Preseason Rankings

[kalm]

http://goeags.com/sports/m-footbl/2011-12/Releases/12fbJune12SHSUSeries

Not necessarily a cupcake home-home, but it's nice to see attempts like this to schedule them! Plus, it will be great to get some revenge for 2004... :nod:

Very good news. Nice job Chaves!

BTW, almost every example of an FCS team that schedules favorable and/or is able to get the cupcakes also happens to be near the top in attendance every year. Me thinks there's more to it than simply dialing up an AD or two.

 

[FrontFive4Life]

http://goeags.com/sports/m-footbl/2011-12/Releases/12fbJune12SHSUSeries

Not necessarily a cupcake home-home, but it's nice to see attempts like this to schedule them! Plus, it will be great to get some revenge for 2004... :nod:

Very good news. Nice job Chaves!

BTW, almost every example of an FCS team that schedules favorable and/or is able to get the cupcakes also happens to be near the top in attendance every year. Me thinks there's more to it than simply dialing up an AD or two.

Definitely true. EWU's athletic administration is able to do more with less than many other institutions across the country. I know that they want nothing more than the best chance for success for all of the teams and athletes, even though sometimes compromises must be made (see last year's schedule). Is it August yet?

 

[EWURanger]

http://goeags.com/sports/m-footbl/2011-12/Releases/12fbJune12SHSUSeries

Not necessarily a cupcake home-home, but it's nice to see attempts like this to schedule them! Plus, it will be great to get some revenge for 2004... :nod:

Very good news. Nice job Chaves!

BTW, almost every example of an FCS team that schedules favorable and/or is able to get the cupcakes also happens to be near the top in attendance every year. Me thinks there's more to it than simply dialing up an AD or two.

:notworthy: :clap: :clap:

 

[WILDCAT]

Kalm- it scares me that we might start 0-2. If we lose two out of the gate, IMO the odds of us beating Weber State in Ogden goes WAY down. Weber has had some issues, but they don't beat us much and will be foaming at the mouth to beat a winless Eagles squad to start the conference slate if we come out with nothing to show from our first two.

The very fact that we will be a road team in two underdog games (one a HUGE underdog) is enough to tell me our schedule was poorly planned. Add in that we go into the fifth weekend without a home game (the very time of year we've always drawn well) and that shows me the schedule was VERY poorly planned.

Kind of like how we were 0-4 and Weber came into Cheney last year and we had our way with them? They were sure ready. :roll:

I dont know about having your way with Weber, the first half was definetely owned by EWU, but the 2nd half was Weber's and the Wildcats did come a fumble away from taking the lead with less than a minute to go in the game.

But a loss is a loss hno:


The series between Weber and EWU has been a fun one to watch as of late, oh and congrats on the game vs SHSU, with Weber's games vs Mcneese State and SFA, that now gives the Big Sky 6 games vs the Southland Conference from the year 2012 to 2014 :clap:

 

[EWURanger]

Kalm- it scares me that we might start 0-2. If we lose two out of the gate, IMO the odds of us beating Weber State in Ogden goes WAY down. Weber has had some issues, but they don't beat us much and will be foaming at the mouth to beat a winless Eagles squad to start the conference slate if we come out with nothing to show from our first two.

The very fact that we will be a road team in two underdog games (one a HUGE underdog) is enough to tell me our schedule was poorly planned. Add in that we go into the fifth weekend without a home game (the very time of year we've always drawn well) and that shows me the schedule was VERY poorly planned.

Kind of like how we were 0-4 and Weber came into Cheney last year and we had our way with them? They were sure ready. :roll:

I dont know about having your way with Weber, the first half was definetely owned by EWU, but the 2nd half was Weber's and the Wildcats did come a fumble away from taking the lead with less than a minute to go in the game.

But a loss is a loss hno:

Yep, that game was scary as hell. Had to get an interception with time ticking down if I remember correctly.

 

[WILDCAT]

Kalm- it scares me that we might start 0-2. If we lose two out of the gate, IMO the odds of us beating Weber State in Ogden goes WAY down. Weber has had some issues, but they don't beat us much and will be foaming at the mouth to beat a winless Eagles squad to start the conference slate if we come out with nothing to show from our first two.

