AGS Poll Results - PRESEASON POLL- 2018 SEASON

[AGSPoll]

Let it begin!



Rank
Team
Total Points
First Place Votes


1
North Dakota State Bison
2247
88


2
James Madison Dukes
2150
2


3
South Dakota State Jackrabbits
1893



4
Kennesaw State Owls
1870



5
Sam Houston State Bearkats
1726



6
Eastern Washington Eagles
1570



7
New Hampshire Wildcats
1545



8
Jacksonville State Gamecocks
1539



9
Weber State Wildcats
1492



10
Samford Bulldogs
1234



11
Northern Iowa Panthers
1099



12
Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
989



13
Wofford Terriers
964



14
Elon Phoenix
859



15
Illinois State Redbirds
717



16
Central Arkansas Bears
701



17
Nicholls State Colonels
679



18
Furman Paladins
658



19
North Carolina A&T Aggies
656



20
Stony Brook Seawolves
624



21
Western Illinois Leathernecks
540



22
Villanova Wildcats
529



23
Southern Utah Thunderbirds
442



24
Youngstown State Penguins
420



25
McNeese State Cowboys
327




















































ORV:




26
Austin Peay Governors
251



27
Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
230



28
Montana Grizzlies
215



29
South Dakota Coyotes
212



30
Idaho Vandals
207



31
San Diego Toreros
136



32T
Richmond Spiders
84



32T
Yale Bulldogs
84



32T
Sac State Hornets
84



35
Grambling State Tigers
43



36
Colgate Raiders
27



37
Monmouth Hawks
26



38
Maine Black Bears
22



39
Montana State Bobcats
19



40
UC Davis Aggies
14

[Professor Chaos]

Here's the FCS Wedge blog for the preseason poll: http://thefcswedge.com/ags-poll/ags-poll-preseason-2018-results/

Some big movers from the final poll from last year. EWU (+15), Delaware (+12), Illinois St (+16), Youngstown St (+14), and Villanova (from getting no votes to #22) on the plus side and then Stony Brook (-9), Southern Utah (-13), South Dakota (-15), San Diego (-11), Grambling (-10), and Monmouth (-9) on the minus side.

[ursus arctos horribilis]

Really like the article you wrote up there PC.

It is gonna be interesting to see how predictive this one is because this seems a bit more volatile this year than past years to me on first glance.

Vandals stepping in right off the bat so seems voters have some confidence in what they are bringing to us this season too.

[Professor Chaos]

Really like the article you wrote up there PC.

It is gonna be interesting to see how predictive this one is because this seems a bit more volatile this year than past years to me on first glance.

Vandals stepping in right off the bat so seems voters have some confidence in what they are bringing to us this season too.
Thanks!

Idaho is one of 6 Big Sky teams amongst the 15 teams in the ORV. Only 3 Big Sky teams are ranked in the top 25 so I would guess at least a couple of those 6 in the ORV are going to move into the top 25 by the end of the season.

[kdinva]

Lots of early love for Kenny State, EWU, maybe Elon........

[BisonFan02]

I'm kinda curious who thinks JMU has more coming back than NDSU.

This NDSU team is shades of 2013......with ONE big difference.

2013 had Jensen, who will never have to buy a beer in Fargo ever again, but if he were to go down.....you had Wentz holding a clipboard. Many say it would have been an upgrade (Oh....what could have been).

Stick goes down this year.....annnnnnnd what? That is make or break for this year IMHO. Otherwise, this team is absolutely loaded.

[Daytripper]

Good to see four Southland teams in the top 25, but I think UCA may not stay for long.

[Daytripper]

I will put mine out there....

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: Kennesaw State Owls
4: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
5: New Hampshire Wildcats
6: Eastern Washington Eagles
7: Sam Houston State Bearkats
8: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
9: Samford Bulldogs
10: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
11: Elon Phoenix
12: Nicholls State Colonels
13: Villanova Wildcats
14: Illinois State Redbirds
15: Weber State Wildcats
16: Northern Iowa Panthers
17: Wofford Terriers
18: Furman Paladins
19: McNeese State Cowboys
20: North Carolina A&T Aggies
21: Youngstown State Penguins
22: UC Davis Aggies
23: Austin Peay Governors
24: Montana Grizzlies
25: Sac State Hornets

[Mike296]

I’m going to post mine and well I made some errors namely SUU and Colgate. I was having trouble in the latter half of the poll so this is going to be interesting.


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[Daytripper]

I’m going to post mine and well I made some errors namely SUU and Colgate. I was having trouble in the latter half of the poll so this is going to be interesting.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I would argue there are no mistakes 15-25... at that point it is all subjective.

[BisonFan02]

The FCS this year is a complete crapshoot.....

[Mike296]

Here’s mine:



Hello Killamike259,

We have received your AGS Top 25 vote on 7/23/2018 13:16:31

Your vote is listed below.


1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: Kennesaw State Owls
4: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
5: Central Arkansas Bears
6: Wofford Terriers
7: Samford Bulldogs
8: Southern Utah Thunderbirds
9: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
10: Eastern Washington Eagles
11: Sam Houston State Bearkats
12: Weber State Wildcats
13: Nicholls State Colonels
14: Villanova Wildcats
15: New Hampshire Wildcats
16: Furman Paladins
17: Western Illinois Leathernecks
18: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
19: Northern Iowa Panthers
20: Illinois State Redbirds
21: Central Connecticut State Blue Devils
22: Colgate Raiders
23: North Carolina A&T Aggies
24: Austin Peay Governors
25: San Diego Toreros

Killamike259

The Most Significant Win:
The Most Significant Loss:
Which Conference Does Your Team Play in?: Ohio Valley Conference





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[phoenix3]

Here’s mine:



Hello Killamike259,

We have received your AGS Top 25 vote on 7/23/2018 13:16:31

Your vote is listed below.


1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: Kennesaw State Owls
4: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
5: Central Arkansas Bears
6: Wofford Terriers
7: Samford Bulldogs
8: Southern Utah Thunderbirds
9: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
10: Eastern Washington Eagles
11: Sam Houston State Bearkats
12: Weber State Wildcats
13: Nicholls State Colonels
14: Villanova Wildcats
15: New Hampshire Wildcats
16: Furman Paladins
17: Western Illinois Leathernecks
18: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
19: Northern Iowa Panthers
20: Illinois State Redbirds
21: Central Connecticut State Blue Devils
22: Colgate Raiders
23: North Carolina A&T Aggies
24: Austin Peay Governors
25: San Diego Toreros

Killamike259

The Most Significant Win:
The Most Significant Loss:
Which Conference Does Your Team Play in?: Ohio Valley Conference





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
OUCH!

[Mike296]

OUCH!

Yea I screwed up but didn’t realize til after I sent it in so I had to bite the bullet and wait til the next poll.


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[FUBeAR]

The FUBeAR Composite generated the following FCS Pre-Season Rankings...

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
4: Kennesaw State Owls
5: Weber State Wildcats
6: Sam Houston State Bearkats
7: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
8: Northern Iowa Panthers
9: Eastern Washington Eagles
10: New Hampshire Wildcats
11: Samford Bulldogs
12: Wofford Terriers
13: Illinois State Redbirds
14: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
15: South Dakota Coyotes
16: Central Arkansas Bears
17: Western Illinois Leathernecks
18: Stony Brook Seawolves
19: Elon Phoenix
20: Southern Utah Thunderbirds
21: Youngstown State Penguins
22: Furman Paladins
23: North Carolina A&T Aggies
24: Montana Grizzlies
25: Villanova Wildcats

...and just for fun, these are the next 15...

26 Yale
27 Idaho
28 Richmond
29 Northern Arizona
30 CS Sacramento
31 Nicholls St
32 McNeese St
33 Montana St
34 San Diego
35 UC Davis
36 S Illinois
37 Austin Peay
38 Mercer
39 Maine
40 Colgate

[ursus arctos horribilis]

Yea I screwed up but didn’t realize til after I sent it in so I had to bite the bullet and wait til the next poll.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No, you can take the email you receive back from me and reply to that email with what you had wrong and see if I can fix it for you. Earlier the better btw on that one. Live and learn but want to point out once again to voters that the email is a useful communication tool and even if you don't get email right away you should have that email address handy to communicate with us.

[mmiller_34]

I feel like Lehigh is too high

[Vandal03]

Here is my first FCS poll and apologies to the Samford fans:

My vote Team AGS Pole Difference
1 NDSU 1 0
2 JMU 2 0
3 Sam Houston State 5 -2
4 Kennesaw state 4 0
5 South Dakota State 3 2
6 EWU 6 0
7 NC A&T 19 -12
8 Jacksonville State 8 0
9 Weber State 9 0
10 Western Illinois 21 -11
11 New Hampshire 7 4
12 South Dakota 29 -17
13 Furman 18 -5
14 Yale 32 -18
15 Youngstown State 24 -9
16 Delaware 12 4
17 Northern Iowa 11 6
18 NAU 27 -9
19 McNeese State 25 -6
20 Central Arkansas 16 4
21 Stoney Brook 20 1
22 Richmond 32 -10
23 Wofford 13 10
24 Elon 14 10
25 Austin Peay 26 -1

I can’t wait to follow week one and adjust my vote.

Here are the teams that I left out and am watching closely:

Teams to watch
Idaho 30
Montana 28
UC Davis 40
Montana State 39
Villanova 22
Samford 10
Illinois State 15
Nicholls State 17
Southern Utah 23
San Diego 31
Sacramento State 32
Grambling 35
Colgate 36
Monmouth 37
Maine 38

Before the poll came out I started the teams to watch list and decided to complete it once he poll was made public. Samford was a big miss that will be corrected unless they play poorly during week one.

[RootinFerDukes]

Oh Snap! Two first place votes. I'm shocked I didn't feel the tremors from Fargo all the way out here.

[SCPALADIN]

...bash away!

Your vote is listed below.


1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: Sam Houston State Bearkats
4: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
5: Weber State Wildcats
6: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
7: Eastern Washington Eagles
8: Kennesaw State Owls
9: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
10: Samford Bulldogs
11: Illinois State Redbirds
12: New Hampshire Wildcats
13: Northern Iowa Panthers
14: Nicholls State Colonels
15: Furman Paladins
16: Wofford Terriers
17: Elon Phoenix
18: McNeese State Cowboys
19: North Carolina A&T Aggies
20: Montana Grizzlies
21: Yale Bulldogs
22: Central Arkansas Bears
23: San Diego Toreros
24: Stony Brook Seawolves
25: Austin Peay Governors

SCPALADIN

The Most Significant Win:
The Most Significant Loss:
Which Conference Does Your Team Play in?: Southern Conference

[Daytripper]

Oh Snap! Two first place votes. I'm shocked I didn't feel the tremors from Fargo all the way out here.

It's still early. Wait until they start drinking this afternoon....

[McCowboys]

Oh Snap! Two first place votes. I'm shocked I didn't feel the tremors from Fargo all the way out here.

I think they are demanding a recount and are blaming hanging chads! xcoffeex

[Thumper 76]

Hello Thumper 76,

We have received your AGS Top 25 vote on 7/28/2018 19:51:00

Your vote is listed below.


1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: Eastern Washington Eagles
4: Kennesaw State Owls
5: New Hampshire Wildcats
6: Samford Bulldogs
7: Northern Iowa Panthers
8: Stony Brook Seawolves
9: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
10: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
11: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
12: Nicholls State Colonels
13: Sam Houston State Bearkats
14: Furman Paladins
15: Villanova Wildcats
16: North Carolina A&T Aggies
17: Weber State Wildcats
18: Wofford Terriers
19: Southern Utah Thunderbirds
20: Illinois State Redbirds
21: Elon Phoenix
22: Monmouth Hawks
23: Montana State Bobcats
24: Idaho Vandals
25: South Dakota Coyotes

Thumper 76

The Most Significant Win: Alabama A&M Bulldogs
The Most Significant Loss: Valparaiso Crusaders
Which Conference Does Your Team Play in?: Missouri Valley Football Conference



Tbh this year there’s so many unknowns we won’t have any real idea for a while.


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[nevadagriz]

I think Msu is starting out to low
I think Idaho will make some noise.
I think SDSU is too high.
I like that Montana gets a crack at the no.11 and no 21 teams early in the year.

[Professor Chaos]

It's still early. Wait until they start drinking this afternoon....
You clearly know nothing about Fargo or ND... we all start drinking well before high noon.

[Drblankstare]

I would argue there are no mistakes 15-25... at that point it is all subjective.

I have to agree with this, the final 10 votes on the preseason poll can be pretty buck wild and there is nothing wrong with that.

[Daytripper]

You clearly know nothing about Fargo or ND... we all start drinking well before high noon.

I know this... I was just trying to be nice. xdrunkyx

[OhioHen]

Top 37 in the poll were all in my Top 40.

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
4: Eastern Washington Eagles
5: Sam Houston State Bearkats
6: Kennesaw State Owls
7: Samford Bulldogs
8: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
9: Nicholls State Colonels
10: Weber State Wildcats
11: New Hampshire Wildcats
12: Northern Iowa Panthers
13: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
14: Illinois State Redbirds
15: Youngstown State Penguins
16: North Carolina A&T Aggies
17: Wofford Terriers
18: Stony Brook Seawolves
19: Furman Paladins
20: San Diego Toreros
21: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
22: Central Arkansas Bears
23: McNeese State Cowboys
24: Elon Phoenix
25: Grambling State Tigers

[ursus arctos horribilis]

It's still early. Wait until they start drinking this afternoon....

xlolx

Pretty good dude, pretty, pretty good.

When POD is done with his 3 martini lunch this gonna be good!

[jmu007]

Appears the biggest differences in opinion between myself and the voters to start the year are:

- Delaware: Had them at 5, I'm obviously way higher on this group than the masses at this point. The game at NDSU will help clear this one up and we'll see if i'm on track or not.
- Kennesaw: Had them at 10, I'm in wait in see mode, based my opinion based around last year's playoffs and who was in front of them.
- Villanova: Had them at 11, I viewed last year as more of a anomaly, but I guess we'll see. They have their QB back and I weighted that more heavily than a lot of other it would appear.

I was pretty close to the mean on everything else in the top 20. Will probably redo the entire thing after weeks 1 and 2 from scratch anyway. And no, I did not vote JMU #1 lol. So that search can continue.

[RootinFerDukes]

This was a poll on crack perhaps, but I've been around long enough now to know that Preseason polls always have about 2 or 25 WTFs throughout. It sorts itself out about four weeks in after the initial week 1 "holy cow MVSU beat Alabama, #1 team in the nation" over-reactions. xdrunkyx

[ursus arctos horribilis]

Appears the biggest differences in opinion between myself and the voters to start the year are:

- Delaware: Had them at 5, I'm obviously way higher on this group than the masses at this point. The game at NDSU will help clear this one up and we'll see if i'm on track or not.
- Kennesaw: Had them at 10, I'm in wait in see mode, based my opinion based around last year's playoffs and who was in front of them.
- Villanova: Had them at 11, I viewed last year as more of a anomaly, but I guess we'll see. They have their QB back and I weighted that more heavily than a lot of other it would appear.

I was pretty close to the mean on everything else in the top 20. Will probably redo the entire thing after weeks 1 and 2 from scratch anyway. And no, I did not vote JMU #1 lol. So that search can continue.

No JMU voter did, or could have without some simpatico feeling of placement of at least one other from outside the ranks.

[JSUSoutherner]

Fight me.

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: Kennesaw State Owls
4: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
5: Eastern Washington Eagles
6: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
7: Sam Houston State Bearkats
8: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
9: Samford Bulldogs
10: Elon Phoenix
11: Weber State Wildcats
12: Northern Iowa Panthers
13: New Hampshire Wildcats
14: North Carolina A&T Aggies
15: Wofford Terriers
16: Villanova Wildcats
17: Furman Paladins
18: Illinois State Redbirds
19: Montana Grizzlies
20: Central Arkansas Bears
21: Youngstown State Penguins
22: Austin Peay Governors
23: Stony Brook Seawolves
24: Nicholls State Colonels
25: Idaho Vandals

The Most Significant Win: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
The Most Significant Loss: Chattanooga Mocs

[FUBeAR]

Let it begin!



Rank
Team
Total Points
First Place Votes


31
San Diego Toreros
136





This is an OUTRAGE! No way that the Big Sky Champion from the past 2 seasons should be ranked this low!!

Clerical error, maybe?

[BEAR]

Fair enough on the placement for my Bears. We flopped in the playoffs last year. We lost a ton of talent and head coach. Top 20 is reasonable to me. We'll either surprise teams this year or go as most think we will go. All I know is there are two strong teams, 3 that could easily move up, and UCA that could be a wild card spot in the playoffs if they do what they usually do during the year.

SHSU- Relaoded. Gotta get over that hump. QB gone though. Tough read.
Nicholls- Highly likely playoff spot.

