Bracketology 2006

[TheValleyRaider]

I suppose it's late enough to bring this back for the season.

Welcome to Bracketology 2006. For those of you who remember last year, hopefully it's back for more fun. For those of you who don't remember, or weren't here, let the party begin.xsmileyclapx

The deal is this: rather than pull 16 playoff teams out of my butt, I've tried to put together a methodology for selecting the 8 at-larges to go with our Auto-bids. The important thing to remember is that this is only to guess how things stand RIGHT NOW. No attempts are made to slight any team. If you think you've been screwed, sorry, it just happened that way.

It's clearly a little early to be selecting autos, but for now, they will be selected based on current Conference standings. Conference tiebreakers are used as necessary, and if all else fails, I'll go with overall record.

As it stands right now, your 2006 Conference "Champions":
A-10: Massachusetts
Big Sky: Montana
Gateway: Youngstown State
MEAC: Hampton
OVC: Eastern Illinois
Patriot League: Holy Cross
SoCon: Appalachian State
Southland: Sam Houston State

Next step is to pick the 8 at-large births. Historically, 7 of the 8 are the next 8 eligible teams according to the GPI. The next 8 in the GPI are as follows:
1-Illinois State
2-Cal Poly
3-James Madison
4-New Hampshire
5-Richmond
6-Southern Illinois
7-Northern Iowa
8-Maine

Because the GPI has only predicted 7 of the 8, I'm going to add an extra team, what I like to call the "Plus 1". This +1 team will replace one of the 8 in the GPI to set-up our at-larges. This week, my +1 team is between Furman and Portland State. I'm going to pick Furman based on their better overall record. I know PSU has faced two I-A teams so far (with Oregon still to come), making their schedule tougher, but they've already got 3 losses to Furman's 2.

Without getting too deep into the San Diego controversy, I'm not going to put them in because A) they're scheduled to face UC-Davis on the weekend of the First Round, and B) I don't think a 9-1 San Diego team makes the playoffs with a PFL loss (to say Drake, making Drake PFL Champs and locking them into the Gridiron Classic). Yes games can be rescheduled and contracts can be broken (getting USD out of the GC), but until I see it, I don't think it's going to happen. :twocents:

With this, who does Furman replace? I'm going to take out either Maine or Northern Iowa this time. In the end, I think it'd be harder for the committee to give out a 5th A-10 bid than for them to add a 4th Gateway team, so I'll drop Maine. This gives us the following Playoff field of 16:

Appalachian State
Cal Poly
Eastern Illinois
Furman
Hampton
Holy Cross
Illinois State
James Madison
Massachusetts
Montana
New Hampshire
Northern Iowa
Richmond
Southern Illinois
Sam Houston State
Youngstown State

Next post will be to seed them and set up a bracket.

[TheValleyRaider]

So here are your 16 playoff teams as of 10/15/06:
Appalachian State, Cal Poly, Eastern Illinois, Furman, Hampton, Holy Cross, Illinois State, James Madison, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, Northern Iowa, Richmond, Southern Illinois, Sam Houston State, and Youngstown State

First step in making a bracket is getting the top 4 seeded teams. According to GPI and Polls (SNW, CSN, AGS), I'm picking them as follows:
#1-Appalachian State
#2-Montana
#3-Massachusetts
#4-Youngstown State
Polls put defending champs ASU over Montana for #1, while being the Gateway autobid put YSU over Poll #3 Illinois State as the 4th seed.

This is an easy East, South, Midwest, West seed setup, so the next step is to match up these with the other 4 first round hosts. Record/GPI/Polls plus attendance will be used to pick the hosts. This gives me:
Illinois State
James Madison
Furman
Hampton
JMU and ISU seem pretty straightforward to me (assuming they bid, of course). Furman's record seems a little more impressive to me than UNI's and I'm gambling on SIU once again underbidding for a home game (see 2003 and 2005). Hampton is undefeated at this point, plus they can submit a large bid and have good attendance overall. Maybe they still need to prove it after last year's tough out, but not if they can make money talk. The biggest weakness I see with this is having 4 hosts in the South, but we'll run with it for now.

Pairing the bids, I'll try and keep both geography and seeding intact. I get the following:
ASU with Hampton
Montana with Furman
UMass with James Madison
YSU with Illinois State
I thought about avoiding intra-conference matchups in the next round, but YSU-ISU worked out too well to avoid at the moment. Montana as #2 should probably get Furman, plus JMU and UMass don't play one another this year, so that also looks pretty good to me.

