2023 FanLax Forum Poll

[laxrat1982]

At least you don’t have Stevenson ranked 16…a team in the top 20 with a losing record. They must get ranked solely for hosting the Mustang Classic as opposed to performance

[Unknown Participant]

At least you don’t have Stevenson ranked 16…a team in the top 20 with a losing record. They must get ranked solely for hosting the Mustang Classic as opposed to performance

I don't see Stevenson at 16 in any poll. I see 17 in one.

[HomerCoach]

Computer probably can't recognize an away game in 3 inches of snow

That is correct. I also cannot recognize when a team's top player is missing, game played indoors, and other similar excuses for Ws and Ls. All I see is Ws and Ls and that's all anyone should see when it comes to evaluating squads.

Not true. Union missing a couple studs this past weekend is a REASON for them losing, not an excuse.

[laxrat1982]

At least you don’t have Stevenson ranked 16…a team in the top 20 with a losing record. They must get ranked solely for hosting the Mustang Classic as opposed to performance

I don't see Stevenson at 16 in any poll. I see 17 in one.

Inside Lacrosse has them with a 4-6 record at #16 for week 7. I’m not against Stevenson, just very confused how that is justified over many other teams’ results/resume.

[HomerCoach]

At least you don’t have Stevenson ranked 16…a team in the top 20 with a losing record. They must get ranked solely for hosting the Mustang Classic as opposed to performance

I don't see Stevenson at 16 in any poll. I see 17 in one.

Inside Lacrosse has them with a 4-6 record at #16 for week 7. I’m not against Stevenson, just very confused how that is justified over many other teams’ results/resume.

Dan has his favorite names, he let's them hang on at the bottom of the top 20 (for clicks, no doubt.)

[Not Suitable]

Note - there is a weekly poll using my handle. I did not enter that poll. Not sure how that's possible but clearly someone is trying to make a mockery of this forum.

My guess it's end of the bench player that has no social life and finds his kicks Trolling this Forum

We all should know the Troll by now.

Impersonating Nosey Ned and has Wooster in the top 5. I wonder who that could be

[ah23]

The fact that some polls don’t have Swat in the top 20 let alone at all is a massive head scratcher. They are very talented this year and will be for at least the next few years.

IMO it's understandable to not have them in the top 20, but I do think that not having them ranked at all seems odd given some of the teams that did appear in a few polls (Stevenson, H-S, Kenyon, Albion, Wooster, Ithaca, Geneseo, etc.). I initially had them just outside the top 20 before bumping them ahead of a few teams that have plenty of 'quality losses' but not many wins worth anything.

[SKUD]

I don’t get too upset about 11-25 at this point. The later we get the easier these are. The cream will rise. I think I had another 5-10 teams that I would be ok placing in 15-25.

What I find funny is when people (Dan Kaplan included) give some teams credit for close losses but not other teams.

[FanLax Computer]

Not true. Union missing a couple studs this past weekend is a REASON for them losing, not an excuse.

Agreed and it's still an L. If we were predicting who's going to win in May when all relevant players are back, I'd rank Union differently. But in terms of ranking the teams based on their performance in 2023, based on a meritocracy, that's an L and needs to be treated as such.

[laxrat1982]

What I find funny is when people (Dan Kaplan included) give some teams credit for close losses but not other teams.

100%

[SixBySix]

IMO it's understandable to not have them in the top 20, but I do think that not having them ranked at all seems odd given some of the teams that did appear in a few polls (Stevenson, H-S, Kenyon, Albion, Wooster, Ithaca, Geneseo, etc.).

I think it's certainly a defensible position to say they should be in the 20-30 range (if, for example, you think that the northern conferences are stronger than the south on the whole) , but I don't think you can take that position and simultaneously have Muhlenberg and Dickinson in the top 15-20.

[Laxattackjack]

The fact that some polls don’t have Swat in the top 20 let alone at all is a massive head scratcher. They are very talented this year and will be for at least the next few years.

I don’t see you ranking them in the top 20 either.

[laxrat1982]

The fact that some polls don’t have Swat in the top 20 let alone at all is a massive head scratcher. They are very talented this year and will be for at least the next few years.

I don’t see you ranking them in the top 20 either.

That’s because I don’t have a ranking for them to be part of. I would put them around 16 probably

[BIGDAWG]

Happy to see Wooster getting their continued respect. I would have put them at 2 in my poll based on their undefeated record, just above Tufts who still needs to prove themselves. Surprised Nosey had Denison so high? I wouldn't have put them above 27 in my ranking. NCAC does look like the best conference in lacrosse though so I'm smiling

[Notgoodatlax]

Heads up that when I identified duplicate ratings I eliminated the LOWER of the two ratings for teams. This ensured no one was falsely identified as a doubter (which happened a few times).

laxratings_4_3_23.png (67.89 KiB) Viewed 707 times

[Notgoodatlax]

Thanks to all the folks putting time into polls. A takeaway for me this week is that Swarthmore v. Gettysburg should be a matchup worth watching. (Two teams I've seen infrequently, but are in the polls with decent variance)

Hacker you seem bullish on Swarthmore (ranking them 10th compared to the average 20th) so you must believe this is going to be a tight matchup. What do you see making/breaking that matchup?

Also noting that doubters and believers currently are excluding those who leave teams entirely off their rankings. I'll fix that this week to see if it can provoke more interesting conversation.

[smoova]

^ this is such an interesting analysis. Thank you for putting it together!

[Notgoodatlax]

Glad you like it! Helps me eke out some of the interesting areas of D3 where fun storylines or interesting matchups exist outside my regular focus.

[Hacker]

Faceoffs and ball control are critical. Swarthmore beat a very strong Mule team that beat Dickinson and took RIT to the last minute. Every team has a clunker game particularly early in the season. Vassar is a tough L but is not a cupcake. I expect Gettysburg to prevail but would like to see a close game. Good to see some new teams in the mix.

[Tigerlax70]

Happy to see Wooster getting their continued respect. I would have put them at 2 in my poll based on their undefeated record, just above Tufts who still needs to prove themselves. Surprised Nosey had Denison so high? I wouldn't have put them above 27 in my ranking. NCAC does look like the best conference in lacrosse though so I'm smiling

Surely you jest. Wooster would struggle to finish in the top half of the NESEAC. Their undefeated record has been accomplished against teams I regularly see in the first round of the NCAA Tournament who get an AQ and then get their brains beat in in the first round by double digit scores. Based on SOS, Wooster may garner some Top 20 votes. Long way to go for relevancy. Contrary to popular opinion, Polls are not a feel good exercise. They should reflect who the voters feel are the best teams in the country based on a full body of work. While their 11-0 record may impress the mothers and fathers of the current team, nobody on this forum would confuse wins over Brockport, Albion and Oberlin with Tufts, CNU or York. If they can hang with Denison in their next game, I might give them some respect. Your stated post of having Wooster at #2 based on their undefeated season makes a mockery of your intent. “Just above Tufts who just needs to prove themselves”. Tufts would lay 20 goals on Wooster in the first half and their 3rd and 4ths would intensify the carnage.