So who wants to be #1 now?

[LarryBoy]

Any takers?

[ronpayne]

Not sure that anybody would agree, but I think ASU at least deserves some #1 consideration after holding up to LSU.... now I hope they maintain focus on WCU and Elon and don't let anything stupid slip up! Go Apps!

[mainejeff]

I agree.......a 24-0 loss at LSU is deserving of a #1 ranking. :cool:

[LarryBoy]

To be honest, no one is truly playing like a legitimate #1 in the country (which is how we ended up with the #1 ranking in the first place...by simply not playing last week). App may be the favorite in the long run, but they need to string together a winning streak first. Which, I guess at this point, near the playoffs, is kind of the point anyways.

I'd say the best team is either in the A-10, Southern, Gateway, or state of Montana. But with everyone beating the crap out of each other, records and polls have become pretty irrelevant in determining who's best.

I know that the small conference people will hate me for saying so, but despite their better records, I give them little chance of survival in the playoffs. No disrespect intended, it's just how I think things will happen.

[umassfan]

Not sure that anybody would agree, but I think ASU at least deserves some #1 consideration after holding up to LSU.... now I hope they maintain focus on WCU and Elon and don't let anything stupid slip up! Go Apps!
My coworker(an LSU grad) told me they called off the dogs at the half saving the troops for next week.. wouldnt be suprised.

[youwouldno]

UNH has to be considered #1 at this point. But it's a crapshoot... there is no true #1.

[Catmendue2]

My coworker(an LSU grad) told me they called off the dogs at the half saving the troops for next week.. wouldnt be suprised.



LSU did remove the starters, but that not the problem how can you rate a team number one with three losses.

[Cocky]

Not sure that anybody would agree, but I think ASU at least deserves some #1 consideration after holding up to LSU.... now I hope they maintain focus on WCU and Elon and don't let anything stupid slip up! Go Apps!

Didn't they lose to FU and were played very close by EKU (a OVC team)? As we all know anybody played close by a lowly OVC team can't be deserving of #1 consideration. I realize FU was #1 but the quality crap the OVC catches on this board just makes me wonder.

[Seven Would Be Nice]

Any takers?

i nominate app state, but only if the "curse" holds up :p :D

[Tribefan]

I am really not impressed with any SEC offense this year. The highest ranked team in the SEC has not scored a TD on offense in the last 11 quarters of SEC play. Alabama might win it's bowl game 4-0.

Great job by App. State though.

[ronpayne]

I can see the point with 3 losses, but here's my reasoning:

1st loss: I-A Kansas, at Kansas (and we didn't get blown out)
2nd loss: final seconds of FU game on a blocked field goal
3rd loss: I-A #6 LSU, who actually didn't take out their starting quarterback until the 4th quarter. They didn't swap out, and through 3 quarters, they played with the score 14-0.

Thats my 2 cents! Either way, the playoffs should be good!

[LUHawker]

I'd say the best team is either in the A-10, Southern, Gateway, or state of Montana. But with everyone beating the crap out of each other, records and polls have become pretty irrelevant in determining who's best.



Thanks for narrowing it down. Among those 3 conferences and 1 state, you named effectively 10-11 of the likely playoff participants. Probability of one of those coming out on top seems pretty high when you have 11 of 16 spots there.

[kardplayer]

To be honest, no one is truly playing like a legitimate #1 in the country (which is how we ended up with the #1 ranking in the first place...by simply not playing last week).

I disagree with this wholeheartedly...

New Hampshire is playing like the #1 team in the country, and has been all season with the exception of one rain-soaked blip.

Beat oft-ranked UCD at UCD 17-13
Crushed suprising Towson squad 62-21
Crushed Dartmouth (as they should) 49-20
Crushed Villanova 45-17
The aforementioned blip against W&M losing 42-10
Crushed URI 53-9
Crushed Northeastern 52-21
Handled highly ranked UMass 37-28 at UMass
Won a squaker against sometimes ranked/cusp team Hofstra 29-26 at Hofstra

They're not just beating teams, they are annihilating them.

[rcny46]

I disagree with this wholeheartedly...

New Hampshire is playing like the #1 team in the country, and has been all season with the exception of one rain-soaked blip.