Finally, we put together the matchups. This would normally be mostly geography, but with half the field being from 2 conferences, that's a little tougher than usual. I came up with this:
Southern Illinois at #1-Appalachian State
Northern Iowa at Hampton
Eastern Illinois at #4-YSU
New Hampshire at ISU
Sam Houston State at #2-Montana
Richmond at Furman
Holy Cross at #3-Massachusetts
Cal Poly at JMU

So there's an early-late season look at what the playoff field could look like if the season ended today. UNH and SIU are put in tough spots given their recent losses hurting them more in the polls. Richmond also, getting sent to Furman this year. I nearly did Cal Poly at Montana again, but decided to use the plane to ship the Mustangs east to avoid intraconference matchups in the First Round.

Maybe you add a different +1 team than Furman, maybe you drop someone other than Maine. Perhaps you pick different seeds, or different home teams. I'm sure there are many many ways to pick where people get sent. Have fun with it, and just remember, it'll all change after Saturday...
:dizzy:

[LeopardFan04]

thanks...looks good...very detailed as usual...and bound to cause discussion...

[patssle]

Sam Houston State at #2-Montana

ugh! They need to get back down to Huntsville so we can beat them again....here!

[sdgriz24]

ugh! They need to get back down to Huntsville so we can beat them again....here!

Nah, you can come back up to wa-griz,i didn't mind 2004 that much,as long as their's no JMU for us.

[LeopardFan04]

That UNH/ISU meeting would be very intriguing...

[GOTOREROS]

Why can't San Diego send it's second string team to UC Davis, and the starters to Montana or wherever else we are put up as "fresh meat"? xlolx


GOTOREROS

[Mr. C]

By rule, teams from the same conference CANNOT meet until the quarterfinals. Practically, same conference teams are generally placed to meet in semifinals (unless you have three in the same half of the bracket).

[DaGriz]

Since we're a little ahead of schedule here. Who gets the first upset?

[gobucknell06]

Richmond beats Furman.

Eastern Illinois doesn't make the playoffs.

[th0m]

Looks like a very well thought out bracket! Of course I'm liking it with JMU receiving a home game ;)

[*****]

I love this stuff! Keep it coming ValleyRaider!!!!!!!!!!

[TexasTerror]

Cal Poly on the road? A darn shame! That would stink for them...

I'm hoping the SLC participant avoids Montana to the quarterfinals. Lots of bad history there...let's get an SLC playoff win before we head to Wash-Griz...

[AppGuy04]

I think SIU and EIU should be switched. SIU is obviously the stronger team and therefore I don't think the #1 seed would get them.

[bandl]

Cal Poly at JMU? :confused: Why not just have them play in Tokyo?

[bcrawf]

I know this bracket is for right now, but Illinois State will not get a seed by the end of the year. They come to the Dome on Nov. 18. There will be 17,000 and it will be rockin'. Just ask SIU from last year: had to use hand signals IN THE HUDDLE to call plays!!

[PantherRob82]

I'd gladly take a first round trip to Hampton. :hurray:

[Grizzaholic]

Nah, you can come back up to wa-griz,i didn't mind 2004 that much,as long as their's no JMU for us.

You cannot be the best until you have played and beaten the best. So I say bring them on.:hurray: :hurray:

[Pard4Life]

Is this your thesis? :rotateh:

Holy Cross... bleech.. yeah I know it's based on right now.. but, bleech..

[McNeese75]

Cal Poly on the road? A darn shame! That would stink for them...

I'm hoping the SLC participant avoids Montana to the quarterfinals. Lots of bad history there...let's get an SLC playoff win before we head to Wash-Griz...

That is not happening : smh : Wash Griz is waiting for the autobid team this year :bang:

[furman94]

Richmond beats Furman.

Eastern Illinois doesn't make the playoffs.

Beats us, at home? Whatever. We beat them at their house last year.

[TheValleyRaider]

Is this your thesis? :rotateh:

Don't I wish xlolx xlolx xlolx

The SIU vs. EIU visiting ASU was tough, but I went with SIU in Boone because it helped to avoid the conference matchup with YSU. It's one thing when a conference gets 4 teams in, but much more difficult when 2 conferences make up half of the field. I bet this gets thinned out as the season goes along and we probably pick up a second Big Sky team, maybe even a second OVC team. Lots of football left, that's for sure.

