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Post by aldewitt on Nov 20, 2018 7:39:53 GMT -6
I saw a conference that played good football. The teams that deserved it got in. UNI got the call as #3 because of the 33-0 win over Indiana State. The Panthers are playing good ball and won when they had too. Outside of those 3 I don’t see a legitimate contender even if they played in a weak conference.
I can’t think of a MVFC team that is saying their schedule was too strong, preventing them from competing for a national championship.
The MVFC teams have strength of schedule ratings in the 140s range, including NDSU & SDSU, teams that strengthen all schedules in the conference. Most MVFC teams have been starting the season looking at two probable losses because of them.
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Post by coyotecrazie5 on Nov 20, 2018 7:57:57 GMT -6
I was hoping ISUb would sneak in to get 4 teams since the CAA got 6.
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Post by kiyoat on Nov 20, 2018 8:35:39 GMT -6
Here is Sagarin's SOS for Valley and CAA teams (prior to Saturday's games) 107 MSU 114 USD 116 UNI* 123 YSU 124 SIU 129 WIU 130 ISUb 132 ISUr 140 New Hamp141 NDSU*** 143 SDSU*** 145 Elon* 146 Wilm & Mary 148 Towson* 152 Villanova 156 Richmond 159 Rhode Island 160 Maine*** 164 Albany 165 Stony Brook* 167 Delaware* 169 James Madison** = playoff team *** = seeded playoff team (these are ranking all Division-I teams, both FCS and FBS) I wouldn't contend that any title-contenders were left out of the playoffs, but I would say that the Colonial getting 6 in has at least a little to do with their weaker schedule. I'll be curious to see if Maine is a paper tiger.
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Post by gopheryote on Nov 20, 2018 12:41:24 GMT -6
In case there is any doubt, read this article Jay refers to:
"They dropped North Alabama and they defended it because North Alabama is a transitioning team and it would have counted as a non-DI. That's their defense. North Alabama is transitioning to Division I, they're a hybrid, and we would have given [Incarnate Word] some credit for it. I wish they would have played the game. They're fortunate we didn't have enough seven-win teams to fill the field," said Teague, who added that Incarnate Word's co-championship in the Southland also played a big factor in the Cardinals being chosen.
Note he didn't say they didn't have enough good teams, or teams who played a good schedule, or teams who challenged themselves. Just noted (several times) the total number of wins was the criteria, and they kept leveling down from 8 to 7 to 6 to fill the brackets. So 7 wins trumps 6 wins with a tough SOS, etc.
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Post by Yote 53 on Nov 20, 2018 12:53:20 GMT -6
The message is to schedule one FBS, and two cupcake FCS schools. Load up on wins OOC. Just schedule the Pioneer, OVC, and some other body bag games. Why play any BSC teams?
This might get me to support Augie to D1 and Pioneer football as that would give us a body bag game in close proximity.
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Post by easmus on Nov 20, 2018 16:04:16 GMT -6
Totally agree. I’m cool with throwing in a winnable FBS game too. And nothing wrong with doing a home & home with teams like Drake. Teams in this area seem to struggle with attendance in back to back weeks so the cream puffs don’t have to be at home. Nothing wrong with going to Drake for instance. Good experience for new guys to learn how to travel and maybe also get some playing time. Less travel roster restrictions in OOC season. Not sure we knew Weber would be that good when we scheduled that game.
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Post by yoteforever on Nov 20, 2018 18:05:49 GMT -6
I want to build a program that is an annual contender, and not one that hopes to just slip in the playoffs periodically. I don’t think you can build that program from the ground up by playing more than one cupcake per season. I never want to get to the point where we play a FBS school then come home and play Augie and Drake back to back in order to start the season 2-1 ( or 3-0 against a lessor FBS school ). Beating schools like that by 35-50 points 2 weeks in a row is useless.
You want to contend for the title year in and year out, you’ve got to be 6-2 or better in the MVFC each and every year. I thought we were closer to being there than we are, but I’m still 100% convinced Coach Nielson’s the guy to do it. He’ll make whatever changes he needs to make in order to get there. He’s not a fool, he’s a great coach.
You go 6-2 in the Valley and you’re in the playoffs. That’s my expectation. You win 6 games in our league and you’re good enough to exchange punches with the best. SDSU is that team right now and I guaranty you they can play with anyone in the country. I will not be surprised if they are in the championship game.