Beat oft-ranked UCD at UCD 17-13
Crushed suprising Towson squad 62-21
Crushed Dartmouth (as they should) 49-20
Crushed Villanova 45-17
The aforementioned blip against W&M losing 42-10
Crushed URI 53-9
Crushed Northeastern 52-21
Handled highly ranked UMass 37-28 at UMass
Won a squaker against sometimes ranked/cusp team Hofstra 29-26 at Hofstra

They're not just beating teams, they are annihilating them.

UNH was was outplayed for most of the game yesterday,especially in the trenches,and were lucky to escape Hempstead with a W.Lehigh Football Nation was at the game,and I'd really like to hear his thoughts on how both teams looked.

[nevadagriz]

Give it to UNH they deserve it they are in my opinion the most consistent team!
However if the curse continues give it to MSU.
Just do not give it to Montana!!!!

[bkrownd]

New Hamster is looking spiffy. Iona and Maine? The biggest concern is that the team will forget to wake up for the Maine game. Can you imagine playoff games in their modest stadium up there?

[AppGuy04]

UNH will be #1, Hampton will be #2

[rcny46]

New Hamster is looking spiffy. Iona and Maine? The biggest concern is that the team will forget to wake up for the Maine game. Can you imagine playoff games in their modest stadium up there?


They've hosted playoff games twice in the past.Once against Appalachian St.-an OT loss in `94 I believe-and the other was against Samford-coached by Terry Bowden-which they also lost.

[catbob]

I nominat the Griz simply because I want them to be under the influence of the #1 curse.

[appst89]

My coworker(an LSU grad) told me they called off the dogs at the half saving the troops for next week.. wouldnt be suprised.

Unless their second teamers have the same names as their starters they played their #1 offense until midway through the 4th quarter.

[LarryBoy]

Thanks for narrowing it down. Among those 3 conferences and 1 state, you named effectively 10-11 of the likely playoff participants. Probability of one of those coming out on top seems pretty high when you have 11 of 16 spots there.

Hey, what can I say? I'm not normally one to go out on a limb.

[footballsmarts1]

RCNY
what is your problem with unh... you claim to be a fan but you never say anything positive.... at the beginning of the season you said they were pretenders and that the defense was awful. UNH is now 8-1 when will you stop hating

[blur2005]

RCNY
what is your problem with unh... you claim to be a fan but you never say anything positive.... at the beginning of the season you said they were pretenders and that the defense was awful. UNH is now 8-1 when will you stop hating
Yeah, he's probably the strangest "fan" I've ever seen.

[umassfan]

I disagree with this wholeheartedly...

New Hampshire is playing like the #1 team in the country, and has been all season with the exception of one rain-soaked blip.

Beat oft-ranked UCD at UCD 17-13
Crushed suprising Towson squad 62-21
Crushed Dartmouth (as they should) 49-20
Crushed Villanova 45-17
The aforementioned blip against W&M losing 42-10
Crushed URI 53-9
Crushed Northeastern 52-21
Handled highly ranked UMass 37-28 at UMass
Won a squaker against sometimes ranked/cusp team Hofstra 29-26 at Hofstra

They're not just beating teams, they are annihilating them.

The UNH UMass game was a little closer then you stated. It was a 34-28 game. UMass also was on the 35 yard line looking to score when time ran out.

[blukeys]

RCNY
what is your problem with unh... you claim to be a fan but you never say anything positive.... at the beginning of the season you said they were pretenders and that the defense was awful. UNH is now 8-1 when will you stop hating

Right now UNH is my #1 team and I have stated on other boards that McConnell is my A-10 coach of the year every year. (this has been my view since 2000)

While UNH has an awesome offense and in my view the most creative offensive play calling in the A-10 and maybe the nation, UNH's defense is suspect. The UNH defense is nowhere near the quality of the last 3 NC teams. Defense does win championships.

Is UNH's offense good enough to overcome the defensive shortcomings? Only the playoffs will tell.

[rcny46]

Right now UNH is my #1 team and I have stated on other boards that McConnell is my A-10 coach of the year every year. (this has been my view since 2000)

While UNH has an awesome offense and in my view the most creative offensive play calling in the A-10 and maybe the nation, UNH's defense is suspect. The UNH defense is nowhere near the quality of the last 3 NC teams. Defense does win championships.

Is UNH's offense good enough to overcome the defensive shortcomings? Only the playoffs will tell.

