Womens Soccer On Road

[nortx9]

Mean Green Ladies on the road this weekend in Natchitoches, LA. Lamar on Friday and NW State on Sunday. I'll have my report in on GMG before Hedlund calls it in to web...heh, heh. Look for me bros.

Got a little bump on the Buzz from the UTEP win, but no top 15 cigar. Figures... look at the lowly performances of the Top 15........in the first week, guess everyone gets a mulligan on their ranking. My fav, Vandy started the season with yet another tie (a Top 30 Natl Team too). They had like 7 or more last year while keeping ranking. What is the love affair with that team? Out of 15 teams ranked last week, 4 have not won a game, 4 have lost a game , 7 no longer have a perfect record…. All in the first week!!.... and UNT are not good enough to move into top 15 at 2-0? Don't get me strarted on who those teams played either. Just another Buzz year, I see where the name comes from.... Check it out!

Central (69 teams)

RankSchool Record Prev Rank

1 Texas A&M 2-0 1

2 Texas 2-0 2

3 Tennessee 2-0 4

4 Colorado 1-0-1 3

5 Missouri 2-0 13

6 Oklahoma State 2-0 6

7 Denver 1-1 7

8 SMU 1-0 8

9 Vanderbilt 1-0-1 9

10 LSU 2-0 11

11 Nebraska 1-0 14

12 Colorado Coll 0-1-1 10

13 Kansas 0-1-1 5

14 Mississippi 0-0-2 15

15 St Louis 0-2 12

[FlatFoot]

I'll be there for both games this weekend. Look for me too.

As far as the rankings are concerned, I would bet that had Todd Dodge and the gridiron gorillas taken care of business with OU, our girls would be in the top 10 or 5. It just feels like futbol is inextricably attached to football in the good old US of A.

[nortx9]

I'll be there for both games this weekend. Look for me too.

As far as the rankings are concerned, I would bet that had Todd Dodge and the gridiron gorillas taken care of business with OU, our girls would be in the top 10 or 5. It just feels like futbol is inextricably attached to football in the good old US of A.

Just don't get the love from the pollsters is it. Last year prime example. While we did make weekly top 15 for most of year, our record was much better all throughout the year (see Vandy comment) than many in top 15, even those that remained in the final poll. Could not move up substantially all year with a high win percentage, but they dropped us big time when we took a single loss to MUTS. Buzz does no investigation, they go on the "Buzz" about each team, and the "Buzz" about UNT is that we are benefactors from a weak conf schedule. The real irony is that same logic does not seem to apply to Denver each year, just UNT or MTSU. Denver already lost to Colorado this past week 2-0 (who was subsequently tied by FAIRFIELD!! while also getting to keep their top 5 ranking!!!) and they held rank at 7th. and, while ties are not really supposed to hurt, why did our Grambling tie last year haunt us all year when it came to rank and NCAA consideration?

[FlatFoot]

Just don't get the love from the pollsters is it. Last year prime example. While we did make weekly top 15 for most of year, our record was much better all throughout the year (see Vandy comment) than many in top 15, even those that remained in the final poll. Could not move up substantially all year with a high win percentage, but they dropped us big time when we took a single loss to MUTS. Buzz does no investigation, they go on the "Buzz" about each team, and the "Buzz" about UNT is that we are benefactors from a weak conf schedule. The real irony is that same logic does not seem to apply to Denver each year, just UNT or MTSU. Denver already lost to Colorado this past week 2-0 (who was subsequently tied by FAIRFIELD!! while also getting to keep their top 5 ranking!!!) and they held rank at 7th. and, while ties are not really supposed to hurt, why did our Grambling tie last year haunt us all year when it came to rank and NCAA consideration?

I hate to make the comparison, but the way to get recognition in football is to run-up the score and PR, PR, PR... Is that what the pollsters want? As far as DU??? I don't know. What I do know is that the National chairman for the rankings committee is from Fairfield. Running in the same circles as CU/Fairfield brings instant recognition, regardless of record or conference strength. Maybe we should start running in different circles for non-conf games.

