FCS Game of the Week (4/17ish/2021)

[Daytripper]

Some games that will determine conference championships, playoff qualifying, and/or seeding... and just some good matchups.

[Daytripper]

I had a brain fart and left off SDSU @ NDSU. Please write that one in if that is your choice...

[Daytripper]

I choose DAKOTA MARKER but will vote a secondary choice in the poll.

[OhioHen]

Top game is NDSU-SDSU but UD-Nova and Richmond-JMU both have huge playoff implications (especially for Villanova, Richmond, and most teams hoping for at-large bids).

[POD Knows]

I got UD Nova. Winner gets in the playoffs.

[Laker]

Dakota Marker

[katss07]

Dakota Marker. Rivalry plus playoff implications.

[FUBeAR]

Came here to bubble in The Citadel @ VMI...

The Military Classic of the South & a game with absolute Playoff & SoCon Championship implications ... for a VMI Team (actually 2 Teams, if you include Mercer’s Playoff chances based upon the outcome of this game & their games with Samford) that has NEVER been to the Playoffs and a VMI Team that hasn’t won a SoCon Championship in almost 50 years (or “never” if you include Mercer’s SoCon Championship chances based upon the outcome of this game & their game with Samford)...

oh well...maybe next week...

[ST_Lawson]

Dakota Marker

Voted my secondary choice

[TheKingpin28]

Dakota Marker.

Winner likely gets #1 overall seed. Loser goes on the road and likely has to revisit that place again.

[JALMOND]

Portland State at Montana :D

xthumbsupx

[wapiti]

Battle of the directional states.

[Gil Dobie]

Dakota Marker.

Winner likely gets #1 overall seed. Loser goes on the road and likely has to revisit that place again.

Will a 2 loss 4th place, MVFC team make the playoffs. This is a playoff game, IMO.

[TheKingpin28]

Will a 2 loss 4th place, MVFC team make the playoffs. This is a playoff game, IMO.

Can't see how either team will be left out. If the CAA could potentially get 4, the MVFC HAS to get 4.

[Gil Dobie]

Can't see how either team will be left out. If the CAA could potentially get 4, the MVFC HAS to get 4.

Whoever knows what the Selection Committee is thinking, and with only 16 teams this year, who knows.

[TheKingpin28]

Whoever knows what the Selection Committee is thinking, and with only 16 teams this year, who knows.

I am only going to post teams that are locks/should be locks

AQ:
Big Sky: Weber St
Big South: Monmouth
CAA: ?
MVFC: ?
NEC: Sacred Heart
OVC: ?
PL: ?
Pioneer: ?
SoCon: ?
Southland: SHSU

AL:
EWU

AQ/AL:
Delaware
JMU
SDSU
NDSU

Realistically speaking, that is going to leave 3 AL bids for a combo of the following: UC-Davis, Kennesaw, Nova, Richmond, Missery St, GFCC, Murray/APSU/JSU (AQ), ETSU/VMI (AQ), UIW (if they beat SHSU)

If they take both Nova and Richmond for beating Delaware/JMU, that leaves 1 AL for the rest of the group and that would be a travesty to take them. Honestly, if JMU loses to Richmond, I am not sure they deserve to get in. Their opponents records would be 5-13 with Elon and RMU being abysmal and Morehead St playing in the PFL.

[Professor Chaos]

Will a 2 loss 4th place, MVFC team make the playoffs. This is a playoff game, IMO.
Loser of this game slots in above Missouri St in the MVFC playoff pecking order IMO (and MSU can't get the autobid). So I'd say the loser is at worst the 3rd MVFC team into the playoffs.

[Preferred Walk-On]

Loser of this game slots in above Missouri St in the MVFC playoff pecking order IMO (and MSU can't get the autobid). So I'd say the loser is at worst the 3rd MVFC team into the playoffs.

Agree with this pecking order. This would be a different scenario if Missouri State had played either UND or SDSU. That cancellation of Missouri State @ UND hurt the Bears immensely, IMO.

Of course, if that game had been played, then we would not have this scenario.

[nodak651]

Agree with this pecking order. This would be a different scenario if Missouri State had played either UND or SDSU. That cancellation of Missouri State @ UND hurt the Bears immensely, IMO.

Of course, if that game had been played, then we would not have this scenario.

Really wish we were playing Missouri State this weekend instead of Youngstown. MVFC conference shouldn't have automatically scheduled makeup games as a first come first serve type of thing. Should have picked best makeup games from a pool of all potential games.

[atthewbon]

I think it has to be the Dakota Marker. The two CAA games have huge playoff implications as well. I'm also glad the SLEA v SIU game is happening I just don't think it has quite as big of an impact as the others.

[Preferred Walk-On]

Really wish we were playing Missouri State this weekend instead of Youngstown. MVFC conference shouldn't have automatically scheduled makeup games as a first come first serve type of thing. Should have picked best makeup games from a pool of all potential games.

