We had a lot of comments this week, so instead of shoving them all into the Week 8 College Crosse Top 20 Poll post, I decided to put them into their own post. Below is a small graph with Jake, Dan, & Skyler’s ballots from this week and below that you can find all their commentary. Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

Commentary

Jake

1. Albany: The Danes did their thing, and continue to roll in America East play.
2. Maryland: Justin Shockey might be the most underrated FOGO in the country, and he might be the key factor in Maryland being one of the 2 national title favorites come May.
3. Denver: The Pioneers offense struggled for long stretches against Towson, but when needed, Trevor Baptiste delivered. Defense is the best it’s been under Bill Tierney
4. Yale: Dominant win over Princeton. Yale plays faster this year than in years past, and it makes them a more dangerous team.
5. Rutgers: Scarlet Knights had another great second half this week to take care of Delaware. Big showdown with Hopkins next week.
6. Johns Hopkins: After a terrible first half, the Blue Jays turned it on and routed UVA in the 2nd. A win over Rutgers could move them into my Top 3.
7. Villanova: A shaky game against Fairfield means they don’t move up this week. Defense will need to step up if they want to topple Denver in the Big East.
8. Duke: With the exception of one big stretch in the 3rd Quarter, the Blue Devils didn’t strike me as super impressive. One week the offense is off, the next week the defense. Need a complete effort soon.
9. Notre Dame: Fighting Irish did not play well this week, but the defense came through big in a win in the Horseshoe. They’ll need more from the offense if they want to beat Cuse.
10. Robert Morris: Bobby Mo just keeps winning, and in dominant fashion. Their last 5 wins are by an average of 6.4 goals.
11. Syracuse: The Orange got contributions from a host of players and put up 15 goals in a big win over Duke. All of a sudden could be 3-0 in the ACC w/ a win next week.
12. Cornell: Big Red might have the most underrated offense in the country, and with Jeff Teat running the show, they can play with anybody.
13. Loyola: Another game where when Pat Spencer went quiet, so did the Loyola offense. Greyhounds A game is still probably the best in the Patriot League though.
14. Michigan: Biggest win in program history over ND and then a solid win over UMBC. Wolverines offense is a top unit and they should win B1G games this year.
15. Virginia: Cavs looked like a machine for a half against Hopkins and then it all unraveled. A Loyola win and close losses keeps them in the Top 15.
16. Vermont: Defense got back on track after the rough loss to Albany. Catamounts stay in the Top 20 because they just keep winning.
17. Harvard: This week could have gone much worse for the Crimson, but a 7-1 record can’t be ignored. We’ll see how they compete with Albany this week
18. Penn State: Two blowout wins for the Nittany Lions give them some momentum going into B1G play. Beat Ohio State and they have two huge chances against MD and Hop at home after.
19. Lehigh: A tough loss against Navy after a solid midweek W against Hofstra. The offense needs to give them more.
20. Bucknell: Will Sands made his All-American statement by outplaying Pat Spencer. They’re 4-1 in PL play.

