AGS Poll Results - Week 8 2013

[AGSPoll]

Results for 10/21/2013 AGS Poll:



1
North Dakota State Bison
1675
67


2
Eastern Illinois Panthers
1563



3
Fordham Rams
1448



4
Eastern Washington Eagles
1375



5
Towson Tigers
1308



6
Maine Black Bears
1307



7
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
1235



8
McNeese State Cowboys
1217



9
Sam Houston State Bearkats
1128



10
Montana State Bobcats
1091



11
Youngstown State Penguins
1089



12
Montana Grizzlies
969



13
Bethune-Cookman Wildcats
669



14
Villanova Wildcats
664



15
Wofford Terriers
656



16
Tennessee State Tigers
559



17
Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
548



18
Samford Bulldogs
525



19
Lehigh Mountain Hawks
401



20
Northern Iowa Panthers
377



21
James Madison Dukes
347



22
Southeastern Louisiana Lions
335



23
Southern Illinois Salukis
274



24
Charleston Southern Buccaneers
156



25
New Hampshire Wildcats
137
















Most Significant Win:





McNeese State Cowboys











Most Significant Loss:





Northern Iowa Panthers











ORV:




26
Harvard Crimson
133



27
William & Mary Tribe
105



28
Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
75



29
South Carolina State Bulldogs
69



30
Chattanooga Mocs
68



31
South Dakota State Jackrabbits
63



32
South Dakota Coyotes
39



33
Central Arkansas Bears
34



34
Princeton Tigers
32



35T
Cal Poly Mustangs
22



35T
Jacksonville State Gamecocks
22



37
Furman Paladins
21



38
Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks
8



39
Murray State Racers
7



40
Jackson State Tigers
5

[BisonBacker]

I'm surprised Sam dropped to #9

[BisonBacker]

I also have to say this got to be one of the most bizarre or non traditional top 25's I've ever seen. Is this "shift" if you will going to continue or will we see a return to some "normalcy" if you will of a more traditional top 25? Interesting either way. Oh and don't get me wrong I'm not saying it's a bad thing either.

[JMUNJ08]

Its week 8 and 2 .500 teams are in the polls? I understand there are some good W's and tough L's in there but still....

[JMUNJ08]

I'm surprised Sam dropped to #9

I honestly had a tough time putting them higher. You figure the week after the H2H that McNeese needed to be in front of them (I think H2H makes lots of sense in this case) but would you put McNeese in front of the other 7?

[Sammy94]

Pretty close to mine.
1: North Dakota State Bison
2: Eastern Illinois Panthers
3: Fordham Rams
4: Eastern Washington Eagles
5: Maine Black Bears
6: McNeese State Cowboys
7: Towson Tigers
8: Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
9: Sam Houston State Bearkats
10: Montana State Bobcats
11: Youngstown State Penguins
12: Montana Grizzlies
13: Southeastern Louisiana Lions
14: Wofford Terriers
15: Samford Bulldogs
16: Bethune-Cookman Wildcats
17: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
18: Villanova Wildcats
19: Tennessee State Tigers
20: Lehigh Mountain Hawks
21: James Madison Dukes
22: Southern Illinois Salukis
23: Northern Iowa Panthers
24: Charleston Southern Buccaneers
25: New Hampshire Wildcats

[BlueHenSinfonian]

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: Eastern Illinois Panthers
3: Towson Tigers
4: Fordham Rams
5: McNeese State Cowboys
6: Maine Black Bears
7: Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
8: Youngstown State Penguins
9: Eastern Washington Eagles
10: Montana State Bobcats
11: Montana Grizzlies
12: Villanova Wildcats
13: Lehigh Mountain Hawks
14: Sam Houston State Bearkats
15: Bethune-Cookman Wildcats
16: Wofford Terriers
17: Charleston Southern Buccaneers
18: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
19: Northern Iowa Panthers
20: Tennessee State Tigers
21: Harvard Crimson
22: James Madison Dukes
23: Samford Bulldogs
24: Southern Illinois Salukis
25: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks

Mine is pretty close, even in terms of position for most of the teams. I threw in Harvard and Tenn Martin over SELA and UNH. SELA vs Tenn Martin is a toss-up for me at this point, we'll see how things go. I'm still having trouble with the idea of ranking an even W-L team, though SIU made the cut on the strength of the SDSU and UNI wins. Though, we'll have to see as the season progresses whether those end up staying as quality wins.

