SEC and Big East seasons

West Virginia is a huge loss. Agreed.

What are your thoughts and expectations for UConn this season? What do you like best about them?

I think that Marquette, UConn, Notre Dame and Louisville will be the top teams in the BIG EAST. Georgetown and Rutgers also should be watched. Unless a team really shocks I don't see any other team getting a look at NCAA bid.

Exeter is an amazing player for Louisville.

I am very curious to see what happens with the teams in the American Division, especially without West Virginia.

I wonder if Providence can build on last year. I don't really know what to make of the rest of the teams other than Marquette and UConn.

I'd go with Marquette, UConn, USF, Providence and St. John's and Notre Dame, Louisville, Georgetown, Rutgers and Seton Hall making the post season tournament.

 

Last year Syracuse tied for 3rd - with Notre Dame. So how come no love, with a winning record and a bye to the quarters? The lost no one, yet 6th place and 7th place teams like UConn and Providence were picked over them. They were picked 14th last year and finished 5th, maybe that disrespect will have them ready to prove people wrong again.

 

I could easily see Syracuse being a dangerous team in 2012. Besides UConn's win over Wake Forest, Syracuse's tie vs BC was probably the best non-conference result of any BIG EAST team.

Syracuse also has a great goalie and I think will bring in some solid freshman.

I think there is very little difference between the 3-6 teams in the American Division.

UConn gets the benefit of the doubt in predictions because of the tradition of the program and because they are more talented then all teams in the division except maybe Marquette. UConn will need to do things with their talent, but it's hard to argue that Syracuse, St. John's, Providence etc. are more talented then them.

I like USF to continue to build on their great 2010 season and to come back from last years season.
For some reason I feel like Providence has steadily improved over the last few years.
I think St. John's has had more recent success than Syracuse

However, I have no reason to think Syracuse couldn't beat USF, St. John's or Providence either. Syracuse could have a great year and I can't tell you they won't. They had a great year last year and have been improving and will certainly have big goals in the long term to work for since they are headed to the ACC.

I would admit to being slightly biased against Syracuse though. I have seen a couple of their games and I can only describe Syracuse as the most unsportsmanlike team that I have seen play.

In the two games I saw I witnessed Syracuse deserve two or three red cards in one game.
At one game a Syracuse player also punched a player while she was trying to get up. Much worse than the sucker punch Abby Wambach took.

The other game I witnessed a Syracuse player kick someone while they were lying on the field.

I love the fight and toughness that Syracuse has, but I felt that they really crossed the line in these cases.

So I am biased, but at least I can admit it.

As always the BIG EAST will be fascinating and competitive. There won't be any easy games. Pittsburgh has a new stadium, a new coach and is headed to the ACC. Don't count them out. They have a lot to play for and a lot of people who want to proof things.

 

Well I was looking to see when UK's first game is and was pretty disappointed to see the weakness of their pre conference schedule. Coastal Carolina. Southeast Missouri. Samford.
Only ranked team is Louisville.

 

There is a couple of Conferences I check out over the season. Big East and SEC are some of the two.

Big East. I think the team to look out for is going to be Lousville, I think Marquette will be in the picture, but Louisville should win the league title. Overall they are keeping the bulk of their team and they have some dangerous pieces on their team. Louisville, from top to bottom have a very good team. They have a brute named Christine Exeter who can manhandle a smaller defensive back and their midfield and backline are very tough to beat.

I just don't see Notre Dame doing much this year. They play a very hard out of conference schedule and with this team. So many of them are young. Add to that they are probably going to rely on Maddie Fox, who I didn't think play badly, but she doesn't have the ability to steal a game from a close match by making a key stop to rally her team behind. Can Mandy Laddish carry her team by herself? I don't know, and yeah they picked up a very good recruiting class, and knowing how Waldrum coaches, those freshman are going to see alot of action. We'll have to see.

Rutgers could be a dark horse team if Jonelle Filigno can stay healthy. Two straight years with ACL injuries doesn't bode well for her. Rutgers does have one thing going for it, their backline is solid. they don't give many cheap goals to an opponent. The problem for them is scoring and their midfield isn't too good either. They can clog the middle but have a hard time getting the ball to their forwards, which is why they really needed Filigno, because she has the ability to play the ball at her feet.

So I really only see two main contenders for league title, and that is Louisville and Marquette.

