Where is the outrage?!?!?!

[appstate38]

5 CAA teams again this year and there doesn't seem to be any talk about it..... What is different from last year???? Discuss!!!!

[smcwildcat]

best conference best teams...

[SoCon48]

It's a farce.

[Duke Dawg]

well, if your 3rd place team (Elon) hadn't got punked by Liberty this weekend, you would have had 3 and the CAA 4.

Point the finger at your conference mate first.

[santosballnewhampshire]

5 CAA teams again this year and there doesn't seem to be any talk about it..... What is different from last year???? Discuss!!!!

You're right, nothing has changed since last year, the CAA had 5 of the best teams in the country, and they are going to the playoffs. I'm sure they will represent us well.

[Edge316007]

There is no outrage because Maine still has a decent case to make. There was no clear 16th team

[Khan4Cats]

well, if your 3rd place team (Elon) hadn't got punked by Liberty this weekend, you would have had 3 and the CAA 4.

Point the finger at your conference mate first.

I think this is accurate. The first 7 at-larges were pretty clear picks, that last choice was the fuzzy one. Elon could have kept it a lot simpler with a win. There certainly weren't any solid 'western' teams to choose from, and there were warts on pretty much everyone that was under consideration. I think they did another trade a seed for an extra team like they did with the Gateway a few years ago.

[WMTribe90]

The only outrage is that the committee took the wrong CAA team to fill the 16th spot. WM had the better resume, played UR much closer than Maine and beat UNH at their place. Committee was right to reject Liberty and Elon based primarily on SOS and then copped out and took a seconf CAA north team over a 4th CAA South squad, even though WM's resume is better.

[WMTribe90]

The only outrage is that the committee took the wrong CAA team to fill the 16th spot. WM had the better resume, played UR much closer than Maine and beat UNH at their place. Committee was right to reject Liberty and Elon based primarily on SOS and then copped out and took a second CAA north team over a 4th CAA South squad, even though WM's resume is better.

[charliej]

I think this is accurate. The first 7 at-larges were pretty clear picks, that last choice was the fuzzy one. Elon could have kept it a lot simpler with a win. There certainly weren't any solid 'western' teams to choose from, and there were warts on pretty much everyone that was under consideration. I think they did another trade a seed for an extra team like they did with the Gateway a few years ago.xnodx

I agree. Either that or money is more important than they are willing to admit.

[gbhmt]

Maine should not have gotten in. That's a little upsetting. The top of the bracket is absolutely stacked, that's more upsetting.

The worst part is the fact that all three West teams are semifinal caliber, and they're put in the same side of the same bracket, allowing only one to advance. Regionalization is stupid, period.

[Cocky]

If you are going to give a conference 5 team they all should be locks. Maine was far from a lock. I would have taken W&M over Maine in their own conference.

[BigApp]

5 CAA teams again this year

going to be interesting to see how next year plays out. They don't have Iona to schedule anymore!!

[ccd494]

If you are going to give a conference 5 team they all should be locks. Maine was far from a lock. I would have taken W&M over Maine in their own conference.

W&M fans are quick to point to the UNH/Richmond comparisons.

Why are they not bringing up the disparity in results against JMU?

[GannonFan]

going to be interesting to see how next year plays out. They don't have Iona to schedule anymore!!

No sweat - maybe you guys can forward them the phone numbers for Lenoir-Rhyne or Jacksonville? :p

[mainejeff]

The only outrage is that the committee took the wrong CAA team to fill the 16th spot. WM had the better resume, played UR much closer than Maine and beat UNH at their place. Committee was right to reject Liberty and Elon based primarily on SOS and then copped out and took a seconf CAA north team over a 4th CAA South squad, even though WM's resume is better.

B.S.

Maine and W&M did not play each other. Next season, you may not want to lose your last 2 games with a playoff spot on the line.

[appstate38]

No sweat - maybe you guys can forward them the phone numbers for Lenoir-Rhyne or Jacksonville? :p

You guys can man up and get on the schedule if you want!!!!

[mainejeff]

Maine should not have gotten in. That's a little upsetting. The top of the bracket is absolutely stacked, that's more upsetting.

Yeah.....how dare Maine lose to 3 Top 10 teams and a Big Ten team! xrolleyesx xrolleyesx xrolleyesx

[mainejeff]

If you are going to give a conference 5 team they all should be locks. Maine was far from a lock. I would have taken W&M over Maine in their own conference.

Why (other than your anti-Northern bias)???

[TCisMYhero]

Thank you, selection committee!!

[mainejeff]

going to be interesting to see how next year plays out. They don't have Iona to schedule anymore!!

Well.....there's plenty of crappy Southern teams to play......just ask some of your conference mates!

[93henfan]

going to be interesting to see how next year plays out. They don't have Iona to schedule anymore!!

But the SoCon will still have Mars Hill, West Georgia, Faulkner, Webber International, Shorter, and Cumberland on its schedule again I bet.

[mainejeff]

But the SoCon will still have Mars Hill, West Georgia, Faulkner, Webber International, Shorter, and Cumberland on its schedule again I bet.

Is Taller available?

xcoffeex

[Boots Harvey]

well, if your 3rd place team (Elon) hadn't got punked by Liberty this weekend, you would have had 3 and the CAA 4.

Point the finger at your conference mate first.

____________________

You are correct. Elon dropped the ball. Again.... Thought Liberty might/should get in. Lembo and his wanna-be's choked. Period. Socon had a chance to get 3 in. Don't know who was worse at the end of season....Elon and Coach Lembo or Furman and Coach Lamb. Elon was supposed to be good...Furman was not...Furman fans absolutely suck...see attendance figures...It's a toss up. xcoffeex

Hope ASU and Wofford win. Make the conference proud. Don't get me wrong, I don't like you guys ...I just dislike everyone else more...xthumbsupx

[malibudude]

Thank you, selection committee!!

Yes, that was breathtaking.

[woffordgrad94]

But the SoCon will still have Mars Hill, West Georgia, Faulkner, Webber International, Shorter, and Cumberland on its schedule again I bet.

I'm glad Wofford did not play any of those type teams.

[WMTribe90]

MJ, I didn't say WM played Maine.

Maine has no wins over ranked opponents or playoff teams.
Maine lost to UNH at home.
WM beat UNH on the road.
WM was 3-0 versus the north, including the north champ.
WM had the higher GPI
WM is ranked higher.
WM played their IA school much closer.
Maine almost lost to Monmouth.
Against all common opponents, WM had the higher point spread (points scored minus points surrendered).

Maine had an extra win over mighty Iona.

So, tell me exactly why Maine is more deserving of a playoff bid then WM!

Despite MJ, good luck to the Bears, not your fault the committee blew it, represent well.

[GannonFan]

You guys can man up and get on the schedule if you want!!!!

