Best all time in the Playoffs

[OL FU]

Being a numbers/list junkie myself, (and since I could not sleep last night) I compiled a list of playoff teams and ranked them by a method of applying values to playoff appearances. Will describe the method in the next post.

I thought about calling the thread best programs of all time in I-AA, but that would not have been fair to the conferences that do not participate in the playoffs.

No surprise on number one and really number one through four.

A couple of thoughts:
1. 77 teams have participated so it is no surprise that the playoffs are in demand for !-AA fans.
2. Prevoius thread ask about the best program never to win a NC. Based on this, it would be McNeese with very close behind them.
3. List is probably not fair to programs recently joining I-AA, but it is the entire history of the division so no much I can do about it. Also, not fair to those that left, but that is probably not a big deal to those programs either.

I am interested in your thoughts and particularly the flaws of the methodology. Sorry the list is junked up with numbers.

and I am sure there are mistakes

1 GSU 15 14 10 8 6 75 140 150 160 120 645
2 Youngstown St 10 7 6 6 4 50 70 90 120 80 410
3 EKU 17 9 7 4 2 85 90 105 80 40 400
4 Montana 15 8 7 5 2 75 80 105 100 40 400
5 Marshall 8 8 7 6 2 40 80 105 120 40 385
6 Delaware 13 10 5 2 1 65 100 75 40 20 300
7 Furman 13 8 4 3 1 65 80 60 60 20 285
8 McNeese St 11 6 3 2 55 60 45 40 0 200
9 Northern Iowa 11 8 4 55 80 60 0 0 195
10 Boise ST 5 4 3 2 1 25 40 45 40 20 170
11 ASU 12 6 2 60 60 30 0 0 150
12 Mass 6 3 2 2 1 30 30 30 40 20 150
13 WKU 8 5 1 1 1 40 50 15 20 20 145
14 Nevada - Reno 4 4 4 1 20 40 60 20 0 140
15 Florida A&M 7 3 2 1 1 35 30 30 20 20 135
16 Lehigh 7 5 2 1 35 50 30 20 0 135
17 Idaho 11 4 2 55 40 30 0 0 125
18 James Madison 6 3 1 1 1 30 30 15 20 20 115
19 Middle Tenn 7 6 1 35 60 15 0 0 110
20 Stephen F Austin 4 3 2 1 20 30 30 20 0 100
21 Arkansas ST 4 4 1 1 20 40 15 20 0 95
22 Jackson St 12 2 1 60 20 15 0 0 95
23 LA Monroe 4 2 1 1 1 20 20 15 20 20 95
24 Troy St 7 3 2 35 30 30 0 0 95
25 Colgate 6 2 1 1 30 20 15 20 0 85
26 Montana St 3 1 1 1 1 15 10 15 20 20 80
27 S. Illinois 3 1 1 1 1 15 10 15 20 20 80
28 William & Mary 7 3 1 35 30 15 0 0 80
29 E. Illinois 9 3 45 30 0 0 0 75
30 Idaho St 2 1 1 1 1 10 10 15 20 20 75
31 Nevada 3 3 2 15 30 30 0 0 75
32 EWU 4 3 1 20 30 15 0 0 65
33 La Tech 2 2 1 1 10 20 15 20 0 65
34 Northwestern 6 2 1 30 20 15 0 0 65
35 Sam Houston 4 3 1 20 30 15 0 0 65
36 Villanova 6 2 1 30 20 15 0 0 65
37 W. Illinois 4 3 1 20 30 15 0 0 65
38 Murray ST 5 2 1 25 20 15 0 0 60
39 Rhode Island 3 3 1 15 30 15 0 0 60
40 Tenn St 4 2 1 20 20 15 0 0 55
41 Western Carolina 1 1 1 1 5 10 15 20 0 50
42 Boston U 5 2 25 20 0 0 0 45
43 Hofstra 5 2 25 20 0 0 0 45
44 SC State 2 2 1 10 20 15 0 0 45
45 Grambling 3 1 1 15 10 15 0 0 40
46 Maine 4 2 20 20 0 0 0 40
47 Richmond 4 2 20 20 0 0 0 40
48 Central Florida 2 1 1 10 10 15 0 0 35
49 New Hampshire 3 2 15 20 0 0 0 35
50 Samford 2 1 1 10 10 15 0 0 35
51 Illinois St 1 1 1 5 10 15 0 0 30
52 NC A&T 4 1 20 10 0 0 0 30
53 North Texas 4 1 20 10 0 0 0 30
54 Northern Arizona 4 1 20 10 0 0 0 30
55 Florida Atlantic 1 1 1 5 10 15 0 0 30
56 Wofford 1 1 1 5 10 15 0 0 30
57 Alcorn ST 3 1 15 10 0 0 0 25
58 Citadel 3 1 15 10 0 0 0 25
59 Nichols St 2 1 10 10 0 0 0 20
60 SW Mo 2 1 10 10 0 0 0 20
61 Weber ST 2 1 10 10 0 0 0 20
62 Connecticutt 1 1 5 10 0 0 0 15
63 ETSU 1 1 5 10 0 0 0 15
64 Hampton 3 15 0 0 0 0 15
65 Holy Cross 1 1 5 10 0 0 0 15
66 Indiana St 1 1 5 10 0 0 0 15
67 Indiana ST 1 1 5 10 0 0 0 15
68 Fordham 1 1 5 10 0 0 0 15
69 Bethune Cookman 2 10 0 0 0 0 10
70 Jacksonville St 2 10 0 0 0 0 10
71 Akron 1 5 0 0 0 0 5
72 Chattanooga 1 5 0 0 0 0 5
73 Howard 1 5 0 0 0 0 5
74 Miss Valley 1 5 0 0 0 0 5
75 Portland St 1 5 0 0 0 0 5
76 Northeastern 1 5 0 0 0 0 5
77 Lafayette 1 5 0 0 0 0 5

