Early FCS Preseason Top 25 Rankings

[MLEagle]

http://www.southernpigskin.com/SoCon/view/oddly-early-fcs-top-25" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I know that it means nothing, but it is still cool to see the Eags are sitting on top of the preseason polls for next year!

 

[FrontFive4Life]

Yep! I think that is the first of many preseason #1 rankings for us, especially considering how many guys we have returning. :twocents:

 

[FreeBird]

If these polls are to be believed, and I do think there is some validity to these rankings, it will be a very challenging season.

Everyone brings their "A" game against the defending national champs

vs. #7
@ #10
@ #15
@ #18
@ UW

Next years team could be even better than last years, but there will be no gimmies.

 

[kalm]

If these polls are to be believed, and I do think there is some validity to these rankings, it will be a very challenging season.

Everyone brings their "A" game against the defending national champs

vs. #7
@ #10
@ #15
@ #18
@ UW

Next years team could be even better than last years, but there will be no gimmies.

We're playing at NDSU? :?

I agree this will be a tough schedule with the only the only real tough opponent we get to host being MSU. We''ll have to be road warriors for sure.

 

[LDopaPDX]

This schedule is why I don't like the South Dakota game. We already have a tough enough schedule without loading up with road game against decent FCS opponents. If we go 8-3, we're basically an auto-entry to the playoffs. If we go 7-4, it's not going to make a hill-of-beans difference whether we played South Dakota or Carroll College in the second week. At that point, it's totally dependent on the records of teams from other auto-qual conferences and the hope that there aren't attractive one-loss or no-loss teams from the crap conferences.

 

[FreeBird]

If these polls are to be believed, and I do think there is some validity to these rankings, it will be a very challenging season.

Everyone brings their "A" game against the defending national champs

vs. #7 Montana State.
@ #10 Cal Poly SLO
@ #15 Montana
@ #18 Sacramento St.
@ UW (University of Washington)

Next years team could be even better than last years, but there will be no gimmies.

We're playing at NDSU? :?

I agree this will be a tough schedule with the only the only real tough opponent we get to host being MSU. We''ll have to be road warriors for sure.

I think those herded by cowbells, came in 9th in this poll.

 

[Screamin_Eagle174]

This schedule is why I don't like the South Dakota game. We already have a tough enough schedule without loading up with road game against decent FCS opponents. If we go 8-3, we're basically an auto-entry to the playoffs. If we go 7-4, it's not going to make a hill-of-beans difference whether we played South Dakota or Carroll College in the second week. At that point, it's totally dependent on the records of teams from other auto-qual conferences and the hope that there aren't attractive one-loss or no-loss teams from the crap conferences.

You're absolutely wrong with that statement. If we go 7-4 and had played Carroll College, we'd only have 6 D-I wins and no shot at the playoffs, just like Montana last year. If we go 7-4 with the schedule that's set, I guarantee we make the playoffs given the expanded field. I think three or four 7-4 teams from power conferences made the playoffs this last year over teams like Jacksonville that rolled through their weak conferences.

 

[LDopaPDX]

This schedule is why I don't like the South Dakota game. We already have a tough enough schedule without loading up with road game against decent FCS opponents. If we go 8-3, we're basically an auto-entry to the playoffs. If we go 7-4, it's not going to make a hill-of-beans difference whether we played South Dakota or Carroll College in the second week. At that point, it's totally dependent on the records of teams from other auto-qual conferences and the hope that there aren't attractive one-loss or no-loss teams from the crap conferences.

You're absolutely wrong with that statement. If we go 7-4 and had played Carroll College, we'd only have 6 D-I wins and no shot at the playoffs, just like Montana last year. If we go 7-4 with the schedule that's set, I guarantee we make the playoffs given the expanded field. I think three or four 7-4 teams from power conferences made the playoffs this last year over teams like Jacksonville that rolled through their weak conferences.

No....no....no.... big misconception about that 7 DI wins bit. You don't need 7 D-I wins, it is just preferred. Montana didn't miss the playoffs because they only had 6 D-I wins, they missed the playoffs because they lost to 4 FCS teams. In fact, they didn't beat a single ranked team.

With a national championship in the previous year adn games aginst 4 ranked squads and a Holiday Bowl winner, our schedule is already going to be in the Sagarin top 25, maybe even top 10. That South Dakota game isn't going to impact that much.

 

[kalm]

This schedule is why I don't like the South Dakota game. We already have a tough enough schedule without loading up with road game against decent FCS opponents. If we go 8-3, we're basically an auto-entry to the playoffs. If we go 7-4, it's not going to make a hill-of-beans difference whether we played South Dakota or Carroll College in the second week. At that point, it's totally dependent on the records of teams from other auto-qual conferences and the hope that there aren't attractive one-loss or no-loss teams from the crap conferences.