That's basically all I've been trying to point out from day one.Their D has given up around 1060 yds.in the last two games,and that's not good.I have trouble with the notion that a team can win by simply outscoring the other guys(quality opposition,not cupcakes) That just bothers the hell out of me.I guess in order to be considered a true fan,you have to observe everything through rose colored glasses.

[AZGrizFan]

Give it to UNH they deserve it they are in my opinion the most consistent team!
However if the curse continues give it to MSU.
Just do not give it to Montana!!!!

Nevada, based on the way the Griz offense looked yesterday, there's not a snowballs chance in hell of them winning in the playoffs anyway...

[nevadagriz]

I think you will see a much better effort in Sac next week!
Are you the same AZ griz from the e-griz board?

[UNH_Alum_In_CT]

That's basically all I've been trying to point out from day one.Their D has given up around 1060 yds.in the last two games,and that's not good.I have trouble with the notion that a team can win by simply outscoring the other guys(quality opposition,not cupcakes) That just bothers the hell out of me.I guess in order to be considered a true fan,you have to observe everything through rose colored glasses.

No, IIRC you said they would be 7-4 at best and wouldn't be surprised if they were 6-5 or 5-6. And you predicted that they wouldn't make the playoffs. And you've never given them one iota of credit for their success along the way. I don't believe all the games have been simple outscorings of the opposition, the defense had some significant influence in the outcomes.

To my knowledge, no UNH posters have been touting the Wildcats as favorites for the National Championship or that the defense was the second coming of da' 85 Bears, we all know that it isn't true. Nobody has rose colored glasses!

I know UNH doesn't have the horses of many of the other A-10 teams. With the barriers UNH faces every year, it will take some more successful seasons to even come close to equal footing on the recruiting trails. The ability to do more with less is part of what makes this current success so exciting. And you don't seem to be part of that excitement at all.

No doubt that defense wins championships, so does quality depth to win four playoff games in four weeks. Even if UNH is ranked #1, it will be very difficult to win those four games. And yes, there is probably more than one team out there who can exploit our defense like William and Mary did. And yes by the reports I heard from on site observers, Hofstra did out play us. If we had lost that game and then won out to finish 9-2, I would have viewed that as an incredible season. Shoot, even if we had gone 8-3, I wouldn't have been upset and would have applauded their season.

JMHO, but a true fan would be able to appreciate what his team has accomplished and would give them credit for their success. I would think that someone so in tune with their deficiencies would be able to acknowledge how impressive it has been to blow your own prediction out of the water.

[AppGuy04]

When did LSU put in backups??? Late in the 4th quarter? You need to look at who the three losses came against.

App was not supposed to beat Kansas or LSU, so thats pretty much moot

As for Furman, they blocked a field goal to win the game

so please tell me how they are not a top 3 team in the nation, they are the SoCon leader and SHOULD win the conference

they may have 3 losses, but have more credentials than teams with 0,1, or 2 losses

[Umass74]

Right now UNH is my #1 team and I have stated on other boards that McConnell is my A-10 coach of the year every year. (this has been my view since 2000)

While UNH has an awesome offense and in my view the most creative offensive play calling in the A-10 and maybe the nation, UNH's defense is suspect. The UNH defense is nowhere near the quality of the last 3 NC teams. Defense does win championships.

Is UNH's offense good enough to overcome the defensive shortcomings? Only the playoffs will tell.

I agree with Blukeys. I've seen eight I-AA games in person and watched a number of I-AA teams on TV.

UMH's offense is like on another planet. They are without question the best offense in I-AA.

Their defense is not great. No UNH defensive back could stay within 15 yards of Villanova's J.J. Outlaw and UMass threw for a record tying 401 yards.

If they don't have a off day in the playoffs, then they could just smoke everybody.

If their offense is not effective then they could have a bad loss (like W&M) to anyone.

UNH's defense is physical up front. I would speculate that a team with a good passing game would have the best chance at upsetting them...

[colgate13]

I would speculate that a team with a good passing game would have the best chance at upsetting them...

My :twocents:

A good passing game with a solid running game to chew up clock. There is no better defense than an offense that controls the ball and keeps the other team off the field.

Another playoff caliber team can't get in a shoot out with UNH, they will lose 95%+ of the time. They need to grind it out and control the ball, while burning d backs when they can/have to.