[OL FU]

The methodology was simple. Points for playing in first round, quarter-finals, semi-finals, championship and winning the championship are 5,10,15, 20 and 20 respectively.

This might be a problem as it weighs winning the championship more than appearing numerous times in the playoffs. ( personally I think that is ok). James Madison picked up 70 points for last year. Therefore theoretically, one team could have made one appearance in the playoffs and win it all and have 70 points and another team could appear 14 times and have the same number of points.


The other probelm is in the early days, the playoff consisted of two rounds and then three rounds and finally four rounds with four teams receiving byes in the first round. If a team received a bye, I gave them credit for the first round game. The champion in '78 received the same number of points (70) as the champion in '04 even though the '78 champ only played two games.

Any comments besides, Hey Ol FU you need a life ( that one I know).

[savannahjohn]

Really no surprises even through the top 8. I must admit that Boise State & Northern Iowa jumped out at me. Then I found out that Boise St. is in 4th place in all-time winning percentage in the playoffs (.667) just ahead of Montana (.613). Granted, Montana has had a few more appearances.

UNI is tied for 8th in the number of playoff appearances with 11.

Most of us know that Montana has an impressive streak of 12 consecutive appearances in the playoffs. This record could continue for a while.

Probably the most impressive number is the overall record of the team in the #1 slot- Georgia Southern. Their overall playoff record is 38-8, an .826 winning percentage against some of the best teams in the country. Those 38 wins means they could miss the playoffs for the next 3 years, the 2nd place team (Youngstown St.) could win the next 3 national championships, and GSU would still lead in overall wins. Pretty impressive.

(Upon review of the stats I presented above, I noticed that these numbers were from the 2004 NCAA record book & they do not include the 2004 season.)

[OL FU]

Yes, no surprise with Georgia Southern being way ahead.
Even with two NC wins I was a little surprise that Marshall was in the top five considering their real success was over a relatively brief period time, I guess it makes their run even more impressive.
I was surprised Furman was in the top ten considering the '90's blight.
When I was preparing this, the biggest shock for me was Jackson St. 12 appearances and zero wins (I may be wrong about that). Also, might have to consider moving Montana above EKU since a lot of EKU's points were during the early years when only 4 or 8 teams were in the playoffs. I guess the question is how many teams participated back and did the fewer number of teams make harder to get in the playoffs.

[Ronbo]

Well don't worry about placing Montana at 4th. We'll move ahead of both EKU and Youngstown this year into 2nd. :D

[Eagle_77]

This is very impressive. I have done studies on the playoffs and NC game in the past but didnt go so much in the number direction. I cant see how to dispute this to much because all the teams seem to be in there that deserve to be. I like it and ask that you keep up the research.

[blukeys]

The champion in '78 received the same number of points (70) as the champion in '04 even though the '78 champ only played two games.

Any comments besides, Hey Ol FU you need a life ( that one I know).
I don't agree with the above. I think it is much tougher to put together a string of 4 wins against playoff caliber competition than 2. However, I will in no way suggest a reasonable solution or even an alternative. I wll post critical comments if someone else presents an alternative.

About getting a life, I am not the president of the "Get a Life Club" but I do know him and am a member. We are thinking of extending memebership outside our local area. One has to apply for membership and present documentation as to why you should be considered. Your post above and some other posts would put you on the EZ pass lane into membership. I can't help but notice some other fine candidates on this board. Those who have more than 1,365 post in particular. ;) :D

[eaglefan452]

Great job OLFU, I too wasn't very suprised by the top eight or nine teams. I like how the rounds were weighed, playoff appearances are good, but winning it all should count for a good amount of points.

[OL FU]

I don't agree with the above. I think it is much tougher to put together a string of 4 wins against playoff caliber competition than 2. However, I will in no way suggest a reasonable solution or even an alternative. I wll post critical comments if someone else presents an alternative.

