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| The strength of the WIAC isn't necessarily because of its top team. It's because its second- and third-best team are in the top 10. Photo by Steve Frommell, d3photography.com |
By Adam Turer
D3sports.com
I’m going to be honest with you.
Preseason rankings don’t matter. Midseason rankings don’t matter. Mount Union will tell you. So will UW-Whitewater. With recent and upcoming conference realignment and more D-III schools adding football, non-conference play has become increasingly rare. Several programs play one non-conference game, then nine conference contests. Guess which game matters least on those schedules?
It’s not easy to compare conferences. Some are no-brainers. Guess what? The WIAC, with three teams in the top ten, is the toughest conference in the country. After that, it gets more interesting.
I didn’t use any computer rankings to compile this list. I didn’t look at the Top 25 and rank the conferences based on which has the most ranked teams. I looked at this season’s results from top to bottom. I looked at depth. A conference could have two great teams, but if it also has two of the worst teams in D-III, it’s not going to be ranked as highly. Non-conference results come into play, especially for leagues that have several head-to-head results, like the USA South and ODAC.
Keith McMillan (with input from Pat Coleman) always ranks the conferences in Kickoff. It’s a tradition to re-rank them in Around the Nation. For what it’s worth, I made my rankings before looking back at Keith’s preseason order. This is my first crack at it. I can’t wait for you to tell me how wrong I am.
1. Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Kickoff ranking: 1
Heading into the opening weekend of conference play, five WIAC teams are a perfect 3-0. Every team has at least one victory. Three teams are ranked in the top ten. This ranking should be undisputed.
2. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Kickoff ranking: 2
Headlined by two top ten teams in St. Thomas and St. John’s, the conference gets a boost from Hamline’s history 3-0 start. Gustavus Adolphus’s win over WIAC foe UW-River Falls also helps, especially considering Bethel’s disappointing 1-3 start.
3. Empire 8
Kickoff ranking: 5
The E8 is always in the conversation as a two-bid conference. This year, the competition is fierce. St. John Fisher is 4-0, but so are Alfred and, surprisingly, Utica. The Pioneers’ win over Ohio Northern and Cortland’s win over Heidelberg boosts the Empire 8 ahead of the OAC. A 12-4 non-conference record is hard to deny. There might not be a Stagg Bowl team in this conference, but from top to bottom it is one of the strongest in the land.
4. College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
Kickoff ranking: 7
No. 6 North Central has impressed, but its two non-conference wins were against non-Division III programs. No. 11 Wheaton is also 4-0, but has slid down the polls after narrow wins over Carthage and Elmhurst. I’m of the opinion that those results do not show the strength of the middle of the league, but the lack of power at the top. Still, with two teams that can challenge the Purple Powers and a solid middle class, the CCIW earns high marks.
5. American Southwest Conference
Kickoff ranking: 8
Mary Hardin-Baylor made the statement win of the non-conference season, dominating the second half en route to a 39-point win over Linfield. East Texas Baptist and Hardin-Simmons are also undefeated and ranked in the Top 25. Too many non-D-III opponents keep this conference from being ranked higher.
6. New Jersey Athletic Conference
Kickoff ranking: 6
Six NJAC teams have better records than Wesley. Christopher Newport is 4-0, including a win over the Wolverines. Salisbury is also undefeated and ranked. Only one non-conference game on the schedule makes it tough to judge this conference against the others. The NJAC ranks highly because through four weeks, there are seven teams that still have the hopes and potential to qualify for the playoffs and win once they’re in. That’s more depth than most conferences boast.
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| Pacific Lutheran has scored just 20 points in two games this season. d3photography.com photo |
7. Northwest Conference
Kickoff ranking: 3
So many heartbreaking losses have NWC teams entering conference play in need of momentum and confidence. Pacific dropped two non-conference games by a total of six points. Whitworth lost an overtime thriller to Central, 50-49. Puget Sound is the only unscathed team in the conference. Pacific Lutheran’s 9-3 loss and lack of offense so far this season hurts. Linfield should be able to separate itself from the pack with relative ease.
8. Ohio Athletic Conference
Kickoff ranking: 4
Aside from Mount Union, this conference has laid an egg this year and takes one of the biggest drops from Keith’s preseason rankings. Heidelberg and Ohio Northern have disappointed. John Carroll, the second-best team behind the Purple Raiders, trailed 27-0 to UW-Oshkosh in the season opener. This year, the OAC looks like a one-team league. That team just happens to be the most dominant force in D-III football.
