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AFCA Division II Top 25 (9/19)

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  • #16
    Witt,

    If I tried, it would be as accurate as ranking the top middle school teams in the country. The AP and coaches can't even get close in D1 (outside of the top 4-8), D2 would be a nightmare. Pretty sure it is for "informational" purposes only since the regional rankings are the only ones that matter at the end of the year.

    Comment


    • #17
      OK, Witt I'll bite. I don't really follow D2 outside of the NSIC all that closely but here are the first ever D2 Thunder rankings based on researching some other existing polls and looking at some schedules of the games that have been played. This is not an easy task, but was interesting to do.

      1. Ferris St.
      2. Grand Valley St.
      3. NW Missouri
      4. Angelo St.
      5. Pittsburgh St.
      6. West Florida
      7. Colorado Mines
      8. Harding
      9. Ouachita
      10. West Georgia
      11. Saginaw Valley
      12. NE Kearney
      13. Augustana
      14. Virginia Union
      15. Valdosta St.
      16. Slippery Rock
      17. Shepherd
      18. Washburn
      19. Henderson St.
      20. Ashland
      21. Delta St.
      22. Albany GA
      23. Indianapolis
      24. Newberry
      25. Sioux Falls

      Comment


      • #18
        Originally posted by Thunder View Post
        OK, Witt I'll bite. I don't really follow D2 outside of the NSIC all that closely but here are the first ever D2 Thunder rankings based on researching some other existing polls and looking at some schedules of the games that have been played. This is not an easy task, but was interesting to do.

        1. Ferris St.
        2. Grand Valley St.
        3. NW Missouri
        4. Angelo St.
        5. Pittsburgh St.
        6. West Florida
        7. Colorado Mines
        8. Harding
        9. Ouachita
        10. West Georgia
        11. Saginaw Valley
        12. NE Kearney
        13. Augustana
        14. Virginia Union
        15. Valdosta St.
        16. Slippery Rock
        17. Shepherd
        18. Washburn
        19. Henderson St.
        20. Ashland
        21. Delta St.
        22. Albany GA
        23. Indianapolis
        24. Newberry
        25. Sioux Falls

        I wanted you to try your hand at it....along with any others who try....because it's a very interesting dance. You are always fearful that you have some blind spots....like an Ashland or UIndy..or teams from lesser publicized conferences.

        Here was my first take in looking at your top 25....keeping in mind, this is not standings. This is merely your take, no different than me drumming my own weekly and submitting it.

        1. Ferris St.
        2. Grand Valley St.
        3. NW Missouri
        4. Angelo St.

        5. Pittsburgh St. - considering they haven't been in the playoffs since 2014, their recent past would certainly suggest this is very high. However, if you feel they'd beat West Florida and Mines if they played Saturday..then you have this in the right spot.
        6. West Florida
        7. Colorado Mines – given they are 1-2..might be seen as high
        8. Harding
        9. Ouachita
        10. West Georgia

        11. Saginaw Valley – since they haven’t proven much yet this year (in terms of beating top teams), and weren’t strong in recent years past, this would be construed as high. Not that they shouldn’t be in the top 25 though.
        12. NE Kearney
        13. Augustana
        14. Virginia Union
        15. Valdosta St.
        16. Slippery Rock

        17. Shepherd – considering they are unbeaten and a semi-finalist who brings back their HH award winning QB..this might be seen as….low.
        18. Washburn
        19. Henderson St. – (see Saginaw)
        20. Ashland
        21. Delta St. – (see Saginaw)
        22. Albany GA
        23. Indianapolis
        24. Newberry
        25. Sioux Falls


        I appreciate you taking me up on the voting....and I will challenge you to do it again next week..and make needed amendments to yours next week. After the D2 official poll comes out I'd like to see yours. (keep in mind, you need to do your poll without knowing what D2 did on theirs) I will then post my ballot too. I think fans will like to see some of the transparency.

        As you got near the end of the line, could you see how Mankato hung around near the end of the top 25..and why Augie might've been up higher than some figured?

        Comment


        • #19
          Here was my exact ballot on Sunday morning..

          1-Ferris
          2-GV
          3-NW
          4-Angelo
          5-WF
          6-Harding
          7-OBU
          8-Shep
          9-West GA
          10-Pitt
          11-Augie
          12-CO Mines
          13-Rock
          14-Valdosta
          15-Ashland
          16-UNK
          17-VUU
          18-Sag Valley
          19-Albany
          20-USF
          21-Newberry
          22-Indy
          23-WTAMU
          24-Washburn
          25-Wingate

          Thunder....I think your ballot was probably a little closer aligned with my entry....versus the end results of our D2 poll.