About getting a life, I am not the president of the "Get a Life Club" but I do know him and am a member. We are thinking of extending memebership outside our local area. One has to apply for membership and present documentation as to why you should be considered. Your post above and some other posts would put you on the EZ pass lane into membership. I can't help but notice some other fine candidates on this board. Those who have more than 1,365 post in particular. ;) :D

Thanks for being honest in your desire to post critical comments. :) But seriously, I would like to hear some suggestions because I tend to agree that playing four games and winning a NC is more impressive than play two.

Please send the application for the Get a Life Club as I obviously have plenty of time to complete the form.

[Hansel]

you could also look at this website
http://diaafootball.com/playoffbyname.html

[HensRock]

I-AA Playoff Winning Pct.


Rank Team G W L Pct.
1 Ga. Southern 47 38 9 .809
2 Marshall 29 23 6 .793
2 Youngstown St. 29 23 6 .793
4 Idaho St. 4 3 1 .750
4 Western Caro. 4 3 1 .750
6 Boise St. 12 8 4 .667
7 Louisiana Tech 6 4 2 .667
8 Florida Atlantic 3 2 1 .667
8 Wofford 3 2 1 .667
10 Montana 35 22 13 .629
11 La.-Monroe 8 5 3 .625
12 Arkansas St. 10 6 4 .600
12 Stephen F. Austin 10 6 4 .600
14 Montana St. 5 3 2 .600
14 Southern Ill. 5 3 2 .600
16 Delaware 28 16 12 .571
17 Nevada 16 9 7 .563
18 Furman 27 15 12 .556
19 James Madison 11 6 5 .545
19 Massachusetts 11 6 5 .545
21 Western Ky. 15 8 7 .533
22 Northern Iowa 23 12 11 .522
23 Eastern Ky. 31 16 15 .516
24 McNeese St. 22 11 11 .500
25 Eastern Wash. 8 4 4 .500
26 Illinois St. 4 2 2 .500
26 Samford 4 2 2 .500
26 South Carolina St. 4 2 2 .500
26 UCF 4 2 2 .500
30 Connecticut 2 1 1 .500
30 East Tenn. St. 2 1 1 .500
30 Fordham 2 1 1 .500
33 Middle Tenn. 13 6 7 .462
34 Florida A&M 11 5 6 .455
35 Sam Houston St. 7 3 4 .429
36 Troy St. 12 5 7 .417
37 Appalachian St. 20 8 12 .400
38 Colgate 10 4 6 .400
39 Rhode Island 5 2 3 .400
40 Western Ill. 13 5 8 .385
41 Lehigh 11 4 7 .364
41 William & Mary 11 4 7 .364
43 Idaho 17 6 11 .353
44 Northwestern St. 9 3 6 .333
44 Villanova 9 3 6 .333
46 Maine 6 2 4 .333
46 Richmond 6 2 4 .333
48 Indiana St. 3 1 2 .333
48 Nicholls St. 3 1 2 .333
48 Southwest Mo. St. 3 1 2 .333
48 Weber St. 3 1 2 .333
52 Boston U. 7 2 5 .286
52 Hofstra 7 2 5 .286
52 Tennessee St. 7 2 5 .286
55 Eastern Ill. 12 3 9 .250
56 Citadel 4 1 3 .250
56 New Hampshire 4 1 3 .250
58 N.C. A&T 5 1 4 .200
58 Northern Ariz. 5 1 4 .200
60 Murray St. 6 1 5 .167
61 Akron 1 0 1 .000
61 Chattanooga 1 0 1 .000
61 Holy Cross 1 0 1 .000
61 Howard 1 0 1 .000
61 Lafayette 1 0 1 .000
61 Mississippi Val. 1 0 1 .000
61 Northeastern 1 0 1 .000
61 Portland St. 1 0 1 .000
69 Bethune-Cookman 2 0 2 .000
69 Jacksonville St. 2 0 2 .000
71 Alcorn St. 3 0 3 .000
71 Grambling 3 0 3 .000
71 Hampton 3 0 3 .000
74 North Texas 4 0 4 .000
75 Jackson St. 12 0 12 .000

[OL FU]

It's all good information, but playoff winning percentage alone is a little misleading. Re: Georgia Southern it says alot. Lot so playoffs lots of games and lots of wins

Then you look at Idaho St, 4 games, won three, great percentage. I would take 15 trips to the playoffs and only two or three wins over that.

