First post (playoff prediction)

[TopsInDaVille]

All right. Newbie here, but I'm gonna make my first post a big one. Here's my projected bracket with final regular-season record in parentheses.

Lehigh (9-2)
at (1) New Hampshire (10-1)

Georgia Southern (8-3)
at UMass (8-3)

William & Mary (8-3)
at Appalachian State (8-3)

Jacksonville State (7-4)
at (4) Western Kentucky (9-2)

Southern Illinois (8-3)
at (2) Montana (9-2)

Eastern Washington (8-3)
at Texas State (9-2)

Coastal Carolina (10-1)
at Hampton (11-0)

South Carolina State (9-2)
at (3) Furman (9-2)

A few notes: I think Youngstown State loses out and finishes 7-4. William & Mary wins at Richmond in a game that decides the third team from the A-10. South Carolina State is the last at-large in.

Heart goes with my Hilltoppers to win it all, but mind says it's Appy State over Montana in Chattanooga.

Let the ripping begin!

[TxState_GO_CATS!]

All right. Newbie here, but I'm gonna make my first post a big one. Here's my projected bracket with final regular-season record in parentheses.

Lehigh (9-2)
at (1) New Hampshire (10-1)

Georgia Southern (8-3) @
at UMass (8-3)

William & Mary (8-3) @
at Appalachian State (8-3)

Jacksonville State (7-4) @
at (4) Western Kentucky (9-2)

Southern Illinois (8-3) @
at (2) Montana (9-2)

Eastern Washington (8-3) @
at Texas State (9-2)
Coastal Carolina (10-1) @
at Hampton (11-0)

South Carolina State (9-2) @
at (3) Furman (9-2)

A few notes: I think Youngstown State loses out and finishes 7-4. William & Mary wins at Richmond in a game that decides the third team from the A-10. South Carolina State is the last at-large in.

Heart goes with my Hilltoppers to win it all, but mind says it's Appy State over Montana in Chattanooga.

Let the ripping begin!


That would be a FUN game...but, we gotta take care of business first. We're one game from watchin the playoffs IMO... :mad:

[AppGuy04]

don't think Jax St or SCSU will get in, but I like the NC prediction :D

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

They won't make a #1 UNH play a 9-2 Lehigh. If Lehigh wins out i'm still convinced they play the A-10 runnerup. Lehigh would host an 8-3 Umass team, i'm almost certain. If Lehigh wins out they're going to be ranked #6-#8, they're not going to be matched up with the #1 team in the country.

[TopsInDaVille]

If you're not one of the top four seeds, you could be sent anywhere. Heck, WKU was ranked No. 3 last season and got sent to Sam Houston State (although I don't think the administration was willing to pony up a lot of money to host). If you're not a top-four seed, you're at the mercy of the selection committee, politics and pairings made on the least amount of travel possible.

In reply to another post, I think Jacksonville State beats Eastern Illinois for the OVC bid in the final week.

[Lehigh Lover]

I agree. Why would we have to get sent to UNH? They wouldn't give UNH that tough of a first round matchup. UNH if seeded #1 would get one of the weakest teams in the field in the first round and sorry everyone, but Lehigh's not a weak team.

[JMU Duke Dog]

All right. Newbie here, but I'm gonna make my first post a big one. Here's my projected bracket with final regular-season record in parentheses.

Lehigh (9-2)
at (1) New Hampshire (10-1)

Georgia Southern (8-3)
at UMass (8-3)

William & Mary (8-3)
at Appalachian State (8-3)

Jacksonville State (7-4)
at (4) Western Kentucky (9-2)

Southern Illinois (8-3)
at (2) Montana (9-2)

Eastern Washington (8-3)
at Texas State (9-2)

Coastal Carolina (10-1)
at Hampton (11-0)

South Carolina State (9-2)
at (3) Furman (9-2)

A few notes: I think Youngstown State loses out and finishes 7-4. William & Mary wins at Richmond in a game that decides the third team from the A-10. South Carolina State is the last at-large in.

Heart goes with my Hilltoppers to win it all, but mind says it's Appy State over Montana in Chattanooga.

Let the ripping begin!

Those would be very interesting games to watch in the Mid-Atlantic region.

[eagleskins]

All right. Newbie here, but I'm gonna make my first post a big one. Here's my projected bracket with final regular-season record in parentheses.