You're absolutely wrong with that statement. If we go 7-4 and had played Carroll College, we'd only have 6 D-I wins and no shot at the playoffs, just like Montana last year. If we go 7-4 with the schedule that's set, I guarantee we make the playoffs given the expanded field. I think three or four 7-4 teams from power conferences made the playoffs this last year over teams like Jacksonville that rolled through their weak conferences.

No....no....no.... big misconception about that 7 DI wins bit. You don't need 7 D-I wins, it is just preferred. Montana didn't miss the playoffs because they only had 6 D-I wins, they missed the playoffs because they lost to 4 FCS teams. In fact, they didn't beat a single ranked team.

With a national championship in the previous year adn games aginst 4 ranked squads and a Holiday Bowl winner, our schedule is already going to be in the Sagarin top 25, maybe even top 10. That South Dakota game isn't going to impact that much.

How many times has a 6 win FCS team qualified?

Also, substitue Montana's 2010 Western State or Cal Poly's Humboldt State wins with a victory over USD and they are both in the mix and make the committee's job that much more difficult in choosing betwwen 7-4 NDSU, GSU, UNH, Nova, WIU (who all made the playoffs) and Cal Poly and Montana. The 6 wins are why the latter two weren't even a consideration. In the former scenario, WIU would have been more than likely bumped for Montana or Poly, and quite possibly another, given the Big Sky's conference ranking, and Poly's strength of schedule.

Screamin's right in this. If we finish 7-4 it will make a difference. Better yet, if we finish 9-2, we've got a better shot at a seed over another 9-2 team with a DII on the schedule. :nod:

 

[Screamin_Eagle174]

This schedule is why I don't like the South Dakota game. We already have a tough enough schedule without loading up with road game against decent FCS opponents. If we go 8-3, we're basically an auto-entry to the playoffs. If we go 7-4, it's not going to make a hill-of-beans difference whether we played South Dakota or Carroll College in the second week. At that point, it's totally dependent on the records of teams from other auto-qual conferences and the hope that there aren't attractive one-loss or no-loss teams from the crap conferences.

You're absolutely wrong with that statement. If we go 7-4 and had played Carroll College, we'd only have 6 D-I wins and no shot at the playoffs, just like Montana last year. If we go 7-4 with the schedule that's set, I guarantee we make the playoffs given the expanded field. I think three or four 7-4 teams from power conferences made the playoffs this last year over teams like Jacksonville that rolled through their weak conferences.

No....no....no.... big misconception about that 7 DI wins bit. You don't need 7 D-I wins, it is just preferred. Montana didn't miss the playoffs because they only had 6 D-I wins, they missed the playoffs because they lost to 4 FCS teams. In fact, they didn't beat a single ranked team.

With a national championship in the previous year adn games aginst 4 ranked squads and a Holiday Bowl winner, our schedule is already going to be in the Sagarin top 25, maybe even top 10. That South Dakota game isn't going to impact that much.

It's not really a misconception. No, the wording is so that it's not a rigid guideline, but they do follow it pretty stringently. If we go 7-4, USD will more than likely be one of those wins. Replace it with a D-II, and we're not playoff bound. Trust me, I'd love for a team like Drake to have to come here, but right now I'll settle for two OOC FCS games and an all D-I schedule for the first time in what seems like forever.

 

[Screamin_Eagle174]

Kris, if we go 9-2, we're a lock for a seed unless 5 teams from the Big Sky, CAA, MVFC, Socon and Southland go undefeated.

 

[marceagfan5]

This schedule is why I don't like the South Dakota game. We already have a tough enough schedule without loading up with road game against decent FCS opponents. If we go 8-3, we're basically an auto-entry to the playoffs. If we go 7-4, it's not going to make a hill-of-beans difference whether we played South Dakota or Carroll College in the second week. At that point, it's totally dependent on the records of teams from other auto-qual conferences and the hope that there aren't attractive one-loss or no-loss teams from the crap conferences.

You're absolutely wrong with that statement. If we go 7-4 and had played Carroll College, we'd only have 6 D-I wins and no shot at the playoffs, just like Montana last year. If we go 7-4 with the schedule that's set, I guarantee we make the playoffs given the expanded field. I think three or four 7-4 teams from power conferences made the playoffs this last year over teams like Jacksonville that rolled through their weak conferences.

No....no....no.... big misconception about that 7 DI wins bit. You don't need 7 D-I wins, it is just preferred. Montana didn't miss the playoffs because they only had 6 D-I wins, they missed the playoffs because they lost to 4 FCS teams. In fact, they didn't beat a single ranked team.

With a national championship in the previous year adn games aginst 4 ranked squads and a Holiday Bowl winner, our schedule is already going to be in the Sagarin top 25, maybe even top 10. That South Dakota game isn't going to impact that much.