[HensRock]

I agree. I almost qualified it by filtering out those with less than 10 playoff games experience. If you do that, and get rid of the former I-AA teams, it looks like this:

Current I-AA teams with .500 or better playoff record (minimum 10 games):



Rank Team G W L Pct.
1 Ga. Southern 47 38 9 .809
2 Youngstown St. 29 23 6 .793
3 Montana 35 22 13 .629
4 Stephen F. Austin 10 6 4 .600
5 Delaware 28 16 12 .571
6 Furman 27 15 12 .556
7 James Madison 11 6 5 .545
7 Massachusetts 11 6 5 .545
9 Western Ky. 15 8 7 .533
10 Northern Iowa 23 12 11 .522
11 Eastern Ky. 31 16 15 .516
12 McNeese St. 22 11 11 .500

[eaglefan452]

But seriously, I would like to hear some suggestions because I tend to agree that playing four games and winning a NC is more impressive than play two.



You could give the champs who only played 2 games in the playoffs the correct point totals for say the semis and finals, wouldn't be much less, and if it didn't make much of a difference point-wise, you could assign different point weights for those years before there were 3 prior rounds to to championship.

[Pen Guin]

Boise & UNI should be no surprise, although I am probably showing my age. Both great programs that just could not win the 4th game. Also, just remember Robo. WKU is the one that is sneaking up there.

From 1990-1999, YSU went 22-3 in the post season, 6 title game appearances, 4 titles. In that time, if you do not include title games, YSU only lost game, they lost 2 additional title games. So I am not certain how Montana is counting their wins, but YSU won 11 consectutive post-season games twice in that period (both of which include three consecutive title appearances.) So, if the Griz won 12, then they have the lead.

On behalf of the GFC, I would also like to point out that they are the only conference with every member (past & present) to have made the post-season. In fact, in terms of winning %, 6 of the current GFC teams place in the top-40. If you take all the GFC teams post-season appearances combined, they have an above .500 post-season winning record.

YSU has 29 appearances (GFC cannot claim all of those, only 9)
UNI has 23 appearances
WKU has 15 appearances (only 14 GFC)
WIU has 13 appearances
SIU has 5 (only 2 are GFC)
ILS has 4
EIU has 4 (from the GFC)
SMS has
ISU has 2

[ChickenMan]

Boise & UNI should be no surprise, although I am probably showing my age. Both great programs that just could not win the 4th game. Also, just remember Robo. WKU is the one that is sneaking up there.

From 1990-1999, YSU went 22-3 in the post season, 6 title game appearances, 4 titles. In that time, if you do not include title games, YSU only lost game, they lost 2 additional title games. So I am not certain how Montana is counting their wins, but YSU won 11 consectutive post-season games twice in that period (both of which include three consecutive title appearances.) So, if the Griz won 12, then they have the lead.


So what happened... to a once mighty program...:D

[Pen Guin]

Don't know chicken ... "I just watch'em ... not coach'em" :)

make that :bang:

[blukeys]

From 1990-1999, YSU went 22-3 in the post season, 6 title game appearances, 4 titles. In that time, if you do not include title games, YSU only lost game, they lost 2 additional title games. So I am not certain how Montana is counting their wins, but YSU won 11 consectutive post-season games twice in that period (both of which include three consecutive title appearances.) So, if the Griz won 12, then they have the lead.


And from 1990-1999 they went 0-2 against Delaware. :) :)

[GannonFan]

On behalf of the GFC, I would also like to point out that they are the only conference with every member (past & present) to have made the post-season.



Actually, before last year the A10 could make the same claim, but then we added Towson (give them a few years to build the program back up and they'll change that). And adding the teams that dropped football or left the conference (BU and UConn) the Yankee/A10 has 13 out of 14 teams that have made the playoffs - not too shabby - certainly speaks for parity in the Yankee/A10.

[OL FU]

You could give the champs who only played 2 games in the playoffs the correct point totals for say the semis and finals, wouldn't be much less, and if it didn't make much of a difference point-wise, you could assign different point weights for those years before there were 3 prior rounds to to championship.


In other words, the 78 champ gets 20 for winning the NC, 20 for being in the game and fifteen for being the first round instead of the extra points I gave them for not playing. Thanks makes sense.

[OL FU]

Actually, before last year the A10 could make the same claim, but then we added Towson (give them a few years to build the program back up and they'll change that). And adding the teams that dropped football or left the conference (BU and UConn) the Yankee/A10 has 13 out of 14 teams that have made the playoffs - not too shabby - certainly speaks for parity in the Yankee/A10.

And before Elon joined the Socon, the same claim could be made.

[thirdgendin]

And before Elon joined the Socon, the same claim could be made.

Well, not exactly, if you're counting all members past and present in the I-AA era. VMI and Davidson never made the playoffs either.

Furman- 13
Appalachian- 12
Georgia Southern- 9 (in the SoCon)
Marshall- 8
The Citadel- 3
Western Carolina- 1
Wofford- 1
ETSU- 1
Chattanooga- 1

[OL FU]

Well, not exactly, if you're counting all members past and present in the I-AA era. VMI and Davidson never made the playoffs either.

