A one-goal loss at #4 Denver doesn't hurt so bad after all!!! When you play a tough schedule, there is always the chance that you will lose a game, but if you win a lot of big games along the way..... You prove who you are.
After dropping an early game to Army, and playing everyone else really close, people didn't think much of Syracuse. Now, if you take a step back and look at what they have done it is pretty impressive! They have four top 20 wins and their only loss was by one to #7 Army.
Conference play is going to have a really interesting dynamic on future polls. ACC and Big Ten schools are going to have a lot to gain from all of the big games that they have moving forward. The ability to pick up big wins will be presented on a weekly basis. Losses to schools in the top 20 won't hurt that much unless a team accumulates too many.
The other conferences have a different dynamic. Not a lot of opportunities for big wins but a lot of opportunities to take bad losses. There are too many variables to assume how this is going to fully affect the polls but, taking a loss in the Big East, SOCON, or CAA will hurt and there might not be a chance to recover.
A lot of polls have Penn State in the top 5, I think that this is irresponsible. Going undefeated so far is very impressive, but you do not know who Penn State really is because they have not played a single top 20 team yet. Some of the big programs have played 5-6 top 20 games already this season. To earn a top spot in the nation, you need to play the other top teams in the country. If Penn State played Johns Hopkins or Syracuse's schedules, what would their record be right now? We don't know....
Once Penn State enters Big 10 play, they are going to have plenty of opportunities to earn big wins. If they earn a couple without losing a game, they are a sure fit for #1. Until then, they are on the outside looking in.
Rank |
Team |
Quality Wins |
Losses |
This Week |
Rationale |
1 |
ND | Maryland, UVA, OSU | Denver | W 12-7 OSU | 3 Big W's now & only loss to Denver |
2 |
Cuse | Albany, UVA, Hopkins, Duke | Army | W 12-11 Duke | Quitley putting together a serious resume |
3 |
Ohio St | Denver, Towson | ND | L 12-7 ND | Denver & Towson are strong w's, only L to #1 |
4 |
Denver | ND, Towson | UNC, Ohio St | W 12-11 Towson | Has a win over #1 & losses v 2 top 20 teams |
5 |
Rutgers | Army, Princeton | UDel | L 13-9 UDel | One loss & still 2 strong wins |
6 |
Hofstra | UNC,Princeton | 0 | W 11-9 Stony Brook, W 9-6 St John's | |
7 |
Army | Cuse | Rutgers | W 10-8 Colgate | Beating Cuse is a big deal |
8 |
Maryland | UNC | ND, Nova | W 15-7 UNC | Lost to ND by 1 at ND, Crushed UNC, Nova loss seems to be annomoly |
9 |
Albany | 0 | Cuse | W 20-11 Canisius, W 21-11 Lowell | Beating up on the little guys, one goal L to Cuse gives them some point of refference |
10 |
Duke | Loyola, Richmond | Air Force, Denver, Cuse | L 12-11 Cuse | If you take out the Air Force loss, thier resume is really good, plenty of big game potential ahead |
11 |
Richmond | UNC | Duke | W 12-4 High Point | Lost to Duke, UNC win is not as strong as it was |
12 |
Towson | Hopkins | Loyola, Ohio St, Denver | L 12-11 Denver | Played the big boys, took a few punches but stood toe-to-toe |
13 |
Michigan | 0 | ND | W 10-7 UMBC | Gets Credit over PSU because they have played a top 20 team |
14 |
Princeton | Hopkins | Hofstra, Rutgers, Yale | L 16-13 Yale | Hopkins Win & Strong Schedule is Holding them up |
15 |
Penn State | 0 | 0 | W 15-8 CSU | Need to play a top 20 team before we know who they really are! One big win would send them up the rankings |
16 |
Hopkins | Loyola,UNC, UVA | Towson, Princeton, Cuse | W 18-17 UVA | 6 top 20 games so far!!! 50% in them |
17 |
UNC | Denver | Hofstra, Hop, Rich, Maryland | L 15-7 Maryland | 4 losses in a lot, but all of them are in the top 20, W v #4 Denver is very strong |
18 |
UVA | Loyola | UPenn, Cuse, ND, Hop | L 18-17 Hopkins | All 4 losses are by 1 Goal against quailty teams, beat Loyola, they can play with anyone |
19 |
Loyola | Towson | UVA, Hopkins, Duke, Bucknell | L 9-8 Bucknell, W 11-10 Gtown | Better w than UVA but worse loss (Bucknell) |
20 |
Providence | 0 | Hofstra, BU | W 9-8 Drexel, W 11-4 Lowell | |
In the mix | |||||
Binghamton | 0 | Marsit | W 8-5 Vermont | ||
Boston U | Providence | Bucknell | W 13-8 Harvard, W 15-7 Lafayette | ||
UPenn | UVA | Michigan, Penn St, Prince | W 10-9 Cornell | ||
Marquette | 0 | OSU, Richmond | W 11-10 Gtown | ||
Delaware | Rutgers | Buck,Navy,Binghamton | W 13-9 Rutgers |
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