This was a week for upsets! Underdogs all over the place were pulling out the win and it made for a really exciting week of games. While it still may be hard to think that Syracuse was an underdog at home against Army, that’s the world we live in.
Of course that’s not THE true underdog story. That designation has already been taken by Dodgeball: The True Underdog Story, which is not only a superb move, but also the inspiration for Jim Fenzel’s fantastic weekly lacrosse cartoon, which can be seen below. Last week it was the Olympics, now it’s Dodgeball. Of course it is!
Can you name all the teams and upsets in this cartoon? There are two women’s teams, two D3 men’s teams, and the rest are D1 men. You got this, figure it out! Also, can you name the hosts? PUT SOME THOUGHT INTO IT! This week’s cartoon series is a THREE PART cartoon, so keep reading for the whole reveal!
Jim Fenzel Week 3 Upsets Lacrosse Cartoon
Part 3 of this week’s cartoon series is below! And without further delay, here are my personal top 20 votes, some sort of description, an upsets note where relevant, and where that team currently stands in the national media poll.
NCAA Week 3 Upsets – IS THIS POLL SERIOUS?!?!
My Rank/Team/My Rank Last Week
Games this week
National Media Poll Rank
Ramblings.
1 Albany LW: 1
Games: 18-5 W vs. Drexel
National Poll: 1
I had Albany here all year, definitely no reason to change up now. But after seeing them dominate two teams so far this season, their color scheme perfectly aligns with the Globo Gym Purple Cobras. “We’re better than you, and we know it!”
2 Maryland LW: 4
Games: 13-6 W vs. Penn
National Poll: 2
Their win over Penn seemed OK in the middle of the week when it happened, but looked way better after the Quakers beat Duke. Maryland is just an odd mix of “You’re getting number one votes, really?” and “WE’RE THE DEFENDING CHAMPS, FEAR US!”. Quite honestly, both are 100% true.
3 Ohio State LW: 3
Games: 12-11 W vs. Jacksonville
National Poll: 6
Underdog killer #1. Ohio State Tre Leclaire needed a huge comeback down in Jacksonville to come away with the win here. A goal with only about a second left forced overtime, which was extra impressive given that Jacksonville had the ball with a timeout with under 30 seconds left. Big time players make big time plays, especially when stopping potential upsets.
4 Notre Dame LW: 5
Games: 11-7 W vs. Richmond
National Poll: 8
The Irish have been uninspiring to date, and I honestly only have them this high because of all the other losses. But seeing how real they are is about to happen. Their next three games are Maryland, Denver, and Virginia. Two of those are on the road. Going 2-1 in that stretch would be a major feat.
5 Duke LW: 2
Games: 10-9 L vs. Penn
National Poll: 3
Underdog victim #1! Duke was looking seriously unbeatable for a bit, but just when everyone was about to put away their “Duke always loses games in the early season and puts it together in May” signs, they go and drop a game to Penn. There’s still one person who has them at number one. If you’re of the philosophy where your votes are an indicator of May success or best overall team, I can see that argument. But I try to be a little more in the now, and upsets mean something.
6 Denver LW: 6
Games: 17-8 W vs. Cleveland St.
National Poll: 5
Denver’s another team that is getting a number one vote. With only a loss to Duke on the record, they rode a perfect performance from Baptiste at the X to victory this week. 22/22. Games like this are why he’s making an argument for a Tewaaraton. He need Connor Fields to pump the brakes on his scoring, though.
7 Yale LW: 8
Games: 15-11 W vs. Michigan
National Poll: 11
Yale just kind of hovered for me because of everything else going on around them. They play their regional neighbors for a few weeks before starting the Ivy slate. So they’ll likely be doing more hovering barring an unexpected loss.
8 UNC LW: 9
Games: 13-11 W vs. Hopkins
National Poll: 10
Semi-Underdog! UNC was ranked higher before this game, but it’s still Homewood. UNC also had just come off two one goal games that they should have won more. So we’ll give them a conditional membership right now. Almost like they helped the dodgeball commissioner lose a few pounds before beach season and didn’t need to attend the regional qualifier.
9 UVA LW: 11
Games: 18-12 W vs. High Point; 18-15 w vs. Princeton
National Poll: 4
Underdog killer #2! Princeton was knocking on the door in this one, but it was a bad third quarter that sunk the Tiger. UVA’s starting attack was on fire and were directly responsible for 11 of the Hoos’ goals. But their ultimate test is this week with Syracuse coming into town. Will this be the game where they finally shake their winless ACC streak? They once against have just too much talent for that to seem like it’s possible to keep losing those league matches.