Now you caught my attention on stating that South Carolina will win the title. Espeically with Texas A&M coming in. My personal choice would of been them. I really can't see USC repeating and its because they lost their best goalscorer and playmaking forward in their history. Kayla Grimsley broke school records, how do they replace her production short term? USC last year scored in buckets and had a very solid defense as well. A scary combination. The defense returns this year, but where do they replace the 11 goals, 10 assists from last year?

The one and really the only saving grace for South Carolina is their goalkeeper Sabrina D'Angelo. She is bar none, the BEST goalkeeper in college football right now. In fact I was willing to state last year that she was the best after watching some of her insane highlight clips and last year she was a freshman! In fact she won the Freshman and best Defensive player awards for the SEC which has never been done before as a rookie. I kid you not, she had at least a dozen highlight reel saves during her first season in USC. A goalie would be lucky to get a reflex save or two a year, Sabrina was doing that constantly. She also plays like no other goalkeeper plays in women's football, even in the senior game, in fact very few men play like her. She has such awareness around her box, that she has the full confidence to come off her line and cut down a player's angle and either force them to shoot a bad angle shot or make a hasty pass. She has frequently charged out and challenged the player directly and taken the ball away from her. You simply do not see that agressiveness at the college level let alone at the senior level.

If South Carolina is going to win another league title, its going to have to come on the back of Sabrina D'Angelo. Can she do it? After watching the U20 World Cup qualifier on the Concacaf TV channel, I might have to say yes.

Still alot of things have to go right for USC, Sabrina will be away for the World Cup, USC will be in a huge bind with her gone. The team I have winning the SEC title is Texax A&M. They had an up and down season last year, but they did beat some top ACC teams, and they play a very tough out of conference schedule. They are not minnows, and by the time league play commences, they've already been bloodied from their tough schedule.

Florida should still be a contender and maybe a very legitmate one as well. Its just not my pick to take the title. Tennesse has an outside chance, but with their coach Angela Kelly leaving for Texas, I'm not so sure they will be there this time. I think Angela Kelly's impact on the Tennesse program can't be overstated. She brought a cellar dwelling club and made them into a perennial NCAA tournament challenger. And now that she is with Texas, I expect some good results.

 

Forgedias - interesting comments - agree with you about ND - somethings up there and they seem to be sorting out some issues with players coming and going.
SEC - ? what about LSU - another top 10 recruiting class coming in. Solid performances last season-gaining momentum - solid new talent and proven Internationals coming in. They could make a run for it?

 

Ahh LSU, its good you brought them up, they are my sleeper pick, this recruiting class is very good, lots of players that have national team exposure, but not necessary the experience. What I mean by that, they were getting invites to national team camps or were in the pool of players, which is nice, but they were not apart in the World Cup or any qualifiers. The Canadians that they recruited do have the national team exposure and the world cup experience. There is a major difference between those that have the WC experience and those that are just in the National team pools. Jade Kovacevic who is coming in this year played in the U17 World Cup and will be in the U20 World Cup for Canada as well. That kind of international experience is very hard to come by for any player. She is a huge catch for LSU, but you know what is even more scarier, the 2013 class will probably be better then this years.

LSU does a good job in recruiting in Canada. LSU doesn't have the name power that a Stanford, North Carolina or Notre Dame can bring in recruiting top caiber players to join them. So many of these clubs recruit outside of the US and Canada has some of the best young players available. They may not have the player pool that the United States has, but you can't question their quality.

There is one key player coming to LSU in the 2013 draft class and her name is Summer Clarke. I watched her in the U17 World Cup qualifying, where Canada beat out the United States in penalty kicks. Sabrina D'Angelo was keeper so was Bryane Heaberlin, both of them will be in the U20 World Cup. Summer Clarke, dare I even say it, reminds me alot of Sydney Leroux. There were two top Canadian forwards I was keeping track off, one was Summer, who was my number one, the other was Valerie Sanderson who got recruited by Memphis and will be a freshman this year.

Summer is that special forward that has pace and the ability to take it to a defender and create goal scoring chances. She is going to be a very special player I think for LSU, and she isn't the only Canadian joining the club that year. 2013 will add 2 more Canadians, another one that was with Summer on the U17 team that beat the United States, and the other a National Team pool member.

So yeah I'm already on the wagon when it comes to LSU, I just don't know if this year is their year, because Texas A&M just looks so powerful. I think we may have to wait for 2013 to see a major step up for LSU, because if I am right, the major firepower they will getting then, will change their conference dramatically.