Everyone can feel free to add their own thoughts on who's in/out, where they're playing, etc.:thumbsup:

[shakdaddy3]

Beats us, at home? Whatever. We beat them at their house last year.

by your statment, "any given saturday" does not apply to Furman vs. Richmond... for that matter, your statement bascially says that if team X beat team Y last year, then team X would beat team Y this year :nono:

[ccd494]

Thanks for the vote of confidence.

[FlyYtown]

Penguins as a Home Seed could very well mean a trip to Nooooga.....

YSU is 12-1 at Home in the Playoffs.
The only loss was in 1990 at the first ever playoff game in Youngstown on a last second field by UCF to win it.

So we've won 12 in a row at home in the playoffs, and coming out of this season, we may be on a 13 in a row streak since 2004.

Go Penguins!

[STACCATS]

McNeese75, while you are probably right about the SLC team going to Wa-Griz, if the Griz run the table, you should consider there to be a lot of football left and don't assume anything to this point.

It seems like the bretheren of 1-AA gives a lot of respect to the Griz(most of it deserved based on past history), I will be the first to inform you that they are defiinitley not the same team you remember from 95-01.

[Grizo406]

Nice job, TVR!

I'd love to see SHSU back in Washington/Grizzly in the post season. Great group of fans that travel very well. Can't say I'd like to see Cal Poly in the play-offs unless we absolutely have to, but I do like their fans!

[redspider]

Quote:
Originally Posted by gobucknell06
Richmond beats Furman.

Eastern Illinois doesn't make the playoffs.


Beats us, at home? Whatever. We beat them at their house last year.

Whoa if I remember correctly you guys barely beat us at home last year and this year our defense is even better. If we were matched up in the first round we would upset you.

[Grizo406]

...I will be the first to inform you that they are defiinitley not the same team you remember from 95-01.

Help me out here...what exactly was the point of that statement?

[AZGrizFan]

McNeese75, while you are probably right about the SLC team going to Wa-Griz, if the Griz run the table, you should consider there to be a lot of football left and don't assume anything to this point.

It seems like the bretheren of 1-AA gives a lot of respect to the Griz(most of it deserved based on past history), I will be the first to inform you that they are defiinitley not the same team you remember from 95-01.

What? You mean no Dave Dickenson? No Craig Ochs? Damn.

[McNeese75]

Nice job, TVR!

I'd love to see SHSU back in Washington/Grizzly in the post season. Great group of fans that travel very well. Can't say I'd like to see Cal Poly in the play-offs unless we absolutely have to, but I do like their fans!

:rolleyes:

I'll second that question :confused:

[siugrad99]

SIU won't got to Appy again I don't think , nor do we care to after last season :) We'd be happy to host EIU this time around for a repeat of last season though :) Or a road game @ Hampton would be fine by me

[Saluki_man]

I would make a couple of changes.

First - I don't see Cal Poly going all the way out east to play UMass, its more likely that they will go to Montana.

Second - Which places SHSU to a matchup in Boone to play ASU

Third - With those two changes that makes SIU have to go to the NE to play JMU.

Otherwise the bracket looks just about right.

[PantherMan]

So here are your 16 playoff teams as of 10/15/06:
Appalachian State, Cal Poly, Eastern Illinois, Furman, Hampton, Holy Cross, Illinois State, James Madison, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, Northern Iowa, Richmond, Southern Illinois, Sam Houston State, and Youngstown State

First step in making a bracket is getting the top 4 seeded teams. According to GPI and Polls (SNW, CSN, AGS), I'm picking them as follows:
#1-Appalachian State
#2-Montana
#3-Massachusetts
#4-Youngstown State
Polls put defending champs ASU over Montana for #1, while being the Gateway autobid put YSU over Poll #3 Illinois State as the 4th seed.

This is an easy East, South, Midwest, West seed setup, so the next step is to match up these with the other 4 first round hosts. Record/GPI/Polls plus attendance will be used to pick the hosts. This gives me:
Illinois State
James Madison
Furman
Hampton
JMU and ISU seem pretty straightforward to me (assuming they bid, of course). Furman's record seems a little more impressive to me than UNI's and I'm gambling on SIU once again underbidding for a home game (see 2003 and 2005). Hampton is undefeated at this point, plus they can submit a large bid and have good attendance overall. Maybe they still need to prove it after last year's tough out, but not if they can make money talk. The biggest weakness I see with this is having 4 hosts in the South, but we'll run with it for now.

Pairing the bids, I'll try and keep both geography and seeding intact. I get the following:
ASU with Hampton
Montana with Furman
UMass with James Madison
YSU with Illinois State
I thought about avoiding intra-conference matchups in the next round, but YSU-ISU worked out too well to avoid at the moment. Montana as #2 should probably get Furman, plus JMU and UMass don't play one another this year, so that also looks pretty good to me.

