FCS Coaches Poll 9/25/2017

[WestCoastAggie]

FCS Coaches PollLast Updated - September 25, 2017


RANK
SCHOOL
POINTS
LAST WEEK
RECORD




1
James Madison (25)
649
1
4-0




2
North Dakota State (1)
625
2
3-0




3
Sam Houston State
594
3
3-0




4
South Dakota State
551
4
3-0




T-5
Youngstown State
530
5
2-1




T-5
Jacksonville State
530
7
2-1




7
Wofford
482
9
3-0




T-8
Illinois State
396
12
3-0




T-8
Eastern Washington
396
11
2-2




10
South Dakota
383
14
3-0




11
The Citadel
382
10
3-0




12
Central Arkansas
340
13
2-1




13
North Carolina A&T
319
15
4-0




14
New Hampshire
310
16
3-1




15
Richmond
292
6
2-2




16
Western Illinois
276
21
3-0




17
Villanova
262
8
2-2




18
Weber State
261
18
3-1




19
Grambling State
174
22
3-1




20
Northern Iowa
103
24
1-2




21
UT Martin
95
RV
3-1




22
Albany
84
RV
3-1




23
Samford
82
17
2-2




24
Tennessee State
59
20
3-1




25
McNeese
46
RV
3-1






















































































Others receiving votes: Stony Brook (34), Elon (27), Nicholls (25), Chattanooga (24), North Dakota (21), Montana State (19), Yale (13), Charleston Southern (12), Western Carolina (10), Holy Cross (7), Princeton (7), Towson (6), Kennesaw State (6), Montana (6), Saint Francis (3), Northern Colorado (2), Monmouth (2), Prairie View A&M (2), N.C. Central (1), Howard (1), William & Mary (1).

[Hanca]

UR is too high

[ElonFirefighter]

Wow knock off two top 25 1 top 10 and another team sitting outside and still not in the Top 25

[Hambone]

Glad UND is finally out, but UNI still being rated causes me great confusion. I think Elon deserves to be in there.....

[citdog]

Wow knock off two top 25 1 top 10 and another team sitting outside and still not in the Top 25

Yet South Dakota beats a bad FBS and a now out of the poll UND and jumps from not getting any votes to #10...

[BEAR]

Wow. We didn't drop after a bye week...how unusual...xlolx

[dbackjon]

Western Illinois should be higher. Won three on the road, including a FBS win

[BisonFan02]

FCS Coaches Poll

Last Updated - September 25, 2017


RANK
SCHOOL
POINTS
LAST WEEK
RECORD




1
James Madison (25)
649
1
4-0




2
North Dakota State (1)
625
2
3-0




3
Sam Houston State
594
3
3-0




4
South Dakota State
551
4
3-0




T-5
Youngstown State
530
5
2-1




T-5
Jacksonville State
530
7
2-1




7
Wofford
482
9
3-0




T-8
Illinois State
396
12
3-0




T-8
Eastern Washington
396
11
2-2




10
South Dakota
383
14
3-0




11
The Citadel
382
10
3-0




12
Central Arkansas
340
13
2-1




13
North Carolina A&T
319
15
4-0




14
New Hampshire
310
16
3-1




15
Richmond
292
6
2-2




16
Western Illinois
276
21
3-0




17
Villanova
262
8
2-2




18
Weber State
261
18
3-1




19

Grambling State

174

22

3-1





20
Northern Iowa
103
24
1-2




21
UT Martin
95
RV
3-1




22
Albany
84
RV
3-1




23
Samford
82
17
2-2




24
Tennessee State
59
20

3-1





25

McNeese

46

RV

3-1























































































Others receiving votes: Stony Brook (34), Elon (27), Nicholls (25), Chattanooga (24), North Dakota (21), Montana State (19), Yale (13), Charleston Southern (12), Western Carolina (10), Holy Cross (7), Princeton (7), Towson (6), Kennesaw State (6), Montana (6), Saint Francis (3), Northern Colorado (2), Monmouth (2), Prairie View A&M (2), N.C. Central (1), Howard (1), William & Mary (1).