9. Centennial Conference
Kickoff ranking: 9
Another conference that is hard to judge because its teams play just one non-conference game. But, No. 9 Johns Hopkins handily defeated then-ranked Washington and Lee in the opener. Juniata has already equaled its win total from a season ago. McDaniel snapped a 22-game losing streak. Moravian and Muhlenberg both showed how the gap between the Blue Jays and the rest of the league has narrowed. When the Greyhounds and Mules meet in the season finale, it could be a play-in game for a 9-1 record and at-large bid.
10. Middle Atlantic Conference
Kickoff ranking: 10
If it weren’t for the bottom of the conference — winless Misericordia and FDU-Florham, plus another down year for Lebanon Valley — the MAC would be higher. Stevenson appears to be the real deal in the program’s sixth season of existence. Delaware Valley has a win over Wesley, but Albright kept its hopes alive by knocking off the Aggies last week. The verdict is still out on Widener. Can the Pride make this a four-team race?
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| Luther has struggled in recent years, although the Norse do have a non-conference win against an MIAC team. Photo by Caleb Williams, d3photography.com |
11. Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Kickoff ranking: 11
Led by three undefeated teams in Central, Dubuque, and Coe. Wartburg is still a playoff contender, but lost to Monmouth from the MWC. Newcomer Nebraska Wesleyan put up a good fight against Illinois Wesleyan in non-conference play. The top four teams will beat one another up. Loras let its two non-conference opportunities slip away and joins Buena Vista at 0-4.
12. Presidents’ Athletic Conference
Kickoff ranking: 12
If only Thomas More didn’t unravel in the final minutes against Franklin. The 2014 additions of Case Western Reserve and Carnegie Mellon have definitely strengthened this conference. So has the hiring of Ron Dolciato, who has St. Vincent off to a 4-0 start after leading the previously 0-20 program to four wins in each of his first two seasons. Washington and Jefferson played a weak non-conference schedule, then got handled by Thomas More, but could still finish 9-1 and argue for an at-large berth. Westminster is on the rise and will get its chance to make a statement at home against the Saints on Saturday.
13. North Coast Athletic Conference
Kickoff ranking: 13
Another conference that is strong up top, but really weak on the bottom. Wittenberg knocked off Wabash, but I’m not sold on either team being able to win more than one playoff game this year. DePauw might be a playoff-caliber team, but has not been tested yet in a 3-0 start. Denison and Kenyon also have nice records that don’t say much about either team. Allegheny and Oberlin are both 0-4.
14. Liberty League
Kickoff ranking: 15
Hobart is undefeated, but does not look as imposing as the Hobart teams of years past. St. Lawrence cracked the Top 25 after a 4-0 start led by a formidable defense. Springfield is a couple years away from climbing back into contention. This league can beat up on the NEFC and ECFC, but what does that really tell us?
15. Southern Athletic Association
Kickoff ranking: 14
Startup programs at Berry and Hendrix have boosted this conference’s profile. Along with Centre and Washington U., there is a solid four-team race for the title. Millsaps pulled a big upset with its win over Trinity (Texas), and Rhodes notched victories over SCIAC and NWC opponents.
16. USA South Athletic Conference
Kickoff ranking: 20
Five wins over the ODAC (to just six losses) is a big deal. The neighboring conference is a constant measuring stick for the USA South. Every team has at least one win. N.C. Wesleyan scheduled Mount Union, then hung with the Purple Raiders for a quarter and a half. No. 15 Huntingdon continues to climb the polls and Rob Grande has rejuvenated the Ferrum program. This is a conference on the rise.
17. Old Dominion Atletic Conference
Kickoff ranking: 13
The teams that have won 14 of the last 15 conference titles have disappointed, precipitating the league’s drop. But, Randolph-Macon and Catholic are having resurgent seasons, and Guilford has carried momentum into the post-Matt Pawlowski era. Washington and Lee, Emory and Henry, and Hampden-Sydney have disappointed. The ODAC’s usual dominance over the USA South took several hits this season.
18. Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Kickoff ranking: 18
Conference play has yet to begin and every team already has at least one loss. Adrian’s win at Pacific was impressive, and Albion took Wabash to overtime. Other than that, not much for the MIAA to boast about. Wins over the NACC aren’t going to move the needle.
19. Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference
Kickoff ranking: 22
This has been Franklin’s league for nearly a decade and the Grizzlies picked up a nice win over Thomas More in the opener. Bluffton continues to improve, but the Beavers rise is balanced by Mount St. Joseph’s slide. The Lions used to be Franklin’s top challenger after the Grizzlies wrested the throne away from them. Now, Rose-Hulman and Bluffton are ahead of the Lions. Earlham and Anderson are way down and Manchester and Defiance are rebuilding under rookie head coaches.
20. Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Kickoff ranking: 19
Chapman defeated Trinity (Texas) and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps had an impressive win at Washington and Lee. But half the league is winless after two games, including defending league champ La Verne. At least Occidental got to go to Hawaii for one of its losses. The basement isn’t as low as the HCAC’s, but the ceiling isn’t as high.
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| Lake Forest has an actual non-conference win for the MWC. But it's against Carleton, which might finish last in the MIAC. Photo by Caleb Williams, d3photography.com |
21. Midwest Conference
Kickoff ranking: 23
Illinois College had an impressive win, holding Rose-Hulman to just 13 points. Monmouth’s win over Wartburg is a big pelt for the MWC. St. Norbert lost, badly, in its two non-conference games after posting a 10-0 regular season last year. The bottom half of the conference doesn’t bring much to the table. Especially tricky to move up these rankings when so many teams play their “non-conference” games against MWC competition.
22. Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
Kickoff ranking: 17
Woof. I had high expectations for this conference. Texas Lutheran has been a perennial playoff team and Trinity (Texas) was trending upward. I even picked the Tigers as my surprise playoff team in Kickoff. The Bulldogs’ schedule has been brutal, but nobody expected an 0-4 start. Even worse, the losses haven’t even been close. Now, these four teams get a six-game round robin against each other. It appears that they’ll be playing for nothing but pride the rest of the way. This conference is going out with a whimper, not a bang.
23. Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference
Kickoff ranking: 21
The MASCAC is better than the NEFC and ECFC. That’s what matters in New England, right? Undefeated Plymouth State has matched its best season win total since 2011, winning its first four games. There are a lot of decent teams and no egregiously bad or notably good teams in this conference. At least, that’s how it appears now. If the Panthers run the table, they will render the previous statement obsolete. Then they’ll likely lose a first-round playoff game to a team from the NJAC, MAC, or Centennial.
24. New England Football Conference
Kickoff ranking: 24
Western New England has 16-point wins over Springfield and Union of the Liberty League. There’s just not enough depth in the conference to move the NEFC up. Salve Regina is also undefeated and no NEFC teams are winless. But, most of those wins (outside of the Golden Bears’) have come against ECFC competition.
25. Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference
Kickoff ranking: 25
Benedictine beat St. Norbert and Adrian, and Lakeland beat Albion. Every team but Wisconsin Lutheran is in the win column heading into conference play, and four teams boast 2-1 records. Each team still has one more non-conference game on the schedule, too.
26. Upper Midwest Athletic Conference
Kickoff ranking: 27
The UMAC moves up! Northwestern did not allow a point until its fourth game and remains undefeated. Defending champ St. Scholastica’s only loss is to St. John’s. There are not a lot of non-conference games to judge, but MacMurray beat a NACC team in Rockford. Northwestern shut out Augsburg, a perfectly average team in the MIAC. Those results count for something.
27. Eastern Collegiate Football Conference
Kickoff ranking: 26
Conference play has yet to start. Every team has at least one loss. Four teams are 0-3. SUNY-Maritime’s victory over Merchant Marine is the conference’s best win. The most impressive result may have been Husson’s seven point loss to Alfred in the season opener. Playing all non-conference games so far, the ECFC is 6-18. You’ve got to win games to move up this list.
Since the NESCAC does not play non-conference games, it would be unfair to compare the league to others. The three independent teams, Maranatha Baptist, Finlandia, and Alfred State, do not need to be included here either. Probably for the best, as they are a combined 1-11.
Feel free to embrace debate, whether in the comments below or on Twitter. Just remember that most teams still have their ultimate goal in front of them — win the conference and earn a Pool A berth.
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| CNU athletics photo by Savannah Tilghman |
Players’ Corner
K.J. Kearney was an all-state performer and state champion in high school. Then, the quarterback had to spend two years waiting his turn. The Christopher Newport junior has seized his opportunity, breaking school records and leading the Captains to a 4-0 start and No. 22 ranking. His love for the game never wavered, even during those seasons spent mostly on the sideline.
I fell in love with the game after my first season when I was seven. And at the age of 20 I still love it!
The reason I love football is because out of all other sports, I feel that it's the most team-oriented. You grow strong connections with your teammates and eventually become a family. This bond lasts for a lifetime and your teammates become guys who are accountable on and off the field.
As part of my attempt to rekindle a love for football, I’ll be reaching out to players all season long to give them space to explain why they love the game. If you or someone you know would like to be featured in Players’ Corner this year, please reach out to me at any time.
What do you know? Do you know things? Let's find out!
There are so many worthy stories to be told and I can’t find them all on my own. Please share with me those stories that make you passionate about D-III football. If you have suggestions for next week's column, please reach out to me on Twitter at @adamturer or via email at adam.turer@d3sports.com. Thanks for reading!