[Pard4Life]

I have Fordham #4 behind NDSU, EIU, and EWU. And Princeton, Harvard in leiu of SeLA and JMU.

[ursus arctos horribilis]

Its week 8 and 2 .500 teams are in the polls? I understand there are some good W's and tough L's in there but still....

UNH wasn't in there last week. The win over VU put them back in at the bottom spot and UNI was a .500 team until this week and are dropping quickly from there #4 position a couple weeks back. I get where you are coming from though.

[NoDak 4 Ever]

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: Eastern Illinois Panthers
3: Fordham Rams
4: Eastern Washington Eagles
5: Towson Tigers
6: Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
7: McNeese State Cowboys
8: Montana State Bobcats
9: Maine Black Bears
10: Montana Grizzlies
11: Sam Houston State Bearkats
12: Villanova Wildcats
13: Youngstown State Penguins
14: Wofford Terriers
15: Bethune-Cookman Wildcats
16: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
17: Southern Illinois Salukis
18: Northern Iowa Panthers
19: James Madison Dukes
20: Samford Bulldogs
21: Charleston Southern Buccaneers
22: Lehigh Mountain Hawks
23: Tennessee State Tigers
24: William & Mary Tribe
25: South Dakota Coyotes

[chattownmocs]

There is no excuse at this point to be ranking Wofford ahead of Samford.

[Southern Bison]

How do determine what a "traditional top 25" is? Just because the top 10 aren't loaded with MVFC/SLC/BSC/CAA/SoCon schools, it's not normal? The non-power conferences of the past have had teams that have really stepped up this year and are making a name for themselves amongst the above-average FCS fan. IMO, I think that this year is going to create a more exciting playoff picture come December.

[BlueHenSinfonian]

There is no excuse at this point to be ranking Wofford ahead of Samford.

Why? Their records are pretty similar:

Wofford: Wins vs. The Citadel, GaSou, Presby, Elon, and WCU, Losses vs Baylor and Gardner-Webb

Samford: Wins vs. GA State, FAMU, GaSou, and WCU, Losses to Arkansas and SELA

I guess you could say the Garnder-Webb loss is worse than the SELA loss, but I'm of a mind to just throw the results of that game out entirely in terms of ranking. The whole thing was played in a torrential downpour and the only score between both teams was a single field goal.

[BisonBacker]

How do determine what a "traditional top 25" is? Just because the top 10 aren't loaded with MVFC/SLC/BSC/CAA/SoCon schools, it's not normal? The non-power conferences of the past have had teams that have really stepped up this year and are making a name for themselves amongst the above-average FCS fan. IMO, I think that this year is going to create a more exciting playoff picture come December.
I didn't say it was a bad thing and it was just an observation. Man you read way to much into peoples postings. Recent history has not had some of these teams in the top 25 or for that matter I'm not sure some have ever even sniffed the top 25. That's all I was saying. Like I said just an observation. Is it a changing of the guard? Will this continue or will some of the old top 25 powers comeback? Just conversation and thoughts on a message board not implying anything else.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Good poll. Just a little surprised that Towson is still ahead of Maine.

[bluehenbillk]

Poll looks good - I think if you switch Bethune & SELA it looks perfect.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: Eastern Illinois Panthers
3: Fordham Rams
4: Maine Black Bears
5: Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
6: Eastern Washington Eagles
7: Towson Tigers
8: Youngstown State Penguins
9: McNeese State Cowboys
10: Montana State Bobcats
11: Sam Houston State Bearkats
12: Samford Bulldogs
13: Villanova Wildcats
14: Tennessee State Tigers
15: Lehigh Mountain Hawks
16: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
17: James Madison Dukes
18: Montana Grizzlies
19: William & Mary Tribe
20: Bethune-Cookman Wildcats
21: Southeastern Louisiana Lions
22: Wofford Terriers
23: Southern Illinois Salukis
24: Princeton Tigers
25: South Carolina State Bulldogs

