There's lots of ways to rank Pool B teams, and since they are scattered across the country and don't play each other much, it's not exactly cut-and-dried.

The national committee takes into account winning percentage, primarily against regional teams and other Division III teams, as well as strength of schedule, head-to-head results, and results against common opponents when determining who will get the seven Pool B bids. (And people, if you don't know what Pool B is, try the Playoff FAQ.)

Obviously, with four weeks left in the regular season, there's a lot that can change. Some of these teams will play each other. Others will see their strength of schedule increase or decrease with their final opponents. But here's our look at Pool B through games of Oct. 13, 2001 (teams with asterisks have a non-Division III loss):

Some things to note: The strength of schedule takes into account only the games that have been played to date, and only against Division III teams. Strength of schedule doesn't take into account the games played against the team being measured. (That is, if Washington & Jefferson's opponents are 14-15, we subtract the five losses W&J gave its opponents. This helps even out the effects of playing a particularly strong opponent.)

No. 2 Whitworth has already beaten Pacific Lutheran but has yet to play Linfield. They only have eight Division III games and two of their remaining four games are against winless teams. No. 3 RPI has a particularly important test this week against No. 6 Hartwick, which hasn't played anyone who currently has a winning record. No. 4 Hope's loss is not only to Valparaiso (I-AA non-scholarship), but it was also the first game of the season, so its effects will wear off somewhat. There are three teams with a lower SOS than No. 5 Thomas More of the 24 we considered. None of them make the upper half of the list. And Thomas More's SOS won't improve unles the teams they've already played do — they play unbeaten Defiance but the rest of the group has combined to go 3-14. No. 7 Brockport State sits in the final spot for the moment but has tough tests against New Jersey and Wesley (plus a snoozer against Mount Ida).

So, you might see these rankings fluctuate wildly over the course of the rest of the season, as teams win and lose more games and SOS increases and decreases. Aside from Washington & Jefferson, we don't think Pool B has a single lock at this time.