Yeah, we were really slumming with Furman and Maryland. Just pointing out the obvious fallacy of mocking teams for playing Iona when both Jacksonville and Presbysterian dot the schedule this year. xthumbsupx

[93henfan]

Thank you, selection committee!!

Well, in the committee's defense, they were looking at potentially two home games for 'Nova vs two home games for UNI at the #4 seed and I think they $$$aw the light.

[TCisMYhero]

MJ, I didn't say WM played Maine.

Maine has no wins over ranked opponents or playoff teams.
Maine lost to UNH at home.
WM beat UNH on the road.
WM was 3-0 versus the north, including the north champ.
WM had the higher GPI
WM is ranked higher.
WM played their IA school much closer.
Maine almost lost to Monmouth.
Against all common opponents, WM had the higher point spread (points scored minus points surrendered).

Maine had an extra win over mighty Iona.

So, tell me exactly why Maine is more deserving of a playoff bid then WM!

Despite MJ, good luck to the Bears, not your fault the committee blew it, represent well.

A packed Dome will welcome the Maine Black Bears to the playoff field.xcoffeex

[MaxASU'81]

ANY CAA team want on the ASU schedule after next year.....Man up and call the ASU athletic department....Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere! (And the only reason next year is out is because we already have a schedule)! and JMU already said thanks but no thanks!

[ccd494]

MJ, I didn't say WM played Maine.

Maine has no wins over ranked opponents or playoff teams.
Maine lost to UNH at home.
WM beat UNH on the road.
WM was 3-0 versus the north, including the north champ.
WM had the higher GPI
WM is ranked higher.
WM played their IA school much closer.
Maine almost lost to Monmouth.
Against all common opponents, WM had the higher point spread (points scored minus points surrendered).

Maine had an extra win over mighty Iona.

So, tell me exactly why Maine is more deserving of a playoff bid then WM!

Despite MJ, good luck to the Bears, not your fault the committee blew it, represent well.

Odd, the school that apparently doesn't commit enough resources to keep the southern schools happy was able to find the money to play a 12th game this year (no matter who it was against- they played it), while one of the "big time" southern schools wasn't. Someone get Mathews on the phone- GET W&M OUT OF THE CAA! xcoffeex

[93henfan]

You guys can man up and get on the schedule if you want!!!!


ANY CAA team want on the ASU schedule after next year.....Man up and call the ASU athletic department....Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere! (And the only reason next year is out is because we already have a schedule)! and JMU already said thanks but no thanks!



Delaware is pretty good about scheduling home and homes with SoCon teams (Furman, Georgia Southern, The Citadel in the past decade). I'm sure something could be worked out.

[knucklehead]

I couldn't get in till now. The committe is a joke. The CAA bias is obvious and disgusting. LU Deserved to be in and if not W&M or Jax St. Not Maine. What a joke!

[ViennaSpider]

It seems that while Maine is thrilled just to be in the FCS playoffs, UNI is even more thrilled to be playing them! (I don't think that the latter would be so thrilled to be playing W&M.)

[mainejeff]

So, tell me exactly why Maine is more deserving of a playoff bid then WM!

Maine won 6 of their last 7.

W&M lost their last 2 including getting blown out in one of them.

Try scheduling 12 games instead of 11 next time as well. If Maine can get 12 games......I'm sure that Center-of-the-World W&M can too.......xpeacex

[PantherRob82]

Well, in the committee's defense, they were looking at potentially two home games for 'Nova vs two home games for UNI at the #4 seed and I think they $$$aw the light.

We got the 3 seed somehow henfan. ;)

[TCisMYhero]

It seems that while Maine is thrilled just to be in the FCS playoffs, UNI is even more thrilled to be playing them! (I don't think that the latter would be so thrilled to be playing W&M.)

You, my friend, have put my thoughts into wordsxwhistlex.

[93henfan]

We got the 3 seed somehow henfan. ;)

Oh yeah. Well, same logic still applies for the most part. Dome magic = $$$.;) Nova fans are more interested in Big East b-ball this time of year.

[mainejeff]

A packed Dome will welcome the Maine Black Bears to the playoff field.xcoffeex

It's not like we haven't been there (to the UNI Dome) before.........

xcoffeex

[appstate38]

Delaware is pretty good about scheduling home and homes with SoCon teams (Furman, Georgia Southern, The Citadel in the past decade). I'm sure something could be worked out.

Should we wait by the phone???

[ccd494]

It seems that while Maine is thrilled just to be in the FCS playoffs, UNI is even more thrilled to be playing them! (I don't think that the latter would be so thrilled to be playing W&M.)

Yep, just go ahead and look right past Maine.

It worked well for McNeese in '01 and App in '02.

[mainejeff]

ANY CAA team want on the ASU schedule after next year.....Man up and call the ASU athletic department....Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere! (And the only reason next year is out is because we already have a schedule)! and JMU already said thanks but no thanks!

Man up and come to Orono and we'll be glad to sign a 2 game deal. xthumbsupx

xcoffeex

[MacThor]

MJ, I didn't say WM played Maine.

Maine has no wins over ranked opponents or playoff teams.
Maine lost to UNH at home.
WM beat UNH on the road.
WM was 3-0 versus the north, including the north champ.
WM had the higher GPI
WM is ranked higher.
WM played their IA school much closer.
Maine almost lost to Monmouth.
Against all common opponents, WM had the higher point spread (points scored minus points surrendered).

Maine had an extra win over mighty Iona.

So, tell me exactly why Maine is more deserving of a playoff bid then WM!

Despite MJ, good luck to the Bears, not your fault the committee blew it, represent well.

Maine 8 D-I wins, W&M 7. That's pretty much it.

[gbhmt]

Yeah.....how dare Maine lose to 3 Top 10 teams and a Big Ten team! xrolleyesx xrolleyesx xrolleyesx

More like how dare they let them in when they haven't beaten anyone that matters. UMass was the best victory and it wasn't anything to write home about considering how UMass ended up.

[BDKJMU]

The only outrage is that the committee took the wrong CAA team to fill the 16th spot. WM had the better resume, played UR much closer than Maine and beat UNH at their place. Committee was right to reject Liberty and Elon based primarily on SOS and then copped out and took a seconf CAA north team over a 4th CAA South squad, even though WM's resume is better.

And Maine played JMU WAY closer than W&M.

[blur2005]

Liberty fans should give it a rest. Losing to Presbyterian was inexcusable and was, basically, what caused the Flames to miss the playoffs. Do I wish Liberty had gotten in? Yes, kind of, so JMU wouldn't have to open the playoffs with Wofford. But at the same time, the CAA had two of the three contenders for that final spot and the conference rightfully got a fifth team in...though it probably should've been William & Mary.

[93henfan]

Should we wait by the phone???

