Talk about a damn crazy non-conference. Things you could have told me that I would have bet the farm against you and lost it:
- Some of the Strength of Schedules seem way out of whack when you actually look at who teams have played.
- Tenn Tech @ 5-0.. figured I'd lose at least to Holy Cross.
- Columbia @ 1-4, yet a SOS of only 68?!? Look at that non-conf schedule and my bias alone says that's brutal. Currently sits at WIS Rank #80. Crazy to think of now, but that's a big uphill battle to the playoffs.
- Northern Iowa @ 1-4, w/ only win an OT thriller vs. Columbia. Played much the same schedule as Columbia (Promotion/Relegation) league. I play several of those teams every season in conference and have less Conference Championships over the last 4 seasons than National Championships. Brutal. WIS #83.
- Howard @ 4-1. This turnaround has sure as sh!t impressed me! Worst team in the WILK world to first playoff appearance last season. Now in his 4th season, pushing the envelope even further. WIS #24.
- Again, these strength of schedule results from WIS... We're all beating up on each other which is allowing the undefeated SIMs to look strong. That should get worked out in conference play, but still somewhat astonishing that WIS doesn't weight HUM vs. HUM games heavier.
Other than the weird SOS results, I've had fun fighting off some foes I haven't met before. I've always scheduled tough non-conference, because I'm a firm believer that you don't know what you have until you put them to the test, whether you face some adversity, or not. This is setting the stage for a crazy fun playoff set considering how many teams have met up already. Thanks Naskin for coordinating all this and I'm definitely up for doing it again next season.
Cheers!