 

Got to agree with you on Texas A&M. Had a chance to watch them last year. They are a powerful scoring Machine. Two big strong forwards that accounted for 33 goals between them. Two very dominating players that can wear down a backline over the course of 90 minutes. To make things worse, they also have some rabbits that can score as well. The four other forwards accounted for 20 more goals. One of those forwards, who may turn out to be the best of the lot, played only 10 games before sustaining a season ending injury. Still she managed to score 6 goals with 4 assists. Last years team scored a total of 76 goals. This years team has the potential to score even more.

The real test will come for them in their first two games. They travel to Southern California to play UC Irvine(Big West Champs) and U San Diego (WCC Champs)

 

Yep I completely agree with everything you said about Texas A&M. Consider this, and I know you may already know this, but last years team was VERY young, most of them were either freshmen or sophomores. Its why they were inconsistent in defending leads and winning some games. But this year, that whole club had a whole year to gel, they are going to be very scary.

Depending on how they do, I forsee them gaining a national seed for sure, and depending who is in their quadrant, I'm willing to go out on a limb and say they will reach the college cup this year. That is how good I think Texas A&M is this year.

 

After a 4-4 start, the young A&M team started playing better and better each game. Just how good were the freshmen last season? Out of the 76 goals the team scored, 58 goals came by way of the freshmen.

 

This is also the U20 World Cup year. All the top clubs in the country have players going overseas, with the one exception. Texas A&M. They have no players in the World Cup. In Fact I don't see any club this year going undefeated like Stanford did last year, there is about 40 college players playing in the World Cup in Japan. Most of them coming from 2 squads, the United States, Canada and there are some in Mexico. With the best players playing in Japan, some of these top clubs are going to suffer because of it.

Who do people think will take the number 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament? My bet is on Duke, Wake Forest and UCLA, with the last one going to Texas A&M

I know people are going to go UCLA over Stanford? Stanford took huge losses this year with last years graduation, they lost a ton of goal production. I don't think they will be the same and UCLA was young last year, even with the loss of Sydney Leroux, they should be a very dangerous team.

Duke and Wake? Well I don't see anyone questioning these picks, but I can see some questions on the Texas A&M pick, but who else is going to challenge them? Florida? or Florida State? Maybe, but the ones I think could replace Texas for that coveted number 1 seed is either West Virginia or Oklahoma State. Both are powerhouses, and whoever wins the BIG 12 could challenge for one of the seeds.

And if Texas A&M does pick up one of the number 1 seeds, then I think their road to the college cup is fait accompli. (Fated to be) I just don't see many teams being able to challege Texas on the road, we know Stanford will get put into the UCLA quadrant, the only wild cards are probably Oklahoma State and West Virginia, but even then I think Texas should beat them. The only variable is if Texas A&M doesn't get the number 1 seed, then everything for them is up in the air. If they get seeded with either Duke or Wake, then I think they will have a bumpy road.

 

So some intresting tidbits from this Friday Aug 17, 2012

Big East play. (looking at some of the teams I think will be a factor come playoffs.)

-Louisville won 2-0 vs Butler, not much of a surprise even with all their starters gone. Good result though.
-Notre Dame lose 0-1 vs Wisconsin which is a small shock and a very good win for Wisconsin. Didn't expect this.
-Marquette destroys 4-0 Boneventure, this was no surprise at all.
-Rutgers wins 3-0 vs Monmouth, again no surprise, but 2 goals came from Jonelle Filigno. Seems Rutgers is still going to be tied to their talisman for goal scoring, they better find a secondary option to help Filigno.

SEC play.

-South Carolina 0-0 vs UW-Milwaukee, umm I know UW doesn't have Hagen anymore so I figured USC would of gotten a result here, but I think they have some big problems now. I think goals are really going to be hard to come by for USC.
-Tennesse wins 4-0 over Samford, yet another no brainer.
-Florida lose 1-4 to the Florida Hurricanes, which is a pretty big upset. And not by a single digit goal, but by a couple. What a painful loss for Florida.
-Georgia wins 1-0 over UNC Greensboro, not a bad win, might help them in the RPI department later in the year. Alexa Neufeld got the goal here in overtime.

 

Tennessee killing Western Kentucky, another no brainer, putting in the bench. They do look different under new coach but hard to tell until they play someone.

 

Was waiting for the Texas A&M game before I made some updates. Going to list the teams that are expected to make the playoffs, may add or subtract teams as the season progress'.

Big East.

Georgetown (2-0) Right now they are in the picture, but wins against Delaware and George Washington really don't factor much, they are minnows, we'll see how they do when they come up against some real opposition, because they lost some key players to graduation.

