Welcome back, college football fans. We are inching closer to the tantalizing start of the season and in this episode, we are discussing the 3 least difficult conference, aka the 23rd most difficult. Prior to a very late add to the conference lineup, the Mercyhurst Lakers out of Erie PA, the Northeast Conference (NEC), with its 7 members, were 22nd. Mercyhurst and the conference games against them dropped them a spot. Let’s look at why. Prior to the Lakers move, 2 teams left the conference: Sacred Heart and Merrimack, both of whom are now independent because their new conference (MAAC) does not play football. This left them with just 6 teams: the minimum for playoff consideration but very risky in today’s realignment world. So, they added Robert Morris from the Big South/Ohio Valley Alliance (because neither conference has the required 6 teams, so they sort of merged for football) taking them back to 7 and a little wiggle room. Then Mercyhurst leapt in. The Lakers were 2-9 last year in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). In the pre-season SOS, they are treated as a non-Division I team, strength-wise, which severely discounts that not-so-great record even more. In addition, they are playing just an 8-game schedule (that could change before the season starts, but as of now), with 2 games against non-D1 opponents. All of that dropped the conference just enough to drop them a spot.
…..
To the credit of the NEC, they do play above their league a few times. In the table below, (D) indicates a non-D1 opponent, (F) indicates a FCS opponent outside of the NEC, (G) indicates a Group of 5 opponent, and (4) indicates a Core 4 (new name for Power 5 now that the Pac 12 is no more) opponent. From first to worst, I present the Northeast Conference for 2024.
| Team | 2023 Record (Rank) | 2024 PS SOS (Rank) | Home Games | Away Games | Opp 2023 Rec |
| Duquesne Dukes – 1 | 7-5 (169) | 3.50 (147) | (14-40/.259) West Virginia Wesleyan (D), Mercyhurst, Long Island, Robert Morris, Wagner | (38-33/.535) Boston College (4), Toledo (G), Younstown St (F), St Francis, Stonehill, C Connecticut | 52-73 (.416) |
| Long Island Sharks – 2 | 4-7 (228) | 2.74 (193) | (20-33/.377) Lehigh (F), Rhode Island (F), Stonehill, C Connecticut, St Francis | (43-42/.506) TCU (4), Albany (F), Villanova (F), Sacred Heart (F), Duquesne, Robert Morris, Wagner | 63-75 (.456) |
| C Connecticut Blue Devils – 3 | 3-8 (261) | 2.51 (204) | (23-32/.418) Fordham (F), Wagner, Duquesne, Mercyhurst, Robert Morris | (34-46j/.425) C Michigan (G), UMASS (G), Yale (F), Dartmouth (F), St Francis, Long Island, Stonehill | 57-78 (.422) |
| Stonehill Skyhawks – 4 | 5-5 (219) | 2.19 (233) | (16-29/.356) Sacred Heart (F), Wagner, Duquesne, C Connecticut | (32-44/.421) Stony Brook (F), New Hampshire (F), Merrimack (F), Lafayette (F), Long Island, St Francis, Robert Morris | 48-73 (.397) |
| Robert Morris Colonials – 5 | 4-7 (217) | 2.13 (237) | (24-51/.320) Edinboro (D), Delaware St (F), Merrimack (F), Mercyhurst, Long Island, St Francis, Stonehill | (25-33/.431) Utah St (G), E Kentucky (F), Wagner, Duqesne, C Connecticut | 49-84 (.368) |
| Wagner Seahawks – 6 | 4-7 (246) | 1.90 (255) | (19-36/.345) Lynchburg (D), Columbia (F), Robert Morris, C Connecticut, Duquesne | (23-54/.299) FAU (G), UMASS (G), Lehigh (F), Delaware St (F), Stonehill, Long Island, St Francis | 42-90 (.318) |
| St Francis Red Flash – 7 | 4-6 (244) | 1.88 (258) | (15-20/.429) C Connecticut, Duquesne, Stonehill | (26-65/.286) Kent St (G), E Michigan (G), Dayton (F), Delaware St (F), Wagner, Robert Morris, Long Island, Mercyhurst | 41-85 (.325) |
| Mercyhurst Lakers – 8 | 2-9 (NR) | 1.59 (261) | (11-19/.367) Wheeling (D), Buffalo St (D), St Francis | (22-35/.386) Howard (F), Sacred Heart (F), Robert Morris, C Connecticut, Duquesne | 33-54 (.379) |
…..
That’s it for this episode. Tune in next time for the #22 as the countdown continues. Thanks for reading and, as always, for sharing with others. G