Just my :twocents:

[footballsmarts1]

Ok, i have been readings this UNH swiss cheese defense for way to long...
you guys obviously have no clue what you are talking about.
1st when does yards win a football game... never... points do.
2nd you say a team that controls the ball will win? well not true in all cases UNH is in last for time of pos (26mins). therefore teams do not have to try to control the clock because UNH's offense does it naturally. it is a hit or miss offense (that is usually hitting.. and because they are so good its hard to give UNH to much credit so its easy to bash the d) And its that low even though UNH smoked 5 teams and at the end tried to run out the clock. So if games where closer the time of pos. may be lower.
3rd you say unh got beat by Hofstra (not score but beat because they dominated the game in the trenches) bull... UNH D forced 9 turn overs that were not capitalized on. 9 turnovers against a hofstra team that came in only given up 12 on the season. went 3 and out to force a field goal after a block punt in the redzone. They are number 1 in forced turnovers by a mile. and the defense they run is a run d and stay in front of pass no big plays. when the ball gets in the red zone they clamp down. you have no room to go anywhere. 2nd to the great UMASS D in the redzone. And finally Hofstra was a very good team easily could be 8-1... sound crazy right.. no.. not at all
they lost to the number one team in the nation 44-41 in 2 ot (and nobody hates on furmans defense because the dont give up yards just points), they lost to a suprising Richmond team 43-37 in 2 ot ( but nobody is bashing richmonds d) and to unh (29-26) (but everyone is bashing the D
wow..... you do the math

[GannonFan]

Well, I think UNH has the #1 ranking and the #1 seed sewn up now - with only Iona and Maine in front of them they should finish 10-1 and clearly be the best team in IAA through the regular season. Whether their lack of a defense will be their downfall will depend on who they play - if they get the right matchups they could go all the way to Chatty. I don't think their homefield advantage is as good as Colgate's was in '03 with the snow in both games but it could be an advantage if a warm weather team needs to go to Durham.

[Hamptongal]

I give UNH #1. I have to say that I don't think anybody is a solid #1 this season though, as we have seen in the past couple of weeks. The A-10 is a very strange conference, they trade losses, great teams lose to pretty relatively weak teams (not in IAA just in their conference.) Please don't get mad at me for that one. I know somebody is gonna kill me for saying that. However, I definitely think they should be #1 b/c Hampton's strength of schedule isn't that good so we just want to prove ourselves in the play-offs and not get a controversial #1.

[AppGuy04]

I give UNH #1. I have to say that I don't think anybody is a solid #1 this season though, as we have seen in the past couple of weeks. The A-10 is a very strange conference, they trade losses, great teams lose to pretty relatively weak teams (not in IAA just in their conference.) Please don't get mad at me for that one. I know somebody is gonna kill me for saying that. However, I definitely think they should be #1 b/c Hampton's strength of schedule isn't that good so we just want to prove ourselves in the play-offs and not get a controversial #1.

the controversy will come when you guys get a seed, which honestly, unless a miracle happen and u guys lose, will happen

[Hamptongal]

the controversy will come when you guys get a seed, which honestly, unless a miracle happen and u guys lose, will happen
If we get a seed, all the team can do is prove that it deserved it. All the hearsay and shoulda, woulda couldas will mean nothing when the game is over. I truly hope that if we do get a seed that the Pirates show that they really deserved it. I haven't seem a game where I could really gauge the talent of Hampton because they have played brilliantly at times and other times come out really flat. But they are persistent and have an excellent defense. I am very excited about whomever we get. :D

[putter]

the controversy will come when you guys get a seed, which honestly, unless a miracle happen and u guys lose, will happen

Are you sure you aren't talking about Southern Illinois? Seeded teams do lose in the first round :D ;)

[colgate13]

Are you sure you aren't talking about Southern Illinois? Seeded teams do lose in the first round :D ;)

The loss he is referring to is in the last two regular season games...

But seriously Hampton is not a lock yet. Happless 2003 Holy Cross came very close to ruining Colgate's perfect regular season. Don't snooze Pirates.

[AZGrizFan]

I think you will see a much better effort in Sac next week!
Are you the same AZ griz from the e-griz board?

My sig there is the same: AZGrizFan.