game. The winner of that game will be on cloud 9 and then come crashing down when they realize New Haven takes their spot as the last team for EA.

New Haven still has St Anslem this week. They could easily loose that game. St Anslem is 10 points and an OT loss from being undefeated.

[TheBigCat2192]

Ashland obviously already lost to IUP (in Ohio) and would get smoked against Cal, SRU, Kutztown and ESU. The MEC is historically awful aside from the top team. The GMAC seems to have a whole lot of Seton Hill's this year.

I think you are correct that some worthy PSAC team(s) aren't going to get invited for the purpose of earned access. ESU is a very strong team ... and certainly on the bubble. I'm sure Shepherd would love to pop that balloon this weekend.

I’m not sure that Ashland would get smoked by all the teams on that list but I do think ESU probably deserves a nod over them if they finish 9-2 vs 10-1 respectively. Having said that ESU hurt themselves a bit by playing Pace, a traditional doormat, as their only non-conference game. They can’t help that the East was down this year and that their crossovers were terrible though.

[Ram040506]

I’m not sure that Ashland would get smoked by all the teams on that list but I do think ESU probably deserves a nod over them if they finish 9-2 vs 10-1 respectively. Having said that ESU hurt themselves a bit by playing Pace, a traditional doormat, as their only non-conference game. They can’t help that the East was down this year and that their crossovers were terrible though.

Ashland is not getting smoked by anyone. They may lose, but it also was the first game of the year. Teams change drastically as the season goes. I still think Kutztown is the heavy favorite as long as Novak doesn't get turnover happy. Their defense is the best I've seen in a few years from SR1.

[EastStroud13]

ESU got unlucky with how the schedules get constructed. 2024 was the end of a second home-and-home with Pace, and last year they had much tougher crossovers, so having an easier non-con opponent made sense. They honored the completion of that home-and-home this year, but with an easier set of crossovers, they were missing a chance for another >.500 win. Ideally we would have paired a tougher non-con opponent with this set of crossovers, but it just didn't work out that way.

The GMAC is a tougher conference than the MEC or NE-10. They may have a loss to IUP, but their wins over Findlay and Tiffin are better than any win ESU will have. Based on the results, if both teams win out, I see no reason for ESU to jump Ashland. In fact, if both Findlay and ESU win out, I think it is very likely that Findlay will jump over ESU in the rankings. It would be very unlucky for ESU to miss out on the playoffs in a 10-1 season, but that's how it goes sometimes.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

ESU got unlucky with how the schedules get constructed. 2024 was the end of a second home-and-home with Pace, and last year they had much tougher crossovers, so having an easier non-con opponent made sense. They honored the completion of that home-and-home this year, but with an easier set of crossovers, they were missing a chance for another >.500 win. Ideally we would have paired a tougher non-con opponent with this set of crossovers, but it just didn't work out that way.

The GMAC is a tougher conference than the MEC or NE-10. They may have a loss to IUP, but their wins over Findlay and Tiffin are better than any win ESU will have. Based on the results, if both teams win out, I see no reason for ESU to jump Ashland. In fact, if both Findlay and ESU win out, I think it is very likely that Findlay will jump over ESU in the rankings. It would be very unlucky for ESU to miss out on the playoffs in a 10-1 season, but that's how it goes sometimes.

Same thing happened to ESU in men's hoops last year. If I recall correctly a couple 7 and 8 loss teams bumped them (with 5 losses).

I think ESU has a football playoff-worthy team this year. We'll see, I guess.

[EastStroud13]

With their loss to Walsh, Ashland goes from solidly in to a bubble team. Great news for ESU as they now only have to win next week and they should be in.

[ESU Warrior]

With their loss to Walsh, Ashland goes from solidly in to a bubble team. Great news for ESU as they now only have to win next week and they should be in.

Findlay should be in over Ashland

[EastStroud13]

Findlay should be in over Ashland

Correct but the risk was that both Ashland and Findlay would be ranked over ESU, pushing ESU out for earned access. The risk of that is much less now.