Rutgers (2-0) There last win on Sunday potentially will be very good for their RPI, Ohio State is a perennial contender in the BIG 10, but they are off to a rocky start with an 0-2 start. Jonelle Filigno scores in extra time to win the game. 3 of the 4 goals by Rutgers are by Filigno. Something tells me this will be a reacurring story.

Marquette (1-0) Was off this Sunday.

Louisville (1-0) Was off this Sunday.

Notre Dame (0-1) Was off this Sunday.

SEC. ( I expect as many as 8 teams to make it to the NCAA tournament, some of them this Sunday really helped their cause.)

Texas A&M (1-0) 2-1 Win this Monday against UC Irvine should be very good for their RPI, UC Irvine regularly make it into the NCAA tournament.

Tennessee (2-0) Two wins against fairly weak opposition, lots of goals scored by Tennessee. I'm very unsure how good this team is until they match up against a solid opponent.

Georgia (2-0) Looking good so far, but they haven't been tested yet.

Auburn (2-0) Two wins against fairly weak competition, but they should be a potentially a tournament bid team.

LSU (1-0) A 1-0 extra time victory over Oklahoma doesn't really look that good. Hopefully its just a blip on the road for LSU.

Missouri (2-0) A 5-1 thrashing of Memphis will look good for their RPI, with Memphis having their best players at the World Cup, they will be in trouble for the first few weeks as they use freshmen to replace them on the pitch.

Alabama (1-0) They play a very weak non conference schedule, their only hope is to get results when SEC play resumes.

Arkansas (2-0) I expected this team to be road kill, but you know what, they just might make some noise, they have a decent non conference schedule, and what do you know they upset Texas to boot with a 1-0 win. That is going to hurt Texas alot, and give Arkasas a big boost going to the SEC playoffs.

South Carolina (0-1-1) They are in trouble, like deep trouble, they are having alot of problems scoring goals. The best answer to this is to have a strong defense and they lost their last game to Minnesota 2-1. They are going to be in a world of hurt until Sabrina D'Angelo returns from World Cup duty.

Florida (0-1) Didn't play this Sunday, but that thrashing by the Hurricanes will sting for a long time.

 

Marquette was not off this past Sunday. They were saved by lightening. Marquette was down 3-0 with 43 minutes left in the game when it was canceled . Marquette did not look good against a very tough Florida State offense and good defense.

 

Damn that would of been huge, that is a pity, your right Marquette was saved.

 

Gameday updates for August 24, 2012

Big East.

Notre Dame (1-1) Evens their record with a win against Tulsa. 2 goals by Elizabeth Tucker.

Marquette (2-0) 4-0 trouncing of Wisconsin Milwaukee. Not sure if this state derby will mean too much for Marquette, but it could be important.

Georgetown (3-0) Another win against weaker oppostition.

Louisville (2-0) 4-3 win against Purdue. This could be a decent win for Louisville. Purdue is a quality side.

Rutgers (3-0) 2-1 win against Bucknell, small fish, but Jonelle Filigno scores 2 more goals. 5 of the 6 goals scored by Rutgers are from Filigno. Can we say one dimensional attack? Still I watch Rutgers games on their RU vision which is free, Rutgers aren't a great technical team, but Filigno simply carries her team with her solo play.

SEC.

Texas A&M (1-1) played last wednesday, but their 1-0 loss to San Diego really hurt. That loss took a solid hit at my predictions of Texas A&M taking one of the coveted number 1 seeds. I still think they can do it, but they can't afford to lose to Rutgers who is coming in next week.

Florida (0-1-1) I don't think they are in trouble, but a tie against a depleted North Carolina side is disappointing to say the least. They should of gotten a result here.

Tennessee (3-0) 1-0 win agaist William and Mary is a good result, will help later in the RPI.

Georgia (2-1) 1-0 loss to Kansas, an upset, but not a really big one. Kansas is a decent team.

Auburn (2-1) lost 2-1 to Pepperdine, Pepperdine is a very good side, solid win for Pepperdine.

LSU (1-0-1) 1-1 tie against Rice. Not a great result, but not a bad one either.

Arkansas (3-0) 3 straight wins now, they are looking like the surprise of the SEC at the moment.

Alabama (2-0) 2-1 against Samford. With the only quality team on their non conference schedule being Maryland. They need to win every game.

South Carolina (1-1-1) 2-0 win against Mercer. A minnow, but they needed this win badly.