[chattownmocs]

Why? Their records are pretty similar:

Wofford: Wins vs. The Citadel, GaSou, Presby, Elon, and WCU, Losses vs Baylor and Gardner-Webb

Samford: Wins vs. GA State, FAMU, GaSou, and WCU, Losses to Arkansas and SELA

I guess you could say the Garnder-Webb loss is worse than the SELA loss, but I'm of a mind to just throw the results of that game out entirely in terms of ranking. The whole thing was played in a torrential downpour and the only score between both teams was a single field goal.

The way Wofford has played the last 2 weeks completely legitimizes the Gardner Webb results. Samford has been head and shoulders above Wofford every step of the way.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

I have no idea how people can rank Montana in the Top 10 and ahead of NAU. It's comical....

[SU DOG]

The way Wofford has played the last 2 weeks completely legitimizes the Gardner Webb results. Samford has been head and shoulders above Wofford every step of the way.

No big deal and kinda moot point anyhow since THE game is this Saturday.

[dbackjon]

There is no excuse at this point to be ranking Wofford ahead of Samford.

I am not even sure why Wofford should be ranked at ALL.

They have five wins, yes. GSU has 4 wins. Other four teams they beat have a combined 7 wins. Barely beat a bad Elon team, should have lost to WCU.

But, with Samford, UTC and Furman coming up, they will either prove themselves, or fall out completely.

[IBleedYellow]

UNI should be out and USD in. IMO

Moto X

[NoDak 4 Ever]

UNI should be out and USD in. IMO

Moto X

I already kicked SDSU out. UNI is next if they keep this up.

Prediction? USD is top 15 before the end of the season.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

I am not even sure why Wofford should be ranked at ALL.

If you think that's bad, check out TSN's poll.

[IBleedYellow]

I already kicked SDSU out. UNI is next if they keep this up.

Prediction? USD is top 15 before the end of the season.

I kicked out SDSU and UNI in the same week, then added USD.

It felt dirty.

[chattanoogamocs]

Why? Their records are pretty similar:

Wofford: Wins vs. The Citadel, GaSou, Presby, Elon, and WCU, Losses vs Baylor and Gardner-Webb

Samford: Wins vs. GA State, FAMU, GaSou, and WCU, Losses to Arkansas and SELA

I guess you could say the Garnder-Webb loss is worse than the SELA loss, but I'm of a mind to just throw the results of that game out entirely in terms of ranking. The whole thing was played in a torrential downpour and the only score between both teams was a single field goal.

Yeah, I am going to have to agree with everyone else on this one...I think Samford has been much more convincing in their wins than Wofford...especially their last two games (they had to play the full 60 minutes to beat the bottom two teams in the SoCon)

Of course, they could easily turn around and beat Samford and Chattanooga back to back and make us all look silly for doubting them.

[NoDak 4 Ever]

I kicked out SDSU and UNI in the same week, then added USD.

It felt dirty.

Good for them. USD was the successful DII team anyway. Good to see them showing a little fight.

[Fear the Bird]

I think there are a ton of question marks with this week's poll - I really don't think it's one of our finer showings as a group.

Who is voting for Furman?
How is there that big of a gap between Montana and NAU?
I'm not even sure how you justify voting for UT-Martin anymore

[WileECoyote06]

Poll looks good - I think if you switch Bethune & SELA it looks perfect.

Why should they be switched?

[WileECoyote06]

Yeah, I am going to have to agree with everyone else on this one...I think Samford has been much more convincing in their wins than Wofford...especially their last two games (they had to play the full 60 minutes to beat the bottom two teams in the SoCon)

Of course, they could easily turn around and beat Samford and Chattanooga back to back and make us all look silly for doubting them.

Yep, and I think most posters who have been doing this ranking for a few years are willing to give them, and UNH that benefit of the doubt.

[WileECoyote06]

Its week 8 and 2 .500 teams are in the polls? I understand there are some good W's and tough L's in there but still....

You kind of answered your own question.