10 Syracuse LW: 15
Games: 11-10 W vs. Army
National Poll: 12
Underdog #1! Army was ranked 9, while Syracuse was 16. The Carrier Dome loses some mystique with Army, too. Army doesn’t care for your fancy climate controlled stadium, much. This triple OT win was won for the ages. Syracuse really showed their youth all through this game and do have some issues to work out.
11 Army LW: 7
Games: 11-10 L vs. Syracuse
National Poll: 13
Underdog victim #2! Army finished their non-league slate with a rough loss to Cuse in the Dome. They had several chances to win this game, but just couldn’t connect on the shots when they needed them most. We knew before the season that Surdick would be the guy to watch on defense, but don’t overlook their SSDMS. Anthony George made plays all game long and John Ragno was a SSDM/FOGO. I guess that means you can drop the GO from that last acronym since he was doing everything.
12 Loyola LW: 12
Games: 19-5 W vs. Lafayette
National Poll: 9
Loyola opened Patriot League play in convincing fashion. They return to non-conference play against with a mid-week game against Towson which they should win comfortably if recent results are any indication. But 3/10 against Duke is what’s circled on the calendars.
13 Villanova LW: 13
Games: 7-2 W vs. Hofstra
National Poll: 7
‘Nova might have the best resume over three games than anyone else. Penn State and Yale are both great wins and a big reason why they’re up to #7 in the national poll. But, this win over Hofstra is nothing to overlook. The Pride are 0-2 with losses to Villanova and Ohio State. They have plenty of runway to make their mark.
14 Marquette LW: 17
Games: 13-6 W vs. Detroit
National Poll: 20
Marquette entered the national poll this week at number 20. Their expectations are high to begin with and a solid win over Detroit along with Jacksonville’s perception is helping them out. Ohio State is a big opportunity this week.
15 Rutgers LW: 18
Games: 12-7 W vs. Fairfield
National Poll: 15
Outside of Albany and Maryland, this is the only pick I line up exactly with the national poll on. Hooray for agreement! Their win over Fairfield was expected and their resume is at par right now. A close loss to Army and three wins they should have. But their Robert Morris win is looking more and more interesting, now.
16 Penn LW: UR
Games: 13-6 L vs. Maryland; 10-9 W vs. Duke
National Poll: 14
Underdog #2! The Quakers vaulted into the poll after losing to Maryland and beating Duke. The dominated at the end of the game against the Blue Devils, too. Does that make them a top ten team? No. But it does mean they’re favored against Penn State this week in another home bout.
17 Vermont LW: 19
Games: 10-5 W vs. Quinnipiac
National Poll: 16
Vermont had another win and held Quinnipiac to just five goals. Jacksonville will be a great test for them, though. If they shut them down, they’ll have the best test in the country with Albany not too long after. We’re about to see how real this team is.
18 Penn State LW: 10
Games: 12-9 L vs. Robert Morris
National Poll: Unranked
Underdog victim #3! I was a little shocked to see Penn State completely drop from the rankings, but it is what it is. They did not help their case at all this week. With Penn up on the slate this week, they need to right the ship immediately.
19 Hopkins LW: 16
Games: 13-11 L vs. UNC
National Poll: 18
Underdog victim #4! The talk of this game was all about Hopkins continually having a shorty guard Tanner Cook. As the great ESPN 8: The Ocho always says “That’s a bold strategy Cotton, let’s see if it pays off for em”. It didn’t.
20 Towson LW: 14
Games: 12-10 L vs. Georgetown
National Poll: Unranked
Underdog victim #5! The Tigers have slipped from the national poll, and I can’t blame others at all for not including them. Their only win is a two point victory over a 1-3 Mt. St. Mary’s and they were blown out by a Hopkins team that is dropping off ballots themselves. A poor showing against Loyola will knock them down for sure.
Dropped from my poll: Providence
Dropped from national poll: Colgate
Also considered, but not in order: Princeton, Colgate, Georgetown, Robert Morris, Delaware
Who did I leave out?
Princeton. Again. And Georgetown. Princeton is very close to dropping out of the national poll after their loss to UVA. But a win over Hopkins on Saturday will probably have me swap those two spots. Georgetown was really my 21st team this week, so they’re not far off at all in my mind.
