The Official Unbiased Top Ten week 7

[Cross Bones]

1. ESL (5-1) - holds on to the #1 spot despite their resume taking a hit with the MC loss to Rice and closer than expected win over Eddie's Village. But there's also no need to pile on so Flyers remain atop.

2. Loyola (6-0) - Ramblers handle Marist and look to be the class of the CCL.

3. LWE (6-0) - Buddy text me last night saying he got to the game a little late and it was 28-0 already. East continues its iron fisted rule in the SouthWest.

4. Hersey (6-0) - collects a forfeit win. Week 9 is Prospect.

5. Downers North (6-0) - dismantled an OPRF team that gave both Fenwick and GBW a run for their money. I had them underestimated.

6. Rice (4-2) - pulled off the stunning upset of previous #2 MC. Held the Caravan to 24 and scored 35, both impressive allowing the Crusaders to jump 3 spots.

7. Prospect (6-0) - beat Rolling Meadows into submission. Week 9 is Hersey

8. MC (4-2) - took an unexpected loss to a good Rice team. The defense has yet to live up to the expectations while the offense has been consistent.

9. Bolingbrook (5-1) - battling injuries on D but Raiders shut down the Wolves O, only points surrendered were a safety on a dropped snap and from a KO returned to the 5. Offense is rounding into shape but still has a lot of room for improvement.

10. Oswego (5-1) - playing without star RB Ammar Banire the Panthers continue to score 44 points. The win over Geneva looking more impressive today.

Fire away...

 

[CCHS-Fan]

#9 is over-ranked.








J/K

 

[Cross Bones]

#9 is over-ranked.








J/K

Could be. They can look like 2 completely different teams in consecutive possessions.

 

[ODERTY1]

ICCP?

 

[Cross Bones]

ICCP?

IC slipped some with Naz' loss. They still have the Ignatius win but Im not sure what that means right now.

Rochester slipped due to the Batavia loss and not having other games to gauge them against the competition.

 

[chitown-irish]

Bolingbrook competition is not very good. They have played 2 quality teams and our 1-1.

 

[Cross Bones]

Bolingbrook competition is not very good. They have played 2 quality teams and our 1-1.

That's true to an extent. But they were an 8A quarterfinalist who returned most of the starters and beat the 8A runners up who also returned a ton of starters.

 

[PowerI66]

Do you have a just outside the top 10? I know you mentioned Rochester. Geneva, Iggy, and ICCP have to be pretty close.

Oswego benefits greatly from scheduling Geneva and winning. Only other decent game is against Brook and they got handled.

 

[Alexander33]

1. ESL (5-1) - holds on to the #1 spot despite their resume taking a hit with the MC loss to Rice and closer than expected win over Eddie's Village. But there's also no need to pile on so Flyers remain atop.

2. Loyola (6-0) - Ramblers handle Marist and look to be the class of the CCL.

3. LWE (6-0) - Buddy text me last night saying he got to the game a little late and it was 28-0 already. East continues its iron fisted rule in the SouthWest.

4. Hersey (6-0) - collects a forfeit win. Week 9 is Prospect.

5. Downers North (6-0) - dismantled an OPRF team that gave both Fenwick and GBW a run for their money. I had them underestimated.

6. Rice (4-2) - pulled off the stunning upset of previous #2 MC. Held the Caravan to 24 and scored 35, both impressive allowing the Crusaders to jump 3 spots.

7. Prospect (6-0) - beat Rolling Meadows into submission. Week 9 is Hersey

8. MC (4-2) - took an unexpected loss to a good Rice team. The defense has yet to live up to the expectations while the offense has been consistent.

9. Bolingbrook (5-1) - battling injuries on D but Raiders shut down the Wolves O, only points surrendered were a safety on a dropped snap and from a KO returned to the 5. Offense is rounding into shape but still has a lot of room for improvement.

10. Oswego (5-1) - playing without star RB Ammar Banire the Panthers continue to score 44 points. The win over Geneva looking more impressive today.

Fire away...