Agreed, and THAT would be the game of the week. Winner in, loser out, period.

Of course, I guess if Missouri State were to beat UND in this hypothetical game, and NDSU beat SDSU, then UND would still be in and SDSU out? Would still be a mess, but Missouri State would be on the inside looking out, rather than the outside looking in. If the Missouri State and UND game were even happening, would the SDSU @ NDSU game be canceled for some mysterious reason, since it would only potentially hurt SDSU? Who knows?

[Preferred Walk-On]

Fun to speculate, but I am going with SLU @ SIU, simply because it is an OOC game that puts the Southland and MVFC into some sort of context. The other games on this list may have more on the line, and this game only really affects SLU, IMO, but I think it is intriguing AF.

[Professor Chaos]

Fun to speculate, but I am going with SLU @ SIU, simply because it is an OOC game that puts the Southland and MVFC into some sort of context. The other games on this list may have more on the line, and this game only really affects SLU, IMO, but I think it is intriguing AF.
Yeah, I'd tend to agree. It's pretty much the ONLY quality OOC game we've gotten all spring. I think Missouri St will have a very vested interest in the outcome of that game though as well. If SIU wins they all of a sudden look a lot better I think with their own win over SIU and both MSU and SIU will be on the bubble if that happens I think.

[Preferred Walk-On]

Yeah, I'd tend to agree. It's pretty much the ONLY quality OOC game we've gotten all spring. I think Missouri St will have a very vested interest in the outcome of that game though as well. If SIU wins they all of a sudden look a lot better I think with their own win over SIU and both MSU and SIU will be on the bubble if that happens I think.

I like your optimism, but 3 at-large seems highly unlikely, and if the committee is pressured to pick MSU or SIU as a third at-large, I suspect they will err on the side of neither.

Of course, if UND loses to Youngstown, then MSU and SIU come into play, but again, who does the committee choose, because SIU was beaten by UND and Missouri State did not play UND? I would bet in that scenario, only MSU would get in, and it is even possible the committee would not choose MSU or UND/SIU and put in an additional team from another conference. The real question would be does UND's H2H with SIU count towards anything, or is an SIU win over SLU proof that SIU is better than UND going into a postseason.

I'm so geeked up for the selection show, and we haven't even played this weekend's games yet. xhypedx

[Daytripper]

I am only going to post teams that are locks/should be locks

AQ:
Big Sky: Weber St
Big South: Monmouth
CAA: ?
MVFC: ?
NEC: Sacred Heart
OVC: ?
PL: ?
Pioneer: ?
SoCon: ?
Southland: SHSU

AL:
EWU

AQ/AL:
Delaware
JMU
SDSU
NDSU

Realistically speaking, that is going to leave 3 AL bids for a combo of the following: UC-Davis, Kennesaw, Nova, Richmond, Missery St, GFCC, Murray/APSU/JSU (AQ), ETSU/VMI (AQ), UIW (if they beat SHSU)

If they take both Nova and Richmond for beating Delaware/JMU, that leaves 1 AL for the rest of the group and that would be a travesty to take them. Honestly, if JMU loses to Richmond, I am not sure they deserve to get in. Their opponents records would be 5-13 with Elon and RMU being abysmal and Morehead St playing in the PFL.

I think if Southeastern LA beats SIU, they have a better chance at an at-large than UIW if they beat Sammy.

[ElCid]

Came here to bubble in The Citadel @ VMI...

The Military Classic of the South & a game with absolute Playoff & SoCon Championship implications ... for a VMI Team (actually 2 Teams, if you include Mercer’s Playoff chances based upon the outcome of this game & their games with Samford) that has NEVER been to the Playoffs and a VMI Team that hasn’t won a SoCon Championship in almost 50 years (or “never” if you include Mercer’s SoCon Championship chances based upon the outcome of this game & their game with Samford)...

oh well...maybe next week...

Seriously. This is a big one. Given VMIs cinderella season and a chance at winning the SOCON title for the first time in forever. Not to mention that the coveted Silver Shako is on the line... Should have been a choice.

[Daytripper]

Seriously. This is a big one. Given VMIs cinderella season and a chance at winning the SOCON title for the first time in forever. Not to mention that the coveted Silver Shako is on the line... Should have been a choice.

Yeah, my bad for not including this game but The Citadel's record caused me to pass on it.

[POD Knows]

Really wish we were playing Missouri State this weekend instead of Youngstown. MVFC conference shouldn't have automatically scheduled makeup games as a first come first serve type of thing. Should have picked best makeup games from a pool of all potential games.
This. Agree 100%.