 

UGA: I don't agree. They haven't impressed at all yet. I'll give credit for the UNC-G match because they're proving to be an at-large candidate if they don't win the SOCON. Needing the 83rd to beat Furman and falling to Kansas screams trouble to me despite having Newfield (my preseason SEC Offensive Player of the Year) and Baker in goal. They need to win the rest of non-con with the exception of UCF.

UT: Doing well.

A&M: At first I thougth San Diego seemed a little suspect this year, but consider Pepperdine is a top 10 and Northridge has a couple of marquee wins under their belt, and the fact that USD beat Minnesota, and now the loss doesn't look as bad for Texas A&M. Still the favorite to win the SEC.

Auburn : Pepperdine is a legit top-10 team this year. Nothing wrong with that 2-1 loss. They'll be an NCAA team this year, but the UC Irvine match will determine how good they'll be.

LSU: 10 straight home games ... they better have a great record at the end of that! But two 2OT's to start the year against two teams I initially thought would be regulation W's is interesting.

Bama: They're getting shots but lacking accuracy at the moment.

ARK: Texas=growing pains this year so that's not my barometer, but the Hogs will be better under Hale for sure.

SC: From what I've heard, Darien Vercillo has filled in admirably in goal. Sabrina D'Angelo will definitely come in handy once SEC play picks up, but her in Japan right now isn't South Carolina's problem. The back four and GK isn't the problem, it's the offense. The Minnesota game they used a different lineup in the back for some odd reason and Taylor Uhl ( a name we'll see a lot the next few years in the US ) made them pay for it in the first couple of minutes. Immediately after, they put the regular starting backline in place and held Minnesota off until the golden goal. Neither score can be attributed as GK blunders, and both websites reported that Vercillo was outstanding. The real question is when will Danielle Au show up?

UF: I watched the UF-Miami game and saw the same problem that plagued them last year. They're offense-oriented and the defense suffers. It's fundamental tactical things they're missing, especially on corner kicks. I thought it was interesting that the UF announcers said Miami would bunker down after going up 1-0 "like everyone did to Florida last year" but 1) Miami went on to score three more goals and 2) all Florida has to do is stop giving up early goals! Don't blame the opposition. Taylor Burke looked a little rusty but seems to have done better at UNC.

Mizzou: Great win vs Memphis

 

Couldn't agree with you more on most of what you said, don't underestimate Georgia just yet, I think they are an at large bid for sure. Later on in the season, I'm going to post who I think are in and who are on the bubble, should be intresting to see if I am right.

 

Most improved team might be Vandy. They've gotten a lot more athletic and look to have enjoyed a couple of good recruiting classes. Will surprise a number of teams this year and be pretty competitive for the next few.

 

After the Miami game, I was ready to writeoffmy Gators. They looked flat out awful. What a difference a week makes. Draw with UNC Friday and then a huge win today against Duke, 3-2 in OT. they went down 2-0, but did a great job coming back. Schedule doesn't get any easier at FSUnext week

 

When you get around to doing that, for some assistance in considering teams that are pretty highly ranked but might drop out and also teams that are not so highly ranked but might get in, check out the newly revised Predicting the Bracket page at the RPI for Division I Women's Soccer website: https://sites.google.com/site/rpifordivisioniwomenssoccer/predicting-the-bracket

 

Sure I'll help. I'm looking forward to this season, everything is really up in the air with all the kids at the U20 world cup.

 

Ok today was a HUGE day of upsets, both Stanford and Duke the number 1 and 2 ranked teams were upset. How many times has that every happenned? Not much I would think, unless it was in the NCAA tournament.

Ok match results for August 26, 2012, and what a day it was for the SEC, but I'll get to them later. Using the CS360 rankings, they may not be fully updated, but they are better then the Top Drawer rankings, because teams like Tennesse and Missouri are unranked in their rankings. Partly because they are including all the automatic bids from conferences into their rankings.

Big East.

(9)Marquette (2-0) Second result negated by weather, but they got some huge hurdles coming up against North Carolina and Duke. Should be the acid test to see how good Marquette is.

(18)Louisville (2-0) Did not play today.

(28)Rutgers (4-0) 1-0 win against Siena. 26 shots were taken by Rutgers and the only goal came off an own goal. Sometimes you get days like that. The next game should really tell if Rutgers are the real deal. Next Friday, their hardest test will be against Texas A&M. A win here will go a long way into getting them an at large bid. Their Ohio State win is looking better and better with Ohio returning to form with them beating a ranked (16)Maryland.