Why not? Like I said, Delaware always puts interesting SoCon games on the schedule and App St is a logical home and home with both teams pretty much guaranteed a 23K+ crowd at their respective palaces. Delaware's not afraid to schedule good teams. Never has been, never will be. Next year's another FBS, Furman again, and the usual CAA bloodbath, and we still don't know who tf our QB will be. xeekx

[BDKJMU]

If you are going to give a conference 5 team they all should be locks. Maine was far from a lock. I would have taken W&M over Maine in their own conference.

xconfusedx xconfusedx xconfusedx xconfusedx

[BDKJMU]

W&M fans are quick to point to the UNH/Richmond comparisons.

Why are they not bringing up the disparity in results against JMU?

Ditto.

[GannonFan]

ANY CAA team want on the ASU schedule after next year.....Man up and call the ASU athletic department....Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere! (And the only reason next year is out is because we already have a schedule)! and JMU already said thanks but no thanks!

Yawn, you guys were more interesting before all the bandwagon guys starting piling on in the past 3 years. Don't worry, one of these years Appy St won't win the national title and I'm sure people will put you on the schedule again. You're not the first school to be avoided scheduling-wise and you won't be the last. xthumbsupx

[MacThor]

Also, Maine was the 5th-place team in the CAA. W&M was sixth. Not scheduling that 12th game really hurt W&M.

[rcny46]

going to be interesting to see how next year plays out. They don't have Iona to schedule anymore!!


Maybe they can schedule Jacksonville or Presbyterian instead.

[JMU-MRD-DAD]

I was wondering where the SC State/App St thread was listed....did I miss it?

Go Dukes

[BDKJMU]

MJ, I didn't say WM played Maine.

Maine has no wins over ranked opponents or playoff teams.
Maine lost to UNH at home.
WM beat UNH on the road.
WM was 3-0 versus the north, including the north champ.
WM had the higher GPI
WM is ranked higher.
WM played their IA school much closer.
Maine almost lost to Monmouth.
Against all common opponents, WM had the higher point spread (points scored minus points surrendered).

Maine had an extra win over mighty Iona.

So, tell me exactly why Maine is more deserving of a playoff bid then WM!

Despite MJ, good luck to the Bears, not your fault the committee blew it, represent well.

Wrong. Maine lost to JMU by 14. W&M lost to JMU by 24, and that was only because after JMU went up 45-10 W&M got 2 4th qtr TDs, one against JMU's backups.

Anyone who thinks a 7-4 team that lost their last 2 games should be in the playoffs is kidding themselves.

Maine fans: after 3 posts defending Maine's selection I expect rep points.xsmiley_wix xthumbsupx

[93henfan]

Maybe they can schedule Jacksonville or Presbyterian instead.

See posts 15 and 22 of this thread.

[crunifan]

So, quick research tells me that UNI and Maine have met once before with UNI winning 56-28 in Cedar Falls.

Other than that, I don't know much about you guys. Any Black Bears fans wanna let us in on what your team is like? And of you guys coming back to Iowa for a second time this year?

[mainejeff]

Liberty fans should give it a rest. Losing to Presbyterian was inexcusable and was, basically, what caused the Flames to miss the playoffs. Do I wish Liberty had gotten in? Yes, kind of, so JMU wouldn't have to open the playoffs with Wofford. But at the same time, the CAA had two of the three contenders for that final spot and the conference rightfully got a fifth team in...though it probably should've been William & Mary.

Tell me WHY?.....again. xrolleyesx

Was it because they are from Virginia too?......*yawn*

[WMTribe90]

Sorry Maine fans, nothing personal, but WM has the better resume by every account, even if you have the UR and JMU losses cancel each other out.

Maine has no wins over ranked opponents or playoff teams.
Maine lost to UNH at home.
WM beat UNH on the road.
WM was 3-0 versus the north, including the north champ.
WM had the higher GPI
WM is ranked higher.
WM played their IA school much closer.
Maine almost lost to Monmouth.
Against all common opponents, WM had the higher point spread (points scored minus points surrendered).

Maine had an extra win over mighty Iona. I guess that was the justification, sad.


Wrong. Maine lost to JMU by 14. W&M lost to JMU by 24, and that was only because after JMU went up 45-10 W&M got 2 4th qtr TDs, one against JMU's backups.

Anyone who thinks a 7-4 team that lost their last 2 games should be in the playoffs is kidding themselves.

Maine fans: after 3 posts defending Maine's selection I expect rep points.

My post was poorly worded, I was talking about total for ALL common opponents, add them up and substract, advantage WM.

If Maine had played UR and JMU to end the season they would have lost their last two too, big whoop, the committee looks at the entire resume.
As I show above WM's is the better resume, even if you cancel out the JMU and UR loses. Iona is a glorified scrimmage. The only real difference between the two is the UNH win at UNH for WM and UNH loss for Maine at Maine.

[mainejeff]

If Maine had played UR and JMU to end the season they would have lost their last two too, big whoop, the committee looks at the entire resume.
As I show above WM's is the better resume, even if you cancel out the JMU and UR loses. Iona is a glorified scrimmage. The only real difference between the two is the UNH win at UNH for WM and UNH loss for Maine at Maine.

OK Swami....xrolleyesx xrolleyesx xrolleyesx

Maine/UNH is a bit more of a rivalry than W&M/UNH..........maybe we would have lost to Richmond by 3 as well if we had W&M on our shirts.

1. Play 12 games instead of 11.
2. Win your last 2 instead of losing your last 2.
3. Quit your whining.

[PantherRob82]

It seems that while Maine is thrilled just to be in the FCS playoffs, UNI is even more thrilled to be playing them! (I don't think that the latter would be so thrilled to be playing W&M.)

Completely agree.

[Sly Fox]

I'm still waiting on MaineJeff to explain to us who the Black Bears BEAT to earn an at large. When describing how well you lose is your best argument then your case is majorly weak. For all the cracks on Liberty playing a pair of DIIs, I believe those two schools have more scholie players than a few DI opponents for the Bears. The Non-CAA schedule for the Bears is a flat out joke. Taking a paycheck to get smoked by the Hawkeyes is not a badge of honor.

I agree with others that I wouldn't feel angry if the Tribe were selected (disappointed but not angry). But Maine shows what a complete joke the CAA-led selection committee really is.

[PantherRob82]

It's not like we haven't been there (to the UNI Dome) before.........

xcoffeex

aww...C'mon Jeff, do you remember the last score? That's not a good response. :D

Hope to see you there.

[PantherRob82]

Yep, just go ahead and look right past Maine.

It worked well for McNeese in '01 and App in '02.

Just keep in mind who didn't look past you to Montana in 01.

[WMTribe90]

Maine/UNH is a bit more of a rivalry than W&M/UNH..........maybe we would have lost to Richmond by 3 as well if we had W&M on our shirts.

