Strength of schedule, not rank, divides Curry and Nichols

The separation between these two Conference of New England teams shows up less in their divisional ranks than in who they have played to get there. Curry sits at a strength of schedule rank of 207 in Division III, while Nichols comes in at 156, a gap that matters more than the five spots between their overall standings.

Curry carries a B- offensive grade and has gotten there by scoring heavily, a 48-19 win over New England Coll on October 3rd standing as its most lopsided result in over a year. But the Colonels have cooled, with their power rating sliding in each of the last four weeks, and a D+ defensive grade leaves little margin against a Nichols team that has put up at least 31 points in three straight games.

Nichols has climbed to a season-best No. 172 in Division III, and its offense, graded C, has been the engine of that rise. Versus projects a tight one, Nichols favored 33-32 with a win probability of 53 percent to Curry's 47. With both defenses graded in the C range or lower, the game figures to turn on which offense sustains its recent form.

The result counts in the Conference of New England standings, and with records of 3-2 and 2-3 respectively, neither Curry nor Nichols can afford to let the schedule gap decide the outcome for them.