(33)Notre Dame (2-1) 5-0 thrashing of East Carolina, ok this was expected I guess, just didn't expect it to be that lopsided. Notre Dame are using a ton of freshmen. And to think when Mandy Laddish returns from the World Cup, how much better the Notre Dame offense will transition with her helming it. Btw their video feeds are very pretty, impressed at their quality.

(37)Georgetown (4-0) 2-1 win against a ranked (50)Hofstra is a decent result. Finally a result that could help them in the RPI side. Maybe they are deserving of that coaches poll rank after all.

If Notre Dame really starts rolling, they can move up the standings quickly, with games against Santa Clara, Portland and North Carolina. Marquette has a very difficult docket with games against North Carolina and Duke, any result here, and it will move them up the rankings. Rutgers really has only Texas A&M, so its vital that they win that game if they want to ensure an at large bid for themselves. The only quality team left on Louisville's non conference schedule is UNC Greensboro which upset Wake Forest. A result here for Louisville will go a long way to help them.

SEC.

Ok we all know this, we know how important non conference play can be for an individual club, but do we understand how important they are to a conference? A win against a ranked club helps the whole conference in ways most people may not fully comprehend. Knocking off a high ranked club increases the RPI for the entire conference, teams play against the teams that have the tougher schedules and because of this, their RPI's tend to be higher, a higher RPI means more teams from said conference make it into the tournament. The SEC have the distinction of playing some of the more tougher non conference schedules. The ACC being stronger, and the Pac 12 slightly behind the SEC. And the reason why I rank the Pac 12 behind the SEC, is that a good 6 teams are the cream of the crop, the bottom 6 are sadly farm teams for the rest of the league. The SEC has a good 9-10 teams can beat eachother on a given day. Alabama the 8th ranked team beat South Carolina the 1st ranked team in the SEC playoffs last year. So with all that said, today helped the SEC alot with the Florida win over Duke.

(10)Texas A&M (2-1) Their 2-0 win against University of San Antonio, is UTSA a DI school? I'm not sure how important this win is, but a win is a win I guess. Their next game is against a ranked Rutgers team. They need to win this if they have any hope of getting that coveted 1st seed in the NCAA tournament. They still have decent opportunities against teams like Long Beach, but Rutgers is a prize fish that they need to win if they want to get that seed.

(21)Florida (1-1-1) After that hick up against Miami, plenty of Florida fans were probably worried, but they shouldn't be. Winning 3-2 OT against (2)Duke is a HUGE result. A result that will invariably impact the SEC in more ways then one. It does mean when SEC play resumes, teams will be looking at Florida and hoping to knock them off and take advantage of the RPI gain from it. They still have a huge test coming up against Florida State. A win there will catapult Florida possibly into the top 3 in the nation.

(25)Missouri (3-0) 3-2 win against (27) California. Another strong win for Missouri. With this and Memphis' win on their docket, they are looking like a lock for an at large bid.

(30)Tennessee (4-0) 2-0 win against VCU. Tennessee still chugs along, they have one last test to come and that will be against UCLA. A win there and Tennessee can legitmately claim that they are contenders.

(38)Georgia (3-1) 5-0 crushing of South Dakota State, not much of a surprise here.

(39)South Carolina (2-1-1) 3-0 win against Jacksonville. Some offense finally, but can they score against a quality side is the question.

(40)LSU (1-1-1) 2-1 getting edged out by NC State is painful, but acceptable. NC State are a good side that plays in a tough conference. Should be a very good result for NC State in their hopes for an at large bid, considering they already have a win against Texas.

(41)Auburn (2-2) 1-0 loss to UC Irvine hurt. This and the Pepperdine games were 2 key games that were going to test Auburn. They really needed one of these results to help them. They still have William and Mary on their docket, so they can still improve.

Alabama (3-0) 4-0 win against UAB. Haven't yet been tested yet.

Arkansas (3-1) 4-0 loss to SMU, first real blip. SMU was going to be a stiff challenge, but to get blown out by 4 goals, doesn't look good.

Overall some good and some bad results for the SEC this week. 2 teams that got hurt were LSU and Auburn. They still have some more challenges on their non conference schedule, so getting those results are important. Florida is on the rise, the Florida State game will really change how everyone views the SEC. A win there will catapult Florida into the top 3 and if Texas A&M get wins against Rutgers and Long Beach, both ranked teams, Texas should be up there as well.