The very fact that we will be a road team in two underdog games (one a HUGE underdog) is enough to tell me our schedule was poorly planned. Add in that we go into the fifth weekend without a home game (the very time of year we've always drawn well) and that shows me the schedule was VERY poorly planned.

Kind of like how we were 0-4 and Weber came into Cheney last year and we had our way with them? They were sure ready. :roll:

I dont know about having your way with Weber, the first half was definetely owned by EWU, but the 2nd half was Weber's and the Wildcats did come a fumble away from taking the lead with less than a minute to go in the game.

But a loss is a loss hno:

Yep, that game was scary as hell. Had to get an interception with time ticking down if I remember correctly.

it was either a fumble or an interception, I think it was a fumble

 

[scooter]

Not sure about how the Eagle contingent is eyeing the last game of the season, but we Vikings are chompin' at the bit to help bring the Dam Cup to the Rose City! What a great season this is going to be in the Big Sky! :mrgreen:

 

[Screamin_Eagle174]

Not sure about how the Eagle contingent is eyeing the last game of the season, but we Vikings are chompin' at the bit to help bring the Dam Cup to the Rose City! What a great season this is going to be in the Big Sky! :mrgreen:

PSU kicked out butts last year because we couldn't stop the run. Plain and simple. I have a feeling that will change this year, our DL should be much more formidable. Excited to see how well your transfer RB does, he looks like the real deal.

Who's the leading candidate to be your #1 QB?

 

[scooter]

The leading candidate (of course the coaches won't say this yet) is probably Ramirez, a transfer that broke Aaron Rodgers record at his junior college for touchdowns. He's mobile (not as much as Kavanagh, but no slouch) and a tremendous arm. With our receivers fairly intact from last year, and a much deeper backfield, it's really going to be fun to see the pistol develop even further. I just think the conference as a whole is going to be so much fun (and nail biting) for years to come. With the Eagles having established a very polished program it's time to turn the hose on the Montana schools!

 

[Screamin_Eagle174]

1.) Making the playoffs as a 7 win team has shown little success in the playoffs. The playoffs were seeded 3 years ago, and not 1 non-seeded team has ever made the championship game. Before they were seeded, look at who was playing the championship, it was almost always the top teams. Their is a formula that works in the FCS, we have scheduled against that the last 2 years. Regardless of what people think, scheduling a D2 works.

Forgot to address this.

Villanova was 7-4 in 2010, knocked off the 1 seed, and came close to beating us despite 5 or 6 turnovers in the semis. The scheduling formula that works in the FCS, if anything, is all FCS with one D-II to start the year off. It still seems counter productive to me... work harder and get a H&H with a bottom tier FCS like San Diego or Savannah State.

 

[Screamin_Eagle174]

The leading candidate (of course the coaches won't say this yet) is probably Ramirez, a transfer that broke Aaron Rodgers record at his junior college for touchdowns. He's mobile (not as much as Kavanagh, but no slouch) and a tremendous arm. With our receivers fairly intact from last year, and a much deeper backfield, it's really going to be fun to see the pistol develop even further. I just think the conference as a whole is going to be so much fun (and nail biting) for years to come. With the Eagles having established a very polished program it's time to turn the hose on the Montana schools!

Got a link to an article or video on the kid?

 

[scooter]

A couple of links might be useful, the first from a local beat writer, the other a collection of videos

http://www.oregonlive.com/vikings/index.ssf/2012/04/collin_ramirez_quickly_establi.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.hudl.com/athlete/501750/collin-ramirez" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[kalm]

1.) Making the playoffs as a 7 win team has shown little success in the playoffs. The playoffs were seeded 3 years ago, and not 1 non-seeded team has ever made the championship game. Before they were seeded, look at who was playing the championship, it was almost always the top teams. Their is a formula that works in the FCS, we have scheduled against that the last 2 years. Regardless of what people think, scheduling a D2 works.

Forgot to address this.

Villanova was 7-4 in 2010, knocked off the 1 seed, and came close to beating us despite 5 or 6 turnovers in the semis. The scheduling formula that works in the FCS, if anything, is all FCS with one D-II to start the year off. It still seems counter productive to me... work harder and get a H&H with a bottom tier FCS like San Diego or Savannah State.

And there ain't much difference between 7-4 and 8-3 when it comes to seeding and home game. It's tough road either way.

