QuickStick MCLA Top 20 Poll – March 26th

Last week we kicked off our poll by noting how the same time next week, this whole thing could look a lot different. Well, this ish looks different. Headlined by wild results at The Battle by the Beach and some Rocky Mountain Horrors, we just completed what was the most hectic week in the MCLA this season.

Aside from some fascinating results across the country. This week was one with two notable coaching move headlines. Both Arizona State and Florida State, two Blue-Blood MCLA programs, decided to move on from their current head coaches last week. These program decisions sparked quite the discussion on MCLA Twitter. If you didn’t see our responses to Virtually Varsity, you can find them here. We won’t go into further detail as there will be a story published this week about our opinions on the matter and where we stand with the whole mid-season coaching moves.

SB2K18 is over for every MCLA program. Kids are back in class and doing their best to balance out their studies and athletics, while also having fun too because we cannot forget, these boys are in college.

1. Utah – The Utes remain atop the polls this week despite not playing anyone last week. They take on former MCLA, now current NCAA DII Westminster this Friday which should be a good test.
2. Chapman – The Panthers absolutely demolished USC 17-4. Coach Harley’s team has a good chance to run the table the rest of the way.
3. Colorado – The Buffs got a huge win over the weekend in beating Grand Canyon 12-11. With UCSB and Cal Poly coming to town this week, Colorado certainly can’t look too far ahead but are expected to win both games handily.
4. South Carolina – What did we say last week? Springtime in Columbia can get distracting. The Cocks got a must-win against SELC Divisional opponent NC State but in a relatively close 8-5 ball game. South Carolina travels to ECU this weekend, a much-improved team from years’ past.
5. BYU – The Cougs traveled to Boise and stormed the Blue Turf knocking off the home Broncos by 10 and then getting past a gritty Simon Fraser team 10-7. A tune-up game against Utah State lurks for BYU before they embark on a gauntlet of a 3-game stretch against Colorado, Colorado State, and Utah.
6. Grand Canyon – The Lopes must not have adjusted to the altitude well. They lost a tough game to Colorado State, a team undoubtedly on the ropes, and then another heartbreaker to the Buffaloes of Colorado. GCU looks to bounce back against Arizona State which is no easy task that’s for sure.
7. Michigan State – Sparty traveled to Delaware and played in two one-goal games. They lost to Liberty and beat VaTech. A good split of games and a quality win over Tech, but the loss drops MSU in the polls. Good news is they shouldn’t be tested until they face MCLA DII power Grand Valley State in mid-April.
8. Concordia Irvine– CUI got two wins since the last poll, defeated Utah Valley and Santa Clara each by 3 goals. A bit surprised they didn’t win by a greater margin, which makes me worry about the Eagles moving forward.
9. Boston College– Eagles are still in the midst of hibernation.
10. Virginia Tech – Hokies took it to the upstart Huskies of Northeastern winning by 5 but lost a heartbreaker to Michigan State. The boys from Blacksburg can’t sleep on Alabama next week, but they certainly are excited about South Carolina on April 7^th.
11. Davenport– The Panthers escape a near trap game against MCLA DII Blue Blood Dayton. Life doesn’t get easier in facing the lower division teams, as they face Grand Valley State on Wednesday.
12. Georgia Tech– Spring Break has ended for the Yellow Jackets. Half the team went to space camp, it was pretty cool. They host a hungry Northeastern team this weekend in a pivotal out of conference game.
13. Liberty – Like a couple teams already listed, the Flames came away 1-1 on the weekend in Delaware. They fell to the Huskies from UCONN for the second time in as many years but bounced back nicely knocking off Michigan State for a quality out of conference win.
14. UCONN – On national puppy day the Huskies got their bone. The Dawgs knocked off Liberty for the second time in as many years. They finished off their trip to DE by dismantling both Pitt and Central Michigan. Conference season begins now, and boy does the PCLL look to be a dogfight. Get it!
15. New Hampshire – Some may have thought it could be a trap game, others anticipated UNH beating URI 20-6. Wildcats are off this week but play UCONN April 7^th at home. Should be a dandy!
16. Northeastern– On national puppy day the Dawgs get their bones. Pretty sure we’ve used this line like 8 times already but it works. On Friday Northeastern took down Pitt but fell to VaTech by 5 the following day. 1-1 in Delaware seems to be the way to go. Huskies have two HUGE OOC games in Hot-Lanta this weekend when they face GaTech and UGA.
17. Arizona State – Arizona State finds themselves back in the polls after taking UNLV out to dinner and not calling them back, 24-9 Final. Sun Devils also defeated SDSU 13-7. Not to mention they fired their coach! STUDENT-RUN ORGANIZATION…
18. Colorado State – Colorado State wasn’t ranked last week. That didn’t sit well with the rams. So, they beat Grand Canyon. Now the Rams are ranked again. Two big games vs Cal Poly and UCSB will prove dividends this week.
19. Florida State – Beating Auburn by 3 is a bit alarming but firing their coach is a trendy move. If things don’t work, why continue to pay them. Especially if the kids are doing so. Idk what’s up with FSU, they’re one of the more confusing teams in the MCLA. Friday’s game at UCF could be a trap game if the ‘Noles are looking too far ahead to UGA.

T20. Georgia – A tie at 20? Yup. Big Dawgs continue to eat. They beat a pesky Alabama team in the rematch of the College Football Playoff Championship game. The boys from Athens face Auburn for an SELC Divisional Matchup on Saturday before they battle their fellow Dawgs in Northeastern.

T20. Florida – It’s so tough to separate these teams. So we’re calling it a tie! The Gators drove out to Tally to play Auburn and got the job done in a 12-4 win. Some pretty nice highlights posted on their social media too (Thanks for all the Twitter love btw, ilysm). Expect the Gators to win their next two games before their Rivalry Contest vs. FSU.

Others considered (no particular order): California, Oregon, Simon Fraser, Cal Poly Oregon State, UCSB