Lehigh (9-2)
at (1) New Hampshire (10-1)

Georgia Southern (8-3)
at UMass (8-3)

William & Mary (8-3)
at Appalachian State (8-3)

Jacksonville State (7-4)
at (4) Western Kentucky (9-2)

Southern Illinois (8-3)
at (2) Montana (9-2)

Eastern Washington (8-3)
at Texas State (9-2)

Coastal Carolina (10-1)
at Hampton (11-0)

South Carolina State (9-2)
at (3) Furman (9-2)

A few notes: I think Youngstown State loses out and finishes 7-4. William & Mary wins at Richmond in a game that decides the third team from the A-10. South Carolina State is the last at-large in.

Heart goes with my Hilltoppers to win it all, but mind says it's Appy State over Montana in Chattanooga.

Let the ripping begin!


No way in hell GSU goes to Umass. Umass will be in Statesboro if that is the scenario. Umass's sorry attendance will kill them.

[SeattleGriz]

I agree. Why would we have to get sent to UNH? They wouldn't give UNH that tough of a first round matchup. UNH if seeded #1 would get one of the weakest teams in the field in the first round and sorry everyone, but Lehigh's not a weak team.

Why not? Last year they sent NW State to Montana for a first round match up. NW State was ranked pretty high at that point in the season. Montana was not a top 4 seed, but they were around the #5 spot.

[TopsInDaVille]

No way in hell GSU goes to Umass. Umass will be in Statesboro if that is the scenario. Umass's sorry attendance will kill them.

Well, somebody from the SoCon's going on the road, and I don't think it's going to be Appy or Furman.

[TopsInDaVille]

BTW, are Lehigh fans on this board always so sensitive? Just because I've got you all playing the No. 1 seed doesn't mean I think you're the worst team in the field. And just because you play the No. 1 seed in the first round doesn't mean the selection committee thinks you're the worst team, either. Regional matchups people, regional matchups.

[umassfan]

Well UMass would not be traveling to Lehigh or GSU in round one if we win out or win 2 of 3... First of all I dont think we would play GSU in round one anyway but if we did it would be in Amherst this year... Say what you want about our attendance but in games not played in heavy rain we have gotten over 10000 each... its all about the bid and we would likely bid high.

[Tribe4SF]

All right. Newbie here, but I'm gonna make my first post a big one. Here's my projected bracket with final regular-season record in parentheses.

Lehigh (9-2)
at (1) New Hampshire (10-1)

Georgia Southern (8-3)
at UMass (8-3)

William & Mary (8-3)
at Appalachian State (8-3)
Jacksonville State (7-4)
at (4) Western Kentucky (9-2)

Southern Illinois (8-3)
at (2) Montana (9-2)

Eastern Washington (8-3)
at Texas State (9-2)

Coastal Carolina (10-1)
at Hampton (11-0)
South Carolina State (9-2)
at (3) Furman (9-2)
A few notes: I think Youngstown State loses out and finishes 7-4. William & Mary wins at Richmond in a game that decides the third team from the A-10. South Carolina State is the last at-large in.

Heart goes with my Hilltoppers to win it all, but mind says it's Appy State over Montana in Chattanooga.

Let the ripping begin!

The three games in bold would more likely be matched this way.

W&M at Hampton

CCU @ Furman

SC State @ Appy

[Cocky]

In reply to another post, I think Jacksonville State beats Eastern Illinois for the OVC bid in the final week.

Unless EKU loses JSU, EIU, and EKU would then have to have a coin toss. The way we are playing right now JSU should beat EIU to cause coin flip.

[Umass74]

No way in hell GSU goes to Umass. Umass will be in Statesboro if that is the scenario. Umass's sorry attendance will kill them.

In 1998, UMass got one home playoff game against Lehigh.

GSU has also had a home playoff game that day.

UMass had the higher attendence. Look it up.

[LacesOut]

They won't make a #1 UNH play a 9-2 Lehigh. If Lehigh wins out i'm still convinced they play the A-10 runnerup. Lehigh would host an 8-3 Umass team, i'm almost certain. If Lehigh wins out they're going to be ranked #6-#8, they're not going to be matched up with the #1 team in the country.


SIU thought the same thing in 2003, and they got their butts sent and whooped here in Newark!!

[AppGuy04]

The three games in bold would more likely be matched this way.