[Twentysix]

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: Eastern Illinois Panthers
3: Maine Black Bears
4: Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
5: Fordham Rams
6: Youngstown State Penguins
7: Towson Tigers
8: Eastern Washington Eagles
9: Southeastern Louisiana Lions
10: McNeese State Cowboys
11: Montana State Bobcats
12: Samford Bulldogs
13: Villanova Wildcats
14: Sam Houston State Bearkats
15: Montana Grizzlies
16: Tennessee State Tigers
17: Southern Illinois Salukis
18: William & Mary Tribe
19: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
20: James Madison Dukes
21: New Hampshire Wildcats
22: Bethune-Cookman Wildcats
23: South Dakota Coyotes
24: Lehigh Mountain Hawks
25: Northern Iowa Panthers

[JMUNJ08]

You kind of answered your own question.

My point was that at some point you just have to win the games on your schedule. It seems there are a few teams every year we say, well, there 6 losses were all to top 25 teams so they are actually a really good team. The thing is, at some point you have to win a few of those to be considered elite...

[ursus arctos horribilis]

My point was that at some point you just have to win the games on your schedule. It seems there are a few teams every year we say, well, there 6 losses were all to top 25 teams so they are actually a really good team. The thing is, at some point you have to win a few of those to be considered elite...

Sent you a pm btw.

[RabidRabbit]

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: Eastern Illinois Panthers
3: Fordham Rams
4: Eastern Washington Eagles
5: Montana Grizzlies
6: Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
7: Maine Black Bears
8: Montana State Bobcats
9: McNeese State Cowboys
10: Sam Houston State Bearkats
11: Youngstown State Penguins
12: Towson Tigers
13: Wofford Terriers
14: Bethune-Cookman Wildcats
15: Villanova Wildcats
16: Tennessee State Tigers
17: Northern Iowa Panthers
18: Lehigh Mountain Hawks
19: Tennessee State Tigers
20: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
21: New Hampshire Wildcats
22: Charleston Southern Buccaneers
23: James Madison Dukes
24: Southeastern Louisiana Lions
25: South Carolina State Bulldogs

Rabid thoughts
- UNI gets the benefit of the doubt due to the BCS take down of Iowa St. and dismantling of McNeese. However, having lost 3 in a row raises the question of injury bugs for UNI, and ability to get to 7 D-I wins, but more importantly, a winning record in the MVFC.
SIU - Is now down with no losses to give and make 7 D-I wins (have a non-D-I win).
SDSU - Could still lose once more and still have 7 D-I wins, but other than the SE LA win, has not knocked off any team of note.

Chuck So. - Only loss was "respectable" loss to Colorado. But also has two non-D-I wins, really needs to win Big South AQ to make play-offs.

SCSU needs to knock off BC this week-end to make play-offs. B-C gets in to play-offs due to FBS win and Tn St. win in addition to near top finish in MEAC, (assumes win out rest of MEAC games). Ivy teams tough to judge due to late start and short season.

James Madison fits as well as 4th CAA. Maine, Towson, 'Nova are more worthy. JMU/W&M, UD, UNH get 1 in, and who that is up in air.

Fordham will likely go undefeated. The best of the "eligible" Patriot's go to Lehigh, but there will only be the AQ. SoCon, still believe only one (either Samford or Wofford) will qualify. At least App St is not winning, so that eligible teams may get a W when in seasons past, the rest of the SoCon can get a W.

SE LA has wins over Samford and UT-Martin, but has yet to play McNeese or SHSU. Doing well vs the rest of the Southland.

Big Sky will get at least 3 teams in. NAU/SUU/Poly may sneak one of those 3 in as a 4th. Looking like EWU, MT St, and Montana best chances now.

NEC? Pioneer? SWAC? not really competitive for top 25.

[WileECoyote06]

My point was that at some point you just have to win the games on your schedule. It seems there are a few teams every year we say, well, there 6 losses were all to top 25 teams so they are actually a really good team. The thing is, at some point you have to win a few of those to be considered elite...

