I agree! I don't know a whole lot about Marion myself but I dug into each team's schedules to try to get a better idea of the type of match-up it might be. Not a straight forward comparison I know, but still fun to do. This just leads me to comparing the NE8 to the NCC which I know nothing about, and I'm sure is not apples to apples. The NCC definitely has some bigger schools.
Just food got thought...
Against teams with winning records:
EN 3-2 ... Beat Columbia City twice and Leo, while losing to Leo and Norwell(also lost to Penn who ended 5-5)
Marion 1-3 ... Beat Delta and losing to Eastbrook, Lawrence North and Lafayette Jeff.
Combined records of teams beaten:
EN 38-46 Marion 30-55
Combined records of teams lost to:
EN 25-9 Marion 34-10
Seems to me that all of Marion's losses came to quality opponents, while EN's losses came to quality opponents also. The team was banged up and still finding it's identity during it's 3 game losing skid mid season though.
So how does the NCC compare to the NE8? From an EN fan, while our school has had some success in conference lately, the NE8 still seems very competitive. You better show up and play well on Friday night or you could lose to pretty much anyone.