Finally, we put together the matchups. This would normally be mostly geography, but with half the field being from 2 conferences, that's a little tougher than usual. I came up with this:
Southern Illinois at #1-Appalachian State
Northern Iowa at Hampton
Eastern Illinois at #4-YSU
New Hampshire at ISU
Sam Houston State at #2-Montana
Richmond at Furman
Holy Cross at #3-Massachusetts
Cal Poly at JMU

So there's an early-late season look at what the playoff field could look like if the season ended today. UNH and SIU are put in tough spots given their recent losses hurting them more in the polls. Richmond also, getting sent to Furman this year. I nearly did Cal Poly at Montana again, but decided to use the plane to ship the Mustangs east to avoid intraconference matchups in the First Round.

Maybe you add a different +1 team than Furman, maybe you drop someone other than Maine. Perhaps you pick different seeds, or different home teams. I'm sure there are many many ways to pick where people get sent. Have fun with it, and just remember, it'll all change after Saturday...
:dizzy:

I'll be happy if we get in the playoffs this year. A first round game with Hampton would be like Christmas a month early...xsmileyclapx

[siugrad99]

i'll take a home game with the best team in 1AA... San Diego. I honestly don't even know why we are worrying about brackets they are going to blow through all of us like we are sitting down right

[Stang Fever]

with the way the SLC has been this year. do they keep there auto bid????

[PantherRob82]

SLC keeps the auto bid. Who is better? GWFC can't have it...NEC is in it's first decent year.

[PantherRob82]

Or a road game @ Hampton would be fine by me

Seems like everyone is fine with going to Hampton. xlolx

[fuEMO]

Whoa if I remember correctly you guys barely beat us at home last year and this year our defense is even better. If we were matched up in the first round we would upset you.


I think it would make for an interesting game. Furman better D, Spiders better D. IF… and its a big IF, Furman gets Gray and the center position healthy and they play together for the next 4 games. I don't care who you are, I wouldn't be very confident of pulling an upset in Paladin Stadium come playoff time. I personally think the only way we get home games is if we take care of unfinished business in Boone.

[slostang]

I would make a couple of changes.

First - I don't see Cal Poly going all the way out east to play UMass, its more likely that they will go to Montana.

Second - Which places SHSU to a matchup in Boone to play ASU

Third - With those two changes that makes SIU have to go to the NE to play JMU.

Otherwise the bracket looks just about right.
If Cal Poly can beat Montana Nov. 4th, maybe we will see Montana coming to San Luis Obispo come playoff time.xsmileyclapx

[ThreadStopper]

If Cal Poly can beat Montana Nov. 4th, maybe we will see Montana coming to San Luis Obispo come playoff time.xsmileyclapx

Now that would be nice. After watching Hampton last week, maybe they can come in a later round. Do I hear semi-finals? :smiley_wi

[PaladinFan]

This is all interesting to me. A few weeks ago Furman was considered one of the top contenders for a national championship birth. Now, with a blocked extra point at CCU, they go to swept under the rug. I guess I'm ok with that. A healthy Renaldo Gray and the Paladins are as dangerous as anyone in the country.

Richmond's D may have improved, but they couldn't cover Justin Stepp last year to save their lives. The Paladins haven't lost at home since the '04 playoff game against James Madison. That was the only home loss that year. A first round trip to Greenville is anything but easy.

[PantherRob82]

If Cal Poly can beat Montana Nov. 4th, maybe we will see Montana coming to San Luis Obispo come playoff time.xsmileyclapx

That would be nice for you guys. Enough of going up there, eh?:thumbsup:

[mcveyrl]

Depending on how this plays out, you think they would put JMU and ASU in the same quarter? If both win out (I think ASU will, JMU - I'm always pessimistic), I think they'll try to keep them on opposite sides, leaving the possibility of a rematch in the title game.

[AppGuy04]

Depending on how this plays out, you think they would put JMU and ASU in the same quarter? If both win out (I think ASU will, JMU - I'm always pessimistic), I think they'll try to keep them on opposite sides, leaving the possibility of a rematch in the title game.

One word: Regionalization

[JMUfan2008]

One word: Regionalization

One word: Payback

This wouldn't be exactly like the situation in 2004 with W&M because they beat us at home, while we lost to ASU at their place, but it'd be close. Especially if we end up going undefeated the rest of the season (not saying it's gonna happen, just saying hypothetically) that would be JMU's chance to take care of the one blemish on their record this year. That'd definitely be one game we'd be up for playing. How about the NC's from the last 2 years playing twice in one year?

