The Reverb: A Hot Atlanta Mess

(Photo by Kevin Schoonover)

by Jac Coyne | MCLA.us

LA CROSSE, Wis. – It’s so much easier when everything is linear.

When things just add up, everyone is happier.

A + B = C. That kind of stuff. It just simplifies things.

And then we have what happened in Atlanta this weekend.

RESULTS: FRIDAY | SATURDAY | SUNDAY

Utah Valley beat Georgia Tech. Boston College smoked Utah Valley. Georgia Tech worked over Boston College.

Brutal.

What the heck are we supposed to make of this mess?

And if you want to up the ante, Utah Valley lost to unranked Auburn on Wednesday, and then the Tigers lost to Florida the next day.

Madness.

While it’s a nightmare for the pollsters and the selection/seeding committee, this is my kind of madness. Three ranked teams from three different conferences enter the arena and each leaves at 1-1.

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— TVX Sports Video (@TVXsportsvideo) February 24, 2020

As far as winners and losers, it’s really tough to say. Utah Valley would be the natural choice with the highest-ranked win over Georgia Tech. Alas, the Wolverines got the gas face from Auburn on Wednesday, 12-9, and then got hammered by Boston College, 16-8, on Saturday.

Even with a top five win, they might actually drop in the poll this week (personally, I’d keep them at No. 15).

BC looked like a juggernaut against UVU, but Georgia Tech stuffed them in a locker, shutting down the entire offense in a 15-4 loss. I could see them moving up a couple of spots and cracking the Top 20, but that's about it.

And then there’s Georgia Tech. The Jackets are going to fall in the polls, but how far? More importantly, how many spots will it cost the Wreck when it comes to seeding time? It ain’t gonna help.

Fortunately, there is plenty of time left. All three teams have big games left on the docket that can renew or relegate them.

We’ll let the pollsters try to figure out this mess for now.

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hard fought 10-9 win to put us at 1-0 on the season. mitchell is held together by duct tape rn which gets him grit player of the game. hughes POG belt. colorado next week #dawgs
A post shared by Northeastern Men's Lacrosse (@neulacrosse) on Feb 23, 2020 at 11:43am PST

MY TOP FIVES
Division I
1. Cal Poly (6-0) – The Mustangs keep churning through ranked teams. Chapman & Cal up next.
2. California (5-0) – The Bears are rounding into form.
3. South Carolina (7-0) – Gritty comeback win against FSU. Sam Weis is deadly.
4. Liberty (3-0) – Love the offense. Still think the defense can improve.
5. USC (5-1) – Jake Van Nostrand is front-runner for Coach of the Year at this point.

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Congratulations to Mason Lowell on earning the Player of the Game Overalls™️! - #GoJohnnies // #JRYK // #mcla20
A post shared by Saint John's Lacrosse (@sjulacrosse) on Feb 23, 2020 at 4:47pm PST

Division II
1. Minn.-Duluth (3-0) – Bulldogs just waiting on Nashville Judgement.
2. North Dakota State (1-0) – St. John’s made the Bison work. Colorado up next.
3. St. Thomas (2-1) – Nashville next up for the Tommies.
5. UC San Diego (3-0) – The Tritons are a confident bunch. They’ve got great balance.
4. Central Conn. State (1-0) – Win over Temple looking better and better.

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Two huge wins this weekend for the boys. Knocking off App State and #9 UNF! #gocougs
A post shared by College of Charleston Lacrosse (@cofc_lacrosse) on Feb 24, 2020 at 6:27am PST

SLIDES & RIDES
- Shoutout to Temple for picking up its first three MCLA wins this weekend. After running into a hot goalie in its opener, the Owls headed south and took down Wake Forest (12-3), NC State (10-9) and East Carolina (11-7). It’s a great confidence-building performance for a program new to the association.

Now the difficulty level ramps up as Temple plays its first ranked team on Saturday when the Owls face No. 16 Virginia Tech at Tennessee. A Sunday contest against a surging Vols outfit will be a tester, as well.

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The only thing better than going 1-0 on the weekend is going 2-0! 11 different players found the back of the net and Austin Babb went 14-23 at the X. #dirtybirds #everybodyeats
A post shared by Concordia University Lacrosse (@cuilax) on Feb 23, 2020 at 5:36pm PST

- We opened up talking about the mess at Georgia Tech, but lost in the shuffle is perhaps the biggest winner in the SELC this week: Florida. The Gators improved to 5-2 with a win over Auburn that might just look better and better each week, followed by a wipeout of Purdue. Florida’s schedule is gong to have plenty of strength – bolstered by a trip to California that includes a date with Chapman – but the Gators still need a signature win. Good place to be, however.

- Looking ahead to Leap Year Weekend, we’ve got a bunch of teams heading west. Boston College, Georgia Tech, Georgia and Texas A&M all give the SLC a spin to see if there aren’t a couple of resume-builders for the taking. Northeastern hits up the Colorado boys while Dayton, College of Idaho and New Hampshire emerge from their hibernation.

- Get those weekly award nominations to info@mcla.us ASAP!