There's other examples in there.....but par for the course. Also with North Carolina A&T....do we genuinely believe there are only 12 FCS schools that are better than them right now? Too bad we'll never find out....same with Grambling probably.

[UNIFanSince1983]

I am so confused. We are 1-2 with our only win being against a winless team in OT at HOME. Yet not only are we ranked 20th, but after a bye we move up 4 spots...

[dbackjon]

UNI vs NAU

(Note, not saying either should be ranked - neither should be at this point)

Both are 1-2

NAU lost to a P5 team, and to undefeated WIU by 18.
Beat Cal Poly at Poly by 18.

UNI beat Cal Poly in UNI by 7 in OT. UNI gave up 38 points, NAU only gave up 10
UNI lost to FBS Iowa State and to Southern Utah.

Yet UNI is 20th (moved up 4 after a bye) and NAU has no votes.


Even more glaring is that Southern Utah, who is 2-2 and BEAT UNI is not getting any votes.
SUU has a loss to FBS Oregon, and SAC, but wins vs UNI and a curb-stomping of Stephen F Austin

[Professor Chaos]

Western Illinois should be higher. Won three on the road, including a FBS win
No kidding. That's ridiculous. Richmond ahead of them.... really???

[reeder]

Elon should be on the list and I think New Hampshire is too high.

[WestCoastAggie]

There's other examples in there.....but par for the course. Also with North Carolina A&T....do we genuinely believe there are only 12 FCS schools that are better than them right now? Too bad we'll never find out....same with Grambling probably.

To A&T's defense, they are at 19 currently of the Massey Composite. They are a legit top 15 team, that doesn't have many glaring weaknesses.

Their schedule will get weaker after this week against SC State, but meh...

They're a legit top-15 team.

[Professor Chaos]

To A&T's defense, they are at 19 currently of the Massey Composite. They are a legit top 15 team, that doesn't have many glaring weaknesses.

Their schedule will get weaker after this week against SC State, but meh...

They're a legit top-15 team.
Based on what? A 4 point win over Charlotte? Charlotte lost to FBS laughingstock Georgia State 28-0 (who lost to a team barely in the FCS top 25, in this poll at least, in Tennessee St) last Saturday. They've scored 14 points in their other 3 games combined outside of the 31 they score against A&T.

NC A&T may be a top 15 team when it's all said and done but it's anything but clear that they are right now.

[BisonFan02]

To A&T's defense, they are at 19 currently of the Massey Composite. They are a legit top 15 team, that doesn't have many glaring weaknesses.

Their schedule will get weaker after this week against SC State, but meh...

They're a legit top-15 team.

The problem I have is that I've seen "legit top-15" MEAC teams enter the postseason, only to get bounced by at large teams from the MVFC/CAA/SoCoN, etc. 7-4ish range teams that hover in the bottom half to just outside of the rankings....often times in games that are not even remotely close.

How would you stack up this year's NC A&T team versus the one that got bounced by Richmond last year?

[Professor Chaos]

How would you stack up this year's NC A&T team versus the one that got bounced by Richmond last year?
Well their best player from last year is currently ripping up NFL defenses for the Chicago Bears.

[Bison56]

To A&T's defense, they are at 19 currently of the Massey Composite. They are a legit top 15 team, that doesn't have many glaring weaknesses.

Their schedule will get weaker after this week against SC State, but meh...

They're a legit top-15 team.

xlolx

[WestCoastAggie]

The problem I have is that I've seen "legit top-15" MEAC teams enter the postseason, only to get bounced by at large teams from the MVFC/CAA/SoCoN, etc. 7-4ish range teams that hover in the bottom half to just outside of the rankings....often times in games that are not even remotely close.

How would you stack up this year's NC A&T team versus the one that got bounced by Richmond last year?