[AppGuy04]

One word: Payback

This wouldn't be exactly like the situation in 2004 with W&M because they beat us at home, while we lost to ASU at their place, but it'd be close. Especially if we end up going undefeated the rest of the season (not saying it's gonna happen, just saying hypothetically) that would be JMU's chance to take care of the one blemish on their record this year. That'd definitely be one game we'd be up for playing. How about the NC's from the last 2 years playing twice in one year?

The committee doesn't care about revenge, thats all I was saying

[JMUfan2008]

The committee doesn't care about revenge, thats all I was saying

Yeah, sorry about that :( , I realized after I wrote it that it sounded like I was responding to your post, when I was actually just responding in general to the thread...I just wanted to put the "one word" thing in there. I agree with you, they'll make it up based on geography over who's faced who.

[mcveyrl]

I guess rematch wasn't the only thing I was thinking. What about the possibility of the last two champs matching up in the championship game? I think the committee trys to at least have some sort of drama in the playoffs. Maybe not. I don't know.

[JMU2004]

there is a lot of football left to be played fellas..... I won't even think about the playoffs until after the final game of the season!! :thumbsup:

[STACCATS]

Ok, I'll answer the question. After reading this board for a long time, there seems to be a general consensus that UM is the almighty beast from the west, while most on here consider MSU an after thought. Yet the current trend has MSU beating UM, 3 of the last 4 years. My question to the 1-AA world is: If MSU is so low in the eyes of many, how can we hold UM in such high regard when recently they continue to lose to their rival? I have seen enough Griz games in recent years to tell you that they win a number of games each year with special teams play, and the "mystique and disbelief" that visiting teams create for themselves. Yet MSU has gotten over that hump and now know they can beat the Griz in both Missoula and Bozeman. The Griz offense is a shell of what it used to be, and that is what will end up holding them back. Go to egriz, and you can read all about how their fans feel about the offense.

[bandl]

Ok, I'll answer the question. After reading this board for a long time, there seems to be a general consensus that UM is the almighty beast from the west, while most on here consider MSU an after thought. Yet the current trend has MSU beating UM, 3 of the last 4 years. My question to the 1-AA world is: If MSU is so low in the eyes of many, how can we hold UM in such high regard when recently they continue to lose to their rival? I have seen enough Griz games in recent years to tell you that they win a number of games each year with special teams play, and the "mystique and disbelief" that visiting teams create for themselves. Yet MSU has gotten over that hump and now know they can beat the Griz in both Missoula and Bozeman. The Griz offense is a shell of what it used to be, and that is what will end up holding them back. Go to egriz, and you can read all about how their fans feel about the offense.
Doesn't matter what happened last year, or years before. Montana is a good team that hasn't lost any games they weren't supposed to. Montana State lost to a D-II team, Chadron State, got absolutely smeared by UCD, and lost to a 1-win EWU team. Even if they beat UM, MSU isn't a very good team. Also, what's your argument if UM beats MSU?

[Grizzaholic]

If Cal Poly can beat Montana Nov. 4th, maybe we will see Montana coming to San Luis Obispo come playoff time.xsmileyclapx


Well if that happens, I do not think we will make that mistake again, please send bucko tickets to MT because we will be coming in droves. Probably Winebagos, RV's and cars too.

[Tailbone]

Ok, I'll answer the question. After reading this board for a long time, there seems to be a general consensus that UM is the almighty beast from the west, while most on here consider MSU an after thought. Yet the current trend has MSU beating UM, 3 of the last 4 years. My question to the 1-AA world is: If MSU is so low in the eyes of many, how can we hold UM in such high regard when recently they continue to lose to their rival? I have seen enough Griz games in recent years to tell you that they win a number of games each year with special teams play, and the "mystique and disbelief" that visiting teams create for themselves. Yet MSU has gotten over that hump and now know they can beat the Griz in both Missoula and Bozeman. The Griz offense is a shell of what it used to be, and that is what will end up holding them back. Go to egriz, and you can read all about how their fans feel about the offense.

One word: Lulay

He's gone, and without him your's is a legacy of futility.
Griz envy is an UGLY thing! :D


I wanted to do the "one word" thing too.

[Mountaineer#96]

all I know is that some teams are coming up to The Rock, which means they are riding a sad bus home. We don't lose at home.

[bkrownd]

I suppose it's late enough to bring this back for the season.