Skyler

1. Albany: Connor Fields has 57 points in eight games and has only played in the fourth quarter twice this season. Rivalry game this Saturday vs. my Seawolves... take it easy.
2. Maryland: The Terps were clinical again in the win this week; Shockey is turning into an elite faceoff man.
3. Johns Hopkins: B1G > ACC again this week. Conference play should be wide open.
4. Denver: I’ve watched this team a couple times and I feel like they wouldn’t even be ranked with an average FOGO, but here we are.
5. Duke: Guterding is on my Tewaaraton short list. The ACC opener loss to bipolar Cuse is concerning, but they’ll be fine
6. Rutgers: Followed up the Cuse win with another against Delaware. Rutgers is for real.
7. Yale: Yale is the best Ivy right now. (no, Harvard, I’m not impressed by your 7-1 record when your two best wins are RPI #22 and RPI #37)
8. Villanova: The home game against Fairfield went down to the wire. Not good.
9. Notre Dame: This might be low. I don’t know how to feel about this team.
10. Syracuse: I can’t believe I’m putting a team with two double-digit home losses in the top-10.
11. Michigan: Five straight wins heading into a home game against Maryland.
12. Loyola: I’m not really sure how to feel about Loyola either, but they killed Hopkins a month ago so they’re still ranked decently, I guess.
13. Robert Morris: Upset special: Bryant over Robert Morris this weekend.
14. Cornell: AnalyticsLacrosse.com has Cornell as the fourth highest rated team. I guess that’s what happens when you play Albany close, but it still feels noteworthy.
15. Colgate: Freshman Mike Hawkins leads Toothpaste University in scoring. Colgate could win the wide-open Patriot League.
16. Penn State: Penn State’s last three wins are against Furman, Fairfield and Cleveland State. Big Ten competition might be a bit of a wake up call.
17. Vermont: Point: Vermont lost by 16 in its only game against a good team. Counterpoint: The Catamounts won their other seven games, most of them handily, with only one taking place at home.
18. Lehigh: I can’t…
19. Bucknell: ... figure out...
20. Army: ... this stupid but excellent lacrosse conference.

Dan

1. Albany: Yale is the only team standing between Albany and regular season perfection
2. Maryland: Shockey really coming into his own, and Kelly and Bernhardt are enough to make this team capable of beating anyone in the country.
3. Denver: I keep waiting for Denver to elevate their play and separate themselves from the rest of the pack a bit, but it isn’t happening. But they keep winning.
4. Yale: Yale is better every week. Conor Mackie dominated Princeton, and they blew out the Tigers while getting very little from Ben Reeves. Bulldogs looking scarier all the time.
5. Johns Hopkins: Patrick Foley looks like a top 3 defenseman in the nation right now. Hopkins comeback was a special one in a serious rivalry game.
6. Villanova: OT against Fairfield? Is Villanova returning to Earth?
7. Duke: I’m not surprised Duke got beat, but I am surprised they gave up 15. The defense had been excellent until Saturday.
8. Rutgers: Only Connor Fields, Will Sands, and Justin Guterding have more points than Jules Henningburg. A star on the rise for a very good Rutgers team.
9. Notre Dame: The Michigan loss is a bad one. If anyone can explain why Garnsey doesn’t start or play full games, I’d love to hear it.
10. Syracuse: Huge win for the Orange over Duke, and if they can come out of a 5 game stretch against Virginia, Hopkins, Rutgers, Duke, and Notre Dame going 3-2, that’s a strong performance.
11. Loyola: The Patriot League hunger games claim another one. Everyone in that conference can beat everyone else.
12. Robert Morris: Chaos across the lax landscape, but Bobby Mo keeps winning and climbing the rankings. It’s too bad their toughest remaining opponent is probably Bryant.
13. Vermont: Good to bounce back with a win, but it would have been nice to see them handle Binghamton by a larger margin than 10-6.
14. Cornell: Jeff Teat went for 6 and 2 against one of the better young defenders in lacrosse. Cornell should not be taken lightly.
15. Michigan: Got the program’s first real signature win over Notre Dame. Brent Noseworthy deserves All American looks, he has been excellent for the Wolverines.
16. Lehigh: More Patriot League madness. Losing to Navy strings, but Lehigh remains on top of the PL for now, recordwise. shrug.
17. Penn State: Penn State got their confidence up by smacking Cleveland State, and now start a five game conference play stretch that is absolutely brutal.
18. Virginia: It’s a tough stretch. Giving up a 9-2 halftime lead is brutal. The good news is, this young team has a pretty favorable schedule remaining, starting with Richmond Saturday.
19. Bucknell: Bucknell seems to live at this part of the top 20. With upcoming games against Army and Yale, the Bison will have a chance to climb the ranks a bit.
20. Harvard: Harvard is the most quiet 7-1 team out there, and Morgan Cheek is absolutely lighting up scoreboards. Big game midweek against Albany.