Thats your excuse MJ, xlolx xlolx xlolx xlolx xlolx xlolx

Your right, the big win over Iona is way more important than actually beating a ranked team. That Umass victory sure is a signature win.

You couldn't even beat UNH at home with a playoff spot on the line bound UNH...rivalry xlolx xlolx

[PantherRob82]

MaineJeff doesn't have to explain anything. He just has a trip to plan. ;)

[knucklehead]

I'm still waiting on MaineJeff to explain to us who the Black Bears BEAT to earn an at large. When describing how well you lose is your best argument then your case is majorly weak. For all the cracks on Liberty playing a pair of DIIs, I believe those two schools have more scholie players than a few DI opponents for the Bears. The Non-CAA schedule for the Bears is a flat out joke. Taking a paycheck to get smoked by the Hawkeyes is not a badge of honor.

I agree with others that I wouldn't feel angry if the Tribe were selected (disappointed but not angry). But Maine shows what a complete joke the CAA-led selection committee really is.


Well put SIR!

[BDKJMU]

I'm still waiting on MaineJeff to explain to us who the Black Bears BEAT to earn an at large. When describing how well you lose is your best argument then your case is majorly weak. For all the cracks on Liberty playing a pair of DIIs, I believe those two schools have more scholie players than a few DI opponents for the Bears. The Non-CAA schedule for the Bears is a flat out joke. Taking a paycheck to get smoked by the Hawkeyes is not a badge of honor.

I agree with others that I wouldn't feel angry if the Tribe were selected (disappointed but not angry). But Maine shows what a complete joke the CAA-led selection committee really is.

Oh come on about LU. If LU had been selected it would have been a complete joke. They played a VERY weak schedule, the weakest of anybody with an AQ or that was considered for one. Their schedule was far weaker than Maine's. One quality win against Elon at home. Only other even avg team they played was Lafayette, and lost by 2 TDs. Beat 3-9 Western Carolina by 3 who compiled a total of 72 yards against ASU. They play a competitive game with 4-7 VMI, one of the worst 4 win teams in the country and win by only 12. A loss against Presbyterian who finished 4-7 as a transitional school from D II who lost their last game at VMI by 22. Two wins against D II schools. Give it a rest that LU was screwed. xnonox

[tribe_pride]

Also, Maine was the 5th-place team in the CAA. W&M was sixth. Not scheduling that 12th game really hurt W&M.

Maine and W&M were tied for 5th - Both were 5-3 in the conference. Only way ties are broken is for AQ purposes.

Also, everyone who says losing the last 2 is the reason they should be out is BS (though maybe true). Nobody else had to play the 1 and 7 ranked teams in their last 2 games and W&M lost to JMU big and to Richmond in OT but Maine lost to JMU by 2 TD but got blown out by Richmond. That kind of evens things out.

That said, Maine and WM both had close resumes and while I think WM had the better resume, congrats Maine.

AS THE OTHER W&M POSTER HERE HAS SAID, we are supporting Maine from here on in as well as the rest of the CAA. Good luck guys.

[Eaglegus2]

I am actually looking forward to the plaoff going to 20 teams.

Then, we will 6 CAA teams in the playoffs.

As long as the CAA has someone to chair the selection committee you will see an abundance of CAA teams.

Someone explain to me again why Maine got in?

OH!! The infamous 12th game. xrolleyesx Sure glad this is the last year you can have 12 games in a regular season.xthumbsupx

[93henfan]

OK, so the discussion of the final bubble slot is centered around Liberty, Maine, and William and Mary.

Let's list the losses only:

Maine - lost to Iowa, Richmond, JMU, and New Hampshire
W&M - lost to NC State, Villanova, JMU, and Richmond
Liberty - lost to Lafayette and Presbyterian

C'mon guys, it's pretty clear that Liberty didn't belong in the field. Maine and W&M lost to FBS teams and CAA powerhouses. Liberty lost to Lafayette and Presbyterian. Now, I personally believe that W&M could have edged Maine, but LU was really not in the equation.

[bullseye44]

I'd just like to point out how ironic it is that of our 4 wins last season, one of them was over Liberty and another was at Maine. Not relevant to this season, but what I wouldn't do to have those 2 wins on the resume right now!

I still think W&M had the best resume of the bunch, but oh well. There's always next season....

[apaladin]

OK, so the discussion of the final bubble slot is centered around Liberty, Maine, and William and Mary.

Let's list the losses only:

Maine - lost to Iowa, Richmond, JMU, and New Hampshire
W&M - lost to NC State, Villanova, JMU, and Richmond
Liberty - lost to Lafayette and Presbyterian

C'mon guys, it's pretty clear that Liberty didn't belong in the field. Maine and W&M lost to FBS teams and CAA powerhouses. Liberty lost to Lafayette and Presbyterian. Now, I personally believe that W&M could have edged Maine, but LU was really not in the equation.

As strange as it may seem if Furman had showed up against Wofford yesterday and beat them they could have had the last spot at 8-4. Looked like FU was ready to give it up anyway so it doesn't really matter. Looks like the committee is like the basketball committee. They look at what they want to look at. For example, in basketball said ACC team has 2 quality wins and they ignore their 13 losses so they get the bid. Maine had no quality wins but they had 8 wins. Makes you wonder if it's worth it to schedule quality OOC games.

[redspider]

As other said the CAA is the best conference and desrved 5 but I thought it should have been W&M over Maine.

[GannonFan]

I am actually looking forward to the plaoff going to 20 teams.

Then, we will 6 CAA teams in the playoffs.

As long as the CAA has someone to chair the selection committee you will see an abundance of CAA teams.

Someone explain to me again why Maine got in?

OH!! The infamous 12th game. xrolleyesx Sure glad this is the last year you can have 12 games in a regular season.xthumbsupx

If Maine didn't get in, W&M would've gotten in and the CAA would still have 5. Whine about the CAA all you want, and yes, there will be at least 6 CAA teams in the playoffs once they expand the playoffs, but the only team that could've had an argument was Liberty and outside of thrashing Elon they had little to go on.

[nutterlyattled]

MJ, I didn't say WM played Maine.

Maine has no wins over ranked opponents or playoff teams.
Maine lost to UNH at home.
WM beat UNH on the road.
WM was 3-0 versus the north, including the north champ.
WM had the higher GPI
WM is ranked higher.
WM played their IA school much closer.
Maine almost lost to Monmouth.
Against all common opponents, WM had the higher point spread (points scored minus points surrendered).

Maine had an extra win over mighty Iona.

So, tell me exactly why Maine is more deserving of a playoff bid then WM!

Despite MJ, good luck to the Bears, not your fault the committee blew it, represent well.