SLU- Excellent team that can get 3rd playoff spot if they get over that hump. OR they fizzle.
McNeese- Really should have been in last year.
SFA- FBS laden

UCA- Lost talent and head coach. Rebuild OR Reload?


I'm going to do a review of each team on the SLC FAll thread looking at their schedules and including factors like returning playerse etc. It's just my opinion so don't take it as law. xlolx

[POD Knows]

xlolx

Pretty good dude, pretty, pretty good.

When POD is done with his 3 martini lunch this gonna be good!xlolx Skipped the martini's today and I am not going to trash anybodies else poll but it would be good to know from the JMU first place voters what their rational was but every team is just a few injuries away from having their season turned upside down. NDSU is not deep at the QB position or at the LB position, anything can and will happen.

Also, it takes a lot more than three martinis to get the juices flowing.

[Professor Chaos]

This was a poll on crack perhaps, but I've been around long enough now to know that Preseason polls always have about 2 or 25 WTFs throughout. It sorts itself out about four weeks in after the initial week 1 "holy cow MVSU beat Alabama, #1 team in the nation" over-reactions. xdrunkyx
Had some time this afternoon so I went through the last few AGS preseason polls to compare where teams ended up in the final poll. It's actually not as bad as you might think. I listed the preseason polls and then in parenthesis after the team is how far they moved to get to their final poll position. I color coded anything over 5 spots in either direction.

2017 Preseason
1 James Madison Dukes (-1)
2 North Dakota State Bison (+1)
3 South Dakota State Jackrabbits (-)
4 Eastern Washington Eagles (-17)
5 Sam Houston State Bearkats (-)
6 Richmond Spiders (-29)
7 Jacksonville State Gamecocks (-1)
8 Wofford Terriers (+1)
9 Villanova Wildcats (-30)
10 Youngstown State Penguins (-28)
11 North Dakota Fighting Hawks (-28)
12 Chattanooga Mocs (-27)
13 Central Arkansas Bears (+4)
14 The Citadel Bulldogs (-25)
15 New Hampshire Wildcats (+2)
16 Charleston Southern Buccaneers (-23)
17 Samford Bulldogs (-2)
18 Illinois State Redbirds (-13)
19 Lehigh Mountain Hawks (-15)
20 Western Illinois Leathernecks (+5)
21 Cal Poly Mustangs (-18)
22 Northern Iowa Panthers (+10)
23 Fordham Rams (-16)
24 Weber State Wildcats (+20)
25 Albany Great Danes (-14)

Average difference was 13.2 with 10 of 25 teams ranked in the top 25 to start the year actually finished within 5 spots of their preseason ranking. Not horrible but definitely not good.


2016 Preseason
1 North Dakota State Bison (-1)
2 Northern Iowa Panthers (-33)
3 Richmond Spiders (-4)
4 Jacksonville State Gamecocks (-5)
5 Sam Houston State Bearkats (-3)
6 Chattanooga Mocs (-6)
7 South Dakota State Jackrabbits (+2)
8 Charleston Southern Buccaneers (-8)
9 James Madison Dukes (+8)
10 William & Mary Tribe (-31)
11 Montana Grizzlies (-30)
12 Illinois State Redbirds (-7)
13 The Citadel Bulldogs (+3)
14 McNeese State Cowboys (-27)
15 Portland State Vikings (-26)
16 Eastern Washington Eagles (+12)
17 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (-24)
18 North Dakota Fighting Hawks (+5)
19 Western Illinois Leathernecks (-11)
20 Colgate Raiders (-21)
21 Youngstown State Penguins (+18)
22 Villanova Wildcats (+11)
23 New Hampshire Wildcats (+8)
24 Towson Tigers (-17)
25 Fordham Rams (-4)

In 2016 the average difference was 13 but only 8 of 25 actually finished within 5 spots of their preseason ranking. But 8 of the 17 that didn't come within 5 spots ended up within 12 spots so there were some closer misses.


2015 Preseason
1 North Dakota State Bison (-)
2 Illinois State Redbirds (-3)
3 Sam Houston State Bearkats (-3)
4 Villanova Wildcats (-32)
5 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (-13)
6 Chattanooga Mocs (-2)
7 New Hampshire Wildcats (-15)
8 Eastern Washington Eagles (-31)
9 Jacksonville State Gamecocks (+7)
10 Northern Iowa Panthers (+6)
11 Montana State Bobcats (-30)
12 Montana Grizzlies (-)
13 Liberty Flames (-28)
14 James Madison Dukes (-1)
15 Youngstown State Penguins (-17)
16 South Dakota State Jackrabbits (+2)
17 Southeastern Louisiana Lions (-24)
18 Eastern Kentucky Colonels (-23)
19 Indiana State Sycamores (-22)
20 Idaho State Bengals (-21)
21 Richmond Spiders (+18)
22 Harvard Crimson (+1)
23 Fordham Rams (+3)
24 Eastern Illinois Panthers (-)
25 Cal Poly Mustangs (-16)

In 2015 the average difference was 12.7 and 10 of 25 teams were ranked within 5 spots of their final ranking. The best one so far it seems.


2014 Preseason
1 Eastern Washington Eagles (-4)
2 North Dakota State Bison (+1)
3 Southeastern Louisiana Lions (-14)
4 New Hampshire Wildcats (+1)
5 Northern Iowa Panthers (-5)
6 Jacksonville State Gamecocks (-5)
7 Montana Grizzlies (-5)
8 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (+4)
9 South Dakota State Jackrabbits (-)
10 McNeese State Cowboys (-24)
11 Villanova Wildcats (+4)
12 Fordham Rams (-4)
13 Towson Tigers (-28)
14 Chattanooga Mocs (+6)
15 Furman Paladins (-26)
16 Eastern Illinois Panthers (-25)
17 Richmond Spiders (+3)
18 William & Mary Tribe (-8)
19 Tennessee State Tigers (-22)
20 Montana State Bobcats (+1)
21 Sam Houston State Bearkats (+15)
22 Southern Illinois Salukis (-17)
23 Maine Black Bears (-18)
24 Youngstown State Penguins (-)
25 Cal Poly Mustangs (-4)

In 2014 the average difference was only 9.8 with 14 of the preseason top 25 teams finishing within 5 spots of their preseason ranking. Definitely the best of the bunch.


All together that's an average difference of 12.2 with 42 of 100 teams finishing within 5 spots of their preseason rankings. So I'd say it's safe to say that probably around 40% of the teams listed in the preseason poll will finish relatively close to where they were ranked in the preseason poll but, not surprisingly, the lower down you get the more volatile it gets with it happening fairly regularly with teams in the bottom half of the top 25 falling completely off the map by the end of the season.

[SU DOG]

My feeble attempt, also hope that using some initials only here is OK. (#lazy):

1. NDSU
2. JMU
3. SDSU
4. JSU
5. KSU
6. EWU
7. SHSU
8. SAMFORD(homer - maybe)
9. Weber State
10. UD
11. NCA&T
12. NHU
13. Nicholls State
14. McNeese
15. Furman
16. Elon
17. Wofford
18. Idaho(before I saw the Vandal03 postsxlolx)
19. Nova
20. NIU
21. YSU
22. Illinois State
23. Stoney Brook
24. Montana
25. UCA

[JSUSoutherner]

4. JSU

Oof.

[ursus arctos horribilis]

xlolx Skipped the martini's today and I am not going to trash anybodies else poll but it would be good to know from the JMU first place voters what their rational was but every team is just a few injuries away from having their season turned upside down. NDSU is not deep at the QB position or at the LB position, anything can and will happen.

Also, it takes a lot more than three martinis to get the juices flowing.

Definitely does but the I went with the traditional saying of the alcohol intolerant masses just for recognition purposes.

My "3" are a different caliber that I will discuss later on another thread.

[ursus arctos horribilis]

My feeble attempt, also hope that using some initials only here is OK. (#lazy):

1. NDSU
2. JMU
3. SDSU
4. JSU
5. KSU
6. EWU
7. SHSU
8. SAMFORD(homer - maybe)
9. Weber State
10. UD
11. NCA&T
12. NHU
13. Nicholls State
14. McNeese
15. Furman
16. Elon
17. Wofford
18. Idaho(before I saw the Vandal03 postsxlolx)
19. Nova
20. NIU
21. YSU
22. Illinois State
23. Stoney Brook
24. Montana
25. UCA

If you are lazy why not copy & paste the ballot sent back to ya? I call it efficiency btw! xlolx

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: Sam Houston State Bearkats
4: Eastern Washington Eagles
5: New Hampshire Wildcats
6: Kennesaw State Owls
7: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
8: Furman Paladins
9: Northern Iowa Panthers
10: Stony Brook Seawolves
11: North Carolina A&T Aggies
12: Samford Bulldogs
13: Nicholls State Colonels
14: Yale Eli
15: Weber State Wildcats
16: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
17: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
18: Idaho Vandals
19: McNeese State Cowboys
20: Youngstown State Penguins
21: Elon Phoenix
22: Princeton Tigers
23: Illinois State Redbirds
24: Wofford Terriers
25: Montana Grizzlies

[RootinFerDukes]

Great job there, Professor Chaos. Very interesting and thank you for taking the time to analyze it. It does look like top 10 teams typically stay ranked all season, but after that it's a complete crap shoot and many fall off the map more often then not by season's end.

[dbackjon]

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: Eastern Washington Eagles
4: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
5: Sam Houston State Bearkats
6: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
7: Samford Bulldogs
8: Kennesaw State Owls
9: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
10: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
11: Idaho Vandals
12: New Hampshire Wildcats
13: Illinois State Redbirds
14: Elon Phoenix
15: Wofford Terriers
16: Villanova Wildcats
17: Furman Paladins
18: San Diego Toreros
19: Weber State Wildcats
20: Nicholls State Colonels
21: Youngstown State Penguins
22: Northern Iowa Panthers
23: North Carolina A&T Aggies
24: UC Davis Aggies
25: Austin Peay Governors

[Derby City Duke]

My inaugural AGS ballot

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: Kennesaw State Owls
3: James Madison Dukes
4: Eastern Washington Eagles
5: Weber State Wildcats
6: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
7: Sam Houston State Bearkats
8: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
9: New Hampshire Wildcats
10: Northern Iowa Panthers
11: Samford Bulldogs
12: Elon Phoenix
13: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
14: Wofford Terriers
15: Illinois State Redbirds
16: Stony Brook Seawolves
17: Furman Paladins
18: North Carolina A&T Aggies
19: Villanova Wildcats
20: Austin Peay Governors
21: Idaho Vandals
22: Nicholls State Colonels
23: South Dakota Coyotes
24: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
25: Youngstown State Penguins

Derby City Duke

The Most Significant Win:
The Most Significant Loss:
Which Conference Does Your Team Play in?: Colonial Athletic Association

[BisonTru]

Somebody sell me on Delaware. I’m not understanding that one.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TheKingpin28]

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
4: Kennesaw State Owls
5: Weber State Wildcats
6: Sam Houston State Bearkats
7: Western Illinois Leathernecks
8: Samford Bulldogs
9: Stony Brook Seawolves
10: Furman Paladins
11: Eastern Washington Eagles
12: New Hampshire Wildcats
13: Northern Iowa Panthers
14: Wofford Terriers
15: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
16: Central Arkansas Bears
17: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
18: Nicholls State Colonels
19: McNeese State Cowboys
20: North Carolina A&T Aggies
21: Southern Utah Thunderbirds
22: Montana Grizzlies
23: Elon Phoenix
24: Central Connecticut State Blue Devils
25: Illinois State Redbirds

TheKingpin28

The Most Significant Win: Kennesaw State Owls
The Most Significant Loss: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
Which Conference Does Your Team Play in?: Missouri Valley Football Conference



Outside of having ISUr at 25 (which I have mentioned is my "let's see where this goes" spot) and CCSU at 24, (people need to remember their QB situation and how they still almost beat UNH), not having YSU in (I had them on the bubble but I think this is the year that Bo finally collapses), and Stony Brook (I am tell you they will be moving that ball returning their QB and RB), I'm pleased with the results. Sure there is fluidity, but I really believe AGS overlooked Stony Brook on this one. Though, all teams are 1 major injury away from a collapse.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Somebody sell me on Delaware. I’m not understanding that one.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think combination of Rocco being in his second year and their defense will allow the Hens to take a significant step this year. They were 7-4 last year so the foundation is there.

[caribbeanhen]

Somebody sell me on Delaware. I’m not understanding that one.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I had the Hens at #19 so I'm listening as well

they did just get a Penn State Transfer at RB Andre Robinso to go with the Boston College transfer QB transfer...

Joe Walker moves to WR to start the year instead of QB

You dont want to get me talking about the Defense now....

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

I had then at #19 so I'm listening as well

I had them 16th so my love is pretty relative xsmiley_wix

[TheKingpin28]

I had then at #19 so I'm listening as well

I figured anywhere outside of 15 and above 22 was a perfect spot for them.

[Derby City Duke]

I had then at #19 so I'm listening as well

I had them at #13 -- their QB situation can't stink forever, can it?

[Panthers1995]

My feeble attempt, also hope that using some initials only here is OK. (#lazy):

1. NDSU
2. JMU
3. SDSU
4. JSU
5. KSU
6. EWU
7. SHSU
8. SAMFORD(homer - maybe)
9. Weber State
10. UD
11. NCA&T
12. NHU
13. Nicholls State
14. McNeese
15. Furman
16. Elon
17. Wofford
18. Idaho(before I saw the Vandal03 postsxlolx)
19. Nova
20. NIU
21. YSU
22. Illinois State
23. Stoney Brook
24. Montana
25. UCA

Northern Illinois (NIU) is a FBS program. They are in the MAC. Just wanted to clear that up for you.

[Derby City Duke]

Northern Illinois (NIU) is a FBS program. They are in the MAC. Just wanted to clear that up for you.

I'll go out on the limb and guess he was speaking on the world-renowned Northern Iowa University....xthumbsupx

[WestCoastAggie]

I think combination of Rocco being in his second year and their defense will allow the Hens to take a significant step this year. They were 7-4 last year so the foundation is there.

Yep. Statically, Delaware was one of the best last season and didn't lose much on that side of the ball.

[Panthers1995]

I'll go out on the limb and guess he was speaking on the world-renowned Northern Iowa University....xthumbsupx

I'm going to guess that is what he was going for. More often than not when UNI makes it on ESPN they have a Northern Illinois logo instead of the University of Northern Iowa logo.

[Derby City Duke]

I'm going to guess that is what he was going for. More often than not when UNI makes it on ESPN they have a Northern Illinois logo instead of the University of Northern Iowa logo.

Yep. And if you go back to last year's FCS Selection Special, the 3rd highlight (of the only 3 they used) of JMU was actually somebody (Tenn Tech) playing JSU. Guess they figured only one other non-FBS school uses a purple/gold color scheme.

[SU DOG]

I'm going to guess that is what he was going for. More often than not when UNI makes it on ESPN they have a Northern Illinois logo instead of the University of Northern Iowa logo.

Of course I meant Northern Iowa, and I have seen the initials used for them many times. I see, however, that there is a value in being specific here as ursus has pointed out, and I will always use the full name for school and mascot from now on.

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
4: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
5: Kennesaw State Owls
6: Eastern Washington Eagles
7: Sam Houston State Bearkats
8: Samford Bulldogs
9: Weber State Wildcats
10: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
11: North Carolina A&T Aggies
12: New Hampshire Wildcats
13: Nicholls State Colonels
14: McNeese State Cowboys
15: Furman Paladins
16: Elon Phoenix
17: Wofford Terriers
18: Idaho Vandals
19: Villanova Wildcats
20: Northern Iowa Panthers
21: Youngstown State Penguins
22: Illinois State Redbirds
23: Stony Brook Seawolves
24: Montana Grizzlies
25: Central Arkansas Bears

SU DOG

[RootinFerDukes]

Somebody sell me on Delaware. I’m not understanding that one.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I ranked them, but around 20 or so. I need to see a lot more from them before they reach my top 15. Their offense just isn’t productive enough and they lose games they shouldn’t.
I don’t anticipate they’ll give ndsu much of a game.

[dbackjon]

Of course I meant Northern Iowa, and I have seen the initials used for them many times. I see, however, that there is a value in being specific here as ursus has pointed out, and I will always use the full name for school and mascot from now on.


You'd think someone from Southern University would know the value of initials.

[JSUSoutherner]

10: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks



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[ST_Lawson]

You clearly know nothing about Fargo or ND... we all start drinking well before high noon.

Beer-ios....it's what's for breakfast.

[TheKingpin28]

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: Eastern Washington Eagles
4: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
5: Sam Houston State Bearkats
6: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
7: Samford Bulldogs
8: Kennesaw State Owls
9: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
10: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
11: Idaho Vandals
12: New Hampshire Wildcats
13: Illinois State Redbirds
14: Elon Phoenix
15: Wofford Terriers
16: Villanova Wildcats
17: Furman Paladins
18: San Diego Toreros
19: Weber State Wildcats
20: Nicholls State Colonels
21: Youngstown State Penguins
22: Northern Iowa Panthers
23: North Carolina A&T Aggies
24: UC Davis Aggies
25: Austin Peay Governors

Huh?

