Massey FCS CONFERENCE Rankings (October 20, 2018)

[World]

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


1. MIssouri Valley
2. Colonial
3. Ivy League
4. Big Sky
5. Southland
6. Southern
7. FCS Indep
8. OH Valley
9. Big South
10. Patriot League
11. Mid-Eastern AC
12. Northeast
13. Southwestern AC
14. Pioneer

[DFW HOYA]

The Sagarin ratings aren't as kind to the PL, just 0.03 points ahead of the SWAC.

1. Missouri Valley
2. Colonial
3. Big Sky
4. Southern
5. Ivy
6. Ohio Valley
7. Southland
8. Big South
9. I-AA Independents
10. MEAC
11. Northeast
12. Patriot
13. SWAC
14. Pioneer

[grizband]

I'm uncertain which rankings to favor: Ivy at 5 seems more accurate than 3 (though I'll admit, the IVY is vastly improved this season), and the Southland is better than the OVC in my opinion. Certainly, it's been an interesting season of FCS football!

[ElCid]

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


1. MIssouri Valley
2. Colonial
3. Ivy League
4. Big Sky
5. Southland
6. Southern
7. FCS Indep
8. OH Valley
9. Big South
10. Patriot League
11. Mid-Eastern AC
12. Northeast
13. Southwestern AC
14. Pioneer

It is important to note that this ranking above is not the "massey" conf ratings, but merely the composite conf ranking located on the Massey site. Two different animals. The composite includes a couple dozen computer rankings and polls. Some of the computer rankings used are dubious at best. I guess the Stats and Coaches are dubious as wellxlolx The actual Massey computer ranking is as follows:

https://www.masseyratings.com/cf/11605/ratings?c=1

1.Missouri Valley
2.Colonial
3.Big Sky
4.Ivy League
5.Southern
6.Southland
7.OH Valley
8.Big South
9.FCS Indep
10.Patriot League
11.Mid-Eastern AC
12.Northeast
13.SWAC East
14.Southwestern AC
15.SWAC West
16.Pioneer

[Reign of Terrier]

Here's a better ranking:
Tier 1:
MVFC and CAA

Tier 2:
Big Sky, Southern, and Southland

Tier 3:
Everyone else

And before anyone tells me that the big sky is closer to the CAA/MVFC, I'm pretty sure more programs from the socon have won playoff games in the last 5 years or so (4). This in spite of the fact that the socon is 2/3 the size of the Big Sky.

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[Go...gate]

Rough year for the Patriot League.

[BisonTru]

Here's a better ranking:
Tier 1:
MVFC and CAA

Tier 2:
Big Sky, Southern, and Southland

Tier 3:
Everyone else

And before anyone tells me that the big sky is closer to the CAA/MVFC, I'm pretty sure more programs from the socon have won playoff games in the last 5 years or so (4). This in spite of the fact that the socon is 2/3 the size of the Big Sky.

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I'll give you the last four or five years the Big Sky and the SoCon have been fairly close, but this year the Big Sky as conference is having a bumper year. That conference had a ton of teams returning a lot of players and it's showing in the results. The SoCon is on a down year, IMO. Wofford doesn't look to be as good as last year, although they are looking playoff worthy. Chatty and ETSU might get into the playoffs, but I don't see either doing anything. I'll give you the rest of your conference is filled with solid FCS programs minus VMI, whereas the Southland has some garbage programs on the bottom of their conference.

IMO

3. Big Sky
4. SoCon
5. Southland

[BisonTru]

Rough year for the Patriot League.

Yep. The only interesting thing in the Patriot is if Georgetown pulled the upset and took the conference, would Colgate hang on to a playoff spot. Idk, I think it would be close.

[frozennorth]

The CAA, Ivy League, and MVFC are effectively 'group of 5' programs playing FCS ball. A group of 5 playoff with the addition of those 3 conferences would be pretty cool.

[Reign of Terrier]

I'll give you the last four or five years the Big Sky and the SoCon have been fairly close, but this year the Big Sky as conference is having a bumper year. That conference had a ton of teams returning a lot of players and it's showing in the results. The SoCon is on a down year, IMO. Wofford doesn't look to be as good as last year, although they are looking playoff worthy. Chatty and ETSU might get into the playoffs, but I don't see either doing anything. I'll give you the rest of your conference is filled with solid FCS programs minus VMI, whereas the Southland has some garbage programs on the bottom of their conference.

IMO

3. Big Sky
4. SoCon
5. SouthlandYeah no, ya lost a little bit of credibility with the Wofford comment.

It is true, we laid an egg against Furman. But we are the one of the only teams to play them at full strength. Pretty much every team at this point, sans NDSU has laid an egg.

Meanwhile, last year Wofford won 7 games last year by a margin of 26 points, including against 3-8 Chattanooga and a 2-9(?) Gardner Webb. There's some selective memory and selective outrage when it comes to Wofford and or non-CAA/MVFC teams. We forget how controversial Wofford was last year. Similarly, it's tough to play in every major conference. Every top tier team in each conference has a head-scratching loss (Weber State comes to mind). MVFC and maybe some CAA teams get a pass because #SOS, but with this year's egg-laying across conferences, blatant inconsistencies are becoming harder to defend.

I agree that ETSU and Chattanooga may not do much, but I think everyone anchors their expectations to NDSU-level competence. It's unrealistic. Everyone who feigns the socon's loss of app state and Georgia Southern forget App State won only one playoff game in the last 4 years Georgia Southern got embarrassed in the semis a couple times (having to run through either a socon team or an objectively questionable defense in ODU as well)

If you cut through the irrational socon nostalgia and remove NDSU expectations from the equation, the top socon teams are just as good and flawed as 75% of the field. Maybe they won't make the quarterfinals but I think they can win a game (after all, socon teams are good at that).