Injuries. As a result, we couldn't utilize the weapons at WR/TE.

This year, Lamar Raynard leads FCS in Passing Efficiency, which is unheard of for MEAC teams. Elijah Bell, Jaquil Capel, Khris Gardin lead our WR Corp, which appears to be one of the deepest in FCS.

We have at least 10 guys with a reception.

This year's team would be able to score with the CAA team we would face in the playoffs, if we don't go to the CB.

Our offensive line is really deep, so much to where we consistently play 8-9 linemen a game.

Add that to our staple of stopping the run, we're a pretty good team.

History and perception are against us, but we can only play one game at a time.

[BisonBacker]

Eastern Washington is to high.

[WestCoastAggie]

xlolx

Scoring Offense 46.3 ppg: 7th in the nation; 1st in the conference
Total Offense 470.5 ypg: 14th in the nation; 1st in the conference
Rushing Offense 211.3 ypg: 25th in the nation; 2nd in the conference
Passing Offense 259.3 ypg: 30th in the nation; 1st in the conference

Scoring Defense 11.3 ppg: 7th in the nation; 1st in the conference
Total Defense 296.3 ypg: 23rd in the nation; 3rd in the conference
Rushing Defense 98.3 ypg: 27th in the nation; 2nd in the conference
Passing Defense 198 ypg: 42nd in the nation; 7th in the conference
Passing Efficiency Defense 101.4: 13th in the nation; 3rd in the conference

Punt Returns 24.6 ypr: 3rd in the nation; 1st in the conference

Turnover margin 2.25: 4th in the nation; 1st in the conference
Penalties per game 6.5: 56th in the nation; 1st in the conference
Penalty yards per game 61.75: 61st in the nation; 1st in the conference

[BisonBacker]

No kidding. That's ridiculous. Richmond ahead of them.... really???

Agree 100%


Elon should be on the list and I think New Hampshire is too high.

Yes Elon should be on that list.

[BisonBacker]

Scoring Offense 46.3 ppg: 7th in the nation; 1st in the conference
Total Offense 470.5 ypg: 14th in the nation; 1st in the conference
Rushing Offense 211.3 ypg: 25th in the nation; 2nd in the conference
Passing Offense 259.3 ypg: 30th in the nation; 1st in the conference

Scoring Defense 11.3 ppg: 7th in the nation; 1st in the conference
Total Defense 296.3 ypg: 23rd in the nation; 3rd in the conference
Rushing Defense 98.3 ypg: 27th in the nation; 2nd in the conference
Passing Defense 198 ypg: 42nd in the nation; 7th in the conference
Passing Efficiency Defense 101.4: 13th in the nation; 3rd in the conference

Punt Returns 24.6 ypr: 3rd in the nation; 1st in the conference

Turnover margin 2.25: 4th in the nation; 1st in the conference
Penalties per game 6.5: 56th in the nation; 1st in the conference
Penalty yards per game 61.75: 61st in the nation; 1st in the conference

I'm sorry but all that means very little when you play against the schedule you have. I get that you play who is on the schedule but what many are saying is play a better OOC schedule at least if you want to gain any credibility.

[WestCoastAggie]

I'm sorry but all that means very little when you play against the schedule you have. I get that you play who is on the schedule but what many are saying is play a better OOC schedule at least if you want to gain any credibility.

Well, I think we're taking your advice as we got ECU, Elon and G-Webb coming up on our OOC schedule next year.

[Thumper 76]

Yet South Dakota beats a bad FBS and a now out of the poll UND and jumps from not getting any votes to #10...

Yeah, people overreacted hard on the win vs UND and won't go back until they get beat.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[KPSUL]

Elon should be on the list and I think New Hampshire is too high.

A few AGS posters have this permanently saved in their MS Word copy file "I think New Hampshire is too high".

With 3 quality wins, it is ridiculous not to include Elon in the Top 25.