 

[marceagfan5]

1.) Making the playoffs as a 7 win team has shown little success in the playoffs. The playoffs were seeded 3 years ago, and not 1 non-seeded team has ever made the championship game. Before they were seeded, look at who was playing the championship, it was almost always the top teams. Their is a formula that works in the FCS, we have scheduled against that the last 2 years. Regardless of what people think, scheduling a D2 works.

Forgot to address this.

Villanova was 7-4 in 2010, knocked off the 1 seed, and came close to beating us despite 5 or 6 turnovers in the semis. The scheduling formula that works in the FCS, if anything, is all FCS with one D-II to start the year off. It still seems counter productive to me... work harder and get a H&H with a bottom tier FCS like San Diego or Savannah State.

And there ain't much difference between 7-4 and 8-3 when it comes to seeding and home game. It's tough road either way.

This is exactly my point....Villanova was absolutely gassed when they came to play us in 2010, 3 straight road games, including all the way across the country. Villanova might have been 7-4 in the semi's, but they didn't make it to the chipper.

We are on the same page that I would love to see an all FCS schedule though, that would be ideal, not sure if we will ever do that because we tend to need the payday from those FBS games every year. Regardless, the scheduling of Sam Houston is a much needed step in the right direction.

 

[EWURanger]

1.) Making the playoffs as a 7 win team has shown little success in the playoffs. The playoffs were seeded 3 years ago, and not 1 non-seeded team has ever made the championship game. Before they were seeded, look at who was playing the championship, it was almost always the top teams. Their is a formula that works in the FCS, we have scheduled against that the last 2 years. Regardless of what people think, scheduling a D2 works.

Forgot to address this.

Villanova was 7-4 in 2010, knocked off the 1 seed, and came close to beating us despite 5 or 6 turnovers in the semis. The scheduling formula that works in the FCS, if anything, is all FCS with one D-II to start the year off. It still seems counter productive to me... work harder and get a H&H with a bottom tier FCS like San Diego or Savannah State.

And there ain't much difference between 7-4 and 8-3 when it comes to seeding and home game. It's tough road either way.

This is exactly my point....Villanova was absolutely gassed when they came to play us in 2010, 3 straight road games, including all the way across the country. Villanova might have been 7-4 in the semi's, but they didn't make it to the chipper.

We are on the same page that I would love to see an all FCS schedule though, that would be ideal, not sure if we will ever do that because we tend to need the payday from those FBS games every year. Regardless, the scheduling of Sam Houston is a much needed step in the right direction.

Don't think the importance of home field advantage in the playoffs can be under-stated, just look at Montana. There's always exceptions, though. I think JMU played every game on the road in the playoffs the year they won the NC.

 

[kalm]

1.) Making the playoffs as a 7 win team has shown little success in the playoffs. The playoffs were seeded 3 years ago, and not 1 non-seeded team has ever made the championship game. Before they were seeded, look at who was playing the championship, it was almost always the top teams. Their is a formula that works in the FCS, we have scheduled against that the last 2 years. Regardless of what people think, scheduling a D2 works.

Forgot to address this.

Villanova was 7-4 in 2010, knocked off the 1 seed, and came close to beating us despite 5 or 6 turnovers in the semis. The scheduling formula that works in the FCS, if anything, is all FCS with one D-II to start the year off. It still seems counter productive to me... work harder and get a H&H with a bottom tier FCS like San Diego or Savannah State.

And there ain't much difference between 7-4 and 8-3 when it comes to seeding and home game. It's tough road either way.

This is exactly my point....Villanova was absolutely gassed when they came to play us in 2010, 3 straight road games, including all the way across the country. Villanova might have been 7-4 in the semi's, but they didn't make it to the chipper.

We are on the same page that I would love to see an all FCS schedule though, that would be ideal, not sure if we will ever do that because we tend to need the payday from those FBS games every year. Regardless, the scheduling of Sam Houston is a much needed step in the right direction.

I see both sides of this too. My point all along has been that there's more to scheduling than simply dialing up xyz SWAC team and setting yourself up for the next National Championship run. I'm guessing that keeping the program solvent through donations and home game revenue is consideration #1, keeping the big donors happy is #2, making the playoffs #3, winning the BSC championship #4, and the chipper #5. It's easy for us to forget this when we have a year like 2010 but we should have all been reminded last year.

