FCS Rankings

[BrerRabbit]

Re: FCS Rankings

We need to start telling this story. No one is going to tell it for us.

[thumper_76]

Re: FCS Rankings

We need to start telling this story. No one is going to tell it for us.

Reality of it is most of the teams ahead of us have a history of getting seeds and deep playoff runs. The STATS and Coaches poll are both the picture of everything that's wrong with lazy slot voting. SHSU is highly ranked because they started the season highly ranked and won't drop unless they lose to UCA, and even then I doubt it drops them out of the top 15. It will be extremely difficult for us to move up in those polls much farther without those teams ahead of us losing. Doesn't matter that they have played the little sisters of the poor. They are legitimately at number one off of their preseason expectations. Same with CSU. They started the season highly ranked, and started the year with a game on ESPN that they had a good showing against NDSU goin to overtime. They are living off of that, its why they are able to stick around as high as they do. Its hard to argue against a JMU in the CAA who is undefeated or a Richmond who has a FBS win. With slot voting there is very little chance of moving up in the top ten without losses ahead of you. We won't be jumping anyone because of a quality win when we have two losses. Doesn't matter how we have more top 15 wins than most of the teams above us will even face during the season. Thats why we have playoffs. It will be interesting to see what the playoff committees poll looks like. Thats the one that matters when it comes down to assigning who gets what seed. We have to root for chaos to move up more in the other polls.

There is a degree of ECB for certain, but on the flip side there isn't another team with two losses in the top ten like we are. So there is a degree of respect being given there for certain. The MVFC is recognized as the best conference top to bottom nationally.



To be honest, how many of us on here have a great understanding of who the good teams are in the SoCon, or the Patriot League. Do you know what teams played DII teams without looking it up? You listed Shorter on Chattys schedule and listed their record. Whats worse about it and not mentioned is they are a DII team. At the same time you can argue that some DII teams are likely better than many Pioneer League teams, just like there are plenty of FCS teams better than Sunbelt or CUSA teams. Many of these coaches don't have the time to properly research these things, and many STATS voters don't either. Thats why the AGS poll is so much better. There are fans from every conference that vote on it, and many discussions for or against teams rankings, inclusion, resume, ect. Suspicious polls are questioned when submitted and the voter has to make a legitimate argument for why they voted how they did if it seems out in left field.

However, none of this will matter if we drop any of our remaining games. There are a lot of teams in power conferences right now that are going to have gaudy records, and having 3 losses will certainly not get us a seed this year. There are a good number of teams with FBS wins as well we will be compared to. If we win out we will get a seed, and a pretty good one at that depending on how things shake out. Montana losing to NAU really helps us greatly, and Chatty and the Citadel both finish the year with games at FBS schools. EWU still has to play Montana. It could shake out in our own MVFC where we end up with three or four 9-2 teams if NDSU loses to YSU and wins the rest, WIU wins out, YSU wins out and loses to WIU, and we win out. Talk about a mess for the committee to decide there. We obviously have the upper hand in that situation having wins over the next three, but you see how precarious our situation really is. If we had not lost to Poly we could afford to drop a game and still get a seed, but we did. This has the potential to be a year of vengance for the playoffs if we win out and NDSU drops one more (I happen to think they will). But we need to take care of business first. We are going into our "easy" stretch and any loss will look bad for the playoffs and our ranking.

[slosho]

Re: FCS Rankings

We need to start telling this story. No one is going to tell it for us.

Time to contact Em Digggy.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

[CappinHard]

Re: FCS Rankings

Just so others aren't looking for the actual standings.

FCS STATS: SDSU is #7. NDSU is #4, WIU is #13, Cal Poly #14, and YSU #15
Coaches Poll: SDSU is #10. NDSU is #4, YSU is #14, WIU #15, Cal Poly #17 and USD #25
Hero Sports: SDSU is #7. NDSU is #4, WIU #13, YSU #14, and Cal Poly #17
AGS: SDSU is #7. NDSU is #3, Cal Poly #11, YSU #14, WIU #18, and USD #22

If you want a look at all of the polls combined, check out this site, which ranks teams based on a composite of all of the polls.

http://www.masseyratings.com/cf/compare1aa.htm

You can see that most polls have us closer to 4 or 5 (median and mean respectively). You can also see that Sam Houston's mean and median are around 10.5, so the coaches having them at 1 is a joke as others have noted. It just goes to the eternal argument of whether it's better to go undefeated through a cupcake schedule or have 2 losses with a difficult schedule. Again, it will all shake out when it comes to the playoff selection committee.

[MilwaukeeJacksAlum]

Re: FCS Rankings

You know something is wrong with a poll when the Jacks go up only 4 spots after beating the #1 team on the road and another top 15 team at home after already beating another top 10 team at home (WIU).

I lost all faith in that poll when I think it was either last year or the year before when USD was receiving votes while having a .500 record or a losing record because coaches (probably from the East Coast) were confusing South Dakota and South Dakota State.

If you watch the polls at all, the Coaches Poll has consistently had us lower than the Stats Poll. Additionally, the Coaches Poll has consistently had USD ranked higher than in the Stats Poll. I would bet my next paycheck a big reason for that is some coaches mistakenly think USD is SDSU. No other explanation, really. The Coaches Poll is the least reliable and/or fact based IMO.