[res1dg16]

winning a NCAA tourney game would help

[nortx9]

I hate to make the comparison, but the way to get recognition in football is to run-up the score and PR, PR, PR... Is that what the pollsters want? As far as DU??? I don't know. What I do know is that the National chairman for the rankings committee is from Fairfield. Running in the same circles as CU/Fairfield brings instant recognition, regardless of record or conference strength. Maybe we should start running in different circles for non-conf games.

Without really looking, and I should before I say this, I believe we are at least as good as the C-USA teams in the rankings (SMU for sure!). We are not 10-15 places worse than #7Denver, with SMU at #8. In three years (this year and last two) by my scattershot account, we are I believe 4-2-3 against C-USA teams (SMU 1-1-1, Houston 1-0-1, Utep 1-1, Rice 1-0). The loss to SMU was in NCAA's...We did tie Grambling last year while outshooting them 34-4 ( 4 off the crossbar.....won everywhere but the scoreboard).

I hope we get the SMU game in this year, it is in between Denver and Conf tourney, something tells me that won't happen for safety sake, at least not a full-on battle.

Edited September 6, 2007 by nortx9

[Quoner]

Not to pick a fight, and please don't be mad at me because I love the ladies, but it seems like every year we get worked up about these rankings and then never win the tournament game we need to step forward. I think soccer is our shining star, but I think at some point we have to make them bump us up, not beg for it.

I feel better. If you need me, I'll be blasting my evil snarkery in the other forums.

[nortx9]

winning a NCAA tourney game would help

Good point, but hard to do without bids. Denver won their first Sunbelt NCAA playoff game last year and they have been Buzz darlings for last two full seasons without that added glory. Sunbelt had two, arguably 3 teams last year that were good enough for first round bids. Instead we got to watch Big East and SEC field nearly their entire conference Qualifiers in the NCAA, some did not win a game in the conference tourneys and got bids! Kentucky was overwhelmed by Denver in NCAA's.

[nortx9]

Not to pick a fight, and please don't be mad at me because I love the ladies, but it seems like every year we get worked up about these rankings and then never win the tournament game we need to step forward. I think soccer is our shining star, but I think at some point we have to make them bump us up, not beg for it.

I feel better. If you need me, I'll be blasting my evil snarkery in the other forums.

Again Chicken or egg. I think the conference needs to get a little tougher with NCAA on what gets handed out. To your point, nobody deserves a handout, but there are UNT's and MTSU's (this conf and others) that aren't getting that opp because the conf winner is the only one going. Not getting bids hurts recruiting too, and illogical rankings don't help either. Why should SEC get 5 bids and the Big East 8 if they can't win a game in conference tourney? Why get 8 period? In essence, they can play poorly all season and still get in. We can play poorly for one game and be out. Don't want a hand out, but how about a little field leveling when it comes to opportunities to just get a chance to....prove worthy. Good challenge, not mad at all. Besides good excuse to get worked up......

[GrandGreen]

Guess what, soccer ratings are just as bad as football and basketball. The polls are arbitrary and swayed by name identification in all sports particularly at the beginning of the year. I hope NT soccer has a super year but frankly beating TWU by two goals and UTEP by one at home aren't going to wow many people.

[FlatFoot]

Guess what, soccer ratings are just as bad as football and basketball. The polls are arbitrary and swayed by name identification in all sports particularly at the beginning of the year. I hope NT soccer has a super year but frankly beating TWU by two goals and UTEP by one at home aren't going to wow many people.

Not a lot we can do until the girls travel to OU to play OU (2-0-0) and #23 Long Beach. If they can go in there at 6-0-0 and come out 8-0-0 or 7-0-1, we'll see how the pollsters and the NCAA tourney team selection committee digests that. Not looking ahead, just laying out a possible scenario. We'll see...

In the final analysis, what does it take to get even one more NCAA bid for the SBC besides winning the tourney.

All fretting aside, the girls are a lot of fun to watch. I love their game.

GMG

Edited September 7, 2007 by FlatFoot