We keep making the investments we are making and the coaches do their job, we will be there. But we can’t stop whats started now. Finishing the Dome, getting the outdoor practice facility, utilizing the best weight room in FCS, and getting more fans to the game are the keys to building it the right way.
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Post by Yotes on Nov 20, 2018 20:38:22 GMT -6
Playing two Drakes in a season is a bit much. I'd like a FBS, Drake, and then scholarship FCS team. Doesn't have to mean a Big Sky team. Bring in those OVC or Southland schools. They're competition, but still very likely wins unless you're going after the very top of the league.
Its crucial to get 2 wins in the conference because 6 wins in the MVFC is a mammoth task most years.
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Post by GoYotes on Nov 20, 2018 21:24:37 GMT -6
Need dollars to bring in teams without home and home arrangements and we need more butts in the seats to generate the dollars.
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Post by yoteforever on Nov 20, 2018 21:57:00 GMT -6
Playing two Drakes in a season is a bit much. I'd like a FBS, Drake, and then scholarship FCS team. Doesn't have to mean a Big Sky team. Bring in those OVC or Southland schools. They're competition, but still very likely wins unless you're going after the very top of the league. Its crucial to get 2 wins in the conference because 6 wins in the MVFC is a mammoth task most years. It is indeed a mammoth task to be 6-2 or better every year, but that should be the expectation we have. Always be in a position to contend.
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Post by Yote 53 on Nov 20, 2018 22:12:22 GMT -6
My take is that the MVFC gives us 8 meatgrinder games a year. Even the bottom of the conference is just as good or better than the mid-level of many other conferences. I see teams in the playoffs today that got there based on record, that if we played tomorrow I would take USD in a heartbeat.
It's not just us that gets bit by the scheduling it's other teams in our conference as well. Yeah, I agree that if we can't go 6-2 and contend in conference that going to the playoffs is a futile exercise. I will say, however, that we need buzz around the program, even if it's manufactured buzz via scheduling. It also doesn't help to play a tough OOC schedule and then by the time we go to slay the dragon (NDSU) we're so beat up we don't have the depth to compete. (Remember the year we played them with 0 healthy RBs?)
Call it the Kansas State philosophy. Snyder needed buzz to get that program off the mat. He did so by scheduling for success and then built from there.
Personally, I am a schedule the toughest schedule out there, let's take on the meatgrinder kind if guy. But banging our heads against the wall isn't getting it done so far. Joe Public doesn't know the inner workings of FCS football, they only see "made the playoffs, let's hop on board the train". We need positive momentum right now. The committee has all but come out and said they don't care if you play a good schedule, it's all about countable wins.
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Post by Yotes on Nov 20, 2018 22:26:34 GMT -6
YSU wasn't exactly dominant in the MVFC when they ran to the title game. We have to make the field and anything can happen from there. If we aren't going to be rewarded for playing tough teams in the non conference then we should rethink our scheduling strategy.
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Post by aldewitt on Nov 21, 2018 5:42:26 GMT -6
Chris Klieman, head coach at NDSU say: The head to head loss to UNI cooked their goose because they apparently threw out the INS D2 win. The great play during the 5 win run the Sycamores had should have overshadowed the early D2 game. The NCAA is enforcing their divisional segregation’s.
A lot of time an AD can’t find games but it is clear with a D2 win you will need 7 more. As a result it seems the better a team is the easier it is to schedule a tomato can or two.
With all FCS wins a strength of schedule seems moot except for losses to the FBS which seem to be overlooked or even rewarded in some cases.
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Post by Yote 53 on Nov 21, 2018 8:33:46 GMT -6
We're not advocating scheduling D2s or NAIAs in order to get wins. We're talking about instead of scheduling Montana, Weber State, EWU like we have in the past, scheduling weaker FCS schools. Get the OOC wins, we get tested enough in the MVFC. Go 4-4 or better in the conference and you've proven yourself as a top 20 team in the FCS given the disparity in levels of play across the different conferences.
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Post by easmus on Nov 21, 2018 9:14:00 GMT -6
Need dollars to bring in teams without home and home arrangements and we need more butts in the seats to generate the dollars. Like I said, I’m ok doing home & home arrangements. It’s not all bad to take the team on the road in OOC for a winnable game. Let’s go to Houston Baptist if we have to. We need to get on a roll as a program of making the playoffs yearly. So let’s not make it harder on ourselves.
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