[Colgate Raider Redux]

I have no dog in the fight, but I'm curious. HC soundly beat a #9 ranked New Hampshire. Having not being ranked, last week, HC got a #23 in some poll, a #25 in another. Then HC lost by 1 in OT to a good Dartmouth team this Sat. UNH is currently #14. HC is "Others receiving votes" (7 ) in this poll.

Do voters think HC is bogus ? And/or that UNH losses ro teams like HC are aberrations, ...black swans, if you will ?

[DirtyDukes]

The coaches are too high.

On drugs. No Elon? Getouttahere

[Professor Chaos]

I have no dog in the fight, but I'm curious. HC soundly beat a #9 ranked New Hampshire. HC gat a #23 in some poll, a #25 in another. Then HC lost by 1 in OT to a good Dartmouth team. UNH is currently #14. HC is "Others receiving votes (7 ) in this poll.

Do voters think HC is bogus. And/or UNH losses o teams like HC are aberrations, ...black swans, if you will ?
Bolded is the biggest stretch in your reasoning. I've got Dartmouth at #24 and Holy Cross at #25 in my AGS poll ballot but it's clear the voters in this poll and the AGS poll don't value Dartmouth at all since they're getting no votes in this poll and less than 13 votes in the AGS poll. Therefore Holy Cross losing to them is a big black eye for the Crusaders and apparently in the eyes of the most voters validates that their win over UNH was a fluke.

[Iridebikes]

I am so confused. We are 1-2 with our only win being against a winless team in OT at HOME. Yet not only are we ranked 20th, but after a bye we move up 4 spots...

You're not alone with your thoughts on this one. Northern Iowa gets an inordinate amount of love, and has for several years, without the on field performance to justify it. My guess is that its a trickle down effect from their league. But so far they've been able to perform poorly without playing a league game. Its not rational.

[KPSUL]

I have no dog in the fight, but I'm curious. HC soundly beat a #9 ranked New Hampshire. HC gat a #23 in some poll, a #25 in another. Then HC lost by 1 in OT to a good Dartmouth team. UNH is currently #14. HC is "Others receiving votes (7 ) in this poll.

Do voters think HC is bogus. And/or UNH losses o teams like HC are aberrations, ...black swans, if you will ?

Not fair I agree. We'll have to see how good Dartmouth is this season, this Saturday's matchup with Penn will give a strong indication. Last year Dartmouth beat UNH by 1 point in Hanover, and than had an abysmal season. HC is not bogus, maybe suffering an let down after a big win at home? Or maybe Dartmouth now has some magical formula for beating superior New England opponents at home. Or maybe they put some magical formula in the water in the visitor's locker room. Whatever the reason it is new phenomenon for Dartmouth - They hadn't beat UNH since 1976 in a home and away series that is played every two years on average.

Also we should know by now not to give the Coaches poll a lot of credence.

[Redbird 4th & short]

if anyone feels inclined to do the whole ... team A beat teams B and C, while team D lost to team B and therefore should not be ranked higher ... let me save you all a bunch of trouble. Just start with the objective ranking systems like Massey and Sagarin ... thats precisely what they do for a living with computers factoring every bit of all of that and more into their rankings. I'm not saying they are 100% right, but they are the most objective systems, bar none. To me, the base line starts with objective ranking systems, particularly when it comes to consideration of strength of schedule .. then start qualitatively debating from that baseline .. it is the only objective approach.

As an isolated example, UNI is getting too much credit this year sitting 1-2, from prior years for always playing the toughest SOS and doing well. So I would agree, Massey and Sagarin are wrong in ranking them 11 and 12. But the Massey Composite has them 29th, which sees about right at this point given everything. But don't throw out the baby with bath water .. Massey and Sagarin get it right far more often than FCP or STATS.

[citdog]

if anyone feels inclined to do the whole ... team A beat teams B and C, while team D lost to team B and therefore should not be ranked higher ... let me save you all a bunch of trouble. Just start with the objective ranking systems like Massey and Sagarin ... thats precisely what they do for a living with computers factoring every bit of all of that and more into their rankings. I'm not saying they are 100% right, but they are the most objective systems, bar none. To me, the base line starts with objective ranking systems, particularly when it comes to consideration of strength of schedule .. then start qualitatively debating from that baseline .. it is the only objective approach.