It's not really a misconception. No, the wording is so that it's not a rigid guideline, but they do follow it pretty stringently. If we go 7-4, USD will more than likely be one of those wins. Replace it with a D-II, and we're not playoff bound. Trust me, I'd love for a team like Drake to have to come here, but right now I'll settle for two OOC FCS games and an all D-I schedule for the first time in what seems like forever.

The problem is we don't have a favorable schedule to go 9-2. If we go 9-2 with a d2 school, we get a seed, just like this year. With a 7-4 or 8-3 record we will most likely play on the road for every game in the playoffs. Unless we get a seed, we won't have a home game because of our poor attendance and the committee won't give us a seed at 8-3 because of our attendance and it is all about $ at that point.

I have an issue with the S. Dakota game as well, not with playing S. Dakota, but putting it between Wash and Montana, and doing so on the road. We are not set up well going into conference this year. I completely get the argument of playing an all FCS schedule, I agree with that, but they scheduled the S. Dakota game at a terrible time. Honestly, we are better than the griz next year, but I would much rather play them after playing a cupcake at home, then playing S. Dakota on the road. Regardless of how "winnable" the S. Dakota game is, it puts us at a disadvantage the next week, and the conference games are what matter. Winning the conference puts us in the best shot to win in the playoffs and I don't think we set ourselves up as well as we could have to start the conference this year, but I know how hard they tried to get a different game and actually try to switch (I believe) the home/home with Cal Poly when they couldn't schedule another home game.

Our most important games are the first 2 conference games next year because both Montana schools are going to be tough. I just wish we were in a better position going into those games, we go to Missoula after back to back road games, and host MSU after 3 straight road games. It just puts us at more of a disadvantage next year then if we had scheduled a d2 home game in week 2.

Enough about the complaining though because we are all on the same side here. I love the fact that we are ranked #1 in the preseason, we deserve it, and we will get everyone's best shot next year. We have a difficult task to defend next year and I think if we can survive the first 4 weeks, we have a great shot at another title run.

 

[Screamin_Eagle174]

I think playing on the road two weeks in a row prepares us pretty damn well to go into WA Griz. EWU always plays tough there, and doesn't seem to be intimated by the atmosphere; they embrace it. Playing a decent to good FBS squad and then an average to semi-weak FCS squad should give us plenty of learning experience and chance to work out any kinks before UM. Playing a D-II at home the week before doesn't really help us, other than to give us an easy win (which isn't that easy if it's CWU), and the extra day of practice since we don't have to travel. It's not like the first two conference games last year weren't our most important either; it's the same order. This team is confident. They were tested in each and every game last year, most of which coming down to the wire. We're not going to be breaking in many new starters. I have plenty of confidence we can reach 9-2.

 

[kalm]

Kris, if we go 9-2, we're a lock for a seed unless 5 teams from the Big Sky, CAA, MVFC, Socon and Southland go undefeated.

Good point, but if you use 2010's model and add a 9-2 MVFC and/or a 10-1 Southland and/or another 9-2 Southern into the mix (all of which are a possibility), then it gets a little more dicey. Not to mention the impact that schedule strength has on which seed you get. The stars aligned for our home games this year. This might make the difference between hosting or traveling to a semifinal game 2011.

 

[EWURanger]

"QB Bo Levi Mitchell is a preseason favorite for the Walter Payton Award."

I stopped reading there. Lame rule, but unless I am mistaken, Bo won't even be eligible for the Payton.

Hard to argue against the defending national champs in the #1 spot in these polls, but I almost don't like having the target on our backs. I think it was 2002 we spanked Montana when they were the defending National Champs and ended their record winning streak the last game of the regular season. Everyone's going to be bringing their A game next year.

 

[clawman1]

"QB Bo Levi Mitchell is a preseason favorite for the Walter Payton Award."

I stopped reading there. Lame rule, but unless I am mistaken, Bo won't even be eligible for the Payton.

Hard to argue against the defending national champs in the #1 spot in these polls, but I almost don't like having the target on our backs. I think it was 2002 we spanked Montana when they were the defending National Champs and ended their record winning streak the last game of the regular season. Everyone's going to be bringing their A game next year.

Exactly, and well deserved. That may be my biggest concern about the SD game. Even though they look very average at best on paper, I would expect them to play at the top of their potential. The Eagles are very experienced, more so than most other teams due to the extra 6 weeks of playoff practice, and they treat this as a business. Go out and do your job and we will be OK. And, school has not yet started so the sole focus can be ...business. I am more concerned about the last two away games. Cal Poly is always tough, and by that time Kramer will have the Bengals playing at their max potential, and their last game for seniors, and be the chance to knock off a Nat'l champ.
Go Eags