[TheKingpin28]

I think if Southeastern LA beats SIU, they have a better chance at an at-large than UIW if they beat Sammy.I think SIU will get held down due to imbalanced schedule in the Valley. The OOC win for either team will greatly benefit their respective league as it will tell the committee which "mid/upper-mid" team is better thereby influencing the committee's decisions in relation to their league.

Sent from my SM-J727V using Tapatalk

[Preferred Walk-On]

I think SIU will get held down due to imbalanced schedule in the Valley. The OOC win for either team will greatly benefit their respective league as it will tell the committee which "mid/upper-mid" team is better thereby influencing the committee's decisions in relation to their league.

Sent from my SM-J727V using Tapatalk

They will be "held down" for losing to UND, SDSU, and MSU.

Sure MSU has missed UND and SDSU, but they beat SIU, let's not forget that. SIU has "made their bed".

I think a number of people in this forum are giving SIU a bit too much credit, because they beat NDSU handily. That was almost 7 weeks ago, and every now and again, one team has a really good day and one does not. Also, by many accounts on this same forum, NDSU is "human" this year, so should that win really be weighted as much as people seem to indicate?

I think people should probably realize that SIU actually IS the 5th best team in the MVFC. I also understand that the fifth best team in the MVFC would likely give some top tier teams in other conferences quite a game. However, for playoff selection, they are just going to miss the cut, because they did not take care of the teams they needed to. Plain and simple.

[SUPharmacist]

Voted Richmond-JMU, but my heart says the Dakota Marker.

[Chalupa Batman]

Will a 2 loss 4th place, MVFC team make the playoffs. This is a playoff game, IMO.

This is a playoff game for them but not us IMO. We are still in with a loss. Though we shouldn't take it for granted and should treat it as one.

SDSU I'm not so sure about. Probably still in but can easily see them left out. Will also depend a lot on what else happens in the FCS, particularly the CAA games. JMU & Delaware winning helps them get in, Villanova and Richmond winning hurts their chances.

[Professor Chaos]

This is a playoff game for them but not us IMO. We are still in with a loss. Though we shouldn't take it for granted and should treat it as one.

SDSU I'm not so sure about. Probably still in but can easily see them left out. Will also depend a lot on what else happens in the FCS, particularly the CAA games. JMU & Delaware winning helps them get in, Villanova and Richmond winning hurts their chances.
I'd say SDSU is safe regardless. If both they and JMU lose and JMU is put in while SDSU is left out it would be a pretty massive snub... especially considering the winner of the marker game is going to be one of the top 2 seeds. Pretty tough to go from top 3 to out of the top 10 with one loss when it was to one of the top 2.

[Chalupa Batman]

I'd say SDSU is safe regardless. If both they and JMU lose and JMU is put in while SDSU is left out it would be a pretty massive snub... especially considering the winner of the marker game is going to be one of the top 2 seeds. Pretty tough to go from top 3 to out of the top 10 with one loss when it was to one of the top 2.

I agree that they should still be in and would likely be in. But if you look at their resume with a loss to NDSU their best win against SIU is decent, though that can be helped if the Salukis beat SLU. They beat UNI who is 3-4, and their other 2 wins are against bottom dwelling YSU and WIU. I also agree that if JMU & SDSU lose, JMU getting in over SDSU would be a big snub. But if only one of those teams is going to get in on name recognition alone, I suspect it's JMU.

Just shows how crazy I think this spring season is. I would rank SDSU #1 in MVFC power ratings, but I'm discussing how they can miss the playoffs altogether by losing 1 game against a top 2 team.

[BNATION]

NDSU vs SDSU is the game of the week, but I love the SELA vs SIU game. Winner most likely gets at large bid. Very fun weekend. Spoiler, JMU loses by 2 scores.....

[dewey]

Dakota Marker game for me.

Dewey

[Houndawg]

They will be "held down" for losing to UND, SDSU, and MSU.

Sure MSU has missed UND and SDSU, but they beat SIU, let's not forget that. SIU has "made their bed".

I think a number of people in this forum are giving SIU a bit too much credit, because they beat NDSU handily. That was almost 7 weeks ago, and every now and again, one team has a really good day and one does not. Also, by many accounts on this same forum, NDSU is "human" this year, so should that win really be weighted as much as people seem to indicate?

I think people should probably realize that SIU actually IS the 5th best team in the MVFC. I also understand that the fifth best team in the MVFC would likely give some top tier teams in other conferences quite a game. However, for playoff selection, they are just going to miss the cut, because they did not take care of the teams they needed to. Plain and simple.

This.

All on the road, which is why I'm ok with them staying home for the playoffs. We'll be a better team in the fall.

[Houndawg]

NDSU vs SDSU is the game of the week, but I love the SELA vs SIU game. Winner most likely gets at large bid. Very fun weekend. Spoiler, JMU loses by 2 scores.....

SIU is out win or lose - its a tough league. Love to see these OOCs and I hope we do it again - would be a great tailgate!