UNH played W&M much differently. W&M would not have won if the defense showed up in the second half. a win is a win, but would you have been able to come back in the second half if you were playing in 2 inches of snow? Im not going to say that maine outright deserved it, but i watched bothe games against unh live, and i thought unh played maine much harder, and maine had a better team (than W&M)

[jlcharles]

Should we wait by the phone???

You'll have to see if they can replace that other powerhouse on their schedule, West Chester.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

OK, so the discussion of the final bubble slot is centered around Liberty, Maine, and William and Mary.

Let's list the losses only:

Maine - lost to Iowa, Richmond, JMU, and New Hampshire
W&M - lost to NC State, Villanova, JMU, and Richmond
Liberty - lost to Lafayette and Presbyterian

C'mon guys, it's pretty clear that Liberty didn't belong in the field. Maine and W&M lost to FBS teams and CAA powerhouses. Liberty lost to Lafayette and Presbyterian. Now, I personally believe that W&M could have edged Maine, but LU was really not in the equation.

Gee, when chosen by that selected criteria, you make it sound so easy.

Why don't we look at highest GPIs of the teams they've beaten?

Maine: UMass #19
W&M: UNH #10
Liberty: Elon #11

Then, subtract the team with only 7 D-I wins. (W&M) That leaves Liberty.

[GannonFan]

You'll have to see if they can replace that other powerhouse on their schedule, West Chester.

Come on, you guys are still playing Penn and Lehigh - great names a few years ago but we all know West Chester would only be single-digit dogs against those two teams now. On the road, of course. Might even be a pick-em in West Chester. xthumbsupx

[nutterlyattled]

You couldn't even beat UNH at home with a playoff spot on the line bound UNH...rivalry xlolx xlolx

is that your arguement... the fact that unh had the playoffs on the line, made them play harder... i dont get why you would argue that

that was an intense game, in awful weather. though I do feel that had the weather been beater maine would not be in the playoffs, Toman was picking apart the defense even on the few passes he threw.

Maine is in because we had to come back to beat them. and before you argue W&M came back against unh, it was a much different feel to the game unh layed down against W&M. UNH and Maine were fighting from the time the coin was flipped, to last final seconds.

[MarchingMountaineer]

But the SoCon will still have Mars Hill, West Georgia, Faulkner, Webber International, Shorter, and Cumberland on its schedule again I bet.

Nice talk about the lower divisions from someone claiming 6 national titles in his tag line even though 5 were lower division championships. xnonox

What school will Delaware add if West Chester decides to move up???

[93henfan]

Nice talk about the lower divisions from someone claiming 6 national titles in his tag line even though 5 were lower division championships. xnonox

Learn a little about the history of this level of football and get back to us. Welcome to the forum noob. I see there was a discount for new bandwagon ASU forum memberships in the past week.

[BDKJMU]

If Maine didn't get in, W&M would've gotten in and the CAA would still have 5. Whine about the CAA all you want, and yes, there will be at least 6 CAA teams in the playoffs once they expand the playoffs, but the only team that could've had an argument was Liberty and outside of thrashing Elon they had little to go on.

Remember though only once has the CAA (A-10) gotten in 4: 04'. Twice have gotten in 5, the last 2 seasons. Every other year the Yankee/A-10/CAA has gotten in 2-3 teams. I think with the playoffs at 20 teams and the CAA going to 13 then 14 teams most seasons it will still be 5-6 teams getting in. Don't know about more than 6. I assume the minimum will still be 7 Div I wins. This season only 6 of 12 CAA teams made 7 Div I wins this season if I'm correct about Bryant being a non counter for 7-5 UMass. Regardless, with a 20 team playoff and 11-12 game schedules I see all 3 loss and most 4 loss CAA getting in, but not 5 loss.

[Syntax Error]

Nice talk about the lower divisions from someone claiming 6 national titles in his tag line even though 5 were lower division championships.Careful MM, UD fans are very touchy when you point out they have won a single D-I championship. Their SID sent out a press release on that day "Delaware Wins Sixth National Title." xnodx

[93henfan]

Of course Syntax Error also claims that football at this level has only existed for two years, so App will have to give back one of its trophies because one says I-AA and that doesn't exist anymore. Georgia Southern has to take down its six flags too. xlolx xlolx xlolx

[GannonFan]

Nice talk about the lower divisions from someone claiming 6 national titles in his tag line even though 5 were lower division championships. xnonox

What school will Delaware add if West Chester decides to move up???


All of UD's national titles have been at the level of one level below whatever the main level of college football has been. Whether they were Small College titles, DII titles, or DI-AA titles, there was only one level of college football above the level UD played in. Funny, kinda like where UD is right now. xthumbsupx

Don't worry, if West Chester moves up we won't be able to schedule them anyway. They'll probably end up as the next expansion team in the SoCon. xthumbsupx

[GannonFan]

Remember though only once has the CAA (A-10) gotten in 4: 04'. Twice have gotten in 5, the last 2 seasons. Every other year the Yankee/A-10/CAA has gotten in 2-3 teams. I think with the playoffs at 20 teams and the CAA going to 13 then 14 teams most seasons it will still be 5-6 teams getting in. Don't know about more than 6. I assume the minimum will still be 7 Div I wins. This season only 6 of 12 CAA teams made 7 Div I wins this season if I'm correct about Bryant being a non counter for 7-5 UMass. Regardless, with a 20 team playoff and 11-12 game schedules I see all 3 loss and most 4 loss CAA getting in, but not 5 loss.

7 Div I wins is a guideline, not a hard and fast rule. And the CAA is also adding ODU and Georgia St in a few years so it will be 14 teams battling for spots rather than 12 and even more teams that don't all play each other. I would expect 5 to be a minimum in the future for the CAA.

[BDKJMU]

You'll have to see if they can replace that other powerhouse on their schedule, West Chester.

Heck, I live not far from West Chester. They lost in the 2nd round of the DII playoffs.

[GATA]

Complete nonsense once again. You take a 5th team from a conference two years in a row that has NO shot at actually winning a national championship. You might as well give a team like Liberty a shot if you're just going to waste the 16th spot on Maine.

This is just gonna be a repeat of last year. The selection committee lets in too many CAA teams and App State ends up beating at least 3 of them on th e way to a 4th national championship...what a waste of time.

[GannonFan]

Complete nonsense once again. You take a 5th team from a conference two years in a row that has NO shot at actually winning a national championship. You might as well give a team like Liberty a shot if you're just going to waste the 16th spot on Maine.

This is just gonna be a repeat of last year. The selection committee lets in too many CAA teams and App State ends up beating at least 3 of them on th e way to a 4th national championship...what a waste of time.

So you think Liberty or Elon would have a shot at winning a national championship? Of course they don't, so why use that as criteria for who makes or doesn't make the playoffs?