          Comment


          • #20
            Pitt St. is probably a little high, but I thought their win over Kearney was the best of that group in the 5-10 range. West Florida is very likely better than Pitt St. When I started I initially had Colorado Mines at 5, but figured I better move them down with the 2 losses. But losing by 3 on the road and at home in OT to 2 top 5 teams gains you some respect from me for the scheduling effort. I came into the exercise looking to have Augie lower than #13, but once I got to that point I felt their resume was as good as anyone else. I also wanted my rankings to show a blatant disrespect for Super Region 1. It seems to me that us typically the weakest SR and actually wanted to rank them lower, but didn't think I could justify it. Rounding out the 25 teams does get a little tricky so I can see how Mankato managed to stay in largely due to its reputation. I wasn't initially planning to have USF in the Top 25 due to the weakest schedule of the 45 or so teams I considered, but they were close enough with the others that the NSIC membership was enough of a tiebreaker for me.

            Comment


            • #21
              Originally posted by Thunder View Post
              Pitt St. is probably a little high, but I thought their win over Kearney was the best of that group in the 5-10 range. West Florida is very likely better than Pitt St. When I started I initially had Colorado Mines at 5, but figured I better move them down with the 2 losses. But losing by 3 on the road and at home in OT to 2 top 5 teams gains you some respect from me for the scheduling effort. I came into the exercise looking to have Augie lower than #13, but once I got to that point I felt their resume was as good as anyone else. I also wanted my rankings to show a blatant disrespect for Super Region 1. It seems to me that us typically the weakest SR and actually wanted to rank them lower, but didn't think I could justify it. Rounding out the 25 teams does get a little tricky so I can see how Mankato managed to stay in largely due to its reputation. I wasn't initially planning to have USF in the Top 25 due to the weakest schedule of the 45 or so teams I considered, but they were close enough with the others that the NSIC membership was enough of a tiebreaker for me.
              Makes sense to me.

              So much of the top 25 rankings isn't completely about how good a team really is..but instead how good do they look compared to everyone else in that mix.

              Comment


              • #22
                Originally posted by Tundra_Man View Post

                I think to many people, USF is still "that little NAIA school trying to compete with the big boys." Just as Mankato gets a bump up due to their name, USF is often held back for the same reason.

                As others say, it doesn't really matter other than bragging rights. Polls are mostly meaningless. Win/loss records are what matters.
                I don't think anybody thinks that, they have played three teams that have a record a record of 1-8

                Comment


                • #23
                  Originally posted by oldyellaHer69 View Post

                  I don't think anybody thinks that, they have played three teams that have a record a record of 1-8
                  I'm speaking historically, not necessarily just this season.

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    1-Grand Valley
                    2-Ferris State
                    3-Northwest Missouri
                    4-West Florida
                    5-Angelo State
                    6-Harding
                    7-West Georgia
                    8-Shepherd
                    9-Pittsburg State
                    10-Oklahoma Baptist
                    11-Augie
                    12-Valdosta State
                    13- Slippery Rock
                    14-Ashland
                    15-Ouachita
                    16- Colorado School of Mines
                    17- Saginaw Valley
                    18-Newbury
                    19-Albany State
                    20-USF
                    21-Virginia Union
                    22-Indy
                    23-Sioux Falls
                    24-Washburn
                    25-Henderson State

                    So this is my first season of D2 football. I have been a devotee since February and will say with all humility that I know absolutely nothing about any conferences or schools outside of what I now know of NSIC and some limited knowledge of LSC. Feel free to completely destroy that list. I used the lists of Witt, D2 Football, and Thunder to copy a new list and went through each of the conference schedules. I looked at each T25 team's record, who they beat, who they lost to, upcoming conference matchups with other T25 teams, and potential for playoff inclusion. I have made absolutely no accounting for historical success other than what was already accounted for in the other lists that I used. This was actually a fun exercise and a good primer for starting my D2 football knowledge.

                    Thanks for the assignment!

                    Comment


                    • #25

                      Last
                      1-Grand Valley 1
                      2-Ferris State 2
                      3- Angelo State 4
                      4-West Georgia 7
                      5-Ouachita Baptist 15
                      6-Northwest Missouri 3
                      7-Shepherd 8
                      8-West Florida 4
                      9-Notre Dame unranked
                      10-Pittsburg State 9
                      11-Harding 6
                      12-Augie 11
                      13-Valdosta State 12
                      14-Colorado Sch Mines 16
                      15-Slippery Rock 13
                      16-Albany State 19
                      17-Ashland 14
                      18-Newberry 18
                      19-Saginaw Valley 17
                      20-Sioux Falls 20 or 23 (I had them in the poll twice!)
                      21-Virginia Union 21
                      22-Nebraska-Kearney Unranked
                      23-Indy 22
                      24-Washburn 23
                      25-Delta State Unranked

                      Fell out: Henderson State

                      Edit to remove Oklahoma Baptist and add Notre Dame at #9
                      Last edited by WPHB; 09-26-2022, 10:06 AM.

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