How tough is SR3?

[Inkblot]

Polls are not evidence.

[Brandon]

Polls are not evidence.

What would qualify as evidence?

[Inkblot]

What would qualify as evidence?

Not much other than game results... which give us very limited data in the case of the MIAA. But voters don't have extra information.

[GoneBlastin]

I don't think it you watched the game on TV you got a full sense of what that game was like. Mines D vs Ferris O was a good match up fairly even. Ferris has a unique run game and a big line but mines held their own till they got worn down because there was no break The Ferris D is on another level. You have three db who are big and fast and can play tight man coverage. Then throw in those huge and I mean big DL, the QB for mines was one read and done . And there was no escape. The Ferris D was responsible for ten points directly. And the sheer number of three and outs. We should focus on how good Ferris was instead of Mines failings. Shout out to Mines crowd they were great. Never gave up on their team

I think this is about as fair of an analysis as I've seen. I would add that Ferris' DL did a good job of maintaining contain and when Matocha was able to get outside they were fast enough to keep him from doing too much with it. Mines had too many shortened drives in the first quarter and put a lot of strain on their defense and it just couldn't hold up in the 2nd quarter. Ferris gets a lot of credit for that. The second half looked quite a bit different because Mines was doing a better job of sustaining drives. Ferris is a really good team and they earned it.

[jimbo slice]

Jimbo I think Mines would have finished in top three in Miaa. They are good. Ferris D was extremely talented. Unless you had a real good outside run game they were not getting scored on. But the problem is that miaa didn't get out of div 3. In fact didn't make regional final just like las few years.

also
true. there's no doubt mines was good. but they also played for the NC. watching some of the playoff games, told me all i needed to know. i really think UCO could have beaten Ouachita. maybe not by much but we could have beaten them. i think our front 7 is just a little behind NW and OBU had no answers for NW dline. that was an undefeated number 3 team. if fact, id say several of the MIAA teams would beat them.

just my opinion.

[Brandon]

Not much other than game results... which give us very limited data in the case of the MIAA. But voters don't have extra information.

I don't necessarily need to see a game played to know that one team is better than another.

[libertybearcat]

I don't necessarily need to see a game played to know that one team is better than another.

What...just look at the score and check the losing team's board for all the excuses? ;)

[BartonHornet]

Yes it was safe to say Ferris State, Grand Valley State, Pitt State and Northwest Missouri State were the 4 best. But as a Emporia State fan, I really do not think we were that much further off from those other four by the end of the season.

That still just means the top of the GLIAC and MIAA were the very best teams of D-II. Basically just means there were schools in SR3 missing the playoffs that were basically better than all of the other regions. To think there was a point SR3 was going to have both NWMSU and ESU out of the playoffs instead of just one (luckily that last regular season game was basically a play in game).