Whatever Poindexter

[ElCid]

if anyone feels inclined to do the whole ... team A beat teams B and C, while team D lost to team B and therefore should not be ranked higher ... let me save you all a bunch of trouble. Just start with the objective ranking systems like Massey and Sagarin ... thats precisely what they do for a living with computers factoring every bit of all of that and more into their rankings. I'm not saying they are 100% right, but they are the most objective systems, bar none. To me, the base line starts with objective ranking systems, particularly when it comes to consideration of strength of schedule .. then start qualitatively debating from that baseline .. it is the only objective approach.

As an isolated example, UNI is getting too much credit this year sitting 1-2, from prior years for always playing the toughest SOS and doing well. So I would agree, Massey and Sagarin are wrong in ranking them 11 and 12. But the Massey Composite has them 29th, which sees about right at this point given everything. But don't throw out the baby with bath water .. Massey and Sagarin get it right far more often than FCP or STATS.

Early in the year, these ratings systems are terribly unreliable because teams are not tied together very well. I do reference them, but only as an sanity check after I form my poll. To give you some kind of picture as to how unreliable they are at this point. Massey was only correct 68% this past week. Sagarin was about 60% picking winners. Not a real good indicator. They get better as the year progresses.

[McNeese72]

Trying to figure out what we have done to deserve to be in this poll?? Was it the two lost fumbles inside HBU's five yard line? Or the pick 6 from about our 10 yard line? Or the interception late in the game when we should have been trying to run out the clock???

Doc

[whoanellie]

Well I guess We will have to win 3 in a row against top 25, Any debate on strength of schedule, I don't think so.
Wow knock off two top 25 1 top 10 and another team sitting outside and still not in the Top 25

[The Pud]

Well I guess We will have to win 3 in a row against top 25, Any debate on strength of schedule, I don't think so.

Seems other teams and conferences receive better credit when it comes to ranking. Try not to take it personal and just win each game and things will be ok

[BisonFan02]

Trying to figure out what we have done to deserve to be in this poll?? Was it the two lost fumbles inside HBU's five yard line? Or the pick 6 from about our 10 yard line? Or the interception late in the game when we should have been trying to run out the clock???

Doc

Lemme know when you figure it out. :D

[WileECoyote06]

Based on what? A 4 point win over Charlotte? Charlotte lost to FBS laughingstock Georgia State 28-0 (who lost to a team barely in the FCS top 25, in this poll at least, in Tennessee St) last Saturday. They've scored 14 points in their other 3 games combined outside of the 31 they score against A&T.

NC A&T may be a top 15 team when it's all said and done but it's anything but clear that they are right now.

A blowout win against Gardner-Webb; who kept it close with Top-10 Wofford. The win against Charlotte is icing on the cake. They led in that game 28-10 at one point.

[Serpentor]

Damn, did Elon's 2-9 season really do THAT MUCH harm to their rep that polls won't give them any respect?

[Schism55]

I have no dog in the fight, but I'm curious. HC soundly beat a #9 ranked New Hampshire. Having not being ranked, last week, HC got a #23 in some poll, a #25 in another. Then HC lost by 1 in OT to a good Dartmouth team this Sat. UNH is currently #14. HC is "Others receiving votes" (7 ) in this poll.

Do voters think HC is bogus ? And/or that UNH losses ro teams like HC are aberrations, ...black swans, if you will ?
Pro Tip: It's a bad look to lose to Dartmouth

[The Pud]

Pro Tip: It's a bad look to lose to Dartmouth


agreed

[cx500d]

I have no dog in the fight, but I'm curious. HC soundly beat a #9 ranked New Hampshire. Having not being ranked, last week, HC got a #23 in some poll, a #25 in another. Then HC lost by 1 in OT to a good Dartmouth team this Sat. UNH is currently #14. HC is "Others receiving votes" (7 ) in this poll.

