Trey’s MCLA Rankings: Yellow Jackets claim top spot

PHOTO: Jodi Vosika (Twitter: @jodivosika)

Trey’s MCLA D1 Rankings — Week 3

Expect these rankings out every week on Tuesdays, the day before the league’s actual coaches’ poll is released. I give some explanations below for these teams — the +/- number is how much the team rose/fell from my poll last week, not the coaches poll.

1. Georgia Tech (5–0) +1

2. Cal (6–0) +1

These teams rise above and slide in to the top two spots partially due to the 0 in the loss column, but also due to the way in which they’re winning. Both have two quality wins (vs Top 15 teams), but their wins are consistently coming in blowout, dominant fashion. Only GT’s one-goal win over ASU has been close.

3. BYU (5–1) +4

4. Cal Poly (6–1) —

5. Grand Canyon (3–1) -4

6. Colorado State (4–1) —

These ones were easy, thanks to head-to-head matchups. BYU beat Cal Poly and Grand Canyon — so even if the Cougs had that loss at the hands of UNLV, I’ve gotta give them the nod because of those wins that break up a chunky 4-way tie in the middle of the top 10. Cal Poly and GCU are essentially tied, but the Mustangs looked better in their loss to BYU and it came on a neutral site. Colorado State is at the bottom of this because of the loss the Rams suffered at the hands of GCU.

7. Florida State (6–0) +4

Honestly this is more of a recalibration than a reflection of FSU’s win over Michigan State. While I questioned the value of the Noles’ wins in Arizona, the way in which they handled MSU just proves that they belong way higher up thanks to a 0 in the loss column and three wins over ranked opponents.

8. Colorado (3–2) +1

9. Boston College (0–0) +1

10. Utah (3–0) +1

Utes officially hit my top 10. Fun fact: only two teams in the MCLA’s Top 25 have played at least 3 games and have gotten into double-digits in all of their matchups. Cal is one. Utah is the other.

11. Oregon (4–1) -6

12. Arizona State (3–4) +1

13. Oregon State (7–1) -5

The big PNCLL fall from grace (with ASU sandwiched in between) comes as a result of some drastic losses for both teams. Oregon drops a game by 4 goals to unranked Boise State, OSU loses to SDSU. The Oregon State loss might not seem that bad — it was a neutral site game but far closer to San Diego than Corvallis. But it’s the questions it raised about the validity of OSU’s resume that did most of the damage. The Beavers have really only beaten Arizona, who hasn’t shown anything, and Sonoma State, who has experienced an awful start in 2017.

14. UC Santa Barbara (4–2) +1

15. Chapman (3–3) +1

16. UNLV (3–2) +2

17. Michigan State (3–2) -3

Michigan State had to fall, even if their losses came to #7 and #1. If they had been close games, maybe I could’ve justified holding them up higher, but the fact is that they were handled with ease. Offensively there’s a lot of question marks for the Spartans. Also, notice UNLV’s 2-spot rise, thanks to BYU’s big weekend in AZ.

18. Liberty (2–1) -1

19. Arizona (2–3) —

20. Davenport (2–0) —

21. Boise State (3–1) +5

The Broncos are the big splash this week, as they debut in the ranks following a monster win over Oregon. Yes, they do have a loss, and it was a blowout, but it did come to a top-5 team in BYU. As a team that has been in this early-season dark horse hype conversation before, I’d expect to see BSU do a little bit more damage in 2017 and possibly contend in the PNCLL. Remember, they beat the Ducks by 4. That’s not a flukey lucky win, that’s a statement.

22. Virginia Tech (3–3) -1

23. San Diego State (5–2) +3

24. Minnesota (6–3) -2

This crop was tough to judge — VT and Minnesota both took daring road trips to AZ and CO, respectively. The Hokies played both ASU and GCU to double-overtime, dropping both games in heartbreak fashion. I can’t fault them too much but I can’t support a rise in the ranks on the merits of back-to-back losses, no matter how close those were. SDSU belongs back into the ranks following their win over Oregon State — it was a 3-goal W, and it came at a neutral site. Can’t be pushed much higher though due to one of their losses (to Oregon) taking a value hit. Minnesota drops two spots after competitive showing vs CSU in a one-goal loss.

25. South Carolina (4–0) +1

C’mon, after VT did what it did vs. top-15 teams across the country…you can’t tell me that the SC win doesn’t look a thousand times better now. The Gamecocks don’t play another game versus a ranked opponent until April, but for now, they’ve earned this with a win over a ranked opponent.

For those of you wondering where Texas is at, after being at #23…all of the teams above them here have logged games against ranked, quality teams. That has to be factored in. But don’t get me wrong, the Longhorns are right on the brink. Just hard to a team to stay in while others are playing quality competition and getting W’s.

—

Keep in mind, please, that I am not a voter in the MCLA Coaches’ Poll, and this poll carries no weight or importance. It’s just what I would submit as a poll, and why, if I were a voter.

Follow me on Twitter @TreyLanthier or email me at treylanthier@gmail.com. Check out MCLA’s CrosseFire, a radio show and podcast dedicated to covering the entire league, only on LacrosseTalkRadio.com.