[Syntax Error]

Of course Syntax Error also claims that football at this level has only existed for two years, so App will have to give back one of its trophies because one says I-AA and that doesn't exist anymore. Georgia Southern has to take down its six flags too.
Nice try guy. D-I Football Championships started in 1978 and UD has won a single time. You don't have to lie about me to accept the facts, or smack on others along the way.

[ccd494]

I'm not entirely clear on why Maine can't beat UNI?

[Syntax Error]

All of UD's national titles have been at the level of one level below whatever the main level of college football has been.No, there has been no higher level of NCAA football championships since 1978. UD is at the highest level right now and won a stunning game for their single D-I championship. Tubby said it, why is it so hard for UD fans to say it? It's an absurd stance and one that begs to be disputed and is done so easily.

[GATA]

So you think Liberty or Elon would have a shot at winning a national championship? Of course they don't, so why use that as criteria for who makes or doesn't make the playoffs?

Because that's the entire point...If Maine doesn't have a shot at winning the national title (which they don't) then why the hell are we giving the CAA 5 spots as if they deserve it? Why don't you let in a team from a DIFFERENT conference for god's sake? It doesn't matter if it's Maine, Elon, or Liberty, but for the sake of equity a reasonable person would choose Elon or Liberty because the CAA ALREADY HAS 4 BIDS!! Why keep filling the bracket with a bunch of teams from one conference? MIX IT UP!

The only team from the CAA that even has a legit shot at winning the title is James Madison. The rest are pretenders.

The national champion is either gonna be App State, Cal Poly, or James Madison. The rest of the bracket is filler.

[GATA]

No, there has been no higher level of NCAA football championships since 1978. UD is at the highest level right now and won a stunning game for their single D-I championship. Tubby said it, why is it so hard for UD fans to say it? It's an absurd stance and one that begs to be disputed and is done so easily.

I'm not sure what you guys are arguing about...Doesn't Delaware have 5 D-II titles and 1 D-I title? That sounds like 6 to me.

[GannonFan]

No, there has been no higher level of NCAA football championships since 1978. UD is at the highest level right now and won a stunning game for their single D-I championship. Tubby said it, why is it so hard for UD fans to say it? It's an absurd stance and one that begs to be disputed and is done so easily.

And yet, there is a level of football above the levels for which the NCAA sponsors championships. To deny it exists is silly. Where are all these schools "moving up to" if they are already at the highest level of football? Seems to be a lot of threads on this site that should be deleted for being "absurd" as you say.

Using the criteria of what football championships the NCAA sanctions is not a very valid way to determine the level of football and I can't really believe you're being serious in that argument. While the NCAA does not sanction championships at the FBS level, they certainly oversee that level of football and to the NCAA, moving from the FCS to the FBS is considered moving up. I'm glad you have a different interpretation but I'll stick with the NCAA's view of the football landscape. xthumbsupx

[UNH Fanboi]

Complete nonsense once again. You take a 5th team from a conference two years in a row that has NO shot at actually winning a national championship. You might as well give a team like Liberty a shot if you're just going to waste the 16th spot on Maine.

This is just gonna be a repeat of last year. The selection committee lets in too many CAA teams and App State ends up beating at least 3 of them on th e way to a 4th national championship...what a waste of time.

UNH was the 5th CAA team last year and came within 7 seconds of beating the number 1 seed. I think that shows they deserved a place at the table. The last team in is always going to be a long shot, but that doesn't mean you should let in a team that is an even longer shot because they are from an underrepresented conference. You are essentially advocating affirmative action.

[soccerguy315]

Because that's the entire point...If Maine doesn't have a shot at winning the national title (which they don't) then why the hell are we giving the CAA 5 spots as if they deserve it? Why don't you let in a team from a DIFFERENT conference for god's sake? It doesn't matter if it's Maine, Elon, or Liberty, but for the sake of equity a reasonable person would choose Elon or Liberty because the CAA ALREADY HAS 4 BIDS!! Why keep filling the bracket with a bunch of teams from one conference? MIX IT UP!

The only team from the CAA that even has a legit shot at winning the title is James Madison. The rest are pretenders.

The national champion is either gonna be App State, Cal Poly, or James Madison. The rest of the bracket is filler.

Why don't we just let App State and JMU play each other for the championship. Cal Poly can play UNI in the FCS Rose Bowl, and everyone will be happy!

[skinny_uncle]

I'm not entirely clear on why Maine can't beat UNI?

First trip to the DOME?
xnodx

[GATA]

And yet, there is a level of football above the levels for which the NCAA sponsors championships. To deny it exists is silly. Where are all these schools "moving up to" if they are already at the highest level of football? Seems to be a lot of threads on this site that should be deleted for being "absurd" as you say.

Using the criteria of what football championships the NCAA sanctions is not a very valid way to determine the level of football and I can't really believe you're being serious in that argument. While the NCAA does not sanction championships at the FBS level, they certainly oversee that level of football and to the NCAA, moving from the FCS to the FBS is considered moving up. I'm glad you have a different interpretation but I'll stick with the NCAA's view of the football landscape. xthumbsupx

The guy said that there isn't a higher level of NCAA championships...technically he's right. That doesn't mean that there isn't a higher level of football, just that the NCAA doesn't sanction the championships at that level.

[GATA]

Why don't we just let App State and JMU play each other for the championship. Cal Poly can play UNI in the FCS Rose Bowl, and everyone will be happy!

Why not...that's how it's gonna play out anyway.

[bullseye44]

The national champion is either gonna be App State, Cal Poly, or James Madison. The rest of the bracket is filler.

Unless Villanova knocks down the Hail Mary in the 2nd round...

[GannonFan]

Because that's the entire point...If Maine doesn't have a shot at winning the national title (which they don't) then why the hell are we giving the CAA 5 spots as if they deserve it? Why don't you let in a team from a DIFFERENT conference for god's sake? It doesn't matter if it's Maine, Elon, or Liberty, but for the sake of equity a reasonable person would choose Elon or Liberty because the CAA ALREADY HAS 4 BIDS!! Why keep filling the bracket with a bunch of teams from one conference? MIX IT UP!

The only team from the CAA that even has a legit shot at winning the title is James Madison. The rest are pretenders.

The national champion is either gonna be App State, Cal Poly, or James Madison. The rest of the bracket is filler.

Well, if that's the case, why have more than one team from each conference at all if there exist conferences for which there is no representation. Under your scenario, we should simply ask you who has a legit chance of winning the title, and then pick at large teams from any and all conferences those teams do not come from and who don't already have an autobid team in the playoffs. You're saying we should have an NEC team (Albany maybe), a Big South team (Liberty), a Pioneer League team (Jacksonville), and a SWAC team (haven't followed that this year) in the playoffs before any repeat conference is tapped?