Furman- 13
Appalachian- 12
Georgia Southern- 9 (in the SoCon)
Marshall- 8
The Citadel- 3
Western Carolina- 1
Wofford- 1
ETSU- 1
Chattanooga- 1

Nope, I was counting before Elon with ETSU in. Now on the other hand I can't say for sure if those 8 teams played at one time without the others.

Or on the other other hand I can see if I can delete my post :)

[OL FU]

Nope, I was counting before Elon with ETSU in. Now on the other hand I can't say for sure if those 8 teams played at one time without the others.

Or on the other other hand I can see if I can delete my post :)

Ok, I'll fess up. I forget about the Keydets and the Mildcats. previous comment retracted with embarrassment. I think I was having an A-10 flashback from a previous thread.

[Pen Guin]

Actually GannonFan, I think the A-10 could only make that claim because of a couple members lost, so adding one is fair.

[dbackjon]

From your original list, you have Nevada-Reno and Nevada both listed - this is the same school. Combined, the Wolfpack have 7 play-off appearances, 215 points on your scale - good for top-10.

Big Sky (Current and Former while members)
Appearances / Titles

Montana - 15 / 2
Idaho - 11 / 0 (Former member)
Nevada - 7 / 0 (Former member)
Boise St - 5 / 1 (Former member)
E Wash - 4 / 0
N Arizona - 4 / 0
Mont St - 3 / 1
Idaho St - 2 / 1
Weber St - 2 / 0
Portland St- 1 / 0

Only Former member Cal-State Northridge and Current Member Cal-St Sacramento have not been to the playoffs.

[JohnStOnge]

Looks like the basis for what would be a good article for the I-AA preview magazine.

[OL FU]

From your original list, you have Nevada-Reno and Nevada both listed - this is the same school. Combined, the Wolfpack have 7 play-off appearances, 215 points on your scale - good for top-10..

Good catch. There are probably others.

[OL FU]

Changed - combined Nevada and Reno
I had previously listed Indiana St Twice.
Eliminated credit for first and second rounds during the years those rounds were not played. Biggest impact there was EKU and Boise St. Both played frequently in the playoffs in the early years.

1 GSU 15 14 10 8 6 75 140 150 160 120 645
2 Youngstown St 10 7 6 6 4 50 70 90 120 80 410
3 Montana 15 8 7 5 2 75 80 105 100 40 400
4 Marshall 8 8 7 6 2 40 80 105 120 40 385
5 EKU 13 7 7 4 2 65 70 105 80 40 360
6 Delaware 11 10 5 2 1 55 100 75 40 20 290
7 Furman 11 8 4 3 1 55 80 60 60 20 275
8 McNeese St 11 6 3 2 55 60 45 40 0 200
9 Northern Iowa 10 8 4 50 80 60 0 0 190
10 Nevada - Reno 4 5 6 1 20 50 90 20 0 180
11 ASU 12 6 2 60 60 30 0 0 150
12 Boise ST 3 3 3 2 1 15 30 45 40 20 150
13 WKU 8 5 1 1 1 40 50 15 20 20 145
14 Mass 5 2 2 2 1 25 20 30 40 20 135
15 Idaho 11 4 2 55 40 30 0 0 125
16 Florida A&M 6 2 2 1 1 30 20 30 20 20 120
17 James Madison 6 3 1 1 1 30 30 15 20 20 115
18 Lehigh 5 3 2 1 25 30 30 20 0 105
19 Middle Tenn 6 6 1 30 60 15 0 0 105
20 Stephen F Austin 4 3 2 1 20 30 30 20 0 100
21 Arkansas ST 4 4 1 1 20 40 15 20 0 95
22 LA Monroe 4 2 1 1 1 20 20 15 20 20 95
23 Troy St 7 3 2 35 30 30 0 0 95
24 Colgate 6 2 1 1 30 20 15 20 0 85
25 William & Mary 7 3 1 35 30 15 0 0 80
26 E. Illinois 9 3 45 30 0 0 0 75
27 Jackson St 10 1 1 50 10 15 0 0 75
28 Montana St 2 1 1 1 1 10 10 15 20 20 75
29 S. Illinois 2 1 1 1 1 10 10 15 20 20 75
30 Idaho St 1 1 1 1 1 5 10 15 20 20 70
31 EWU 4 3 1 20 30 15 0 0 65
32 Northwestern 6 2 1 30 20 15 0 0 65
33 Sam Houston 4 3 1 20 30 15 0 0 65
34 Villanova 6 2 1 30 20 15 0 0 65
35 W. Illinois 4 3 1 20 30 15 0 0 65
36 La Tech 1 2 1 1 5 20 15 20 0 60
37 Rhode Island 1 3 1 5 30 15 0 0 50
38 Western Carolina 1 1 1 1 5 10 15 20 0 50
39 Boston U 5 2 25 20 0 0 0 45
40 Hofstra 5 2 25 20 0 0 0 45
41 Murray ST 4 1 1 20 10 15 0 0 45
42 Tenn St 2 2 1 10 20 15 0 0 45
43 Maine 4 2 20 20 0 0 0 40
44 Richmond 4 2 20 20 0 0 0 40
45 SC State 1 2 1 5 20 15 0 0 40
46 Central Florida 2 1 1 10 10 15 0 0 35
47 New Hampshire 3 2 15 20 0 0 0 35
48 Samford 2 1 1 10 10 15 0 0 35
49 Florida Atlantic 1 1 1 5 10 15 0 0 30
50 Illinois St 1 1 1 5 10 15 0 0 30
51 NC A&T 4 1 20 10 0 0 0 30
52 Northern Arizona 4 1 20 10 0 0 0 30
53 Wofford 1 1 1 5 10 15 0 0 30
54 Citadel 3 1 15 10 0 0 0 25
55 Grambling 2 0 1 10 0 15 0 0 25
56 Indiana St 1 2 5 20 0 0 0 25
57 North Texas 3 1 15 10 0 0 0 25
58 Alcorn ST 2 1 10 10 0 0 0 20
59 Nichols St 2 1 10 10 0 0 0 20
60 SW Mo 2 1 10 10 0 0 0 20
61 Weber ST 2 1 10 10 0 0 0 20
62 Connecticutt 1 1 5 10 0 0 0 15
63 ETSU 1 1 5 10 0 0 0 15
64 Fordham 1 1 5 10 0 0 0 15
65 Hampton 3 15 0 0 0 0 15
66 Bethune Cookman 2 10 0 0 0 0 10
67 Holy Cross 0 1 0 10 0 0 0 10
68 Jacksonville St 2 10 0 0 0 0 10
69 Akron 1 5 0 0 0 0 5
70 Chattanooga 1 5 0 0 0 0 5
71 Howard 1 5 0 0 0 0 5
72 Lafayette 1 5 0 0 0 0 5
73 Miss Valley 1 5 0 0 0 0 5
74 Northeastern 1 5 0 0 0 0 5
75 Portland St 1 5 0 0 0 0 5