W&M at Hampton

CCU @ Furman

SC State @ Appy
i agree with these matchups

[siugrad99]

I was going to post the same thing about SIU. We thought we would get a home game after winning the gateway and going 10-1, but got sent on the road and our @ss handed to us by eventual national champion Blue Hens. Don't even try to predict what the committee will do as it is not easy to tell so don't waste your time.

[LUHawker]

BTW, are Lehigh fans on this board always so sensitive? Just because I've got you all playing the No. 1 seed doesn't mean I think you're the worst team in the field. And just because you play the No. 1 seed in the first round doesn't mean the selection committee thinks you're the worst team, either. Regional matchups people, regional matchups.

No, we aren't that sensitive, but we are vocal when we disagree (or agree for that matter). The reason that Lehigh isn't getting shipped off to New Hampshire is because UNH is far from almost all other teams and will (likely) require a plane trip, the committee will more likely send another far flung team to that venue. It's kind of like the "If we've got to fly you anyway, may as well kill two birds with one stone" approach. If Lehigh even makes the playoffs, it is close enough to a number of other potential playoff participants that those pairings would have a higher probability.

[LUHawker]

In 1998, UMass got one home playoff game against Lehigh.

GSU has also had a home playoff game that day.

UMass had the higher attendence. Look it up.

I was at Umass that day and a lot of that attendance was on the Lehigh side.

[Hamptongal]

i agree with these matchups
Those would be some interesting matchups. I would love to see Hampton in a rematch against W&M. I went to the game last and was devastated. I thought Hampton had it in the bag and then stupid penalties and some shaky calls had me wanting to throw myself off the back of the stands.

[dwtime]

I agree. Why would we have to get sent to UNH? They wouldn't give UNH that tough of a first round matchup. UNH if seeded #1 would get one of the weakest teams in the field in the first round and sorry everyone, but Lehigh's not a weak team.

UNH fan here and I agree, Lehigh looks very good (saw some of the Colgate game on Fox). I might see a 8-3 Lehigh team going to UNH if the Cats finish 10-1 but not if Lehigh is 9-2.

[UNH_Alum_In_CT]

Committee has set up many head scratching matchups over the years. SIU to UD in 2003 and UNH (#5) to GSU (#4) in 2004 are prime examples. There doesn't appear to be anything guaranteed for a highly ranked team unless seeded. A bus trip from the Lehigh Valley to Seacoast NH normally would seem logical based on NCAA desire to limit travel, but last year they bypassed two matchups with that bus travel despite having two other A-10 versus Patriot matchups. I can't begin to guess what the committee will decide!

FWIW, UNH is very flight friendly due to its proximity to Boston's Logan Airport (just north of downtown, a little over an hour away), to Manchester's airport with SW Airlines service (a little less than an hour away) and to Portsmouth's Pease Airport (former Air Force base about 15 minutes away for charter flights). If UNH manages to be a seed, they could host a team flying in for that reason. If not seeded and their bid loses, then they could be sent flying for the same reason.

I don't like the theory that because they're flying anyway why not send them farther away. As much as I like intersectional games in the playoffs, EWU-UNH or Cal Poly-UNH or UMass-Montana type games put the visiting school at more of a disadvantage than the normal playoff visiting team.

[ngineer]

No, we aren't that sensitive, but we are vocal when we disagree (or agree for that matter). The reason that Lehigh isn't getting shipped off to New Hampshire is because UNH is far from almost all other teams and will (likely) require a plane trip, the committee will more likely send another far flung team to that venue. It's kind of like the "If we've got to fly you anyway, may as well kill two birds with one stone" approach. If Lehigh even makes the playoffs, it is close enough to a number of other potential playoff participants that those pairings would have a higher probability.
I see a Lehigh/Richmond replay of 1999 occuring.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

I see a Lehigh/Richmond replay of 1999 occuring.

Lehigh played Richmond in 1998, Hofstra in 1999.

[ngineer]

Lehigh played Richmond in 1998, Hofstra in 1999.
Correcto--I was thinking of UMass being in 1998---which they were in the quarterfinals the following week.

[Aggie71]

Ask some of your older fans about the "77" (?) game at Davis. You won, but what a battle.

Go Ags

[Toppermaniac]

UNH fan here and I agree, Lehigh looks very good (saw some of the Colgate game on Fox). I might see a 8-3 Lehigh team going to UNH if the Cats finish 10-1 but not if Lehigh is 9-2.