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[BisonTru]

Yeah no, ya lost a little bit of credibility with the Wofford comment.

It is true, we laid an egg against Furman. But we are the one of the only teams to play them at full strength. Pretty much every team at this point, sans NDSU has laid an egg.

Meanwhile, last year Wofford won 7 games last year by a margin of 26 points, including against 3-8 Chattanooga and a 2-9(?) Gardner Webb. There's some selective memory and selective outrage when it comes to Wofford and or non-CAA/MVFC teams. We forget how controversial Wofford was last year. Similarly, it's tough to play in every major conference. Every top tier team in each conference has a head-scratching loss (Weber State comes to mind). MVFC and maybe some CAA teams get a pass because #SOS, but with this year's egg-laying across conferences, blatant inconsistencies are becoming harder to defend.

I agree that ETSU and Chattanooga may not do much, but I think everyone anchors their expectations to NDSU-level competence. It's unrealistic. Everyone who feigns the socon's loss of app state and Georgia Southern forget App State won only one playoff game in the last 4 years Georgia Southern got embarrassed in the semis a couple times (having to run through either a socon team or an objectively questionable defense in ODU as well)

If you cut through the irrational socon nostalgia and remove NDSU expectations from the equation, the top socon teams are just as good and flawed as 75% of the field. Maybe they won't make the quarterfinals but I think they can win a game (after all, socon teams are good at that).




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Wofford graduated quite a bit from last year, and that Furman loss was a 20 point loss. I'll stand by my Wofford comment. They don't look to be at quite the level they were last year.

[Go Green]

Rough year for the Patriot League.

When the Ivy's doormat absolutely pounds the PL co-leader, you know it's a down year for the PL.

Remains to be seen whether this is the "new normal" or just a bad aberration.

[Reign of Terrier]

Wofford graduated quite a bit from last year, and that Furman loss was a 20 point loss. I'll stand by my Wofford comment. They don't look to be at quite the level they were last year.You're only looking at one game. We lost a bit at linebacker, but across pretty much every statistical category we have improved.

We probably graduated more 2 years ago going into last year than last year to this year.

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[Professor]

The CAA, Ivy League, and MVFC are effectively 'group of 5' programs playing FCS ball. A group of 5 playoff with the addition of those 3 conferences would be pretty cool.

Wouldn't that be nothing but the same schools playing each other again?

[Wildcat1997]

I'll give you the last four or five years the Big Sky and the SoCon have been fairly close, but this year the Big Sky as conference is having a bumper year. That conference had a ton of teams returning a lot of players and it's showing in the results. The SoCon is on a down year, IMO. Wofford doesn't look to be as good as last year, although they are looking playoff worthy. Chatty and ETSU might get into the playoffs, but I don't see either doing anything. I'll give you the rest of your conference is filled with solid FCS programs minus VMI, whereas the Southland has some garbage programs on the bottom of their conference.

IMO

3. Big Sky
4. SoCon
5. SouthlandMost of the usual "garbage" programs in the Southland are vastly improved this year. IMO really the only one that's still a doormat is HBU, and even they have had good performances this season. ACU, Lamar and especially UIW have all looked better than they have recently. Plus they have all beaten a top 25 team this season. Of course they still have a long ways to go and are not world beaters by any means but they have definitely improved from garbage.

[walliver]

My conference rating, which although nonmathematical is probably more accurate is:
1) NDSU
2) JMU
3) rest-of-MVFC, rest-of-CAA, Southern, Big Sky, OVC, Kennesaw State
4) everybody else, except ...
5) Pioneer

[WestCoastAggie]

The MEAC is improving.

[MR. CHICKEN]

The MEAC is improving.


http://www.anygivensaturday.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=29332&stc=1............NOT IN DOVER......xsmhx.....BRAWK!

[Reign of Terrier]

Okay, I will say it, and I know I'll get roasted:

I'm really not impressed by the CAA from top to bottom. Yes, they are a good conference. They have 2 FBS victories. JMU and Towson will likely make a run, and so will Elon if their backup QB steps up. Stony Brook and Delaware may be good teams, but we don't know quite yet.

But none of this screams that their middle tier (Elon with out their QB, Delaware and Stony Brook) is spectacularly better than the Southland, Big Sky, or Socon middle tier. For example, the Citadel is competitive in every game this year, but they will likely finish in the bottom half of the socon, and their game with Towson is comparable to other CAA wins Towson had, if not more impressive. Yes, Maine beating 1-6 Western Kentucky looks good (and many top-tier FCS teams outside of the CAA/MVFC haven't beaten comparably bad FBS teams like Wofford and Wyoming). Yes, Villanova beating Temple looks good. Yes, Elon being at 100% healthy likely beats Delaware and thus there are 3 top 10 teams in the FCS in that conference (Elon may still be top 10!). Maybe, I'm sandbagging Delaware, and they have gotten it together since early season losses to Rhode Island and North Dakota State.

Maybe. All of these things are possible. But when you look at the product in the standings *at this moment*, it's a mess. The bottom half looks just as bad if not worse than the bottom half of the Socon and the Big Sky.

So roast me if you want, but I think the CAA is down this year. That's still better than most of the subdivision, but I don't think they deserve to get more than 4 or maybe 5 this year.

[UNDBIZ]

My conference rating, which although nonmathematical is probably more accurate is:
1) NDSU
2) JMU
3) rest-of-MVFC, rest-of-CAA, Southern, Big Sky, OVC, Kennesaw State
4) everybody else, except ...
5) Pioneer

Accurate.