[GannonFan]

Actually GannonFan, I think the A-10 could only make that claim because of a couple members lost, so adding one is fair.

Not sure I get your drift - the only one from the Yankee/A10/CAA (all just name changes) who has never been in the playoffs has been Towson, just added in 2004. Every other current team has been in the playoffs at least once and the two teams that left (BU who dropped football and UConn who moved up - Vermont dropped football before the advent of IAA) were in the playoffs at least once too. Still is 13 out of 14 so not too shabby.

[HensRock]

Actually GannonFan, I think the A-10 could only make that claim because of a couple members lost, so adding one is fair.

No, UConn (moved to I-A in 1999) and BU (dropped football in 1997) were both playoff participants as well. It was Northeastern which finally made the field in 2002 that gave us that claim. They were the only A10 member to have never made the playoffs before.

Here's one claim that I think no other conference can make:
In the past 4 years, 9 Different A10 teams (75% of members) have participated in the playoffs:

2001: Maine, W&M, Hofstra
2002: Maine, Northeastern, Villanova
2003: UMass, UD
2004: JMU, W&M, UD, UNH

Go back one more year and make it 10. (Richmond and UD in 2000)
One year less (last 3 years) and it's still 8 different teams.

[CrunchGriz]

Changed - combined Nevada and Reno
I had previously listed Indiana St Twice.
Eliminated credit for first and second rounds during the years those rounds were not played. Biggest impact there was EKU and Boise St. Both played frequently in the playoffs in the early years.

1 GSU 15 14 10 8 6 75 140 150 160 120 645
2 Youngstown St 10 7 6 6 4 50 70 90 120 80 410
3 Montana 15 8 7 5 2 75 80 105 100 40 400
4 Marshall 8 8 7 6 2 40 80 105 120 40 385
5 EKU 13 7 7 4 2 65 70 105 80 40 360
6 Delaware 11 10 5 2 1 55 100 75 40 20 290
7 Furman 11 8 4 3 1 55 80 60 60 20 275
8 McNeese St 11 6 3 2 55 60 45 40 0 200
9 Northern Iowa 10 8 4 50 80 60 0 0 190
10 Nevada - Reno 4 5 6 1 20 50 90 20 0 180
...

I think this ranking comports well with what most fans think of the top teams. GSU is at the top because of its great overall record and largest number of titles, YSU is second because of its second-highest number of titles, and Montana is third because of its pair of titles, 5 title game appearances, and long history of making the playoffs (12 straight and counting).

Don't look now, 'Guins, but we're comin' to get ya! ;)

[WMTribe90]

I thought it was pretty good the first time around and it looks even better with the revisions you made. I just read this thread for the first time and actually thought after reading the first post that I'd put WM at 25 just looking at the original list. Sure enough, the revised list moved WM up from 28 to 25. I think your method strikes a good balance between weighing playoff appearences and finals made/won.