I am not sold on the Southwest Prairie Conference, so I will provide this slightly different angle.

1. Loyola (6-0) Sitting in first place in the best conference/division in the state earns them the number one ranking.
2. East St. Louis (5-1) Just waiting for Loyola's first loss.
3. Lincoln-Way East (6-0) Similar to Loyola, they sit in first place in the best public-school conference in the state (and edged B.R.).
4. Brother Rice (4-2) A very meaningful win yesterday.
5. Downers Grove North (6-0) They seem to be getting better.
6. Mt. Carmel (4-2) A very talented team, but their defense is displaying disturbing vulnerability.
7. Rochester (6-0) Looking more and more like the 4A champion. Made Glenwood look worse than they are.
8. Prospect (6-0) I'm not confident in the Mid-Suburban Conference, but gosh they sure look good.
9. Hersey (6-0) Ditto.
10. IC Catholic (6-0) They have done everything that has been asked of them so far.

 

[chitown-irish]

If they were still in old sica blue they would be 4th best team. I know the brook has alot of talent but u think come playoff time they will struggle because their schedule does not test them.

That's true to an extent. But they were an 8A quarterfinalist who returned most of the starters and beat the 8A runners up who also returned a ton of starters.

 

[Cross Bones]

Do you have a just outside the top 10? I know you mentioned Rochester. Geneva, Iggy, and ICCP have to be pretty close.

Oswego benefits greatly from scheduling Geneva and winning. Only other decent game is against Brook and they got handled.

No formalized list, although I considered doing 20 and only publishing the 10 to keep me organized, but I don't want to be beholden to prior incorrect conclusions. Agree that Oswego's win over Geneva is powering them, but I don't currently have a reason to think Geneva would beat them today (so long as Banire plays)

I am not sold on the Southwest Prairie Conference, so I will provide this slightly different angle.

1. Loyola (6-0) Sitting in first place in the best conference/division in the state earns them the number one ranking.
2. East St. Louis (5-1) Just waiting for Loyola's first loss.
3. Lincoln-Way East (6-0) Similar to Loyola, they sit in first place in the best public-school conference in the state (and edged B.R.).
4. Brother Rice (4-2) A very meaningful win yesterday.
5. Downers Grove North (6-0) They seem to be getting better.
6. Mt. Carmel (4-2) A very talented team, but their defense is displaying disturbing vulnerability.
7. Rochester (6-0) Looking more and more like the 4A champion. Made Glenwood look worse than they are.
8. Prospect (6-0) I'm not confident in the Mid-Suburban Conference, but gosh they sure look good.
9. Hersey (6-0) Ditto.
10. IC Catholic (6-0) They have done everything that has been asked of them so far.

Also wasn't impressed with the SWP non-con performance, nor was I last season. But then I looked at what other conferences did and it wasn't much better. So I use Oswego and Bolingbrook as foundations like I do with MC and Rice.

If they were still in old sica blue they would be 4th best team. I know the brook has alot of talent but u think come playoff time they will struggle because their schedule does not test them.

Do you mean the old SICA Blue how they were back then? Or if the SICA Blue was today's teams? That said I don't buy this argument. For instance if they played Providence's path to the 5A title game last season all 6 SWP West teams end up in the championship.

 

[ODERTY1]

These unbiase rankings seem bias...boilingbrook? LA over ESL? no iccp? didn't hf rout the brook?

 

[Cross Bones]

These unbiase rankings seem bias...boilingbrook? LA over ESL? no iccp? didn't hf rout the brook?

Did you read them? Is LA over ESL? Yeah, HF put BTA and Brook played poorly. HF's consistent inconsistency makes them difficult to rank.

 

[chitown-irish]

No formalized list, although I considered doing 20 and only publishing the 10 to keep me organized, but I don't want to be beholden to prior incorrect conclusions. Agree that Oswego's win over Geneva is powering them, but I don't currently have a reason to think Geneva would beat them today (so long as Banire plays)

Also wasn't impressed with the SWP non-con performance, nor was I last season. But then I looked at what other conferences did and it wasn't much better. So I use Oswego and Bolingbrook as foundations like I do with MC and Rice.