[caribbeanhen]

Yep. Statically, Delaware was one of the best last season and didn't lose much on that side of the ball.

the big loss was on the DL
NFL Draft pick Bilah Nichols, Bears
Blaine Woodson - FA 49ers

Another starter DB Malcolm Brown has an injry to a knee, not sure he will be ready to go

[FUBeAR]

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: Eastern Washington Eagles
4: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
5: Sam Houston State Bearkats
6: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
7: Samford Bulldogs
8: Kennesaw State Owls
9: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
10: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
11: Idaho Vandals
12: New Hampshire Wildcats
13: Illinois State Redbirds
14: Elon Phoenix
15: Wofford Terriers
16: Villanova Wildcats
17: Furman Paladins
18: San Diego Toreros
19: Weber State Wildcats
20: Nicholls State Colonels
21: Youngstown State Penguins
22: Northern Iowa Panthers
23: North Carolina A&T Aggies
24: UC Davis Aggies
25: Austin Peay Governors


Huh?

He must have accidentally reversed these 2 when he submitted

[TheKingpin28]

He must have accidentally reversed these 2 when he submitted

I get people sometimes homer vote their own, but putting NAU in the Top 10 is pathetic when there are more deserving teams like WIU who curb stomped them and bring back McShane and McGuire on offense and Rowe, Fitzpatrick (2 sport athlete), Moon, and Saunders on defense or Stony Brook, UNI, etc... Really lazy to leave these teams out and put NAU in.

[cx500d]

Your vote is listed below.


1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
4: Kennesaw State Owls
5: New Hampshire Wildcats
6: Weber State Wildcats
7: Eastern Washington Eagles
8: Northern Iowa Panthers
9: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
10: Sam Houston State Bearkats
11: Samford Bulldogs
12: Western Illinois Leathernecks
13: Stony Brook Seawolves
14: Furman Paladins
15: Central Arkansas Bears
16: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
17: Illinois State Redbirds
18: Idaho Vandals
19: San Diego Toreros
20: Elon Phoenix
21: North Carolina A&T Aggies
22: Richmond Spiders
23: Nicholls State Colonels
24: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
25: Sac State Hornets

cx500d

The Most Significant Win: UC Davis Aggies
The Most Significant Loss: North Carolina A&T Aggies
Which Conference Does Your Team Play in?: Missouri Valley Football Conference

[cx500d]

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: Eastern Washington Eagles
4: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
5: Sam Houston State Bearkats
6: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
7: Samford Bulldogs
8: Kennesaw State Owls
9: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
10: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
11: Idaho Vandals
12: New Hampshire Wildcats
13: Illinois State Redbirds
14: Elon Phoenix
15: Wofford Terriers
16: Villanova Wildcats
17: Furman Paladins
18: San Diego Toreros
19: Weber State Wildcats
20: Nicholls State Colonels
21: Youngstown State Penguins
22: Northern Iowa Panthers
23: North Carolina A&T Aggies
24: UC Davis Aggies
25: Austin Peay Governors


41-10?????

[Reign of Terrier]

Yo, how do I register for the poll? I don't want to miss it like I did last year. I know you get one miss day or whatever (or at least you used to and it looks like I'll take that L for the preseason)

Someone PM Me?

[Bison56]

It's still early. Wait until they start drinking this afternoon....

Who waits until the afternoon xdrunkyx

[ElCid]

Really like the article you wrote up there PC.

It is gonna be interesting to see how predictive this one is because this seems a bit more volatile this year than past years to me on first glance.

Vandals stepping in right off the bat so seems voters have some confidence in what they are bringing to us this season too.

Not a lot of consensus after the first two looking at the vote totals. Looks like a nice turn out though. 90!

[TheKingpin28]

Yo, how do I register for the poll? I don't want to miss it like I did last year. I know you get one miss day or whatever (or at least you used to and it looks like I'll take that L for the preseason)

Someone PM Me?

April 1st-July 23rd-ish

[Reign of Terrier]

April 1st-July 23rd-ish

whoops, that's what I get for not hanging around during the offseason...

[BucBisonAtLarge]

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
4: Kennesaw State Owls
5: Sam Houston State Bearkats
6: Samford Bulldogs
7: New Hampshire Wildcats
8: Eastern Washington Eagles
9: Illinois State Redbirds
10: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
11: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
12: Northern Iowa Panthers
13: Weber State Wildcats
14: Nicholls State Colonels
15: Wofford Terriers
16: Furman Paladins
17: Elon Phoenix
18: Idaho Vandals
19: North Carolina A&T Aggies
20: Youngstown State Penguins
21: Western Illinois Leathernecks
22: Montana Grizzlies
23: Southern Utah Thunderbirds
24: Stony Brook Seawolves
25: Austin Peay Governors

I think I underrated NCA&T and probably should have shoe-horned in Yale or Princeton...

[ElCid]

Here is my first FCS poll and apologies to the Samford fans:

My vote Team AGS Pole Difference
1 NDSU 1 0
2 JMU 2 0
3 Sam Houston State 5 -2
4 Kennesaw state 4 0
5 South Dakota State 3 2
6 EWU 6 0
7 NC A&T 19 -12
8 Jacksonville State 8 0
9 Weber State 9 0
10 Western Illinois 21 -11
11 New Hampshire 7 4
12 South Dakota 29 -17
13 Furman 18 -5
14 Yale 32 -18
15 Youngstown State 24 -9
16 Delaware 12 4
17 Northern Iowa 11 6
18 NAU 27 -9
19 McNeese State 25 -6
20 Central Arkansas 16 4
21 Stoney Brook 20 1
22 Richmond 32 -10
23 Wofford 13 10
24 Elon 14 10
25 Austin Peay 26 -1

I can’t wait to follow week one and adjust my vote.

Here are the teams that I left out and am watching closely:

Teams to watch
Idaho 30
Montana 28
UC Davis 40
Montana State 39
Villanova 22
Samford 10
Illinois State 15
Nicholls State 17
Southern Utah 23
San Diego 31
Sacramento State 32
Grambling 35
Colgate 36
Monmouth 37
Maine 38

Before the poll came out I started the teams to watch list and decided to complete it once he poll was made public. Samford was a big miss that will be corrected unless they play poorly during week one.


You seriously don't have Samford in? They are picked to win the SOCON and have one of the best QBs in FCS. Just curious how you ciphered that.

[ElCid]

Somebody sell me on Delaware. I’m not understanding that one.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Minimal personnel losses, could have been 9-2 easily last year, a fairly friendly schedule this year. They don't have JMU, but they have NDSU. No FBS. I have them in mine the middle of the pack.

[TheKingpin28]

You seriously don't have Samford in? They are picked to win the SOCON and have one of the best QBs in FCS. Just curious how you ciphered that.

I mean he apologized to their fans? Devlin Hodges who? xlolx

[McCowboys]

You'd think someone from Southern University would know the value of initials.

? I don't think this SU is Southern. Samford, maybe?

[McCowboys]

My first ever poll:

Hello McCowboys,

We have received your AGS Top 25 vote on 7/27/2018 6:51:43

Your vote is listed below.


1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
4: Eastern Washington Eagles
5: Kennesaw State Owls
6: Wofford Terriers
7: New Hampshire Wildcats
8: Sam Houston State Bearkats
9: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
10: Northern Iowa Panthers
11: Weber State Wildcats
12: Nicholls State Colonels
13: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
14: Samford Bulldogs
15: North Carolina A&T Aggies
16: Central Arkansas Bears
17: Southern Utah Thunderbirds
18: McNeese State Cowboys
19: Austin Peay Governors
20: Grambling State Tigers
21: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
22: Villanova Wildcats
23: Furman Paladins
24: San Diego Toreros
25: Colgate Raiders

McCowboys

The Most Significant Win: North Dakota State Bison
The Most Significant Loss: Central Arkansas Bears
Which Conference Does Your Team Play in?: Southland Conference

Yeah, I have Delaware #13. Who knows? Eat Mor Chikin!

[SU DOG]

? I don't think this SU is Southern. Samford, maybe?

I think he knew it was Samford, a chide for my mixing up the Northern Iowa initials. LOL. Anyhow, lesson learned and initials no more.

[McCowboys]

I think he knew it was Samford, a chide for my mixing up the Northern Iowa initials. LOL. Anyhow, lesson learned and initials no more.

If you received the confirmation email after you submitted your ballot, just copy and paste it in the future.

[dbackjon]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180730/d2a84fb7ed777ab5547f175edc1dd833.gif

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Probably ranked them a little low...

[BlueHenFromWA]

the big loss was on the DL
NFL Draft pick Bilah Nichols, Bears
Blaine Woodson - FA 49ers

Another starter DB Malcolm Brown has an injry to a knee, not sure he will be ready to go

Do you think the Transfer D-Lineman from St. Francis, Austin Gray, will help minimize that loss on the DL?

[dbackjon]

I get people sometimes homer vote their own, but putting NAU in the Top 10 is pathetic when there are more deserving teams like WIU who curb stomped them and bring back McShane and McGuire on offense and Rowe, Fitzpatrick (2 sport athlete), Moon, and Saunders on defense or Stony Brook, UNI, etc... Really lazy to leave these teams out and put NAU in.


The good thing is I don't slot vote - I start from scratch every week, so if I missed someone, over or under ranked a team, it is quickly corrected after the first few weeks.

For NAU it is really simple - we open @UTEP, EWU, @Missouri State, SUU. By then, we will have a very good idea where to rank NAU. Preseason is very much a crap shoot anyways.

Same with WIU. @Montana State, @Illinois, Montana and Youngstown State. Like all teams, performance on the field will drive rankings.

- - - Updated - - -


41-10?????


If you are basing your vote solely on last year, you are doing it wrong.

[dbackjon]

? I don't think this SU is Southern. Samford, maybe?


When I see SU, I think of Southern. Not University of Samford

- - - Updated - - -


I think he knew it was Samford, a chide for my mixing up the Northern Iowa initials. LOL. Anyhow, lesson learned and initials no more.


:D


I can't wait for UNA and NAU to get mixed up :)

[wmmii]

Here is my vote:

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: Sam Houston State Bearkats
4: Kennesaw State Owls
5: Eastern Washington Eagles
6: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
7: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
8: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
9: New Hampshire Wildcats
10: Weber State Wildcats
11: Wofford Terriers
12: Illinois State Redbirds
13: Northern Iowa Panthers
14: Samford Bulldogs
15: Villanova Wildcats
16: Idaho Vandals
17: McNeese State Cowboys
18: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
19: Youngstown State Penguins
20: Stony Brook Seawolves
21: Montana Grizzlies
22: Western Illinois Leathernecks
23: Central Arkansas Bears
24: Colgate Raiders
25: Elon Phoenix

[katss07]

UCA>Nicholls huh? Yeah, I don’t think so. I like Sam’s spot on here, seems about right although there are PLENTY of unknowns going into the year. Good to see Idaho back (technically)! Looking forward to this season and another great year of the AGS poll. Best poll there is IMO!

[Vandal03]

You seriously don't have Samford in? They are picked to win the SOCON and have one of the best QBs in FCS. Just curious how you ciphered that.

I didn’t have enough time to research the SoCon and saw Massey had Samford 21, Furman 22, and Wofford 23. I decided to vote for two of the three. I picked Furman because I’m a Clint Dempsey fan and Wofford because they played Idaho a few years ago. I thought I was leaving out the 21st ranked team and not he 10th ranked team.

[SU DOG]

I didn’t have enough time to research the SoCon and saw Massey had Samford 21, Furman 22, and Wofford 23. I decided to vote for two of the three. I picked Furman because I’m a Clint Dempsey fan and Wofford because they played Idaho a few years ago. I thought I was leaving out the 21st ranked team and not he 10th ranked team.

Not a problem with this Samford Fan. This is some new territory for my team, and obviously none of us know what this season might really bring.

[semobison]

Your vote is listed below.


1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: Northern Iowa Panthers
4: New Hampshire Wildcats
5: Weber State Wildcats
6: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
7: Kennesaw State Owls
8: Wofford Terriers
9: Western Illinois Leathernecks
10: Sam Houston State Bearkats
11: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
12: Samford Bulldogs
13: Eastern Washington Eagles
14: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
15: Stony Brook Seawolves
16: Youngstown State Penguins
17: Nicholls State Colonels
18: San Diego Toreros
19: South Dakota Coyotes
20: Villanova Wildcats
21: Montana Grizzlies
22: Furman Paladins
23: Central Arkansas Bears
24: Illinois State Redbirds
25: North Carolina A&T Aggies


My first time, virgin ballot!

[ElCid]

Not a problem with this Samford Fan. This is some new territory for my team, and obviously none of us know what this season might really bring.

Sandbagger. xnodx

[FUBeAR]

I didn’t have enough time to research the SoCon and saw Massey had Samford 21, Furman 22, and Wofford 23. I decided to vote for two of the three. I picked Furman because I’m a Clint Dempsey fan and Wofford because they played Idaho a few years ago. I thought I was leaving out the 21st ranked team and not he 10th ranked team.

This is what I show as Massey’s Ranking; so pretty close to what you said, but a bit more spread.

26 Samford
27 Yale
28 Villanova
29 UC Davis
30 Furman
31 Maine
32 Wofford

[Twentysix]

When I submitted my poll on the Google doc I got a success notification, but I never received the confirmation email. Just wondering if it went through on your end.


Ursus your mailbox is full. ;)

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

[Twentysix]

I'm in wait and see mode for Idaho. I think they are *probably* one of the 25 best but I have no idea how to try to rank them before they even play a game so I just left them out all together.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

[Twentysix]

Your vote is listed below.


1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: Northern Iowa Panthers
4: New Hampshire Wildcats
5: Weber State Wildcats
6: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
7: Kennesaw State Owls
8: Wofford Terriers
9: Western Illinois Leathernecks
10: Sam Houston State Bearkats
11: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
12: Samford Bulldogs
13: Eastern Washington Eagles
14: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
15: Stony Brook Seawolves
16: Youngstown State Penguins
17: Nicholls State Colonels
18: San Diego Toreros
19: South Dakota Coyotes
20: Villanova Wildcats
21: Montana Grizzlies
22: Furman Paladins
23: Central Arkansas Bears
24: Illinois State Redbirds
25: North Carolina A&T Aggies


My first time, virgin ballot!From a valley stand point I think you are over valuing uni and undervaluing isur. Who knows though :)

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[ElCid]

This is what I show as Massey’s Ranking; so pretty close to what you said, but a bit more spread.

26 Samford
27 Yale
28 Villanova
29 UC Davis
30 Furman
31 Maine
32 Wofford





Not a good idea to simply use Massey, or Sagarin, as a basis. I use them to idiot check myself, but never to rank them. Especially a preseason ranking based upon a algorithm weighted for multiple prior years, which is what they use. They definitely get better as the season progresses. But the preseason is a crap shoot.

Here is Massey's explanation of preseason ratings from his site.


Preseason ratings are based on an extrapolation recent years' results, tuned to fit historical trends and regression to the mean. A team's future performance is expected to be consistent with the strength of the program, but sometimes there may be temporary spikes.


Other potentially significant indicators (ex. returning starters, coaching changes, and recruiting) are ignored. Therefore, preseason ratings should not be taken too seriously.

[jmu007]

Probably should've just posted this earlier, so here goes. As to the question earlier about Delaware, I ranked them highly based on the defense and the expected improvements on offense. I'm fully expecting to see UD @ JMU in the second round of the playoffs should both teams make it through the CAA as expected.

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: New Hampshire Wildcats
4: Eastern Washington Eagles
5: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
6: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
7: Samford Bulldogs
8: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
9: Sam Houston State Bearkats
10: Kennesaw State Owls
11: Villanova Wildcats
12: Illinois State Redbirds
13: Wofford Terriers
14: Weber State Wildcats
15: Furman Paladins
16: Elon Phoenix
17: Northern Iowa Panthers
18: Youngstown State Penguins
19: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
20: Nicholls State Colonels
21: McNeese State Cowboys
22: Colgate Raiders
23: Montana Grizzlies
24: Stony Brook Seawolves
25: Austin Peay Governors

jmu007

The Most Significant Win: North Dakota State Bison
The Most Significant Loss: James Madison Dukes
Which Conference Does Your Team Play in?: Colonial Athletic Association

[GoBlueHens83]

While it's great to see the Delaware get so much love in the preseason poll, I'm not going to get my hopes up until I see a Hens QB that can complete more than a hand full of passes per game.

We got some key transfers that have already been mentioned here that should fix some of our issues, but who knows how that will turn out.

I had Delaware at 19, which is more optimistic than I probably should have been.