Holy premature threadage, Batman!

[UMTbuds]

I really hope the playoffs shake out the two best teams at the end: New Hampshire vs. Montana.

[mcveyrl]

I really hope the playoffs shake out the two best teams at the end: New Hampshire vs. Montana.


Umm...Montana, yes. New Hampshire, not so much.

I don't think UNH has a good enough defense to run through the playoffs.

My obvious bias is JMU, but they're too inconsistent to make the playoff run, I think (don't get me wrong, I'd love to see it!).

Maybe UMass or ASU.

[UMTbuds]

Umm...Montana, yes. New Hampshire, not so much.

I don't think UNH has a good enough defense to run through the playoffs.

My obvious bias is JMU, but they're too inconsistent to make the playoff run, I think (don't get me wrong, I'd love to see it!).

Maybe UMass or ASU.

I'll take your word. I would just love to see UNH offense vs. this years defense here in Missoula.

[GOKATS]

I really hope the playoffs shake out the two best teams at the end: New Hampshire vs. Montana.

The two best teams is far from decided.;)

[UMTbuds]

The two best teams is far from decided.;)

See you November 18th. :thumbsup:

[Umass74]

Umm...Montana, yes. New Hampshire, not so much.

I don't think UNH has a good enough defense to run through the playoffs.

My obvious bias is JMU, but they're too inconsistent to make the playoff run, I think (don't get me wrong, I'd love to see it!).

Maybe UMass or ASU.

I would not read too much into UNH's loss last week. Last year the Wildcats went down to W&M and got pasted 42-10.

They then went on to score 50+ points in five of their last eight games...

[GOKATS]

See you November 18th. :thumbsup:

Should be a helluva game! :thumbsup:

[Death Dealer]

Richmond beats Furman.

Eastern Illinois doesn't make the playoffs.

I see the village idiot is back in town. xlolx

[mcveyrl]

I would not read too much into UNH's loss last week. Last year the Wildcats went down to W&M and got pasted 42-10.

They then went on to score 50+ points in five of their last eight games...


Yea, but this year they gave up 49 to Delaware, too. Also, this loss was a drubbing at home, which makes a difference IMO.

Can't wait for the UMass-UNH game though. My most anticipated non-JMU A-10 match-up!!

[Tod]

I see the village idiot is back in town. xlolx

Richmond is ranked higher in every poll. Why is that idiotic?

[TheValleyRaider]

Holy premature threadage, Batman!

Well, the point is to watch the week-to-week progression. :nod: :cool:

I thought about it last week, but midterms came up. Plus I didn't think there were enough conference games to reasonably pick autobids. Too many 2-0 or 1-0 teams in conference.:twocents:

[Frosty The Snowbuff]

Cal Poly on the road? A darn shame! That would stink for them...

I'm hoping the SLC participant avoids Montana to the quarterfinals. Lots of bad history there...let's get an SLC playoff win before we head to Wash-Griz...

No such luck....

SLC Champs seems to always get matched up with Big Sky....

How else do we always end up getting beat in Missoula the last 3 times we've made the playoffs??? (Besides them being better than us all 3 of those years of course)

[Tribe4SF]

I really hope the playoffs shake out the two best teams at the end: New Hampshire vs. Montana.

If Montana makes it to the semis, I would think at this point they might be facing Illinois State on the road. My current picks for the final are UMass and Illinois State.

[Death Dealer]

Richmond is ranked higher in every poll. Why is that idiotic?
Sorry Tod, didn't mean to confuse you. I wasn't referring to the particular post as idiotic, just the poster.....personal thing. Although I do feel the rankings are way off on several teams, but that's why we have playoffs, so we can leave it on the field.:nod:

[PantherRob82]

I'm not sure if you'll see Montana or UNH in the championship. UNH showed a lot of weakness last week and Montana is still pretty vulnerable. If Swogger and company come together, they are definitely one of my picks for the championship game.

[mcveyrl]

I would not read too much into UNH's loss last week. Last year the Wildcats went down to W&M and got pasted 42-10.

They then went on to score 50+ points in five of their last eight games...


What would you read into UNH's latest performance?

[Tailbone]

If Montana makes it to the semis, I would think at this point they might be facing Illinois State on the road. My current picks for the final are UMass and Illinois State.

Nope.
Unless Montana loses another game, they will finish as a top 2 seed - and the Redbirds will be invited to Wa-Griz.

[PantherRob82]

the top 4 teams all are looking a little shaky right now. Seeds are still up for grabs.