[eaglefan452]

Don't look now, 'Guins, but we're comin' to get ya! ;)

I am pretty sure that Montana will surpass Youngstown this season. Still got a ways to go to catch them Eagles though. ;)

[I-AA Fan]

I think Pen is correct, the GFC is the only conference to have all of it's member ... past and present ... to participate in the post-season. The only past member is Eastern Illinois (now OVC) which made the play-off as a GFC member on more than 1 occasion.

Also, I think you miscounted successive YSU play-off wins. YSU won:

4 games in 1993 (Central Florida, GSU, Idaho, and Marshall)
4 games in 1994 (McNair U, EKU, Montana, and Boise St.)
4 games in 1997 (Hampton, Villanova, EWU, and McNeese)
3 games in 1999 (Montana, NCA&T, FLAMU)

That is a total of 15 straight play-off victories. The streak was ended at the hands of GSU in the 1999 final.

In the 90's ... YSU participated in the play-off in 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 97, 99.
6 final game appearances with 4 titles. They went I-AA in 1981, with no appearances until 1987. They made the DII play-off 3 times during their tenure there beginning in 1973-1980. Incidently, two of those losses also came at the hands of the Hens ... including the classic 1979 Zia Bowl, where the Hens came back from 3 TD's down to win. Arguably UD's greatest team ever. Sorry, I am going through the numbers for an article.

[wkuhillhound]

I was very surprised that Western Kentucky is ranked as high, especially since our playoff history isn't as great as champions as Georgia Southern and Youngstown State. It is a great testimony to WKU athletics and what they offer to all students and alumni. It makes me proud to be an alumni of Western Kentucky. :) :) :) :p :p :D :D

[blukeys]

including the classic 1979 Zia Bowl, where the Hens came back from 3 TD's down to win. Arguably UD's greatest team ever. Sorry, I am going through the numbers for an article.

Sorry the better YSU - UD game in 1979 was in Youngstown during the regular season. The regular season game was scheduled after the 1974 playoff game between the two teams in Newark.

Called the Shoot Out in Youngstown the teams came into the game ranked 1 and 2 in d-2. The Penguins took it to the Hens taking a 31-7 lead into half time. Delaware stormed back in the 2nd half taking a lead after which both teams traded TD's with the Hens coming out on top 51-45. Interestingly, these 2 teams could lay claim to being the best in both D-2 and I-AA as each had beaten one of the 1979 I-AA finalists. Youngstown had beaten EKU the I-AA champion during the regular season and Delaware had beaten I-AA runner up Lehigh.

[umassfan]

Changed - combined Nevada and Reno
I had previously listed Indiana St Twice.
Eliminated credit for first and second rounds during the years those rounds were not played. Biggest impact there was EKU and Boise St. Both played frequently in the playoffs in the early years.