[Vandal03]

I'm in wait and see mode for Idaho. I think they are *probably* one of the 25 best but I have no idea how to try to rank them before they even play a game so I just left them out all together.

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I feel the same way about Idaho when I take off my silver and gold glasses. The QB is unknown, Idaho hasn’t won more than one FCS game since 1999, and because no team has ever dropped down I don’t know what to expect. Unless Idaho upsets Fresno State in week one, we won’t know too much about how good they are until the Davis game on September 22nd.

[BisonTru]

Probably should've just posted this earlier, so here goes. As to the question earlier about Delaware, I ranked them highly based on the defense and the expected improvements on offense. I'm fully expecting to see UD @ JMU in the second round of the playoffs should both teams make it through the CAA as expected.

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: New Hampshire Wildcats
4: Eastern Washington Eagles
5: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
6: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
7: Samford Bulldogs
8: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
9: Sam Houston State Bearkats
10: Kennesaw State Owls
11: Villanova Wildcats
12: Illinois State Redbirds
13: Wofford Terriers
14: Weber State Wildcats
15: Furman Paladins
16: Elon Phoenix
17: Northern Iowa Panthers
18: Youngstown State Penguins
19: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
20: Nicholls State Colonels
21: McNeese State Cowboys
22: Colgate Raiders
23: Montana Grizzlies
24: Stony Brook Seawolves
25: Austin Peay Governors

jmu007

The Most Significant Win: North Dakota State Bison
The Most Significant Loss: James Madison Dukes
Which Conference Does Your Team Play in?: Colonial Athletic Association

Where did you have Delaware in your poll to finish the season??

[BisonTru]

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
4: Kennesaw State Owls
5: Sam Houston State Bearkats
6: Eastern Washington Eagles
7: Northern Iowa Panthers
8: Weber State Wildcats
9: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
10: New Hampshire Wildcats
11: Elon Phoenix
12: Southern Utah Thunderbirds
13: Samford Bulldogs
14: Western Illinois Leathernecks
15: Austin Peay Governors
16: Furman Paladins
17: Illinois State Redbirds
18: Nicholls State Colonels
19: South Dakota Coyotes
20: Villanova Wildcats
21: Monmouth Hawks
22: Charleston Southern Buccaneers
23: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
24: Youngstown State Penguins
25: Colgate Raiders

- - - Updated - - -


I'm in wait and see mode for Idaho. I think they are *probably* one of the 25 best but I have no idea how to try to rank them before they even play a game so I just left them out all together.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

Ditto.

[jmu007]

Where did you have Delaware in your poll to finish the season??

Looked it up. I had them at 22 at the end of last season with missing the playoffs. Hmm... At least I'll know early on if I'm crazy or on the right track.

[ElCid]

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
4: Kennesaw State Owls
5: Sam Houston State Bearkats
6: Eastern Washington Eagles
7: Northern Iowa Panthers
8: Weber State Wildcats
9: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
10: New Hampshire Wildcats
11: Elon Phoenix
12: Southern Utah Thunderbirds
13: Samford Bulldogs
14: Western Illinois Leathernecks
15: Austin Peay Governors
16: Furman Paladins
17: Illinois State Redbirds
18: Nicholls State Colonels
19: South Dakota Coyotes
20: Villanova Wildcats
21: Monmouth Hawks
22: Charleston Southern Buccaneers
23: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
24: Youngstown State Penguins
25: Colgate Raiders

- - - Updated - - -



Ditto.


Chuck South??? I know 20-25 is a crap shoot (or 15-25), but I think they got issues still. They barely beat G-W and Presbyterian last year. Their only impressive game, a loss, was against Elon. And then add in, they lost a lot on defense, and offense still shaky. We'll see.

[cx500d]

Chuck South??? I know 20-25 is a crap shoot (or 15-25), but I think they got issues still. They barely beat G-W and Presbyterian last year. Their only impressive game, a loss, was against Elon. And then add in, they lost a lot on defense, and offense still shaky. We'll see.


Ditto. Their high water mark was a good loss against nest 2 years ago, and it was all downhill from there.

[Schism55]

Hello Schism55,

We have received your AGS Top 25 vote.

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
4: Kennesaw State Owls
5: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
6: New Hampshire Wildcats
7: Sam Houston State Bearkats
8: Weber State Wildcats
9: Eastern Washington Eagles
10: Western Illinois Leathernecks
11: Central Arkansas Bears
12: Wofford Terriers
13: Illinois State Redbirds
14: Idaho Vandals
15: Samford Bulldogs
16: Northern Iowa Panthers
17: Stony Brook Seawolves
18: Elon Phoenix
19: Furman Paladins
20: Nicholls State Colonels
21: Villanova Wildcats
22: San Diego Toreros
23: UC Davis Aggies
24: Youngstown State Penguins
25: North Carolina A&T Aggies

My first poll vote. Be gentle, no going in dry xlolx

[POD Knows]

Hello Schism55,

We have received your AGS Top 25 vote.

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
4: Kennesaw State Owls
5: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
6: New Hampshire Wildcats
7: Sam Houston State Bearkats
8: Weber State Wildcats
9: Eastern Washington Eagles
10: Western Illinois Leathernecks
11: Central Arkansas Bears
12: Wofford Terriers
13: Illinois State Redbirds
14: Idaho Vandals
15: Samford Bulldogs
16: Northern Iowa Panthers
17: Stony Brook Seawolves
18: Elon Phoenix
19: Furman Paladins
20: Nicholls State Colonels
21: Villanova Wildcats
22: San Diego Toreros
23: UC Davis Aggies
24: Youngstown State Penguins
25: North Carolina A&T Aggies

My first poll vote. Be gentle, no going in dry xlolxYou should have have smoked another bowl dude, A Whales Vagina over Youngstown, I dunno, it could happen I suppose

[BisonTru]

Chuck South??? I know 20-25 is a crap shoot (or 15-25), but I think they got issues still. They barely beat G-W and Presbyterian last year. Their only impressive game, a loss, was against Elon. And then add in, they lost a lot on defense, and offense still shaky. We'll see.

What did they lose on defense? According to Keepers list Chucky S lost the 15th fewest starts on defense, and 10th overall.

[ElCid]

What did they lose on defense? According to Keepers list Chucky S lost the 15th fewest starts on defense, and 10th overall.


Actually, I downloaded the spreadsheet and just realized I must have sorted wrong and got them messed up a little. But I just rechecked Keepers and they are at #76 in Defense lost. Sorted by Starters lost (5.0).

No?

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1uVwo5GX1tLe8uuX7IZSdbc75HkA85H4RXWW91PnXIjU/edit#gid=744647258

[BisonTru]

Actually, I downloaded the spreadsheet and just realized I must have sorted wrong and got them messed up a little. But I just rechecked Keepers and they are at #76 in Defense lost. Sorted by Starters lost (5.0).

No?

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1uVwo5GX1tLe8uuX7IZSdbc75HkA85H4RXWW91PnXIjU/edit#gid=744647258

You're right. I don't know what happened on my sheet but I have 2.8 DSL. I checked a few other teams from my sheet to keepers list and the rest of them are still correct. Just not Chuck S. Idk what happened.

[BisonTru]

I found my post from Keepers list. I either had Chuck S wrong or Keeper update his rankings since I took his data.

I see PC already beat me to this kinda but.....


AGS Rank
SCHOOL
CONF
Total Starters Lost
Rank
Off Starters Lost
Rank
Def Starters Lost
Rank













1
North Dakota State
MVFC
7.8
48
4.1
68
3.7
44


2
James Madison
CAA
12.7
121
5.9
109
6.9
117


3
South Dakota State
MVFC
8.6
67
5.2
91
3.4
31


4
Weber State
BIG SKY
8.8
75
4.2
75
4.6
62


5
Sam Houston State
SLC
7.5
40
3.9
64
3.6
36


6
Kennesaw State
BIG SOUTH
6.6
29
1.9
12
4.8
71


7
Wofford
SOUTHERN
11
107
6
113
5
82


8
Jacksonville State
OVC
8.5
65
2.9
36
5.6
97


9
Central Arkansas
SLC
13.8
124
7.6
125
6.3
109


10
Southern Utah
BIG SKY
7.9
53
1
5
6.9
118


11
Stony Brook
CAA
10.5
98
5.4
96
5.1
83


12
Northern Iowa
MVFC
8.8
74
3.4
47
5.4
94


13
New Hampshire
CAA
4.6
7
2.5
23
2.1
6


14
South Dakota
MVFC
7.6
43
3.8
62
3.8
45


15
Western Illinois
MVFC
11.3
111
6.1
115
5.3
89


16
North Carolina A&T
MEAC
8.3
61
5.5
99
2.8
17


17
Furman
SOUTHERN
8.1
55
5.9
111
2.2
8


18
Elon
CAA
4.1
3
1.9
13
2.2
9


19
Samford
SOUTHERN
5.9
15
0.6
2
5.3
90


20
San Diego
PFL
11.7
117
6.8
119
4.8
74


21
Eastern Washington
BIG SKY
4.9
8
1.8
10
3.1
22


22
Nicholls
SLC
6.4
24
3.2
41
3.3
27


23
McNeese State
SLC
10.5
100
3.8
60
6.7
115


24
Delaware
CAA
8.7
71
4.5
82
4.3
54


25
Grambling
SWAC
8.4
64
3
40
5.4
93


26
Northern Arizona
BIG SKY
6.6
27
3.7
56
2.9
21


27
Yale
IVY
14.5
125
7.4
124
7.1
121


28
Monmouth
BIG SOUTH
6.5
25
1.7
8
4.8
73


29
Austin Peay
OVC
4.5
6
2.5
22
2
5


30
Montana
BIG SKY
10.4
96
5.3
93
5.1
86


31
Illinois State
MVFC
9.2
83
2.5
26
6.6
114


32
Central Connecticut
NEC
8.1
56
2.1
15
6
105


33
Sacramento State
BIG SKY
6.9
33
4.5
83
2.4
10


34
Lehigh
PL
9.5
88
5.8
107
3.7
43


35
Richmond
CAA
10.8
102
5.8
106
5
80


36
Western Carolina
SOUTHERN
11.2
108
3.6
53
7.6
122


37
Colgate
PL
3.9
2
2.5
18
1.5
2


38
Youngstown State
MVFC
11.5
115
6.5
117
5.1
88



Delaware State
MEAC
1
1
0.4
1
0.6
81



East Tennessee State
SOUTHERN
4.2
4
2.1
16
2.1
79



Valparaiso
PFL
4.3
5
1.8
9
2.5
68



Mississippi Valley
SWAC
5.3
9
2.8
31
2.5
50



Charleston Southern
BIG SOUTH
5.5
10
2.6
27
2.8
15



Northern Colorado
BIG SKY
5.5
11
3
37
2.5
19



Bryant
NEC
5.6
12
4.1
69
1.5
51



Arkansas-Pine Bluff
SWAC
5.7
13
2.9
34
2.8
119



Wagner
NEC
5.9
14
4.4
78
1.5
3



Texas Southern
SWAC
6
16
2
14
4
85



Campbell
BIG SOUTH
6.3
17
3
38
3.3
123



Villanova
CAA
6.3
18
2.5
19
3.8
120



Davidson
PFL
6.4
19
1
3
5.4
28



Savannah State
MEAC
6.4
20
3.5
48
2.9
18



Norfolk State
MEAC
6.4
21
1.6
7
4.7
55



Rhode Island
CAA
6.4
22
2.7
29
3.6
56



Robert Morris
NEC
6.4
23
1.8
11
4.5
49



Idaho State
BIG SKY
6.5
26
2.9
35
3.6
98



Missouri State
MVFC
6.6
28
4.2
72
2.5
91



Morehead State
PFL
6.7
30
3.5
51
3.2
72



Stetson
PFL
6.7
31
1
4
5.7
1



Mercer
SOUTHERN
6.9
32
3.8
58
3.1
76



Towson
CAA
7.1
34
2.5
20
4.6
52



Montana State
BIG SKY
7.1
35
3.5
49
3.6
7



Princeton
IVY
7.3
36
4
65
3.3
77



Dayton
PFL
7.3
37
2.5
24
4.8
78



Incarnate Word
SLC
7.5
38
3
39
4.5
66



Cornell
IVY
7.5
39
3.5
50
4
59



Tennessee Tech
OVC
7.5
41
3.9
63
3.6
110



Columbia
IVY
7.6
42
3.3
44
4.3
101



Stephen F Austin
SLC
7.6
44
3.4
45
4.3
84



UC-Davis
BIG SKY
7.6
45
4
66
3.6
113



Harvard
IVY
7.7
46
1.2
6
6.5
95



Southern U
SWAC
7.7
47
4.3
76
3.5
116



Lamar
SLC
7.8
49
4.3
77
3.5
69



St Francis-PA
NEC
7.8
50
2.5
21
5.4
63



Alcorn State
SWAC
7.8
51
5.3
92
2.6
38



The Citadel
SOUTHERN
7.9
52
2.3
17
5.6
57



William & Mary
CAA
8
54
4.5
80
3.5
33



Albany
CAA
8.1
57
4.1
70
4
96



Southern Illinois
MVFC
8.1
58
4.5
81
3.6
65



North Dakota
FCS indep
8.2
59
3.3
43
4.9
60



Alabama A&M
SWAC
8.3
60
3.3
42
5
34



Jackson State
SWAC
8.3
62
2.7
30
5.5
16



Jacksonville
PFL
8.4
63
3.7
57
4.6
26



Morgan State
MEAC
8.6
66
5.4
95
3.3
23



North Alabama
FCS indep
8.7
68
4.9
87
3.8
12



Pennsylvania
IVY
8.7
69
5.6
103
3.1
13



South Carolina State
MEAC
8.7
70
2.7
28
6
39



Hampton
FCS indep
8.7
72
3.6
54
5.1
25



Marist
PFL
8.7
73
5.5
100
3.2
29



Duquesne
NEC
8.8
76
4.6
84
4.2
103



North Carolina Central
MEAC
8.9
77
2.5
25
6.4
67



Bucknell
PL
8.9
78
3.8
59
5.1
46



Drake
PFL
9
79
4.1
71
4.9
112



Indiana State
MVFC
9
80
5.5
101
3.5
75



Eastern Illinois
OVC
9.1
81
4.2
73
4.9
14



Fordham
PL
9.2
82
4.6
85
4.5
87



Tennessee State
OVC
9.2
84
2.9
33
6.3
24



Eastern Kentucky
OVC
9.3
85
4.4
79
4.9
61



Murray State
OVC
9.3
86
3.4
46
5.9
108



Chattanooga
SOUTHERN
9.4
87
5.1
88
4.3
70



Lafayette
PL
9.6
89
5.1
89
4.5
30



V M I
SOUTHERN
9.6
90
3.6
55
6
37



Maine
CAA
9.8
91
7.1
120
2.7
58



Gardner-Webb
BIG SOUTH
9.8
92
3.5
52
6.3
124



Florida A&M
MEAC
10.1
93
5.5
97
4.6
20



Alabama State
SWAC
10.2
94
5.5
98
4.7
125



Howard
MEAC
10.4
95
5.6
104
4.7
100



Idaho
BIG SKY
10.4
97
5.8
108
4.6
106



Butler
PFL
10.5
99
2.8
32
7.7
42



Presbyterian
BIG SOUTH
10.6
101
5.9
110
4.7
32



Prairie View
SWAC
10.8
103
4.7
86
6.1
92



SE Missouri
OVC
10.9
104
5.3
94
5.6
53



Cal Poly
BIG SKY
10.9
105
3.8
61
7.1
102



Abilene Christian
SLC
11
106
6
112
5
111



Georgetown
PL
11.2
109
5.5
102
5.6
40



Brown
IVY
11.2
110
4.2
74
7
104



Bethune-Cookman
MEAC
11.5
112
7.4
123
4.1
48



Tennessee-Martin
OVC
11.5
113
5.6
105
5.9
99



Northwestern State
SLC
11.5
114
6.5
116
5.1
64



Dartmouth
IVY
11.6
116
6
114
5.6
41



Portland State
BIG SKY
11.8
118
7.3
121
4.5
107



SE Louisiana
SLC
12.3
119
4
67
8.3
11



Holy Cross
PL
12.7
120
7.3
122
5.5
47



Sacred Heart
NEC
13.2
122
5.2
90
8
4



Houston Baptist
SLC
13.5
123
6.8
118
6.7
35

[Preferred Walk-On]

Let it begin!