Heck, why even bother with all that - just take the 3-4 teams you pick as contenders and let them play a shortened playoff. Sure would've save a lot of confusion in the past - I mean, someone like UMass in '98 never would've been in the playoffs to mess that one up as they would've been not worthy to begin with and not even in the field (plus the A-10 had more than enough teams in that year). xwhistlex

[Syntax Error]

The only team from the CAA that even has a legit shot at winning the title is James Madison. The rest are pretenders...I'm sure Villanova and Richmond have a thought about that. Remember old Richmond, #1 in the polls until a beat-the-clock punt return knocked them down? Remember old Villanova beating JMU all over until a beat-the-clock hail mary? I would think this would point out the hair's difference between them. Wouldn't you? Oh and UNH beat Army and Maine, who was obviously the last team in the field.

[MarchingMountaineer]

Heck, I live not far from West Chester. They lost in the 2nd round of the DII playoffs.

Sounds like they had a great season in their Division. But 93Hen seemed to be trying to make a point about some SoCon schools playing down. Let's see how it looks the other way...

Southern Conference (9 schools): 10 games vs BCS

#2 Florida (10-1)
#3 Oklahoma (10-1)
#13 Georgia (9-2)
#23 Florida State (twice) (8-3)
#25 Ole Miss (7-4)
LSU (7-4) (35 points)
South Carolina (7-4) (5 points)
Virginia Tech (7-4)
Clemson (6-5)

6 of 10 opponents currently ranked
None has a losing record

CAA (12 schools): 12 games vs BCS

#7 Texas Tech (10-1)
#15 Ball State (11-0)
West Virginia (7-3) (120 points)
Connecticut (7-3) (2 points)
Iowa (8-4)
Maryland (7-4)
Navy (6-4)
Virginia (5-6)
North Carolina State (5-6)
Duke (4-7)
Syracuse (3-8)
Army (3-8) **UNH won**

2 of 12 opponents currently ranked
5 losing records

[Syntax Error]

And yet, there is a level of football above the levels for which the NCAA sponsors championships... I'll stick with the NCAA's view of the football landscape. xthumbsupxGood, the NCAA's view is the Division I Championship (as it says on their trophy) is won by an FCS team. Their is no higher NCAA championship. Period. End of story. Geez. xoopsx

[GannonFan]

The guy said that there isn't a higher level of NCAA championships...technically he's right. That doesn't mean that there isn't a higher level of football, just that the NCAA doesn't sanction the championships at that level.

Technically, he was piling on an earlier post that said that UD's 6 national titles include 5 at a lower division than they are currently. Technically, that is incorrect as using that criteria UD has always been at the highest level of football that the NCAA has sponsored (the NCAA only sponsored championships for DII and below since 1974 and until 1978 DII was the highest level they sponsored as I-AA did not exist).

[BDKJMU]

No, there has been no higher level of NCAA football championships since 1978. UD is at the highest level right now and won a stunning game for their single D-I championship. Tubby said it, why is it so hard for UD fans to say it? It's an absurd stance and one that begs to be disputed and is done so easily.

If you think that you're delusional. xlolx xlolx xlolx Go talk to college football fans and media in the U.S. and tell them that FCS is the highest level of college football (99% of the fans won't even know what FCS is) and tell them that the JMUs, ASUs, UDs, Montanas, etc play at the same level of college football as the Ohio States, Texases, Oklahomas, Floridas, etc. 99.999999999999999999% including media will either laugh at you or ask what you have been smoking.

[BDKJMU]

And yet, there is a level of football above the levels for which the NCAA sponsors championships. To deny it exists is silly. Where are all these schools "moving up to" if they are already at the highest level of football? Seems to be a lot of threads on this site that should be deleted for being "absurd" as you say.

Using the criteria of what football championships the NCAA sanctions is not a very valid way to determine the level of football and I can't really believe you're being serious in that argument. While the NCAA does not sanction championships at the FBS level, they certainly oversee that level of football and to the NCAA, moving from the FCS to the FBS is considered moving up. I'm glad you have a different interpretation but I'll stick with the NCAA's view of the football landscape. xthumbsupx

He's either delusional or has some type of inferiority complex.

[Syntax Error]

Technically, he was piling on an earlier post that said that UD's 6 national titles include 5 at a lower division than they are currently. Technically, that is incorrect as using that criteria UD has always been at the highest level of football that the NCAA has sponsored (the NCAA only sponsored championships for DII and below since 1974 and until 1978 DII was the highest level they sponsored as I-AA did not exist).I said, and you demonstrated the point to a "T"........ "UD fans are very touchy when you point out they have won a single D-I championship." I said nothing about "highest level" or such, you spun it that way, and so on. Does that Villanova loss still sting? I remember your brother showing me his license plate so I know it wasn't easy. xpeacex

[Syntax Error]

He's either delusional or has some type of inferiority complex.Or has a firm grasp of the facts that FBS fans (need a mirror?) usually don't.

[GannonFan]

Good, the NCAA's view is the Division I Championship (as it says on their trophy) is won by an FCS team. Their is no higher NCAA championship. Period. End of story. Geez. xoopsx

Again, see the above post. Prior to 1974, the NCAA didn't say anything about national titles at any level (therefore clearing UD's 4 National Titles won before then). Starting in 1974, they said DII was the highest level of football as it related to championships as they didn't sponsor anything above it. UD won the DII title in '79 and that's the only one that can be argued as being from a lower division, although '78 and '79 didn't really have a lot of teams in I-AA as most transitions to make the subdivision resemble what it would become and is today came in '80 and afterwards. And of course '03 is not in dispute.

[Jackman]

Only one of the 8 members of the selection committee is from the CAA. The rest are from the Big Sky, OVC, MVC, Patriot, MEAC, Southland, and (drum roll) Big South. Meaning that Liberty's conference had just as many votes on the committee as Maine's, despite having half as many teams. And in truth, the CAA's vote on the committee doesn't even matter. 4 out of the 7 other conferences would have had to have approved putting a 5th CAA team into the playoffs. It'd be a majority even if the CAA rep didn't vote at all.

The Selection Committee stated from the top that they don't look at conference distribution when choosing the 8 at large bids. If the 8 best non-AQs were determined to be from the CAA, the CAA would get all 8. If all 6 Big South members were the best candidates, the Big South would get 6. No attempt is made to "spread the wealth" among the conferences.

If the Big South had gotten its act together in time to apply this season for the special "qualification criteria" deal the NEC got, Liberty would have gotten in. But they didn't, so they didn't. They'll have to try to have the same type of season next year. UCA would love to have the Southland's AQ to the playoffs, but they didn't make their move in time either.