No argument from me on that. . but one does have to find a balance between scheduling and performance. If you play tougher teams, you have a increased possibility of losing. So just like people may keep Charleston Southern down because they haven't really played anyone of note; some teams may be propped up because they've played several teams of note.

Things tend to work themselves out either way though.

[ursus arctos horribilis]

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: Eastern Illinois Panthers
3: Fordham Rams
4: Eastern Washington Eagles
5: Montana Grizzlies
6: Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
7: Maine Black Bears
8: Montana State Bobcats
9: McNeese State Cowboys
10: Sam Houston State Bearkats
11: Youngstown State Penguins
12: Towson Tigers
13: Wofford Terriers
14: Bethune-Cookman Wildcats
15: Villanova Wildcats
16: Tennessee State Tigers
17: Northern Iowa Panthers
18: Lehigh Mountain Hawks
19: Tennessee State Tigers
20: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
21: New Hampshire Wildcats
22: Charleston Southern Buccaneers
23: James Madison Dukes
24: Southeastern Louisiana Lions
25: South Carolina State Bulldogs

Rabid thoughts
- UNI gets the benefit of the doubt due to the BCS take down of Iowa St. and dismantling of McNeese. However, having lost 3 in a row raises the question of injury bugs for UNI, and ability to get to 7 D-I wins, but more importantly, a winning record in the MVFC.
SIU - Is now down with no losses to give and make 7 D-I wins (have a non-D-I win).
SDSU - Could still lose once more and still have 7 D-I wins, but other than the SE LA win, has not knocked off any team of note.

Chuck So. - Only loss was "respectable" loss to Colorado. But also has two non-D-I wins, really needs to win Big South AQ to make play-offs.

SCSU needs to knock off BC this week-end to make play-offs. B-C gets in to play-offs due to FBS win and Tn St. win in addition to near top finish in MEAC, (assumes win out rest of MEAC games). Ivy teams tough to judge due to late start and short season.

James Madison fits as well as 4th CAA. Maine, Towson, 'Nova are more worthy. JMU/W&M, UD, UNH get 1 in, and who that is up in air.

Fordham will likely go undefeated. The best of the "eligible" Patriot's go to Lehigh, but there will only be the AQ. SoCon, still believe only one (either Samford or Wofford) will qualify. At least App St is not winning, so that eligible teams may get a W when in seasons past, the rest of the SoCon can get a W.

SE LA has wins over Samford and UT-Martin, but has yet to play McNeese or SHSU. Doing well vs the rest of the Southland.

Big Sky will get at least 3 teams in. NAU/SUU/Poly may sneak one of those 3 in as a 4th. Looking like EWU, MT St, and Montana best chances now.

NEC? Pioneer? SWAC? not really competitive for top 25.

You had Tennessee St. twice but the second one was changed to Tenn Martin as there waswn't time to get a response so if I messed that up my bad but didn't know what to do with it and assumed that was what you meant.

[Twentysix]

You had Tennessee St. twice but the second one was changed to Tenn Martin as there waswn't time to get a response so if I messed that up my bad but didn't know what to do with it and assumed that was what you meant.

Can I start voting for 25 NDSU's to inflate NDSU's lead for #1? :D

[ursus arctos horribilis]

Can I start voting for 25 NDSU's to inflate NDSU's lead for #1? :D

Yes, but I'll just email you to tell you to do it again...differently. Thanks to rokamortis I now have a duplicate checker so it makes finding these way easier.

BTW, to everyone else, that does not mean the first line of defense on your own ballot is not yourself checking your ballot over after submission.

[FordhamFan]

I don't fill out a poll, but would probably rank EWU ahead of Fordham.

If I can ask, what's the decider in leaving Coastal Carolina near the bottom of the Top 10, whereas Fordham continues to rise. Both from not so great conferences, both undefeated. I only ask because the Coaches and TSN polls have Coastal rising and Fordham staying still and I just don't understand the logic behind it.

[caribbeanhen]

Why should they be switched?
If u don't know by now just wait until the playoffs

[dystopiamembrane]

I am not even sure why Wofford should be ranked at ALL.
Agreed.