Rank
Team
Total Points
First Place Votes


1
North Dakota State Bison
2247
88


2
James Madison Dukes
2150
2


3
South Dakota State Jackrabbits
1893



4
Kennesaw State Owls
1870



5
Sam Houston State Bearkats
1726



6
Eastern Washington Eagles
1570



7
New Hampshire Wildcats
1545



8
Jacksonville State Gamecocks
1539



9
Weber State Wildcats
1492



10
Samford Bulldogs
1234



11
Northern Iowa Panthers
1099



12
Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
989



13
Wofford Terriers
964



14
Elon Phoenix
859



15
Illinois State Redbirds
717



16
Central Arkansas Bears
701



17
Nicholls State Colonels
679



18
Furman Paladins
658



19
North Carolina A&T Aggies
656



20
Stony Brook Seawolves
624



21
Western Illinois Leathernecks
540



22
Villanova Wildcats
529



23
Southern Utah Thunderbirds
442



24
Youngstown State Penguins
420



25
McNeese State Cowboys
327










ORV:




26
Austin Peay Governors
251



27
Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
230



28
Montana Grizzlies
215



29
South Dakota Coyotes
212



30
Idaho Vandals
207



31
San Diego Toreros
136



32T
Richmond Spiders
84



32T
Yale Bulldogs
84



32T
Sac State Hornets
84



35
Grambling State Tigers
43



36
Colgate Raiders
27



37
Monmouth Hawks
26



38
Maine Black Bears
22



39
Montana State Bobcats
19



40
UC Davis Aggies
14





-----
Hello Preferred Walk-On,

We have received your AGS Top 25 vote on 7/27/2018 9:33:25


Your vote is listed below.


1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: Eastern Washington Eagles
4: Sam Houston State Bearkats
5: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
6: Kennesaw State Owls
7: Samford Bulldogs
8: Weber State Wildcats
9: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
10: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
11: New Hampshire Wildcats
12: Nicholls State Colonels
13: Elon Phoenix
14: Wofford Terriers
15: Furman Paladins
16: Northern Iowa Panthers
17: North Carolina A&T Aggies
18: Youngstown State Penguins
19: Idaho Vandals
20: Austin Peay Governors
21: Villanova Wildcats
22: Illinois State Redbirds
23: Central Arkansas Bears
24: Yale Bulldogs
25: South Dakota Coyotes


Preferred Walk-On


The Most Significant Win: -----------------------------
The Most Significant Loss: -----------------------------
Which Conference Does Your Team Play in?: Missouri Valley Football Conference
-----

Also an AGS Poll Virgin. Have followed this poll for years, but thought I might like to take a crack at participating, since I do pay a lot of attention to other FCS games after coming home from Bison games (love WatchESPN for this). Appears I missed out on Stony Brook, Western Illinois, Southern Utah, and McNeese State, and in their places (or nearby) I have Idaho, Austin Peay, Yale, and South Dakota. Was happy to see that these teams fell in the 26-32 range (just outside the top 25), so at least I don't appear to be bats*** crazy...yet.

[cx500d]

-----
Hello Preferred Walk-On,

We have received your AGS Top 25 vote on 7/27/2018 9:33:25


Your vote is listed below.


1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: Eastern Washington Eagles
4: Sam Houston State Bearkats
5: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
6: Kennesaw State Owls
7: Samford Bulldogs
8: Weber State Wildcats
9: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
10: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
11: New Hampshire Wildcats
12: Nicholls State Colonels
13: Elon Phoenix
14: Wofford Terriers
15: Furman Paladins
16: Northern Iowa Panthers
17: North Carolina A&T Aggies
18: Youngstown State Penguins
19: Idaho Vandals
20: Austin Peay Governors
21: Villanova Wildcats
22: Illinois State Redbirds
23: Central Arkansas Bears
24: Yale Bulldogs
25: South Dakota Coyotes


Preferred Walk-On


The Most Significant Win: -----------------------------
The Most Significant Loss: -----------------------------
Which Conference Does Your Team Play in?: Missouri Valley Football Conference
-----

Also an AGS Poll Virgin. Have followed this poll for years, but thought I might like to take a crack at participating, since I do pay a lot of attention to other FCS games after coming home from Bison games (love WatchESPN for this). Appears I missed out on Stony Brook, Western Illinois, Southern Utah, and McNeese State, and in their places (or nearby) I have Idaho, Austin Peay, Yale, and South Dakota. Was happy to see that these teams fell in the 26-32 range (just outside the top 25), so at least I don't appear to be bats*** crazy...yet.
Why so much Yale love? I think they had one of the highest losses of starters of any fcs team. Also, they play in the Ivy League, so aren’t really an fcs team.

[Daytripper]

-----
Hello Preferred Walk-On,

We have received your AGS Top 25 vote on 7/27/2018 9:33:25


Your vote is listed below.


1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: Eastern Washington Eagles
4: Sam Houston State Bearkats
5: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
6: Kennesaw State Owls
7: Samford Bulldogs
8: Weber State Wildcats
9: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
10: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
11: New Hampshire Wildcats
12: Nicholls State Colonels
13: Elon Phoenix
14: Wofford Terriers
15: Furman Paladins
16: Northern Iowa Panthers
17: North Carolina A&T Aggies
18: Youngstown State Penguins
19: Idaho Vandals
20: Austin Peay Governors
21: Villanova Wildcats
22: Illinois State Redbirds
23: Central Arkansas Bears
24: Yale Bulldogs
25: South Dakota Coyotes


Preferred Walk-On


The Most Significant Win: -----------------------------
The Most Significant Loss: -----------------------------
Which Conference Does Your Team Play in?: Missouri Valley Football Conference
-----

Also an AGS Poll Virgin. Have followed this poll for years, but thought I might like to take a crack at participating, since I do pay a lot of attention to other FCS games after coming home from Bison games (love WatchESPN for this). Appears I missed out on Stony Brook, Western Illinois, Southern Utah, and McNeese State, and in their places (or nearby) I have Idaho, Austin Peay, Yale, and South Dakota. Was happy to see that these teams fell in the 26-32 range (just outside the top 25), so at least I don't appear to be bats*** crazy...yet.

Good poll...

[Prime Power]

Hello Prime Power,

We have received your AGS Top 25 vote on 7/28/2018 23:25:17

Your vote is listed below.


1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: Kennesaw State Owls
4: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
5: Wofford Terriers
6: Eastern Washington Eagles
7: Nicholls State Colonels
8: Samford Bulldogs
9: Sam Houston State Bearkats
10: Northern Iowa Panthers
11: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
12: New Hampshire Wildcats
13: Illinois State Redbirds
14: Elon Phoenix
15: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
16: Idaho Vandals
17: Montana Grizzlies
18: Youngstown State Penguins
19: Furman Paladins
20: Weber State Wildcats
21: Villanova Wildcats
22: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
23: Yale Bulldogs
24: San Diego Toreros
25: North Carolina A&T Aggies

Prime Power

The Most Significant Win: -----------------------------
The Most Significant Loss:
Which Conference Does Your Team Play in?: Missouri Valley Football Conference

This is my first time doing the poll. Looks like there are quite a few first timers this year.

[RootinFerDukes]

A lot of people outside of the caa are sleeping on Delaware and Richmond. I also don’t understand the overrating of Villanova. UR is more likely to come back than VU IMO.

[ElCid]

You're right. I don't know what happened on my sheet but I have 2.8 DSL. I checked a few other teams from my sheet to keepers list and the rest of them are still correct. Just not Chuck S. Idk what happened.

Yeah, I somehow screwed up my sorting and few teams were out of place. Luckily nobody too important. But Chuck South stayed in games last year with their D so I am not too high on them. Unless of course if they beat us.

[TheKingpin28]

A lot of people outside of the caa are sleeping on Delaware and Richmond. I also don’t understand the overrating of Villanova. UR is more likely to come back than VU IMO.Yeah I'm not getting the Nova love either, but there is no way Delaware is in T10. I can see T15 though as we have all said anywhere outside of 15 is a crapshoot.

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[ElCid]

Hello Prime Power,

We have received your AGS Top 25 vote on 7/28/2018 23:25:17

Your vote is listed below.


1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: Kennesaw State Owls
4: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
5: Wofford Terriers
6: Eastern Washington Eagles
7: Nicholls State Colonels
8: Samford Bulldogs
9: Sam Houston State Bearkats
10: Northern Iowa Panthers
11: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
12: New Hampshire Wildcats
13: Illinois State Redbirds
14: Elon Phoenix
15: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
16: Idaho Vandals
17: Montana Grizzlies
18: Youngstown State Penguins
19: Furman Paladins
20: Weber State Wildcats
21: Villanova Wildcats
22: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
23: Yale Bulldogs
24: San Diego Toreros
25: North Carolina A&T Aggies

Prime Power

The Most Significant Win: -----------------------------
The Most Significant Loss:
Which Conference Does Your Team Play in?: Missouri Valley Football Conference

This is my first time doing the poll. Looks like there are quite a few first timers this year.


Why so much love for Wofford? You do realize they lost half their starters and retired their legendary coach right? Not to mention a bunch of new assistant coaches. They will tough for sure and still top 25 worthy, until proven otherwise, but top 5? You weren't the only one. That's ok, we got them out of the gate and I will enjoy beating a ranked team. Yale is a interesting. But the last five are usually for fun this early. Otherwise not bad.

[OhioHen]

Northern Illinois (NIU) is a FBS program. They are in the MAC.

Which means they probably belong right about #20 where SU DOG placed them.

[JSUSoutherner]

I'm curious to know why whoever put the Bison in third place on their poll did so.

[OhioHen]

Probably ranked them a little low...

"A little low" as in the number next to their name should have been larger?

[ElCid]

A lot of people outside of the caa are sleeping on Delaware and Richmond. I also don’t understand the overrating of Villanova. UR is more likely to come back than VU IMO.

Delaware I can see, but Richmond? I thought they lost quite a bit including their QB and most of the Oline. Might still be good, but they didn't really impress me last year at all with what they had. Villanova just seemed a bit inconsistent last year. They got a lot of experience coming back and might just pull it together.

I got Delaware in the middle, Nova in on the fringe, and Richmond in the waiting room waiting to prove themselves.

[OhioHen]

For NAU it is really simple - we open @UTEP, EWU, @Missouri State, SUU. By then, we will have a very good idea where to rank NAU.

1-3 will be sufficient to leave NAU out of the rankings for a large number of weeks. :D

[ElCid]

1-3 will be sufficient to leave NAU out of the rankings for a large number of weeks. :D

Unfortunately for NAU, they are still suffering from San Diego Syndrome. Takes a while to get over that malady.

[BisonTru]

Delaware I can see, but Richmond? I thought they lost quite a bit including their QB and most of the Oline. Might still be good, but they didn't really impress me last year at all with what they had. Villanova just seemed a bit inconsistent last year. They got a lot of experience coming back and might just pull it together.

I got Delaware in the middle, Nova in on the fringe, and Richmond in the waiting room waiting to prove themselves.

Yep. The Spiders failed to make the playoffs with imo the best qb in the country. And now he’s in the big apple...

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180731/9f8106cea2209531df6df36c27dff2b1.gif


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[RootinFerDukes]

UR’s new starting QB went 2-1 in the 2016 playoffs, coming in as a back up. As long as they get their defense together in top games, they’ll be in it like always.

[FUBeAR]

Unfortunately for NAU, they are still suffering from San Diego Syndrome. Takes a while to get over that malady.

San Diego Syndrome is a condition that causes an entire FCS Football Conference to develop a psychological alliance with their Playoff vanquishers as a survival strategy after repeated a$$-whippings in those Playoffs. These feelings, resulting from a bond formed between a$$-whipper and a$$-whipped during ‘intimate’ time spent together on the field, are generally considered irrational in light of the danger or risk endured by the victims. Generally speaking, San Diego Syndrome consists of strong emotional ties that develop between a non-conference, non-scholarship Team & an entire FCS Conference where the non-conference, non-scholarship Team intermittently harasses, beats, threatens, abuses, or intimidates the, purported FCS ‘power’ conference.

[ElCid]

San Diego Syndrome is a condition that causes an entire FCS Football Conference to develop a psychological alliance with their Playoff vanquishers as a survival strategy after repeated a$$-whippings in those Playoffs. These feelings, resulting from a bond formed between a$$-whipper and a$$-whipped during ‘intimate’ time spent together on the field, are generally considered irrational in light of the danger or risk endured by the victims. Generally speaking, San Diego Syndrome consists of strong emotional ties that develop between a non-conference, non-scholarship Team & an entire FCS Conference where the non-conference, non-scholarship Team intermittently harasses, beats, threatens, abuses, or intimidates the, purported FCS ‘power’ conference.

I wondered if it is covered by health insurance.

[dewey]

Here is my pollxdrunkyx

Hello dewey,

We have received your AGS Top 25 vote on 7/29/2018 22:21:58

Your vote is listed below.


1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: Kennesaw State Owls
4: Eastern Washington Eagles
5: Weber State Wildcats
6: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
7: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
8: New Hampshire Wildcats
9: Elon Phoenix
10: Nicholls State Colonels
11: Northern Iowa Panthers
12: Samford Bulldogs
13: Sam Houston State Bearkats
14: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
15: Villanova Wildcats
16: Southern Utah Thunderbirds
17: Furman Paladins
18: Wofford Terriers
19: North Carolina A&T Aggies
20: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
21: Illinois State Redbirds
22: Stony Brook Seawolves
23: Western Illinois Leathernecks
24: Youngstown State Penguins
25: Idaho Vandals

dewey

The Most Significant Win:
The Most Significant Loss:
Which Conference Does Your Team Play in?: Missouri Valley Football Conference

Dewey

[Professor Chaos]

I'm curious to know why whoever put the Bison in third place on their poll did so.
I would guess voter fatigue (in others words "****! I'm ****ing sick of voting those ****ers so high!"). I won't deny I'm a homer but I even notice it in the national polls when the Bison take their token loss on the year that voters tend to be pretty liberal with moving teams in front of them. It could also just be someone that really wants to be the "I told you so!" guy in the case that NDSU does falter but who will conveniently forget about it if he's wrong.

[SCPALADIN]

Your vote is listed below.


1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
4: Kennesaw State Owls
5: New Hampshire Wildcats
6: Weber State Wildcats
7: Eastern Washington Eagles
8: Northern Iowa Panthers
9: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
10: Sam Houston State Bearkats
11: Samford Bulldogs
12: Western Illinois Leathernecks
13: Stony Brook Seawolves
14: Furman Paladins
15: Central Arkansas Bears
16: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
17: Illinois State Redbirds
18: Idaho Vandals
19: San Diego Toreros
20: Elon Phoenix
21: North Carolina A&T Aggies
22: Richmond Spiders
23: Nicholls State Colonels
24: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
25: Sac State Hornets

cx500d

The Most Significant Win: UC Davis Aggies
The Most Significant Loss: North Carolina A&T Aggies
Which Conference Does Your Team Play in?: Missouri Valley Football Conference

So you're anticipating a big drop off from Wofford this season?

[katss07]

So you're anticipating a big drop off from Wofford this season?
Not the mention he has UCA at 15 somehow.

[ElCid]

Not the mention he has UCA at 15 somehow.


Ummmm. UCA did end up at 16 in our poll...so...while the consensus might be bad, most didn't think so. I have them a bit further back, but as with all things, time will tell.

[BEAR]

Ummmm. UCA did end up at 16 in our poll...so...while the consensus might be bad, most didn't think so. I have them a bit further back, but as with all things, time will tell.

That's true. UCA appears to be an annual about top 10 team so no biggie putting them in the who-knows-what 15-25 range. While SHSU has talent coming back, they lost a key cog at QB, which shown last year, was the difference in the games they lost. What do they have coming in at QB is the big question. I've seen UCA's QB Breylin Smith play for years in high school and last year as backup. His field awareness is a huge positive. He's a dual threat pass and run QB too. I'm also excited about this kid. Check out his pocket passing ability and calm. Also his ability to run over defenders (1:30 mark or so)


http://www.hudl.com/video/3/1483919/5721cb8164e96b6380156858

[dbackjon]

1-3 will be sufficient to leave NAU out of the rankings for a large number of weeks. :D

I wouldn't rank them at 1-3.

[FUBeAR]

I wouldn't rank them at 1-3.Hmmm...they ARE 1-3 in their most recent 4 games with their only win over a Team with a losing record & losses in their 2 most recent games by an average of almost 30 points, with 1 of those at home to a non-scholarship Team and the 3rd loss in that string was to a non-Playoff Team.

Definitely the resume of a Top 10 pre-season Team...IF they traded their entire roster for that of the Arizona Cardinals in the off-season...maybe.

[ursus arctos horribilis]

Of course I meant Northern Iowa, and I have seen the initials used for them many times. I see, however, that there is a value in being specific here as ursus has pointed out, and I will always use the full name for school and mascot from now on.

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
4: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
5: Kennesaw State Owls
6: Eastern Washington Eagles
7: Sam Houston State Bearkats
8: Samford Bulldogs
9: Weber State Wildcats
10: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
11: North Carolina A&T Aggies
12: New Hampshire Wildcats
13: Nicholls State Colonels
14: McNeese State Cowboys
15: Furman Paladins
16: Elon Phoenix
17: Wofford Terriers
18: Idaho Vandals
19: Villanova Wildcats
20: Northern Iowa Panthers
21: Youngstown State Penguins
22: Illinois State Redbirds
23: Stony Brook Seawolves
24: Montana Grizzlies
25: Central Arkansas Bears

SUDOG

There ya go. Went and grabbed it off my copy of your ballot for you.xthumbsupx

[ursus arctos horribilis]

When I submitted my poll on the Google doc I got a success notification, but I never received the confirmation email. Just wondering if it went through on your end.