Do you mean the old SICA Blue how they were back then? Or if the SICA Blue was today's teams? That said I don't buy this argument. For instance if they played Providence's path to the 5A title game last season all 6 SWP West teams end up in the championship.

Kankakee begs to differ.

 

[Cross Bones]

Kankakee begs to differ.

All six duplicate or exceed what PC did.

 

[chitown-irish]

All six duplicate or exceed what PC did.

Not even remotely true

 

[Cross Bones]

Not even remotely true

Plainfield E mightve even made a run with that post season slate.

 

[Anon744449]

Kankakee gets no respect. Actually had LWE on the ropes , and almost upset them.

 

[McCaravan]

Nailed MC ranking and analysis. Scoring 24 points on the road against a CCL Blue team known for more defensive power then offensive should be more then enough when you have several D1 players on defense.....but they lost by 11. Something that I brought up on the other thread, the Kick Off team allowed them to get to, near or past midfield 4 times. Didn't help the defense there. That's why I gave the defense a D and the KO an F

 

[Cross Bones]

Nailed MC ranking and analysis. Scoring 24 points on the road against a CCL Blue team known for more defensive power then offensive should be more then enough when you have several D1 players on defense.....but they lost by 11. Something that I brought up on the other thread, the Kick Off team allowed them to get to, near or past midfield 4 times. Didn't help the defense there. That's why I gave the defense a D and the KO an F

I feel your pain with that special teams issue. A team can play good defense and special teams ruin it with short fields or even giving up points

 

[Cross Bones]

Kankakee gets no respect. Actually had LWE on the ropes , and almost upset them.

I am aware. My LWE source said you guys were good. Unfortunately its one data point and we're in week 7 now. What happened in that Rich Township game? My OPRF source wasnt impressed by the Raptors.

 

[eagles2k3!]

I don’t know what to make of Prospect. I don’tsee any quality wins for them.
Maybe Fremd but I still don’t know if Fremd is the truth or not bc their last two wins have not been quality opponents. Against Schaumburg it was a one score game in the fourth and against Conant they gave up a ton of yards rushing and the game was still in doubt until the fourth.

i do think the msl is oddly down right now. It’s possible Barrington starts 0-4 and wins out. They lost close games to some quality opponents other than Hersey who took it to them. Their pass game is non existent but they have lots of speed and a guy who is a threat to go to the house every play in osterhues.

 

[PowerI66]

I don’t know what to make of Prospect. I don’tsee any quality wins for them.
Maybe Fremd but I still don’t know if Fremd is the truth or not bc their last two wins have not been quality opponents. Against Schaumburg it was a one score game in the fourth and against Conant they gave up a ton of yards rushing and the game was still in doubt until the fourth.

i do think the msl is oddly down right now. It’s possible Barrington starts 0-4 and wins out. They lost close games to some quality opponents other than Hersey who took it to them. Their pass game is non existent but they have lots of speed and a guy who is a threat to go to the house every play in osterhues.

MSL West is poo. Fremd is solid, but lacking the "it" factor they have had on offense the past two years. Prospect is a step above. Hersey is still unknown to me since I haven't watched them yet. They seem like they have picked up where they left off last year though which makes them very dangerous.

 

[Cross Bones]

I don’t know what to make of Prospect. I don’tsee any quality wins for them.
Maybe Fremd but I still don’t know if Fremd is the truth or not bc their last two wins have not been quality opponents. Against Schaumburg it was a one score game in the fourth and against Conant they gave up a ton of yards rushing and the game was still in doubt until the fourth.

i do think the msl is oddly down right now. It’s possible Barrington starts 0-4 and wins out. They lost close games to some quality opponents other than Hersey who took it to them. Their pass game is non existent but they have lots of speed and a guy who is a threat to go to the house every play in osterhues.