1 GSU 15 14 10 8 6 75 140 150 160 120 645
2 Youngstown St 10 7 6 6 4 50 70 90 120 80 410
3 Montana 15 8 7 5 2 75 80 105 100 40 400
4 Marshall 8 8 7 6 2 40 80 105 120 40 385
5 EKU 13 7 7 4 2 65 70 105 80 40 360
6 Delaware 11 10 5 2 1 55 100 75 40 20 290
7 Furman 11 8 4 3 1 55 80 60 60 20 275
8 McNeese St 11 6 3 2 55 60 45 40 0 200
9 Northern Iowa 10 8 4 50 80 60 0 0 190
10 Nevada - Reno 4 5 6 1 20 50 90 20 0 180
11 ASU 12 6 2 60 60 30 0 0 150
12 Boise ST 3 3 3 2 1 15 30 45 40 20 150
13 WKU 8 5 1 1 1 40 50 15 20 20 145
14 Mass 5 2 2 2 1 25 20 30 40 20 135
15 Idaho 11 4 2 55 40 30 0 0 125
16 Florida A&M 6 2 2 1 1 30 20 30 20 20 120
17 James Madison 6 3 1 1 1 30 30 15 20 20 115
18 Lehigh 5 3 2 1 25 30 30 20 0 105
19 Middle Tenn 6 6 1 30 60 15 0 0 105
20 Stephen F Austin 4 3 2 1 20 30 30 20 0 100
21 Arkansas ST 4 4 1 1 20 40 15 20 0 95
22 LA Monroe 4 2 1 1 1 20 20 15 20 20 95
23 Troy St 7 3 2 35 30 30 0 0 95
24 Colgate 6 2 1 1 30 20 15 20 0 85
25 William & Mary 7 3 1 35 30 15 0 0 80
26 E. Illinois 9 3 45 30 0 0 0 75
27 Jackson St 10 1 1 50 10 15 0 0 75
28 Montana St 2 1 1 1 1 10 10 15 20 20 75
29 S. Illinois 2 1 1 1 1 10 10 15 20 20 75
30 Idaho St 1 1 1 1 1 5 10 15 20 20 70
31 EWU 4 3 1 20 30 15 0 0 65
32 Northwestern 6 2 1 30 20 15 0 0 65
33 Sam Houston 4 3 1 20 30 15 0 0 65
34 Villanova 6 2 1 30 20 15 0 0 65
35 W. Illinois 4 3 1 20 30 15 0 0 65
36 La Tech 1 2 1 1 5 20 15 20 0 60
37 Rhode Island 1 3 1 5 30 15 0 0 50
38 Western Carolina 1 1 1 1 5 10 15 20 0 50
39 Boston U 5 2 25 20 0 0 0 45
40 Hofstra 5 2 25 20 0 0 0 45
41 Murray ST 4 1 1 20 10 15 0 0 45
42 Tenn St 2 2 1 10 20 15 0 0 45
43 Maine 4 2 20 20 0 0 0 40
44 Richmond 4 2 20 20 0 0 0 40
45 SC State 1 2 1 5 20 15 0 0 40
46 Central Florida 2 1 1 10 10 15 0 0 35
47 New Hampshire 3 2 15 20 0 0 0 35
48 Samford 2 1 1 10 10 15 0 0 35
49 Florida Atlantic 1 1 1 5 10 15 0 0 30
50 Illinois St 1 1 1 5 10 15 0 0 30
51 NC A&T 4 1 20 10 0 0 0 30
52 Northern Arizona 4 1 20 10 0 0 0 30
53 Wofford 1 1 1 5 10 15 0 0 30
54 Citadel 3 1 15 10 0 0 0 25
55 Grambling 2 0 1 10 0 15 0 0 25
56 Indiana St 1 2 5 20 0 0 0 25
57 North Texas 3 1 15 10 0 0 0 25
58 Alcorn ST 2 1 10 10 0 0 0 20
59 Nichols St 2 1 10 10 0 0 0 20
60 SW Mo 2 1 10 10 0 0 0 20
61 Weber ST 2 1 10 10 0 0 0 20
62 Connecticutt 1 1 5 10 0 0 0 15
63 ETSU 1 1 5 10 0 0 0 15
64 Fordham 1 1 5 10 0 0 0 15
65 Hampton 3 15 0 0 0 0 15
66 Bethune Cookman 2 10 0 0 0 0 10
67 Holy Cross 0 1 0 10 0 0 0 10
68 Jacksonville St 2 10 0 0 0 0 10
69 Akron 1 5 0 0 0 0 5
70 Chattanooga 1 5 0 0 0 0 5
71 Howard 1 5 0 0 0 0 5
72 Lafayette 1 5 0 0 0 0 5
73 Miss Valley 1 5 0 0 0 0 5
74 Northeastern 1 5 0 0 0 0 5
75 Portland St 1 5 0 0 0 0 5
How did we go from 150 in the first one to 135 in the second?

[blukeys]

How did we go from 150 in the first one to 135 in the second?
Read the entire thread. No doubt the 1978 playoff points went down.

[OL FU]

I think Pen is correct, the GFC is the only conference to have all of it's member ... past and present ... to participate in the post-season. The only past member is Eastern Illinois (now OVC) which made the play-off as a GFC member on more than 1 occasion.

Also, I think you miscounted successive YSU play-off wins. YSU won:

4 games in 1993 (Central Florida, GSU, Idaho, and Marshall)
4 games in 1994 (McNair U, EKU, Montana, and Boise St.)
4 games in 1997 (Hampton, Villanova, EWU, and McNeese)
3 games in 1999 (Montana, NCA&T, FLAMU)

That is a total of 15 straight play-off victories. The streak was ended at the hands of GSU in the 1999 final.

In the 90's ... YSU participated in the play-off in 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 97, 99.
6 final game appearances with 4 titles. They went I-AA in 1981, with no appearances until 1987. They made the DII play-off 3 times during their tenure there beginning in 1973-1980. Incidently, two of those losses also came at the hands of the Hens ... including the classic 1979 Zia Bowl, where the Hens came back from 3 TD's down to win. Arguably UD's greatest team ever. Sorry, I am going through the numbers for an article.

Youngstown - very possible that I have it wrong, here is what I have
10 first round appearances 50 points
7 second round 70 points
6 third round 90 points
6 fourth round 120 point
4 NC's 80 points

Total 410 points

Very possible I may have missed something. PS, I am still not convinced that 20 points for winning the NC is enough. That number may need to be higher.

[I-AA Fan]

I am sure your list is great OL. I was just mentioning it because Pen said YSU had 11 straight play-off wins ... when they had 15.

[OL FU]

I am sure your list is great OL. I was just mentioning it because Pen said YSU had 11 straight play-off wins ... when they had 15.

Sorry I should read more slowly.