Ursus your mailbox is full. ;)

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We ran out of quota by the time the last 5 or 6 ballots came in so couldn't send them out until today. I went and cleaned it all up today and also tried to clear out the inbox a bit.

[JMUNJ08]

I wondered if it is covered by health insurance.

For some its a pre-existing condition so not likely...

[ursus arctos horribilis]

FWIW, I think you newbs did a pretty damn good job. I assume a lot of you have learned from reading around here how to construct a ballot that takes into account some good logic and so forth along with several data points using some stats, conversations, and quarter flipping.

Great turnout and a good starting point for all of us for the season. Also seeing some impressive discussion on the thread as opposed to the mud slinging so that a good foot forward as well.

Over the next few weeks I will updating all your books and getting your 2018 ballots in it as well as starting new sheets for the new guys and sending you links for you historical votes.

Great job all around peops.

[KPSUL]

A lot of people outside of the caa are sleeping on Delaware and Richmond. I also don’t understand the overrating of Villanova. UR is more likely to come back than VU IMO.

I'll take Villanova over Richmond this year. Losing a dominant QB can be hard to overcome and even with Lauletta, Richmond finished barely above .500 last season. On the other Villanova is getting some key players from their 2016 team back.

[McCowboys]

FWIW, I think you newbs did a pretty damn good job. I assume a lot of you have learned from reading around here how to construct a ballot that takes into account some good logic and so forth along with several data points using some stats, conversations, and quarter flipping.

Great turnout and a good starting point for all of us for the season. Also seeing some impressive discussion on the thread as opposed to the mud slinging so that a good foot forward as well.

Over the next few weeks I will updating all your books and getting your 2018 ballots in it as well as starting new sheets for the new guys and sending you links for you historical votes.

Great job all around peops.

Thank you! I don't know what all that means that you will be doing the next few weeks, but I guess I will find out.

I took this task seriously and did the best I could. I was ready for the slings and arrows after I posted my poll, but none came.
For future ballots, as we move forward, I just want to let everyone know that I am from Louisiana originally and have my voodoo doll ready should anyone decide to give me grief. xnodx Geaux Pokes! Geaux SLC!

[TheKingpin28]

Thank you! I don't know what all that means that you will be doing the next few weeks, but I guess I will find out.

I took this task seriously and did the best I could. I was ready for the slings and arrows after I posted my poll, but none came.
For future ballots, as we move forward, I just want to let everyone know that I am from Louisiana originally and have my voodoo doll ready should anyone decide to give me grief. xnodx Geaux Pokes! Geaux SLC!

Most people can give slack to first time voters with the understanding that each poll will get significantly better as the season goes on as it is a learning process. As long as you genuinely put together a solid effort, the most you'd probably get is, "explain why your poll is the way it is and why you are so high on X, why are you so low on Y, and why did you not consider Z." That said, we show no mercy to those who know better and slot vote their way through the season or just mail it in.

[Thumper 76]

Thank you! I don't know what all that means that you will be doing the next few weeks, but I guess I will find out.

I took this task seriously and did the best I could. I was ready for the slings and arrows after I posted my poll, but none came.
For future ballots, as we move forward, I just want to let everyone know that I am from Louisiana originally and have my voodoo doll ready should anyone decide to give me grief. xnodx Geaux Pokes! Geaux SLC!

Eh, it’s the preseason poll. No one really knows what’s going to happen so nobody gets too riled up.


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[clenz]

Hmmm...they ARE 1-3 in their most recent 4 games with their only win over a Team with a losing record & losses in their 2 most recent games by an average of almost 30 points, with 1 of those at home to a non-scholarship Team and the 3rd loss in that string was to a non-Playoff Team.

Definitely the resume of a Top 10 pre-season Team...IF they traded their entire roster for that of the Arizona Cardinals in the off-season...maybe.

I mean....


Not wrong.


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[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

I'll take Villanova over Richmond this year. Losing a dominant QB can be hard to overcome and even with Lauletta, Richmond finished barely above .500 last season. On the other Villanova is getting some key players from their 2016 team back.

Villanova has to show they can win without Talley. He was such a huge influence on that program. I feel the same way about Wofford without Ayers.

[McCowboys]

Eh, it’s the preseason poll. No one really knows what’s going to happen so nobody gets too riled up.


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Except maybe some Bison fans if someone doesn't vote them #1, right?

[Thumper 76]

Except maybe some Bison fans if someone doesn't vote them #1, right?

This is true, you’re a quick learner xlolx


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[caribbeanhen]

FWIW, I think you newbs did a pretty damn good job. I assume a lot of you have learned from reading around here how to construct a ballot that takes into account some good logic and so forth along with several data points using some stats, conversations, and quarter flipping.

Great turnout and a good starting point for all of us for the season. Also seeing some impressive discussion on the thread as opposed to the mud slinging so that a good foot forward as well.

Over the next few weeks I will updating all your books and getting your 2018 ballots in it as well as starting new sheets for the new guys and sending you links for you historical votes.

Great job all around peops.

Yes .... Now that the results are in, I think I might of been giving some of last years impressive teams some tailwinds coming into this season, I had Weber State and Western Illinois up there pretty high compared to the poll... but what seems like a mistake today could actually turn out right, who knows at this point

[VandalBasher]

http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa-18/2018-idaho-vandals-football-schedule.php

To the benefit of Idaho, we don't play:
NAU
Weber St.
Sac. St.

We have at home:
Montana
SUU

Away:
MSU
EWU

Based upon my assessment, Idaho has the weakest BSC schedule with MSU and NAU.

[andthehomeofthe-BIZON-]

I'm curious to know why whoever put the Bison in third place on their poll did so.

Penis Envy

[katss07]

http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa-18/2018-idaho-vandals-football-schedule.php

To the benefit of Idaho, we don't play:
NAU
Weber St.
Sac. St.

We have at home:
Montana
SUU

Away:
MSU
EWU

Based upon my assessment, Idaho has the weakest BSC schedule with MSU and NAU.
Trust me, you should want to play NAU, especially at the end of the year. Preferably if they are in playoff contention.

[VandalBasher]

Trust me, you should want to play NAU, especially at the end of the year. Preferably if they are in playoff contention.

Even though NAU used to be in the same conference as the Vandals for many years, I don't have the same venom for them as the rest of you. Damn funny, nonetheless.

[cx500d]

So you're anticipating a big drop off from Wofford this season?
See el cids post... lost half their starters, new coach.

[cx500d]

Trust me, you should want to play NAU, especially at the end of the year. Preferably if they are in playoff contention.

NAU is the west coast equivalent of shsu

[Derby City Duke]

NAU is the west coast equivalent of shsu

Ouch...xasswhipx

[Catbooster]

http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa-18/2018-idaho-vandals-football-schedule.php

To the benefit of Idaho, we don't play:
NAU
Weber St.
Sac. St.

We have at home:
Montana
SUU

Away:
MSU
EWU

Based upon my assessment, Idaho has the weakest BSC schedule with MSU and NAU.
Don't be so hard on your team ;)

Looking at preseason polls:
Big Sky (coaches) (http://goviks.com/news/2018/7/13/football-big-sky-releases-polls-preseason-all-conference-taumoepeau-selected.aspx)
1. Eastern Washington 134 (6)
2. Weber State 124 (3)
3. Northern Arizona 121 (3)
4. Idaho 101 (1)
5. Sacramento State 94
6. Southern Utah 91
7. Montana 82
8. Montana State 76
9. UC Davis 64
10. Cal Poly 40
11. Northern Colorado 30
12. Idaho State 29
13. Portland State 21

Big Sky (media) (http://goviks.com/news/2018/7/13/football-big-sky-releases-polls-preseason-all-conference-taumoepeau-selected.aspx)
1. Eastern Washington 651 (27)
2. Weber State 636 (19)
3. Northern Arizona 535 (1)
4. Montana 496 (2)
5. Idaho 483 (3)
6. Southern Utah 449 (1)
7. Sacramento State 415
8. Montana State 391 (1)
9. UC Davis 331 (1)
10. Idaho State 170
11. Cal Poly 169
12. Northern Colorado 166
13. Portland State 103

Same top 9 teams but in different order, media poll has 8 teams with first place votes, sizeable drop in points from position 9 to 10 in both polls. I think there's a lot of uncertainty in the Big Sky rankings right now but all of the top 9 have been mentioned as potential playoff/top 25 teams depending on how well they end up answering a few questions. So if we count how many games each of them has against the others in the top 9:

EWU, Southern Utah play 6 of the top nine (EWU includes NAU non-conf game)
Weber, NAU (inc. non-conf EWU), Idaho, Sac State, UM, UC Davis play 5
MSU plays 4

Additionally, I think most people would agree that Eastern Washington and Weber are expected to be the best teams at this point.

UM avoids playing both EWU and Weber
Idaho, UC Davis avoid Weber
Sac State avoid EWU
NAU (inc. non-conf EWU), SUU, MSU play both

Obviously, a lot of uncertainty before any games have been played, but IMO UM has the easiest conference schedule among the likely contenders and SUU the hardest.

[Catbooster]

NAU is the west coast equivalent of shsu
Yeah, those 7,000 ft elevation coastal towns in AZ...xsmiley_wix

[ursus arctos horribilis]

Yes .... Now that the results are in, I think I might of been giving some of last years impressive teams some tailwinds coming into this season, I had Weber State and Western Illinois up there pretty high compared to the poll... but what seems like a mistake today could actually turn out right, who knows at this point

Damn straight brother. You see this is the rub. Things that seem easy when you don't really do anything suddenly become weighty decisions (not saying life & death) when you sit back and put some thought, real thought into why this or that team should be here or there.

When you actually have some sking in the game as far as trying to do a really good job of representing what teams have done on the field (not yet, later) then you see others just flinging aspersions you start to think "STFU, I actually put some time and effort in here".

When it gets down to the bottom 10 and you've given an effort to sort with integrity and THEN have to pull out a quarter...wtf else yo gonna do? xlolx

[ursus arctos horribilis]

BTW, I think Idaho makes the playoffs in their first season back here. I think they pull off an upset on the road in the playoffs.

I've been drinking but I would have said that sober for all you know.

[mvemjsunpx]

BTW, I think Idaho makes the playoffs in their first season back here. I think they pull off an upset on the road in the playoffs.

I've been drinking but I would have said that sober for all you know.

I think people are overrating Idaho just because they were FBS. They were in the Sun Belt, not the Pac-12; the Sun Belt ranked well below the MVFC in the Sagarins and only a little above the CAA & Big Sky. Their O-Line was terrible last year (50 sacks!), and they lost most all of their key "skill" position players. I'm also skeptical on their morale because it seems as if Paul Petrino wants nothing to do with FCS, not to mention the whole sexual-assault overlooking/cover-up scandal that he & especially AD Rob Spear were implicated in.

Now, of course, I could be underrating them because I've thoroughly enjoyed watching them fail over the last 22 years, but still… :D

[ElCid]

I think people are overrating Idaho just because they were FBS. They were in the Sun Belt, not the Pac-12; the Sun Belt ranked well below the MVFC in the Sagarins and only a little above the CAA & Big Sky. Their O-Line was terrible last year (50 sacks!), and they lost most all of their key "skill" position players. I'm also skeptical on their morale because it seems as if Paul Petrino wants nothing to do with FCS, not to mention the whole sexual-assault overlooking/cover-up scandal that he & especially AD Rob Spear were implicated in.

Now, of course, I could be underrating them because I've thoroughly enjoyed watching them fail over the last 22 years, but still… :D

Yeah, they did not make my cut either. I think they will be okay, but the emotional let down of the move my affect their performance for a year or two. Maybe not. We will see.

[cx500d]

Yeah, those 7,000 ft elevation coastal towns in AZ...xsmiley_wix

I was referring to the exit of the playoffs with an ass whupping


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[Daytripper]

NAU is the west coast equivalent of shsu

Nope. SHSU wins playoff games. Every year. Just not the last one. Only NDSU has won more playoff games the last 7 years. Your trolling is becoming sad.

[ElCid]

Nope. SHSU wins playoff games. Every year. Just not the last one. Only NDSU has won more playoff games the last 7 years. Your trolling is becoming sad.

They have won quite a lot the last seven years. No doubt about it. But, at least the last few years, when they lose, they go big.:D

[Daytripper]

They have won quite a lot the last seven years. No doubt about it. But, at least the last few years, when they lose, they go big.:D

Multiple teams, every year, are ousted from the playoffs in a blowout.

[ElCid]

Multiple teams, every year, are ousted from the playoffs in a blowout.

Dude I know. Just giving you grief. It happens to most teams at some point. Long seasons, long road games, etc., sometimes it just gets away from teams. I am actually surprised how many playoff blowouts there are though over the years.

[ursus arctos horribilis]

I think people are overrating Idaho just because they were FBS. They were in the Sun Belt, not the Pac-12; the Sun Belt ranked well below the MVFC in the Sagarins and only a little above the CAA & Big Sky. Their O-Line was terrible last year (50 sacks!), and they lost most all of their key "skill" position players. I'm also skeptical on their morale because it seems as if Paul Petrino wants nothing to do with FCS, not to mention the whole sexual-assault overlooking/cover-up scandal that he & especially AD Rob Spear were implicated in.

Now, of course, I could be underrating them because I've thoroughly enjoyed watching them fail over the last 22 years, but still… :D

That all might make sense if you were talking to somebody else but have you ever, even once seen me suggest for an instance that I believed the Sun Belt to FBS?

[Reign of Terrier]

Multiple teams, every year, are ousted from the playoffs in a blowout.

I think we shouldn't be giving teams grief for getting blown out by NDSU in the playoffs because it's so common. It even happens to MVFC teams who played more competitively against them during the regular season.

Kind of affirms my hypothesis that NDSU is just some weird monster in the playoffs

[andthehomeofthe-BIZON-]

I think we shouldn't be giving teams grief for getting blown out by NDSU in the playoffs because it's so common. It even happens to MVFC teams who played more competitively against them during the regular season.

Kind of affirms my hypothesis that NDSU is just some weird monster in the playoffs

I really think it has a lot to do with Klieman and the extra attention he personally puts into the defensive game plans in the playoffs. It is not an aberration that NDSU defense really became dominant after he got here. I think he is one of the best D coaches in the FCS and when we lose him I expect he leaves for a P5 D coordinator position. Especially with all the connections he's made the last several years with Dabo sweeny and Speaking at Notre Dame. Honestly that's the way I hope it goes down as then we can retain more staff.

[Winterborn]

I think we shouldn't be giving teams grief for getting blown out by NDSU in the playoffs because it's so common. It even happens to MVFC teams who played more competitively against them during the regular season.

Kind of affirms my hypothesis that NDSU is just some weird monster in the playoffs

We just don't like to loose. xcoffeex :D

[Southern Bison]

We just don't like to loose. xcoffeex :DWe don't like to lose either... :D

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[FUBeAR]

We don't like to lose either... :D

Sent from my SM-G930V using TapatalkThat’s too bad. I am a fan of his work.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Photolautrec.jpg/220px-Photolautrec.jpg

[BisonTru]

I think we shouldn't be giving teams grief for getting blown out by NDSU in the playoffs because it's so common. It even happens to MVFC teams who played more competitively against them during the regular season.

Kind of affirms my hypothesis that NDSU is just some weird monster in the playoffs

A couple points, first, I think most if not all programs in the FCS not named NDSU are just fighting to get into the playoffs. Whereas the Bison are fairly comfortably certain they'll be there, and a lot of the management of the team from injuries, practice, and even emotion is managed with the thought of a long playoff run at the end of the season. It helps to have been there and NDSU is on 7 consecutive years of long playoff runs (6 championships).

Second, the Fargodome atmosphere is kicked up significantly during the playoffs. The fans know a loss and it's over. I've been to some regular season games pretty disgusted with the lack of atmosphere and fear our fans have gone complacent. Only to be pleasantly impressed a month later in the playoffs.

[Winterborn]

We don't like to lose either... :D

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


Ah fiddlesticks. xbangx That is what I get for multitasking.

[andthehomeofthe-BIZON-]

[/B]

A couple points, first, I think most if not all programs in the FCS not named NDSU are just fighting to get into the playoffs. Whereas the Bison are fairly comfortably certain they'll be there, and a lot of the management of the team from injuries, practice, and even emotion is managed with the thought of a long playoff run at the end of the season. It helps to have been there and NDSU is on 7 consecutive years of long playoff runs (6 championships).