 

[Screamin_Eagle174]

Just updated the OP with Phil Steele rankings. It's the highest of the rankings so far, but Phil Steele is generally pretty accurate, and does his homework. (As does SCFBF, who posted it over on AGS).

SCFBF also posted this. Take it for what it's worth.

Let me say that usually in this day and age the NC has a lot of seniors and juniors who are NFL prospects. That's something I have noticed.

Here is a look back at the last 3 NCs and their NFL prospects
2011- NDSU
Prospects- Matt Veldman, Paul Cornick, DJ McNorton, Daniel Eaves, and Coulter Boyer all were getting looks. They had the one safety sign in the CFL. Then you had sophomores like Billy Turner, Marcus Williams, etc. who were key in the run.

2010- Eastern Washington
Prospects- This roster was loaded with NFL talent from Taiwan Jones (4th round pick), Brandon Kaufman, Nicholas Edwards, Renard Williams, Jesse Hoffman, JC Sherritt is in the CFL and doing well, Matt Johnson (4th round pick), and CFL QB Bo Levi Mitchell.

2009- Villanova
Prospects- Norman White, Ben Ijalana (2nd round pick), John Dempsey, Chris Farmer, Thomas Weaver, Ross Ventrone, Brandyn Harvey, Phil Matusz, Jonathan Bugli, and Osayi Osunde all got looks or are on NFL rosters right now.

I won't go in depth on Richmond and the 3 previous App State teams but they all had plenty of NFL talent. A couple players this year getting NFL looks from Richmond were on that team.

This just goes to show that in FCS if you want to have enough talent to come out of the playoffs against the best you better have at least 6-7 players that are pro caliber players.

Here are the prospects of those in Phil's top 10:

1) SAM HOUSTON ST- They have 4 getting strong looks right now.
2) JAMES MADISON- They have 7 getting strong looks with 2 I believe will get drafted.
3) MONTANA ST- They have 4 prospects.
4) YOUNGSTOWN ST- There are 7 with 4 of the 7 being underclassmen right now.
5) WOFFORD- They have upgraded talent over the last 3 years and this year they have 4 with 1 I believe will be drafted over the next two years.
6) NORTH DAKOTA ST- There are 3 prospects at this point.
7) EASTERN WASHINGTON- There are 5 with 2 I would draft.
8) TOWSON- There are 8 getting looks with 2-3 possible draft picks over the next 3 years.
9) STONY BROOK- They have 3 good ones.
10) GEORGIA SOUTHERN- They have 3 strong prospects.

Here are some teams with a lot of NFL prospects who aren't in his top 10

Stephen F. Austin- 6
App State- 6
Chattanooga- 5
Southern Utah- 5
Richmond- 5
ODU- 5
Liberty- 5
Illinois State- 5

Keep an eye on those teams.

Now, let me say that there will be guys who emerge as prospects this year so don't take this as me saying those with less than 5 have no shot but this does show the teams who have the most high level talent in FCS entering the season.

 

[Screamin_Eagle174]

Thought this was pretty impressive:

Nick Edwards (#2), Brandon Kaufman (#6), and Greg Herd (#13) are ranked in the top 15 WRs in the FCS, according to Phil Steele, who is one of the most knowledgeable FBS/FCS sports writers. :clap:

http://www.goeags.com/sports/m-footbl/2012-13/Releases/12fbAug11PreseasonHonors" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[RockTheRed]

Thought this was pretty impressive:

Nick Edwards (#2), Brandon Kaufman (#6), and Greg Herd (#13) are ranked in the top 15 WRs in the FCS, according to Phil Steele, who is one of the most knowledgeable FBS/FCS sports writers. :clap:

http://www.goeags.com/sports/m-footbl/2012-13/Releases/12fbAug11PreseasonHonors" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Not to mention punter Jake Miller ranked #3 and Free Safety Jeff Minnerly #5. We will likely see Miller in the NFL in the future.

 

[clawman1]

Thought this was pretty impressive:

Nick Edwards (#2), Brandon Kaufman (#6), and Greg Herd (#13) are ranked in the top 15 WRs in the FCS, according to Phil Steele, who is one of the most knowledgeable FBS/FCS sports writers. :clap:

http://www.goeags.com/sports/m-footbl/2012-13/Releases/12fbAug11PreseasonHonors" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I think Herd is underrated, and then if these three are getting too much attention from the defenses, up steps Cory Mitchel :clap: .