Men DI College Rankings Spring 2017 Week #11

So don't say we don't listen.

We've received some notes about the rankings - what we value and what we don't - and it seemed like now was the time to do this.

So, who should be #1? Saint Mary's? They beat Cal, BYU, and won handily over seven other ranked teams. BYU? They beat Saint Mary's, Central Washington twice, and won handily over four other ranked teams. Life? They were our #1 as they have not lost, or even come close to it (OK, on 24-18 result but still). They won four games against top-10 teams, as well.

However, Saint Mary's also lost to BYU. BYU also lost to Saint Mary's, and have played that many games (only 10), and while they should be commended for playing men's clubs, they didn't win against them, something the Gaels and Running Eagles accomplished.

And Life? Well the reason they have victories against top-10 teams is because Lindenwood and Arkansas State are ranked there in part because they are in a conference with Life ... kind of a circular ranking. More of a concern with Life is that they haven't played outside of the Mid-South. Sure they beat Arkansas State who beat Indiana, but that's the best we can do.

So we look at a mathematical formula we use on occasion, awarding points for wins against ranked teams, and more points for wins against top-ranked teams, and with some credit for close losses and wins over men's clubs, and also taking into account margin of victory. The result? Saint Mary's blows the other two away, and BYU and Life are pretty close. With BYU having lost to, and beaten, Saint Mary's, we decide to keep them at #2. Life slips to #3.   

Oh, and Baylor moves up after beating LSU, and Arkansas moves up as a result of their two earlier close losses to Baylor.