Second, the Fargodome atmosphere is kicked up significantly during the playoffs. The fans know a loss and it's over. I've been to some regular season games pretty disgusted with the lack of atmosphere and fear our fans have gone complacent. Only to be pleasantly impressed a month later in the playoffs.

Here's a crazy thought. Lets say we roll on autopilot to a championship this year. How much would Bison fans lose our minds if we miss out on the playoff next year. 2019 season. Klieman will have won 4 national championships and we'd be looking to fire his ass. lol #standards

[JacksFan40]

We just don't like to loose. xcoffeex :D
Loose or Joose?
We like one of those choices in Brookings.xdrunkyx

[Reign of Terrier]

[/B]

A couple points, first, I think most if not all programs in the FCS not named NDSU are just fighting to get into the playoffs. Whereas the Bison are fairly comfortably certain they'll be there, and a lot of the management of the team from injuries, practice, and even emotion is managed with the thought of a long playoff run at the end of the season. It helps to have been there and NDSU is on 7 consecutive years of long playoff runs (6 championships).

Second, the Fargodome atmosphere is kicked up significantly during the playoffs. The fans know a loss and it's over. I've been to some regular season games pretty disgusted with the lack of atmosphere and fear our fans have gone complacent. Only to be pleasantly impressed a month later in the playoffs.

No objections here, y'all are the opposite of novelty

[JacksFan40]

[/B]

A couple points, first, I think most if not all programs in the FCS not named NDSU are just fighting to get into the playoffs. Whereas the Bison are fairly comfortably certain they'll be there, and a lot of the management of the team from injuries, practice, and even emotion is managed with the thought of a long playoff run at the end of the season. It helps to have been there and NDSU is on 7 consecutive years of long playoff runs (6 championships).

Second, the Fargodome atmosphere is kicked up significantly during the playoffs. The fans know a loss and it's over. I've been to some regular season games pretty disgusted with the lack of atmosphere and fear our fans have gone complacent. Only to be pleasantly impressed a month later in the playoffs.
NDSU’s worst atmosphere is still better than SDSU. That UNH game was a joke, still had fun at least.

[BisonTru]

Here's a crazy thought. Lets say we roll on autopilot to a championship this year. How much would Bison fans lose our minds if we miss out on the playoff next year. 2019 season. Klieman will have won 4 national championships and we'd be looking to fire his ass. lol #standards

Tbh, us not making the playoffs is like Alabama falling out of the top 25. That's quite the fall.


DAY
DATE
RANK
CONFERENCE
OPPONENT
LOCATION
TIME/RESULT
DETAILS


Sat.
8/31/2019


Butler
Minneapolis, Minn. (Target Field)
TBA
Details


Sat.
9/7/2019


North Dakota
Fargo, N.D.
TBA
Details


Sat.
9/14/2019


Delaware
Newark, Del.
TBA
Details


Sat.
9/21/2019


UC Davis
Fargo, N.D.
TBA
Details


Sat.
10/5/2019

*
Illinois State
Normal, Ill.
TBA
Details


Sat.
10/12/2019

*
Northern Iowa (Homecoming)
Fargo, N.D.
TBA
Details


Sat.
10/19/2019

*
Missouri State
Fargo, N.D.
TBA
Details


Sat.
10/26/2019

*
South Dakota State (Dakota Marker)
Brookings, S.D.
TBA
Details


Sat.
11/2/2019

*
Youngstown State
Youngstown, Ohio
TBA
Details


Sat.
11/9/2019

*
Western Illinois (Harvest Bowl)
Fargo, N.D.
TBA
Details


Sat.
11/16/2019

*
South Dakota
Fargo, N.D.
TBA
Details


Sat.
11/23/2019

*
Southern Illinois
Carbondale, Ill.
TBA
Details




We'd need to lose 5 maybe even 6 of these to miss the playoffs. I don't see that happening.

[VandalBasher]

Tbh, us not making the playoffs is like Alabama falling out of the top 25. That's quite the fall.


DAY
DATE
RANK
CONFERENCE
OPPONENT
LOCATION
TIME/RESULT
DETAILS


Sat.
8/31/2019


Butler
Minneapolis, Minn. (Target Field)
TBA
Details


Sat.
9/7/2019


North Dakota
Fargo, N.D.
TBA
Details


Sat.
9/14/2019


Delaware
Newark, Del.
TBA
Details


Sat.
9/21/2019


UC Davis
Fargo, N.D.
TBA
Details


Sat.
10/5/2019

*
Illinois State
Normal, Ill.
TBA
Details


Sat.
10/12/2019

*
Northern Iowa (Homecoming)
Fargo, N.D.
TBA
Details


Sat.
10/19/2019

*
Missouri State
Fargo, N.D.
TBA
Details


Sat.
10/26/2019

*
South Dakota State (Dakota Marker)
Brookings, S.D.
TBA
Details


Sat.
11/2/2019

*
Youngstown State
Youngstown, Ohio
TBA
Details


Sat.
11/9/2019

*
Western Illinois (Harvest Bowl)
Fargo, N.D.
TBA
Details


Sat.
11/16/2019

*
South Dakota
Fargo, N.D.
TBA
Details


Sat.
11/23/2019

*
Southern Illinois
Carbondale, Ill.
TBA
Details




We'd need to lose 5 maybe even 6 of these to miss the playoffs. I don't see that happening.

Even though there aren't any FBS teams on this schedule, this is a nice schedule with seven home games and neutral site game in Minneapolis.

[BisonFan02]

Even though there aren't any FBS teams on this schedule, this is a nice schedule with seven home games and neutral site game in Minneapolis.

6 home games.....7 if you include Minneapolis.

[mvemjsunpx]

That all might make sense if you were talking to somebody else but have you ever, even once seen me suggest for an instance that I believed the Sun Belt to FBS?

Well, no, but you're hardly the only one ranking/plugging Idaho on here.

I am interested in knowing your reasons for buying the Vandals this year.

[cx500d]

Nope. SHSU wins playoff games. Every year. Just not the last one. Only NDSU has won more playoff games the last 7 years. Your trolling is becoming sad.
It’s not that you lose the last one, it’s that you lose it in spectacular fashion.

[VandalBasher]

Basher math! Yes, six home games. I simply was implying the neutral site game was somewhat of a home game.

[ursus arctos horribilis]

We don't like to lose either... :D

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

When I saw that one I was getting ready so thanks for saving me on that one.

[katss07]

It’s not that you lose the last one, it’s that you lose it in spectacular fashion.
A loss is a loss. I really don’t care if Sam gets beat by 50 points or 3 points. It’s a loss so it’s unsatisfactory. Move on and try to get better. If the Kats are playing to “not get blown out”, then their priorities aren’t straight. There might be 5-6 teams a year that could beat the Kats. But they’ll always run into at least one of those teams.

[cx500d]

A loss is a loss. I really don’t care if Sam gets beat by 50 points or 3 points. It’s a loss so it’s unsatisfactory. Move on and try to get better. If the Kats are playing to “not get blown out”, then their priorities aren’t straight. There might be 5-6 teams a year that could beat the Kats. But they’ll always run into at least one of those teams.
Yeah, we run into at least one of those teams every year too. That said, I’d rather get beat by that last minute fg or td than lose by 50; at least the game was interesting until the end.

[ursus arctos horribilis]

Well, no, but you're hardly the only one ranking/plugging Idaho on here.

I am interested in knowing your reasons for buying the Vandals this year.

Because they were FBS!

You responded to me so you know I took it as aimed at me.

Sorry man, gon't have too much time right now so will get back to you later on it.xthumbsupx

[andthehomeofthe-BIZON-]

Tbh, us not making the playoffs is like Alabama falling out of the top 25. That's quite the fall.


DAY
DATE
RANK
CONFERENCE
OPPONENT
LOCATION
TIME/RESULT
DETAILS


Sat.
8/31/2019


Butler
Minneapolis, Minn. (Target Field)
TBA
Details


Sat.
9/7/2019


North Dakota
Fargo, N.D.
TBA
Details


Sat.
9/14/2019


Delaware
Newark, Del.
TBA
Details


Sat.
9/21/2019


UC Davis
Fargo, N.D.
TBA
Details


Sat.
10/5/2019

*
Illinois State
Normal, Ill.
TBA
Details


Sat.
10/12/2019

*
Northern Iowa (Homecoming)
Fargo, N.D.
TBA
Details


Sat.
10/19/2019

*
Missouri State
Fargo, N.D.
TBA
Details


Sat.
10/26/2019

*
South Dakota State (Dakota Marker)
Brookings, S.D.
TBA
Details


Sat.
11/2/2019

*
Youngstown State
Youngstown, Ohio
TBA
Details


Sat.
11/9/2019

*
Western Illinois (Harvest Bowl)
Fargo, N.D.
TBA
Details


Sat.
11/16/2019

*
South Dakota
Fargo, N.D.
TBA
Details


Sat.
11/23/2019

*
Southern Illinois
Carbondale, Ill.
TBA
Details




We'd need to lose 5 maybe even 6 of these to miss the playoffs. I don't see that happening.

Not saying i think it's likely either. But you never know with either a freshman or redfrosh QB. My point was more about the expectations. You know there would be an uproar if we missed the playoffs now and Kliemans job would at best be under HEAVY scrutiny. Even with more Nattys than any coach in Bison History.

[Bison Fan in NW MN]

6 home games.....7 if you include Minneapolis.

Wonder if Bisonation can sell out Target Field?

I'll be there!!

[VandalBasher]

What can be said about conference rankings vs. other conferences from the initial poll?

[mvemjsunpx]

Because they were FBS!

You responded to me so you know I took it as aimed at me.

Sorry man, gon't have too much time right now so will get back to you later on it.xthumbsupx

Yeah, I should've been more clear. I guess I was too eager to get my thoughts on Idaho into this thread. xlolx

I look forward to your reasons, though. xthumbsupx

[Bison Fan in NW MN]

On Idaho for me.

I had them in my poll. They have talent coming in this year and considering, IMO, the Big Sky will not be strong, I think they will make a push to win the conference title.

[dewey]

Wonder if Bisonation can sell out Target Field?

I'll be there!!

I along with my entire family will be there. I think the game sells it out.

Probably a lot of Goofer fans wanting to watch a real football team play.

Dewey

[PantherRob82]

Your vote is listed below.


1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: Eastern Washington Eagles
4: Furman Paladins
5: Sam Houston State Bearkats
6: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
7: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
8: Kennesaw State Owls
9: New Hampshire Wildcats
10: Weber State Wildcats
11: Wofford Terriers
12: Elon Phoenix
13: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
14: Samford Bulldogs
15: Western Illinois Leathernecks
16: Central Arkansas Bears
17: Illinois State Redbirds
18: Mercer Bears
19: McNeese State Cowboys
20: Idaho Vandals
21: Southern Utah Thunderbirds
22: Villanova Wildcats
23: Northern Iowa Panthers
24: North Carolina A&T Aggies
25: Central Connecticut State Blue Devils

[FUBeAR]

Your vote is listed below.


1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: Eastern Washington Eagles
4: Furman Paladins
5: Sam Houston State Bearkats
6: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
7: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
8: Kennesaw State Owls
9: New Hampshire Wildcats
10: Weber State Wildcats
11: Wofford Terriers
12: Elon Phoenix
13: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
14: Samford Bulldogs
15: Western Illinois Leathernecks
16: Central Arkansas Bears
17: Illinois State Redbirds
18: Mercer Bears
19: McNeese State Cowboys
20: Idaho Vandals
21: Southern Utah Thunderbirds
22: Villanova Wildcats
23: Northern Iowa Panthers
24: North Carolina A&T Aggies
25: Central Connecticut State Blue Devils
Finally...someone that knows Football. Congratulations on your prescience PantherRob82!!

[andthehomeofthe-BIZON-]

I along with my entire family will be there. I think the game sells it out.

Probably a lot of Goofer fans wanting to watch a real football team play.

Dewey

I'm pretty excited about that game! I know i'm going to be there. At least we can let those poor goofer fans see what a winner looks like. xnodx

[ursus arctos horribilis]

Yeah, I should've been more clear. I guess I was too eager to get my thoughts on Idaho into this thread. xlolx

I look forward to your reasons, though. xthumbsupx

I do that same thing all the time so I know the struggle...

Long and short of it on Idaho is I think they will be near the top of the BSC in D, don't know too much about their special teams and believe they probably come in better offensively this year and end up a top 4 BSC type offense. I grew up in Helena with the Petrino's and know that no matter what else you can say about them they are extremely disciplined football wise, well coached, and good coaches of the game of football. So, I give some hometown cred in that regard too I guess. I also think their recruits coming in look fairly good as well but as we all know they always look good coming in, that is why they are coming in. xlolx

like any speculation it really ain't worth much but that is my hunch for them this upcoming season.

[mvemjsunpx]

I do that same thing all the time so I know the struggle...

Long and short of it on Idaho is I think they will be near the top of the BSC in D, don't know too much about their special teams and believe they probably come in better offensively this year and end up a top 4 BSC type offense. I grew up in Helena with the Petrino's and know that no matter what else you can say about them they are extremely disciplined football wise, well coached, and good coaches of the game of football. So, I give some hometown cred in that regard too I guess. I also think their recruits coming in look fairly good as well but as we all know they always look good coming in, that is why they are coming in. xlolx

like any speculation it really ain't worth much but that is my hunch for them this upcoming season.

OK, that makes sense. I do agree that their defense will be one of the better ones in the Big Sky (for whatever that's worth ;)), but I don't agree about their offense for reasons I've posted earlier.

[cx500d]

Your vote is listed below.


1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: Eastern Washington Eagles
4: Furman Paladins
5: Sam Houston State Bearkats
6: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
7: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
8: Kennesaw State Owls
9: New Hampshire Wildcats
10: Weber State Wildcats
11: Wofford Terriers
12: Elon Phoenix
13: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
14: Samford Bulldogs
15: Western Illinois Leathernecks
16: Central Arkansas Bears
17: Illinois State Redbirds
18: Mercer Bears
19: McNeese State Cowboys
20: Idaho Vandals
21: Southern Utah Thunderbirds
22: Villanova Wildcats
23: Northern Iowa Panthers
24: North Carolina A&T Aggies
25: Central Connecticut State Blue Devils

furman #4? Has Iowa legalized marijuana? Everybody knows furman sucks; ask anybody from the citadel.

[SCPALADIN]

furman #4? Has Iowa legalized marijuana? Everybody knows furman sucks; ask anybody from the citadel.

Not fair blaming it on weed...my poll wasn't all jacked up xcoolx

[JSUSoutherner]

Finally...someone that knows Football. Congratulations on your prescience PantherRob82!!

Samford and Wofford are fair. Mercer isn't even a top 30 team. Furman isn't top 5.

[FUGameBreaker]

Your vote is listed below.


1: North Dakota State Bison
2: James Madison Dukes
3: Eastern Washington Eagles
4: Furman Paladins
5: Sam Houston State Bearkats
6: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
7: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
8: Kennesaw State Owls
9: New Hampshire Wildcats
10: Weber State Wildcats
11: Wofford Terriers
12: Elon Phoenix
13: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
14: Samford Bulldogs
15: Western Illinois Leathernecks
16: Central Arkansas Bears
17: Illinois State Redbirds
18: Mercer Bears
19: McNeese State Cowboys
20: Idaho Vandals
21: Southern Utah Thunderbirds
22: Villanova Wildcats
23: Northern Iowa Panthers
24: North Carolina A&T Aggies
25: Central Connecticut State Blue Devils



Nice one xthumbsupx

[McCowboys]

Nice one xthumbsupx

I applaud any poll which gives my Cowboys a little love! But I do have to ask, Rob, is there any particular reason that you did not include Nicholls Colonels in the top 25? Not a criticism, just a question.

[VandalBasher]

I applaud any poll which gives my Cowboys a little love! But I do have to ask, Rob, is there any particular reason that you did not include Nicholls Colonels in the top 25? Not a criticism, just a question.

Looking at the 2017 schedule, Nicholls St. even played up well against TA&M and South Dakota. They will do well in 2018. I wouldn't worry too much about preseason rankings.

[katss07]

Looking at the 2017 schedule, Nicholls St. even played up well against TA&M and South Dakota. They will do well in 2018. I wouldn't worry too much about preseason rankings.
Yeah, Nicholls is a good team that people shouldn’t be sleeping on. Aside from basically one game they played really well and deserve lots of credit. They have a good quarterback that I think has a ton of potential. The program has been building for this year for a while now, improving in 16 and 17. Definitely a threat to win the conference.

[McCowboys]

Yeah, Nicholls is a good team that people shouldn’t be sleeping on. Aside from basically one game they played really well and deserve lots of credit. They have a good quarterback that I think has a ton of potential. The program has been building for this year for a while now, improving in 16 and 17. Definitely a threat to win the conference.

That's why I was asking Rob if there were some particular reason for leaving them out. They made the playoffs last year; have a qb who just finds a way to win games they shouldn't; and were selected as one of the top two teams by coaches and media at SLC Media Day.

