Brockport State's tougher schedule shows in projected rout of Alfred State

The gap that separates these two 4-1 teams shows up more in strength of schedule than anywhere else in the Versus model. Brockport State's slate ranks 98th in D3, while Alfred State's sits at 181st, and that difference carries into every other number attached to Sunday's conference game. Brockport State grades out at A- overall with a power rank of 27 in D3, built on an A offense and an A defense, while Alfred State checks in with a B overall grade and ranks 105th in power, with a defense graded C+.

Both programs arrive playing well. Brockport State has outscored its last five opponents by a wide margin during its current run, and Alfred State has done much the same across its own last five games, a stretch that has it off to the best five-game start in the Versus record books for the program. But the Eagles have done it against sturdier competition, which is why Versus projects them to win 40-19 and gives them an 89 percent chance to take it.

History offers no reason to expect otherwise. Brockport State has won all four meetings since 2015, including four straight, and Alfred State has never scored more than 14 points against them in that span. A conference game inside the Empire 8, this one counts in the standings, and the strength of schedule split suggests Brockport State's record has been forged against the stiffer competition of the two.