Do voters think HC is bogus ? And/or that UNH losses ro teams like HC are aberrations, ...black swans, if you will ?

Hc got beat by a naia team, proving that was a fluke win.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[McNeese72]

Lemme know when you figure it out. :D

If we make all the mistakes we made this past weekend when we play SFA this weekend, I won't have to. The question will just go away.

Doc

[Redbird 4th & short]

Early in the year, these ratings systems are terribly unreliable because teams are not tied together very well. I do reference them, but only as an sanity check after I form my poll. To give you some kind of picture as to how unreliable they are at this point. Massey was only correct 68% this past week. Sagarin was about 60% picking winners. Not a real good indicator. They get better as the year progresses.

agreed, since they are depending largely on prior years performance/rankings. I iike what Keepers is trying to do collecting lost starters/production data and incorporating that into their ranking system. So then blending prior years performance with lost production/starters data makes it much mroe meaningful earlier in season. But Keepers is not yet rolling out their ranking system .. assume they are fine tuning their algorithms. But once the figure that out, they will have a distinct advantage early in season.

Back to Massey and Sagarin, I think their system works best from about week 4 to 9. Before that, it is leaning heavily on last season. After that, the results tend to cluster in the extremes for very good or very bad conferences .. that is, they become self-perpetuating. But the positive aspect is that this can offset tendency for subjective polls to ignore SOS and the cumulative impact of playing very good teams almost every week.

But what I really lean on Massey for is SOS ... while still subjected to similar issues early and late in season .. it still gives you a pretty good idea how tough one teams SOS compared to another. Got to have something to base rankings on .. strength of schedule has to become more of a factor for these subjective polls.

As with anything, more informed people make better decisions .. and much more objectivity is needed in these subjective polls. IMO, an open minded person should want more info to help them make better decisions.

[Professor]

A blowout win against Gardner-Webb; who kept it close with Top-10 Wofford. The win against Charlotte is icing on the cake. They led in that game 28-10 at one point.

Wasting your time. lol our league isn't worthy in some folks minds. So we just need to keep winning

[milleniumkat]

Hc got beat by a naia team, proving that was a fluke win.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Fluke loss? We call that a let down game.

[cx500d]

These guys are smoking crack....EWU? Wofford? Grambling? UNI? Villanova?

- - - Updated - - -


Fluke loss? We call that a let down game.


Whatever, they screwed the pooch...

[pvdogteam]

These guys are smoking crack....EWU? Wofford? Grambling? UNI? Villanova?


- - - Updated - - -




Whatever, they screwed the pooch...


Don't worry after Prairie View beats Grambling next week, they won't be in the poll anymore

[McNeese75]

Don't worry after Prairie View beats Grambling next week, they won't be in the poll anymore

I'll take some of that action :D I doubt PV will defeat Fobbs & Co.

Of course Alcorn State is going to take them all down xthumbsupx

[Daytripper]

I'll take some of that action :D I doubt PV will defeat Fobbs & Co.

Of course Alcorn State is going to take them all down xthumbsupx

I'll take PVAMU to beat Grambling. I think Willie Simmons is a damn good coach. Plus, one of their assistants is one of my favorite former Houston Oilers: Bubba McDowell.

[kalm]

A blowout win against Gardner-Webb; who kept it close with Top-10 Wofford. The win against Charlotte is icing on the cake. They led in that game 28-10 at one point.

Except Wofford plays everyone close and were vindicated in last year's playoffs unlike NCA&T.

[McNeese75]

I'll take PVAMU to beat Grambling. I think Willie Simmons is a damn good coach. Plus, one of their assistants is one of my favorite former Houston Oilers: Bubba McDowell.

We shall see. I think Brodrick Fobbs is a damn good coach too as indicated by his time at Grambling so far.