Yeah I am out on a limb with Hersey and Prospect. However, I did like what I saw when I watched them that Thursday night a couple weeks ago, both exceeded my expectations. I am operating under the assumption that Fremd was at least good, Prospect better, and Hersey better than Prospect.

 

[80sRambler]

@Cross Bones this is turning into my favorite weekly thread. can you add an official unbiased "also receiving votes" group?

 

[80sRambler]

@Cross Bones this is turning into my favorite weekly thread. can you add an official unbiased "also receiving votes" group?

Eh. Ignore me... missed you telling an earlier guy in the thread you don't want to do it.

 

[Cross Bones]

Eh. Ignore me... missed you telling an earlier guy in the thread you don't want to do it.

A few other schools in my team cloud are (no order at all): Rochester, IC, Geneva, Maine South, Iggy, Morris, HF, New Trier

 

[80sRambler]

A few other schools in my team cloud are (no order at all): Rochester, IC, Geneva, Maine South, Iggy, Morris, HF, New Trier

We will learn a lot about Ignatius next week.

 

[DirtySixThirty]

I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but I still think IC deserves to be in the top ten, and not even in a peripheral sense (I have them #6). Also, I think Homewood-Flossmoor deserves more consideration for their strength of schedule. Among public schools, the state's best schedule probably comes down to them or a DuKane conference school. Hersey and Prospect don't have the strength of schedule to make the list.

 

[PowerI66]

I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but I still think IC deserves to be in the top ten, and not even in a peripheral sense (I have them #6). Also, I think Homewood-Flossmoor deserves more consideration for their strength of schedule. Among public schools, the state's best schedule probably comes down to them or a DuKane conference school. Hersey and Prospect don't have the strength of schedule to make the list.

You can be in a bad conference and still be great. Maine South has done pretty well

 

[4Afan]

That's true to an extent. But they were an 8A quarterfinalist who returned most of the starters and beat the 8A runners up who also returned a ton of starters.

Why is what happened last year factoring into this year? Especially in week 7?

 

[Cross Bones]

Why is what happened last year factoring into this year? Especially in week 7?

Its a starting point. We need to assume some teams are at a certain level of goodness in order to use as a measuring stick for the other teams. Imperfect as it is its better than assuming all teams are the same.

 

[4Afan]

Its a starting point. We need to assume some teams are at a certain level of goodness in order to use as a measuring stick for the other teams. Imperfect as it is its better than assuming all teams are the same.

In weeks 1 and 2 sure, but there's enough data in week 7 to rank teams without using last years results.

 

[Cross Bones]

I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but I still think IC deserves to be in the top ten, and not even in a peripheral sense (I have them #6). Also, I think Homewood-Flossmoor deserves more consideration for their strength of schedule. Among public schools, the state's best schedule probably comes down to them or a DuKane conference school. Hersey and Prospect don't have the strength of schedule to make the list.

Whats the case for IC?

I dont disagree with you on Hersey & Prospect opponents thus far.

Not sure about the Dukane as a whole.

Geneva and Batavia i think we have a solid idea about. Not sure about the others.

H-F id love to keep them in, the inconsistencies stop me.

In weeks 1 and 2 sure, but there's enough data in week 7 to rank teams without using last years results.

Starting point, not the final say. Those assumptions are confirmed and proven wrong every week. And different assumptions will yield different results. Who am I missing and who should they replace and why?

 

[4Afan]

Whats the case for IC?

Starting point, not the final say. Those assumptions are confirmed and proven wrong every week. And different assumptions will yield different results. Who am I missing and who should they replace and why?

IC and Iggy or possibly LT replace Brook and Oswego. Those are definitely homer picks.

IC is a 3A team and currently is undefeated playing a CCL schedule against larger schools. Loyola is definitely back, but I feel they are getting an inflated ranking due to playing in the CCL despite the fact that they currently haven't beat a team with a winning record, so why doesn't IC get ranked using the same theory?

Teams should he ranked on their entire body of work throughout the entire season, but I feel like you have Brook and Oswego ranked based on one specific game, wins against Oswego and Geneva respectfully. FWIW neither Rivals or Massey has Oswego in their top 15 and Bolingbrook isn't in the top 20.