[scbison]

Re: FCS Rankings

NDSU and Illinois had the same record last year. NDSU got the MVFC auto-bid. Come playoff time Ill St was the 2 seed and NDSU got the 3 seed, because NDSU lost to USD and Ill St lost to Iowa. SDSU losing to Cal-Poly is going hurt for a high seed

[jackrabbit1979]

Re: FCS Rankings

NDSU and Illinois had the same record last year. NDSU got the MVFC auto-bid. Come playoff time Ill St was the 2 seed and NDSU got the 3 seed, because NDSU lost to USD and Ill St lost to Iowa. SDSU losing to Cal-Poly is going hurt for a high seed

Last year however, NDSU and Ill St. didn't play each other head to head so the committee didn't have that factor to include in their seeding. Not to say that NDSU won't be seeded ahead of SDSU if both win out, as NDSU will only have one loss to SDSU's two, but the head to head game will at least be considered this year where last year it wasn't possible with the MVFC's two top seeds.

[GopherHole]

Re: FCS Rankings

If SHSU wins out, they deserve one of the top seeds. They have a history of making it to the championship by winning numerous playoff games. While their schedule may not be strong, they are winning.

If we go 1-0 the rest of the season, we will be MVFC champions. I expect NDSU to win out too. Based on that, we will both get high seeds. I also believe that there will be teams ahead of us that will suffer losses and I expect that we will get at least a #6 seed. But, we have to win out or it is all moot.

- Chattanooga and Citadel will both lose at least one more game each. (Alabama and North Carolina are on their respective schedules.) I can't imagine a SoCon champion receiving a higher seed than the MVFC champion, let alone two from that conference finishing ahead of SDSU.

- Charleston So still has Garner-Webb, Liberty, and Kennesaw State on their schedule. It's not the MVFC top tier, but they are all quality opponents and they could easily lose one or more of those.

- Richmond and James Madison play each other in early November, so one of those two will have another loss. With their remaining schedules, both could have another loss. Again, I don't see a 2nd place in the Colonial being ahead of the MVFC champion.

- If Cal Poly wins out, they would have an impressive resume with wins against SDSU and EWU. If our only FCS loss is to Cal Poly, I would not view that as a big hit. If they lose to both EWU and Weber State, then it would be a significant loss for us as I don't see them making the playoffs with four losses.

[YanktonJack7]

Re: FCS Rankings

NDSU and Illinois had the same record last year. NDSU got the MVFC auto-bid. Come playoff time Ill St was the 2 seed and NDSU got the 3 seed, because NDSU lost to USD and Ill St lost to Iowa. SDSU losing to Cal-Poly is going hurt for a high seed

Right, but NDSU lost to Montana too in addition to a 5-6 USD.

ISU-R had the better losses by losing to Iowa and at a ranked 8-4 SDSU.

Plus, like 1979 said, they didn't play at all so it makes sense why ISU-R was seeded higher than NDSU.

[MontanaRabbit]

Re: FCS Rankings

Right, but NDSU lost to Montana too in addition to a 5-6 USD.

ISU-R had the better losses by losing to Iowa and at a ranked 8-4 SDSU.

Plus, like 1979 said, they didn't play at all so it makes sense why ISU-R was seeded higher than NDSU.

Ahhhh....details. I'd like to hear the argument against the seeds. Seems pretty clear to me.

[scbison]

Re: FCS Rankings

Ahhhh....details. I'd like to hear the argument against the seeds. Seems pretty clear to me.

Well considering NDSU was given the conference auto-bid the MVFC feels they should have been the higher seed. However, it is a moot point as all roads led and continue to lead through Fargo in the FCS playoffs.

[MontanaRabbit]

Re: FCS Rankings

Well considering NDSU was given the conference auto-bid the MVFC feels they should have been the higher seed. However, it is a moot point as all roads led and continue to lead through Fargo in the FCS playoffs.

Oh good God. They won the tiebreaker....http://www.valley-football.org/news/...---tiebreaker/. I'm not going to even figure out which criteria. It's pretty obvious you can't take an unbiased look at how the selection committee "felt" ISU deserved a higher seed. Oh how dare they not place the mighty bison on a pedestal.

Note, I realize the tiebreaker article is old, but let's not kid ourselves. The selection committee looks at a resume not some arbitrary tie breaking procedure to determine seeds. Unless your head is in the clouds you can see how they may have "felt" ISU deserved a higher seed.

[THE PRIDE IS BACK!!!]

Re: FCS Rankings

I think everyone needs to chill, and enjoy the ride. SDSU is in the midst of one their best seasons ever (if not best!) and you all are worrying about playoffs. There is still 4 more games before the bracket is put out, and anything could happen in the MVFC or in the entire FCS. So what if the rankings don't properly represent where we should be? Better for us in the playoffs to make other teams underestimate us. Just sit back, relax, enjoy the season while it lasts.

[BrerRabbit]

Re: FCS Rankings

I don't agree with you. Perception dictates how we're seeded in the playoffs. How we're seeded dictates whether we get to play at home and enjoy all those advantages deep into the post season.

Why don't you just sit back and enjoy and leave this to those of us who pay attention to such things?

[MontanaRabbit]

Re: FCS Rankings

I don't agree with you. Perception dictates how we're seeded in the playoffs. How we're seeded dictates whether we get to play at home and enjoy all those advantages deep into the post season.

Why don't you just sit back and enjoy and leave this to those of us who pay attention to such things?

Do you really think pissing and moaning on a message board is going to improve our seed?