[dystopiamembrane]

I have no idea how people can rank Montana in the Top 10 and ahead of NAU. It's comical....
Montana is a top 20 team, but ahead of NAU, in my opinion.

[dbackjon]

Montana is a top 20 team, but ahead of NAU, in my opinion.

Why ahead of NAU. Just trying to understand people's reasoning for this.

[Professor Chaos]

If I can ask, what's the decider in leaving Coastal Carolina near the bottom of the Top 10, whereas Fordham continues to rise. Both from not so great conferences, both undefeated. I only ask because the Coaches and TSN polls have Coastal rising and Fordham staying still and I just don't understand the logic behind it.
Fordham has an FBS win and two FCS wins (Nova and Lehigh) that are better than any of CCU's wins (SCSU being the best).

[FordhamFan]

Fordham has an FBS win and two FCS wins (Nova and Lehigh) that are better than any of CCU's wins (SCSU being the best).

I wish the real polls would see it that way too..

[ElCid]

I am not even sure why Wofford should be ranked at ALL.


Agreed.

I have to say that I understand your concern. Wofford is not as good as last year, despite what their faithful say, and obviously living off the reputation of last year still. But they are still good and have a decent record still, albeit against lower teams still. Having seen them play a couple times in person and on ESPN 3, I am giving them the benefit of the doubt until they face the gautlet the next few weeks. I think the scary wins they have had recently do not really demonstrate their quality really as they probably were just sleep walking. I do have to give them credit for the come back wins though. Being down by a whole bunch and coming back was pretty impresisve. Bad teams do not do that even against mediocre teams. If they are a pretender, it will be known shortly and they will undoubtably suffer greatly for it in the polls.

[NoDak 4 Ever]

Fordham has an FBS win and two FCS wins (Nova and Lehigh) that are better than any of CCU's wins (SCSU being the best).

I'm almost sure the TSN and Coaches polls don't even look more closely than the records.

[caribbeanhen]

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: Eastern Illinois Panthers
3: Towson Tigers
4: Fordham Rams
5: McNeese State Cowboys
6: Maine Black Bears
7: Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
8: Youngstown State Penguins
9: Eastern Washington Eagles
10: Montana State Bobcats
11: Montana Grizzlies
12: Villanova Wildcats
13: Lehigh Mountain Hawks
14: Sam Houston State Bearkats
15: Bethune-Cookman Wildcats
16: Wofford Terriers
17: Charleston Southern Buccaneers
18: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
19: Northern Iowa Panthers
20: Tennessee State Tigers
21: Harvard Crimson
22: James Madison Dukes
23: Samford Bulldogs
24: Southern Illinois Salukis
25: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks

Mine is pretty close, even in terms of position for most of the teams. I threw in Harvard and Tenn Martin over SELA and UNH. SELA vs Tenn Martin is a toss-up for me at this point, we'll see how things go. I'm still having trouble with the idea of ranking an even W-L team, though SIU made the cut on the strength of the SDSU and UNI wins. Though, we'll have to see as the season progresses whether those end up staying as quality wins.

SE LA beat Samford..... but I don't even try to vote in this thing

[caribbeanhen]

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: Eastern Illinois Panthers
3: Fordham Rams
4: Eastern Washington Eagles
5: Towson Tigers
6: Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
7: McNeese State Cowboys
8: Montana State Bobcats
9: Maine Black Bears
10: Montana Grizzlies
11: Sam Houston State Bearkats
12: Villanova Wildcats
13: Youngstown State Penguins
14: Wofford Terriers
15: Bethune-Cookman Wildcats
16: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
17: Southern Illinois Salukis
18: Northern Iowa Panthers
19: James Madison Dukes
20: Samford Bulldogs
21: Charleston Southern Buccaneers
22: Lehigh Mountain Hawks
23: Tennessee State Tigers
24: William & Mary Tribe
25: South Dakota Coyotes

4Y2

[JoltinJoe]

I wish the real polls would see it that way too..

I think the AGS poll has historically proven to be a more accurate predictor of playoff success than the "real" polls. xthumbsupx

[dudeitsaid]

I have no idea how people can rank Montana in the Top 10 and ahead of NAU. It's comical....

