... in fact there is not one ACC team that plays the full compliment of 17 games. Between travel and intensity of competition, they opt to play 15 or 16 so why not add a winnable D3 game in there to get the reserves a run? Indiana actually plays 18 games (one is a D3) so even though they schedule a D3 they are playing two more D1 games then most of the ACC.
On the off chance you lose vs. a lower division school, you take the maximum RPI penalty. So there's that. Western Illinois (Quincy) and ETSU (Emory & Henry) have lost games vs. non-D1's this season. Some are using football examples that aren't the same thing. FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) teams are not allowed to play anyone below Division I. They can play teams from FCS (Football Championship Subdivision), the lower half of Division I football. An LSU could never play Baldwin-Wallace, for example. Even a game against ULM is a game against another FBS school. The most famous example from football is Appalachian State defeating Michigan in The Big House. Appy State has since moved up to FBS but at the time the Mountaineers were still FCS. FCS schools can play lower division teams. Pioneer Football League teams are non-scholarship and play a lot of these types of games, and even take some losses.
True but the gap between Alabama and UL-Monroe is probably bigger than Indiana/Hanover ... That is why you shouldn't play a really good D3 team. Notre Dame almost got bit this year playing Hope. The App State game put the Big Ten Network on the map. Up to the point Xfinity/Comcast didn't carry the network since quote "No one wants to watch Iowa play Field Hockey". After that amazing upset people called to complain since that was one of the first games on the Big Ten Network. A week later Comcast carried BTN and the rest is history!
Well whatever...Both games are scheduled for the same reason. Most likely an easy win and a home game... and 73-0 is a pretty big gap.
My BIG+ sub ended earlier this week so I wasn't able to watch last night. Looks like I didn't miss anything worth spending the $13 on...
Pathetic. We were second to every ball. Their high pressure killed us, mostly because they owned the midfield. We needed to go over the top, but evidently we don't have the speed to get behind the defense that way. I'm starting to wonder if there's a morale problem - that's the only thing I can think of that would cause this catastrophic demise. The only route to the B1G tourney for us is to beat Rutgers and have UCLA lose to Washington. Neither of those is a given.
Still have a 9 RPI with 3 Quad 1 wins, so will be seeded if they win their last game, probably in the Top 8.
Hoosiers gutter-stomped Rutgers 5-0, but UCLA has just scored back-to-back goals to take a 3-2 lead in Seattle. Indiana needs UCLA to draw or lose to grab the #4 seed.
It will be interesting to see if the NCAA gives the Hoosiers a Top 8 seed in spite of not making conference playoffs. Stupid that the Big Ten only takes 4 teams... it should be six at a minimum.
If only we'd brought the same kind of energy and urgency we displayed last night against MSU and NW... Can't let your destiny be in the hands of another team.
My wife, a UMD fan, is happy to avoid IU again. Agree 4 team tourny is too slim for a B10 conference though I hated the B10 8/9 at #1 site and then having to play the next day. BE is in the same quandry with just 4 team BET. I think an ACC 15 team tourney is a bit much. If I was NCAA Men's Soccer King (MSK?) musky?, I would have 6 or 8 team tournys. Stronger conferences (ACC, B10, BE, SUN) would have 8 team while weaker (e.g., AAC, PAT, Ivy, A10) would have 6 teams. I doubt that IU will have the #8 seed, but what do I know.
Currently a #7 RPI (I think it will go up between now and selection) with three Quad 1 wins. I think they will be seeded in the Top 8.
Back to #8. But agree. They are my top-ranked at-large team. No other at-large candidate has as many Q1/Q2 victories (7) as Indiana, which has a non-con RPI of 3.
Gotta reward the teams that play a tough non-con schedule. IU should be Top 8 despite not making their own conference tournament.
The NCAA sorts all matches into four Quadrants (quads) based on opponent RPI. Note that I try to replicate that with my team pages. See Indiana: https://rpiupdatemenssoccer.blogspot.com/2025/07/indiana.html A Quad 1 opponent is that against a team with a non-adjusted RPI of 1-25 (home), 1-40 (neutral) and 1-50 (away). Quad 2 is 26-50 (home), 41-75 (neutral) and 51-90 (away). Note that I say "non-adjusted" RPI. The NCAA performs adjustments on the base RPI values, adding bonuses and deducting penalties, again, based on opponent RPI and site (although not the same breakdowns). So, you might see a match that seems like it should be Q1 but is categorized as Q2 (or vice versa). The quad records are VERY IMPORTANT. Probably one of the most important things the Selection Committee looks at. There's a visual feel that you get from looking at a well-balanced team sheet with success showing in the Quad 1 and 2 columns.
.. but a very tough first round draw against two teams they played during the year. 6th seed is for the 7 Quad 1 and Quad 2 wins and 12 out of 17 games overall. Non-conference strength of schedule of 4. 6th was deserved.