Outside of he 4 seeds, records seem to be pretty immaterial to the committee. WKU was 9-2 last year, with only 1 1-AA loss to the # 1 team in the country, and ranked either 3rd or 5th (forget which) in the country and we were sent on the road to Texas in the first round. Don't EVER assume the committee won't pull something stupid out of their asses. You'll just end up stunned.

[Tailbone]

Outside of he 4 seeds, records seem to be pretty immaterial to the committee. WKU was 9-2 last year, with only 1 1-AA loss to the # 1 team in the country, and ranked either 3rd or 5th (forget which) in the country and we were sent on the road to Texas in the first round. Don't EVER assume the committee won't pull something stupid out of their asses. You'll just end up stunned.

I wouldn't assume that bracket placement is without reasonable basis.
2004 season end GPI placed WKU at #8 despite the #3 ranking in the AGS & SN polls. It would seem that other selection criteria (GPI, $$, geography,? ) in addition to record are given consideration as well.

[AZGrizFan]

In 1998, UMass got one home playoff game against Lehigh.

GSU has also had a home playoff game that day.

UMass had the higher attendence. Look it up.

Wow. pulling out 7 year-old attendance statistics to prove a point. That's desparate! :nod:

[hawkineer]

Ask some of your older fans about the "77" (?) game at Davis. You won, but what a battle.

Go Ags
I remember the game well. My freshman year @ LU. It was actually carried on ABC back then. UCD had a very good QB (Mike Mikelski?). It was back and forth all day.
LU beat UMass on the road in round 1, UCD on the road in round 2 - both very close games. I travelled to Wichita Falls, TX for the Division II finals. LU crushed Jacksonville State 33-0. :) I actually have a VHS tape that has the UCD game and the Jax State game.

God, I guess I'm officially an "older" fan. :(

[igo4uni]

Outside of he 4 seeds, records seem to be pretty immaterial to the committee. WKU was 9-2 last year, with only 1 1-AA loss to the # 1 team in the country, and ranked either 3rd or 5th (forget which) in the country and we were sent on the road to Texas in the first round. Don't EVER assume the committee won't pull something stupid out of their asses. You'll just end up stunned.


The amount of $$ a school bids, and attendance also play a factor.


peace

igo4uni

[FlyYtown]

A few notes: I think Youngstown State loses out and finishes 7-4.


Don't give up on the Penguins just yet; Mason and Zetts will both Play Saturday and even if we finish the season with the Gateway's Best; I still like our chances vs. WKU next Saturday at Stambaugh; go Penguins!

[JaxSinfonian]

Furman or Western, I'll take either one. Revenge rematches seem to inspire this Jax State team. Cases in point, the Furman game this year (oh, so close), and last week's game against Tennessee Tech. I just wish there was a way it would be Western coming down here for a visit.


In reply to another post, I think Jacksonville State beats Eastern Illinois for the OVC bid in the final week.

Keep in mind we need Eastern Kentucky to lose a game for that to happen.

[Gamecocks99]

I remember the game well. My freshman year @ LU. It was actually carried on ABC back then. UCD had a very good QB (Mike Mikelski?). It was back and forth all day.
LU beat UMass on the road in round 1, UCD on the road in round 2 - both very close games. I travelled to Wichita Falls, TX for the Division II finals. LU crushed Jacksonville State 33-0. :) I actually have a VHS tape that has the UCD game and the Jax State game.

God, I guess I'm officially an "older" fan. :(

Hawkineer,

I remember the season very well myself. But, I watched it on ABC. We had a great team that year. Until that very cold day in Wichita Falls, TX. Lehigh had a much stronger team that year. Our QB Bobby Ray Green got knock out cold and did not return to the game and it was down hill from there. The guys at the the game in the press box said, it was so cold that the pipes were sold ice. The wind blew very hard and long that day as well. 1-AA was not started until the next year.

I would love a copy of that tape for my kids to watch. Those are great memories. I would love for JSU to play Lehigh in the near future. That would be great.

JSU has come such a long way since those days. Our stadium was being built that as-well.

I hope we make the playoffs this year because we are a much better team than the team that lost in the last second to Furman at the beginning of this season. I think if we make the playoff we will surprise some teams before it is over.