Comical? I know H2H is a big deal to a lot of people. But the overall performance of both teams could be a key reason. If NAU had come out of that game, and even with a loss to MSU dominated their next two games, I would have a hard time saying UM is better. But since than game, NAU got throttled just as handily by MSU, and then has struggled against BSC bottom dwellers Sac St and Idaho St. UM, on the other hand, came out of their loss to NAU and decimated PSU, a team that at the time looked like it could have been a BSC contender, destroyed UD Davis, and ripped a victory out of the hands of a solid Cal Poly team. Even if you were to say they played equal competition since that game, UM has been the better team since then. They both have one FCS loss where they were beaten handily, so from my perspective, a 6 spot difference in the ranking isn't that far off. In truth, relatively speaking, that is pretty dang close in the grand scheme of things!

[dbackjon]

Comical? I know H2H is a big deal to a lot of people. But the overall performance of both teams could be a key reason. If NAU had come out of that game, and even with a loss to MSU dominated their next two games, I would have a hard time saying UM is better. But since than game, NAU got throttled just as handily by MSU, and then has struggled against BSC bottom dwellers Sac St and Idaho St. UM, on the other hand, came out of their loss to NAU and decimated PSU, a team that at the time looked like it could have been a BSC contender, destroyed UD Davis, and ripped a victory out of the hands of a solid Cal Poly team. Even if you were to say they played equal competition since that game, UM has been the better team since then. They both have one FCS loss where they were beaten handily, so from my perspective, a 6 spot difference in the ranking isn't that far off. In truth, relatively speaking, that is pretty dang close in the grand scheme of things!

The argument you are making is actually a great argument as to why H2H is appropriate in this situation. NAU RIPPED Montana to shreds.

The 5 FCS teams Montana has beaten to date have 12 wins, NAU's 5 FCS wins are over teams with 21 combined wins.

When you are talking 13 at large bids, 6 spots IS a lot.

N

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Comical? I know H2H is a big deal to a lot of people. But the overall performance of both teams could be a key reason. If NAU had come out of that game, and even with a loss to MSU dominated their next two games, I would have a hard time saying UM is better. But since than game, NAU got throttled just as handily by MSU, and then has struggled against BSC bottom dwellers Sac St and Idaho St. UM, on the other hand, came out of their loss to NAU and decimated PSU, a team that at the time looked like it could have been a BSC contender, destroyed UD Davis, and ripped a victory out of the hands of a solid Cal Poly team. Even if you were to say they played equal competition since that game, UM has been the better team since then. They both have one FCS loss where they were beaten handily, so from my perspective, a 6 spot difference in the ranking isn't that far off. In truth, relatively speaking, that is pretty dang close in the grand scheme of things!

NAU beat Montana by 18 points. Montana's best win to this point is over a solid but far from spectacular Cal Poly team. The Griz's schedule to this point has been rather poor, App State, UND, D2 school, Sac State, UC Davis etc. NAU has played Montana State, Montana, Arizona State and South Dakota. It's not even close....

Montana has their chance this week.....

[Professor Chaos]

Head to head is part of the way you can differentiate opponents. You can also look at common opponents. Both NAU and Montana played at UC Davis. NAU won 21-10 (trailed 7-10 going into the 4th) and Montana won 42-7. You can definitely justify that NAU should be ranked above Montana but you can't claim that having Montana ranked above NAU is without merit as well. Arguments can be made either way and at the end of the day it really comes down to individual pollster's opinion when you have conflicting indicators.

[Grizalltheway]

Head to head is part of the way you can differentiate opponents. You can also look at common opponents. Both NAU and Montana played at UC Davis. NAU won 21-10 (trailed 7-10 going into the 4th) and Montana won 42-7. You can definitely justify that NAU should be ranked above Montana but you can't claim that having Montana ranked above NAU is without merit as well. Arguments can be made either way and at the end of the day it really comes down to individual pollster's opinion when you have conflicting indicators.

Well, dback is obviously a homer, and Go Lehigh had poor enough judgement to adopt MSU as his western team. So there you go.

