Before we get into the new rankings we have to acknowledge a mistake.
With the hybrid leagues where teams from D2 and D3 are mixed occasionally we lose focus. We knocked it on last week (and exacerbated it with a video) saying Loyola of Maryland was D2. They are D3. They are a very good team in D3. They're not in D2. So, sorry about that. We'll take a close look at D3 this week later on. But right now, they get moved out of our D2 Top 40, of course.
So do a few other teams. There is a lot of guesswork in the opening weeks, and player turnover is a massive factor in how teams reload each year. Sometimes we find out how that went after a few games.
D2 Roundup. Who Has Started Strong?
Teams Moving Up
Benedictine's win over Pitt State prompted us to move them up, and as a result, the team that beat them in a close one, John Brown, moves up too. This is all very good news for the Gateway Conference.
SUNY Oswego beat Stony Brook, who, the week before had pushed Marist. We're not sure if all five Liberty teams that we have in the rankings will remain there, but right now there's a bit of a cluster for three of them, with RPI (up three spots) and Cornell ahead of them.
Despite losing, UW-Milwaukee comes into the Top 40. They put 33 on Northern Iowa and that's notable. The competition within the Great Midwest is going to heat up.