 

[crusader_of_90]

You can be in a bad conference and still be great. Maine South has done pretty well

East Side too.

 

[DirtySixThirty]

Whats the case for IC?

Here's my case for IC:
1. They dominated Nazareth. I attended this game, and the final score doesn't quite do justice to how lopsided it was. IC led 28-7 at one point, and the talent disparity was huge. I get that Nazareth is down this year, but they play a tough schedule, and only Mount Carmel has beaten them more convincingly.
2. They handed St. Ignatius their only loss. St. Ignatius is really good, and perhaps also worthy of top ten consideration.
3. The past three weeks, against not-the-best/not-the-worst competition (DePaul, Leo, and Laurence), they've effectively pitched three shutouts. They only gave up three garbage-time touchdowns after pulling their starters.

 

[Cross Bones]

IC and Iggy or possibly LT replace Brook and Oswego. Those are definitely homer picks.

IC is a 3A team and currently is undefeated playing a CCL schedule against larger schools. Loyola is definitely back, but I feel they are getting an inflated ranking due to playing in the CCL despite the fact that they currently haven't beat a team with a winning record, so why doesn't IC get ranked using the same theory?

Teams should he ranked on their entire body of work throughout the entire season, but I feel like you have Brook and Oswego ranked based on one specific game, wins against Oswego and Geneva respectfully. FWIW neither Rivals or Massey has Oswego in their top 15 and Bolingbrook isn't in the top 20.

Interesting.

You think IC should get extra points for being small and playing larger CCL schools, but at the same time think I am giving Loyola extra points for playing CCL schools? Loyola beat Rice who is one of the assumptions I have due to being the 7A champ AND what they returned. What is the impressive win for IC or Iggy at this point? And I think my rankings overtly do not give the CCL extra credit I feel other polls do ie Montini, Providence, Naz, Rita, St Francis

I looked at LT, their best win is WWS which is solid. What are you seeing that says they should be top 10?

Brook and Oswego both returned a ton from playoff runs in the highest class. I have to assume a certain level of good there. The H-F loss takes some luster off that for Brook, Oswego did what it was supposed to do, but were removed with the Brook loss. And I'm pretty sure I lowered them after not beating NV the way I figured they should have.

Massey and Rivals rankings (and pretty much any algorithm) are awful

 

[Alexander33]

@Cross Bones this is turning into my favorite weekly thread. can you add an official unbiased "also receiving votes" group?

Other teams to be aware of that are not in the "Unbiased" top ten include:

Rochester, IC Catholic, Morris, Byron, Richmond-Burton, Geneva, St. Ignatius, Kankakee, Morgan Park, Nazareth, Normal, Providence, Huntley, Montini, Harlem, Fenwick, Normal West, Marist, Oak Lawn, St. Rita, Mahomet-Seymour, St. Francis, Breese Central, Joliet Catholic, St. Joseph-Ogden, Centralia, Pecatonica, Wilmington, McNamara, Wheaton Academy, Carterville, and Mount Carmel.

 

[Cross Bones]

Here's my case for IC:
1. They dominated Nazareth. I attended this game, and the final score doesn't quite do justice to how lopsided it was. IC led 28-7 at one point, and the talent disparity was huge. I get that Nazareth is down this year, but they play a tough schedule, and only Mount Carmel has beaten them more convincingly.
2. They handed St. Ignatius their only loss. St. Ignatius is really good, and perhaps also worthy of top ten consideration.
3. The past three weeks, against not-the-best/not-the-worst competition (DePaul, Leo, and Laurence), they've effectively pitched three shutouts. They only gave up three garbage-time touchdowns after pulling their starters.

I came into this season a Naz skeptic based on how they needed a miracle against LZ in the playoffs, so I acknowledged the dominating win. I think so far this season has vindicated the skepticism. The Iggy win is looking good, but I want to see how they do against Loyola, if they put up a good showing that strengthens the IC case.