[dystopiamembrane]

Why ahead of NAU. Just trying to understand people's reasoning for this.
Body of work, but they are very, very close.

[dbackjon]

Body of work, but they are very, very close.

Body of work would favor NAU greatly. Three Quality wins to one for Montana :), including NAU >>>>>>>>>> Montana in REAL LIFE.

[dbackjon]

Well, dback is obviously a homer, and Go Lehigh had poor enough judgement to adopt MSU as his western team. So there you go.


And GATW is obviously a homer, with poor enough judgment to adopt Grizo as his mentor :D

[Fear the Bird]

Body of work would favor NAU greatly. Three Quality wins to one for Montana :), including NAU >>>>>>>>>> Montana in REAL LIFE.

Im with you dback but nobody else wants to move past the UCD game for some reason...it's apparently the only result that matters and how dare NAU be sluggish that day

[WileECoyote06]

If u don't know by now just wait until the playoffs

The same thing can said about Eastern Illinois and Tennessee State. Yet there goes EIU in the #2 slot.

[ursus arctos horribilis]

And GATW is obviously a homer, with poor enough judgment to adopt Grizo as his mentor :D

Point, set, match to dback on this one. Not due to the Griz but the Grizo thing seals it.

That being said. NAU prepares for one team every year and it shows...every year until a couple weeks after that game. You at least have two wins the last couple years so it's working lately and at least the season isn't a total loss.

[Grizalltheway]

Im with you dback but nobody else wants to move past the UCD game for some reason...it's apparently the only result that matters and how dare NAU be sluggish that day

Just like the Griz loss to NAU is the only result that matters and how dare UM be sluggish that day.

[dystopiamembrane]

Body of work would favor NAU greatly. Three Quality wins to one for Montana :), including NAU >>>>>>>>>> Montana in REAL LIFE.
I just go with the numbers. UM>NAU by 4 hundredths of a point.

[DOME]

I dont know how anyone could vote for UNI after three straight losses. Close or not, injuries or no they have proven an inability to finish meaningful games.

[NoDak 4 Ever]

I dont know how anyone could vote for UNI after three straight losses. Close or not, injuries or no they have proven an inability to finish meaningful games.

They are inching down. Lots of credit for the FBS win and starting really high.

[chattownmocs]

I gotta say that Montana is a great example of extreme bias. I think they are good, but by the standard you guys cling to they shouldn't be 10th. For example, their "resume" isn't significantly better than UTCs.

[ursus arctos horribilis]

I gotta say that Montana is a great example of extreme bias. I think they are good, but by the standard you guys cling to they shouldn't be 10th. For example, their "resume" isn't significantly better than UTCs.

In my mind they really would look better at about 15 in this list at this time.

[Humble Steward]

The same thing can said about Eastern Illinois and Tennessee State. Yet there goes EIU in the #2 slot.

Great point. You hope to improve every year and be based off of your current performance and improvement from the previous year. However, the only thing that matters is if you can win in the playoffs. BCU's ranking is well deserved based on their performance this year, but at some time it must transition to wins in the playoff. Wins against Tennessee State and FIU demonstrate that the program is progressing and the strength of schedule is vastly improved. A winning culture has been established and every Wildcat is supporting our program.

Next up: South Carolina State is on the clock.

[Southern Bison]

And GATW is obviously a homer, with poor enough judgment to adopt Grizo as his mentor :D

Did I miss National Adopt a Midget day again?

[skinny_uncle]

Its week 8 and 2 .500 teams are in the polls? I understand there are some good W's and tough L's in there but still....

You probably won't have to worry about SIU being in there too long. They've lost their starting QB with a broken finger on his throwing hand in the Bison game.

[Grizalltheway]

I gotta say that Montana is a great example of extreme bias. I think they are good, but by the standard you guys cling to they shouldn't be 10th. For example, their "resume" isn't significantly better than UTCs.

Now see, you start out by making a reasonable point, and then go ahead and inject your own ridiculous bias and invalidate it.

[PantherRob82]

Stop voting for UNI. xlolx

[Twentysix]

In my mind they really would look better at about 15 in this list at this time.

That's the place they earned in my poll. :p.