[Daytripper]

That's why I was asking Rob if there were some particular reason for leaving them out. They made the playoffs last year; have a qb who just finds a way to win games they shouldn't; and were selected as one of the top two teams by coaches and media at SLC Media Day.

Sometimes there are just accidental omissions in a poll, especially the preseason. Probably just an oversight.

[McCowboys]

Sometimes there are just accidental omissions in a poll, especially the preseason. Probably just an oversight.

Yes, it is possible. This was my first time to cast a ballot, and I missed a team that I had on my rough draft poll. I was just trying to find out it Rob knew something we didn't know. :-)

[Catatonic]

With apologies to UCA and Furman.

Top 25


NDSU
James Madison
Kennesaw State
South Dakota State
New Hampshire
EWU
Weber State
Sam Houston
Jacksonville State
Elon
Nicholls
Illinois State
Delaware
UNI
Samford
Idaho
Youngstown
Villanova
Wofford
Stoney Brook
McNeese
Montana
NCA&T
Austin Peay
Yale

[aceinthehole]

Monmouth, Yale and Colgate ORV, but no consideration of defending NEC Champ and Pre-season favorite Central Connecticut? How easily the NEC is forgotten.


"Obviously, they went out and won the championship last year. But, last year is a different year. This is a totally different team.”It is, however, a very talented team — at least on paper. CCSU had seven players named to the All-NEC preseason team, including quarterback Jacob Dolegala and four in-state products: offensive linemen J’Von Brown (Norwich Free Academy) and Connor Mignone (Joel Barlow), linebacker Kenneth Keen (Brien McMahon) and defensive back Tajik Bagley (Ansonia).

CCSU received five of the seven first-place votes, as selected by the league’s head coaches. The remaining two went to Duquesne and Bryant, who were picked to finish second and third, respectively. Sacred Heart was chosen to finish sixth.

“I think we deserve the No. 1 spot,” CCSU senior wide receiver and Windsor native Courtney Rush said. “At the same time, we can never let people on the team look at it as we’ve made it. It’s just a preseason ranking. I believe we just have to keep our mentality that we should never get complacent. We should just keep working.”

The respect for the Blue Devils is warranted. Returning are nine starters on offense and six on defense from a team that went 8-4 (6-0 in conference) and made it to the FCS playoffs. Nevertheless, Rossomando is leery of heaping praise on a team in July. He’s seen predictions go awry in the past.

“I would argue that the year we went 2-9 (in 2016), I thought that was one of our more talented teams,” he said. “Certainly, we are at a point now where we match up really well with the teams in our league, whereas before I think we were undermanned.”


https://www.ctpost.com/sports/article/Central-Connecticut-favored-to-repeat-as-NEC-13101795.php

[TheKingpin28]

Monmouth, Yale and Colgate ORV, but no consideration of defending NEC Champ and Pre-season favorite Central Connecticut? How easily the NEC is forgotten.



https://www.ctpost.com/sports/article/Central-Connecticut-favored-to-repeat-as-NEC-13101795.phpGo look at my poll/post. I voted for your team. Just not enough of us remember what they did with what they had.

Sent from my SM-J727V using Tapatalk

[POD Knows]

Go look at my poll/post. I voted for your team. Just not enough of us remember what they did with what they had.

Sent from my SM-J727V using TapatalkI had 7 MVFC teams in my poll and none from the Patriot, Pioneer or NEC, it is what it is.

[katss07]

Monmouth, Yale and Colgate ORV, but no consideration of defending NEC Champ and Pre-season favorite Central Connecticut? How easily the NEC is forgotten.



https://www.ctpost.com/sports/article/Central-Connecticut-favored-to-repeat-as-NEC-13101795.php
I’d put them in my top 25. What they did last year against UNH without their quarterback was special, especially considering the fact that UNH ran to the quarterfinals. I wish CCStU would have been paired with Monmouth. That would’ve been a good one.

[cx500d]

I had 7 MVFC teams in my poll and none from the Patriot, Pioneer or NEC, it is what it is.


https://media1.tenor.com/images/d061acd87daaab5cea29963c290ad0c5/tenor.gif?itemid=4675399

[POD Knows]

https://media1.tenor.com/images/d061acd87daaab5cea29963c290ad0c5/tenor.gif?itemid=4675399LOL, yea, that could happen.

I had 7 from the MVFC, 5 from the CAA, 4 from the BSC, 1 Big South, 1 MEAC, 1 OVC, 3 Southern, 3 SLC. I would post my poll but I didn't get one back in my email and I spaced out my spreadsheet. No Ivy's, PL, Patriot, SWAC, NEC or independents.

[Derby City Duke]

LOL, yea, that could happen.

I had 7 from the MVFC, 5 from the CAA, 4 from the BSC, 1 Big South, 1 MEAC, 1 OVC, 3 Southern, 3 SLC. I would post my poll but I didn't get one back in my email and I spaced out my spreadsheet. No Ivy's, PL, Patriot, SWAC, NEC or independents.

My breakdown was 6 each from the CAA and MVFC, 4 Big Sky, 3 Socon, 2 SLC, 2 OVC, 1 Big South, and 1 MEAC. No SWAC, NEC, Ind., PL, Patriot, or Ivy either. I might be overestimating APSU, but the teams living in the bottom 5 of my poll don't have that much separation from #s 26 - 35.

[Mike296]

Monmouth, Yale and Colgate ORV, but no consideration of defending NEC Champ and Pre-season favorite Central Connecticut? How easily the NEC is forgotten.



https://www.ctpost.com/sports/article/Central-Connecticut-favored-to-repeat-as-NEC-13101795.php

I voted them in, they seem to be solid this year. Could surprise a team in the 1st round like San Diego has the past few years possibly?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[PaladinFan]

With apologies to UCA and Furman.

Top 25


NDSU
James Madison
Kennesaw State
South Dakota State
New Hampshire
EWU
Weber State
Sam Houston
Jacksonville State
Elon
Nicholls
Illinois State
Delaware
UNI
Samford
Idaho
Youngstown
Villanova
Wofford
Stoney Brook
McNeese
Montana
NCA&T
Austin Peay
Yale



Homerism aside, I'm not sure I understand an argument that doesn't have Furman in the top 25. Especially if you have Elon at #10.

[Catatonic]

Homerism aside, I'm not sure I understand an argument that doesn't have Furman in the top 25. Especially if you have Elon at #10.

oversight. I had teams in two categories 1-14 and 15 -25. I first had Furman in the 1-14 group along with Elon but decided to move Furman to my 15-25 group because y’all lost more starters than Elon. I took them off one list and neglected to enter them in the other ..so when I got around to doing rankings within each category Furman was never considered. I’ll make up for my error on the next poll.

[PaladinFan]

oversight. I had teams in two categories 1-14 and 15 -25. I first had Furman in the 1-14 group along with Elon but decided to move Furman to my 15-25 group because y’all lost more starters than Elon. I took them off one list and neglected to enter them in the other ..so when I got around to doing rankings within each category Furman was never considered. I’ll make up for my error on the next poll.

I'll allow it.

Looking at preseason writeups, Elon returns 18 starters. Furman returns 15. The Paladins do return 20 of 22 players on the defensive two deep, though, and add a Clemson transfer, Amir Trapp, at CB. Not sure how good Trapp will be, but he was on Clemson's defensive two deep, so my expectation is he can play a bit.

[bobcathpdevil56]

I am sorry gents. I lost track of time and didn't get my preseason poll done. It will NOT happen again.

Luke warmest regards;)

[cx500d]

I am sorry gents. I lost track of time and didn't get my preseason poll done. It will NOT happen again.

Luke warmest regards;)

ive never been on a weeklong bender

[Kemo]

ive never been on a weeklong bender
That you remember.

[VandalBasher]

We're #30!

[TheKingpin28]

ive never been on a weeklong bender

Are you sure you attended NDSU and not GFCC? xlolx

[VandalBasher]

https://www.masseyratings.com/cf/compare1aa.htm

Massey uses AGS as part of the composite. Interesting.

[ursus arctos horribilis]

https://www.masseyratings.com/cf/compare1aa.htm

Massey uses AGS as part of the composite. Interesting.

Yes, It was used way back for a long time and a few of the voters got in touch with him and then requested that I begin sending it in to him again a few years back and after each poll the person that reminds me to send it to Massey gets a rep hit from me. A bit of a game we play each Monday. xlolx

Our voter wmmii is a driving force in resurrecting the relationship btw so credit to him and a couple of others on that.

[cx500d]

Are you sure you attended NDSU and not GFCC? xlolx

Im sure. Things weren’t so bad in Fargo that I needed a weeklong bender. Had I been stuck in grand forks, I might have had a 4 year bender.

[TheKingpin28]

Im sure. Things weren’t so bad in Fargo that I needed a weeklong bender. Had I been stuck in grand forks, I might have had a 4 year bender.That would require someone to venture there and that just sounds like cruel and unusual punishment.

Sent from my SM-J727V using Tapatalk

[PantherRob82]

Samford and Wofford are fair. Mercer isn't even a top 30 team. Furman isn't top 5.

Jacksonville State isn't Top 10, but oh well, someone has to be there for now. ;)

[PantherRob82]

I applaud any poll which gives my Cowboys a little love! But I do have to ask, Rob, is there any particular reason that you did not include Nicholls Colonels in the top 25? Not a criticism, just a question.

They were on the edge.

[PantherRob82]

I was just trying to find out it Rob knew something we didn't know. :-)

Yes, I do. xlolx

[McCowboys]

Yes, I do. xlolx

You have always been one of my favorite posters, PantherRob, a guru, and so I know you would never steer me wrong.

[FUBeAR]

Samford and Wofford are fair. Mercer isn't even a top 30 team. Furman isn't top 5.
Nov 2005 vs. Nov 2015...

I’ll go with Rob’s +10 years of experience informing his opinion vs. that of a rising Redshirt Jr.

[PantherRob82]

You have always been one of my favorite posters, PantherRob, a guru, and so I know you would never steer me wrong.


I do like to joke around and will occasionally steer people wrong. For my preseason poll I started by ranking every conferenc team by team. I looked at last year's results, info from media days, who they lost and upcoming schedule. To be honest it's difficult to rank 3 Southland teams in preseason, let alone 4.

[PantherRob82]

Nov 2005 vs. Nov 2015...

I’ll go with Rob’s +10 year of experience informing his opinion vs. that of a rising Redshirt Jr.

He may be right on both of them, but Fueman is back in my opinion and Mercer bas constantly been on the cusp with decent records filled with narrow misses. Why not give them a little preseason love. I think they would beat Austin Peay head to head. :)

[FUBeAR]

He may be right on both of them, but Fueman is back in my opinion and Mercer bas constantly been on the cusp with decent records filled with narrow misses. Why not give them a little preseason love. I think they would beat Austin Peay head to head. :)

Apparently, you are correct...



Team
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
Total


Mercer
14
10
3
14
41


Austin Peay
0
6
0
28
34


10/22/2016 SITE: Clarksville, TN STADIUM: Fortera Stadium ATTENDANCE: 6506



Team
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
Total


Mercer
0
7
7
14
28


Austin Peay
0
7
0
0
7


9/5/2015 SITE: Clarksville, Tenn. STADIUM: Governors Stadium ATTENDANCE: 5814



Team
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
Total


Austin Peay
0
6
7
8
21


Mercer
28
7
0
14
49


10/11/2014 SITE: Macon, Ga. STADIUM: Mercer Univ. Stadium ATTENDANCE: 8027

[Redbird 4th & short]

https://www.masseyratings.com/cf/compare1aa.htm

Massey uses AGS as part of the composite. Interesting.

Massey Composite uses about 35 different ranking systems and polls by the time season starts playing some games. For me, rely heavily on 4 sources of info when trying to assess teams: Massey Composite ranking (once it gets closer to 35), Keepers Stats (who lost how much), AGS Poll, and then Massey Strength of Schedule.

In my opinion, the best subjective ranking poll by far is AGS going back 5 or so years ... it is far superior to the 2 most prominently publicized polls: FCS Coaches Poll and STATS poll. The FCS Coaches Poll just has way to much regional and conference bias. The STATS poll (fka The Sports Network) is bigger poll and has exact same issue, plus they are also trying to maximize clicks on their website with their articles about teams and players .. so they like to spread the love.

But for objective ranking, I use Massey Composite, and whenever I'm trying to gauge strength of schedule looking at 2 teams with similar records, I use Massey SOS .. mainly because they make it so easy to use.

One issue with Massey (and Sagarin) is they both tend to become a self-fulfilling prophecy after about week 8 or 9 .. so dominant conferences get a little more statistical ranking love by end of year. because they are playing each other. I do think Massey does a good job thru mid season when most teams have played 3 OOC games and then 4 or 5 conf games, particularly since most OOC games are played very early.

So you'll note 7 MVFC teams in top 21 of Massey Composite (just 15 polls so far) as of today .. that is because they only have end of last season (and prior season ends with lesser weight) to rely on .. we do not deserve 7 teams ... yet !!! xlolxxlolx

Check this website out .. tracks lost starters and stats by position group from last season .. very helpful while sitting here waiting for some actual games to be played.

http://www.keepratings.net/#

[RootinFerDukes]

Hot Take Hypothetical:
The loser of the FCS kickoff becomes a borderline team worth ranking going into week 2, all depending on how competitive the game is.

[JSUSoutherner]

Hot Take Hypothetical:
The loser of the FCS kickoff becomes a borderline team worth ranking going into week 2, all depending on how competitive the game is.

I've been saying it for months that this game is nothing to gain, everything to lose.

[JSUSoutherner]

He may be right on both of them, but Fueman is back in my opinion and Mercer bas constantly been on the cusp with decent records filled with narrow misses. Why not give them a little preseason love. I think they would beat Austin Peay head to head. :)

Furman may be "back" but making the playoffs one time, eeking by Elon, and getting crushed by Wofford doesn't scream "top 5" to me. Especially when you consider Blazejowski is gone now.

I've been saying Mercer has been a cusp team since I've been here. I'm sure if you take time you can dig up my posts from past seasons saying this. But that's the problem. It's been seasons. It's time for them to put up or shutup. They look like they have potential every year to finally make the jump and then squander it. They're the SoCon equivalent of Tennessee State.

[PantherRob82]

Jacksonville State isn't Top 10, but oh well, someone has to be there for now. ;)

Bump. xlolx

[RootinFerDukes]

Hot Take Hypothetical:
The loser of the FCS kickoff becomes a borderline team worth ranking going into week 2, all depending on how competitive the game is.

It’s like I’m Nostradamus.

[Schism55]

It’s like I’m Nostradamus.
http://www.anygivensaturday.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=28575&stc=1

- - - Updated - - -


It’s like I’m Nostradamus.
http://www.anygivensaturday.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=28575&stc=1

[kab]

Let it begin!



Rank
Team
Total Points
First Place Votes


1
North Dakota State Bison
2247
88


2
James Madison Dukes
2150
2


3
South Dakota State Jackrabbits
1893



4
Kennesaw State Owls
1870



5
Sam Houston State Bearkats
1726



6
Eastern Washington Eagles
1570



7
New Hampshire Wildcats
1545



8
Jacksonville State Gamecocks
1539



9
Weber State Wildcats
1492



10
Samford Bulldogs
1234



11
Northern Iowa Panthers
1099



12
Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
989



13
Wofford Terriers
964



14
Elon Phoenix
859



15
Illinois State Redbirds
717



16
Central Arkansas Bears
701



17
Nicholls State Colonels
679



18
Furman Paladins
658



19
North Carolina A&T Aggies
656



20
Stony Brook Seawolves
624



21
Western Illinois Leathernecks
540



22
Villanova Wildcats
529



23
Southern Utah Thunderbirds
442



24
Youngstown State Penguins
420



25
McNeese State Cowboys
327




















































ORV:




26
Austin Peay Governors
251



27
Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
230



28
Montana Grizzlies
215



29
South Dakota Coyotes
212



30
Idaho Vandals
207



31
San Diego Toreros
136



32T
Richmond Spiders
84



32T
Yale Bulldogs
84



32T
Sac State Hornets
84



35
Grambling State Tigers
43



36
Colgate Raiders
27



37
Monmouth Hawks
26



38
Maine Black Bears
22



39
Montana State Bobcats
19



40
UC Davis Aggies
14




What top 5 team loses to another fcs team first

[POD Knows]

What top 5 team loses to another fcs team firstSDSU loses at NDSU on 9-29

[Daytripper]

What top 5 team loses to another fcs team first

Kennesaw State loses to Samford on 9/29.

[OhioHen]

SDSU loses at NDSU on 9-29


Kennesaw State loses to Samford on 9/29.

SDSU at NDSU is at 3:30, SU at KSU is at 6:00 - advantage POD Knows.

But I'll go with SHSU losing at Nicholls 9/22.