The truth is only 7 teams clearly deserved at large bids. If you put a gun to my head and said choose between Maine and W&M for the last spot, I'd have chosen W&M, but you know what? If you lose 4 games, you're lucky to even be in the conversation. If Elon beats Liberty like everyone expected them to, Maine vs. W&M would be a fight over who is #17. The Selection Committee spent 3 hours discussing that issue and took multiple secret ballot votes to figure that all out. Basically it was as good as a coin flip. If you don't want it to come to a coin flip, don't lose 4 games. Frankly, neither Maine nor W&M deserve to be in the playoffs. If UMass had hit that extra point against Maine, we would have been in this discussion too, and we wouldn't have deserved to go either. The only reason any of us got to go was that they can't do the tournament with only 15 teams.

[GannonFan]

I said, and you demonstrated the point to a "T"........ "UD fans are very touchy when you point out they have won a single D-I championship." I said nothing about "highest level" or such, you spun it that way, and so on. Does that Villanova loss still sting? I remember your brother showing me his license plate so I know it wasn't easy. xpeacex


And all I did was point out the earlier post to which you replied, and did not correct, that said that UD's 5 National Titles before the '03 title were from a lower division. And your tounge in cheek referral to UD's press relase in '03, if I remember correctly, was reminiscent of you scoffing at that release when it came out back then. Your opinion of UD's national titles is well noted, albeit a bit myopic. xpeacex

[crunifan]

First trip to the DOME?
xnodx

This is actually their second trip. They came in 2001...UNI beat them like 56-28.

Regardless, apparently Maine likes to run the ball. And that would be why Maine isn't going to win.

[Syntax Error]

Again, see the above post. Prior to 1974, the NCAA didn't say anything about national titles at any level (therefore clearing UD's 4 National Titles won before then). Starting in 1974, they said DII was the highest level of football as it related to championships as they didn't sponsor anything above it. UD won the DII title in '79 and that's the only one that can be argued as being from a lower division, although '78 and '79 didn't really have a lot of teams in I-AA as most transitions to make the subdivision resemble what it would become and is today came in '80 and afterwards. And of course '03 is not in dispute.once again ... xwhistlex ... I said that UD only has one D-I title and that this is the highest level of NCAA championship football... xwhistlex ... all facts. :) Thanks for having me at your tailgate. xthumbsupx

[Jackman]

I think it'd be much better for us if Maine was going to SIU and UNH was going to UNI. Maine is about the opposite of a dome team.

[Syntax Error]

I think it'd be much better for us if Maine was going to SIU and UNH was going to UNI. Maine is about the opposite of a dome team.Naw, I think the folks at UNI are getting ready for this inside the dome this time, instead of outside like when UD was there last year:

[GannonFan]

once again ... xwhistlex ... I said that UD only has one D-I title and that this is the highest level of NCAA championship football... xwhistlex ... all facts. :) Thanks for having me at your tailgate. xthumbsupx


And all I said was that DI has only been the highest level of football the NCAA has sanctioned since 1978, before that the NCAA sanctioned DII as the highest level of football, and before 1974 the NCAA sanctioned nothing as other outlets did that task. And therefore UD's National Titles all occurred at the same level of football that they currently reside in, names and sanctioning bodies aside (and message board posters aside too)...all facts as well. xthumbsupx

[Syntax Error]

... therefore UD's National Titles all occurred at the same level of football that they currently reside in... Funny, I think the 1979 highest NCAA championship was won by Eastern Kentucky, UD won in the second highest, D-II.

[ekufbfan]

Funny, I think the 1979 highest NCAA championship was won by Eastern Kentucky, UD won in the second highest, D-II.


Indeed it was EKU! EKU also won the NC in 1982, beating, us guessed it...... Delaware.

[WrenFGun]

Good to see Georgia Southern fans coming out in droves as usual to insult the selection committee's choice of picking the team with the best resume. I don't think Maine deserved to get in over William and Mary, but I will absolutely support my CAA North brethren.

While the committee has taken a team that has struggled down the stretch (Delaware and UNH both went 1-2 to end last season), it was usually because of a lack of a better option. While W&M's computer numbers are slightly better, the committee looks at recent performance and it's hard to say that a 7-1 Maine team in their last 8 is not playing better than a W&M team that lost two in a row, particularly when their computer numbers are so close. I think the committee may have also had a soft-spot for a Maine team that ended their season in poor conditions.

[ccd494]

Cosgrove explained the CAA actually went to bat for UMaine, lobbying for the Bears as the fifth team rather than trying to make a case for both UMaine and William & Mary.

“What it speaks to is our conference. Look at the power index,” Cosgrove said of the nation’s top-rated FCS league, which also put five teams in the field last year, including a 7-4 New Hampshire squad. “In Gridiron Power Index, we’re fifth in the conference and 12th in the country.”

William & Mary was sixth and 14th, respectively, he said.

http://bangornews.com/detail/93891.html

[BigApp]

Delaware is pretty good about scheduling home and homes with SoCon teams (Furman, Georgia Southern, The Citadel in the past decade).

and how's that worked for ya? xsmiley_wix

I can't find a word in the English language with that many L's in it...

[BigApp]

Well.....there's plenty of crappy Southern teams to play......just ask some of your conference mates!

remind me, what's Maine's record against southern teams??

xrulesx

[GOODY26]

xpeacex Will we have these same conversstion next year when the playoff field is expand to twenty teams?






http://www.nsuspartans.com/images/2008/8/30/rp_primary_Branche_08VSU1.jpg

[ccd494]

remind me, what's Maine's record against southern teams??

xrulesx

Lifetime? Well, we are 1-0 against App State, for one. xcoffeex

[89Hen]

Not going to read this whole thread but in a nutshell for the SoCon....

JMU > App State
Richmond >> Elon

The other two games were SoCon wins by 4th place teams over the #8 and tied for last place teams and both were down to the wire. xpeacex

[Gamecocks99]

best conference best teams...

Bull%%^^ Your a legend in your own mind ! xlolx xlolx xlolx xlolx xlolx

[DX Man]

Delaware is pretty good about scheduling home and homes with SoCon teams (Furman, Georgia Southern, The Citadel in the past decade). I'm sure something could be worked out.

All kidding aside, it would be great to have a quality program like Deleware on our schedule.xthumbsupx

[jlcharles]

I'm sure Villanova and Richmond have a thought about that. Remember old Richmond, #1 in the polls until a beat-the-clock punt return knocked them down? Remember old Villanova beating JMU all over until a beat-the-clock hail mary? I would think this would point out the hair's difference between them. Wouldn't you? Oh and UNH beat Army and Maine, who was obviously the last team in the field.

Wrong. Richmond was number 1 until they were manhandled by Nova.

[Big Al]

I'll tell you all what the real outrage is:

I am shocked - shocked, I tell you - that Maine was selected over an obviously superior NDSU team.

Clearly this is blatant east-coast bias.

;D

[GannonFan]

Wrong. Richmond was number 1 until they were manhandled by Nova.

Didn't nova only beat Richmond by 6 points? The hyperbole is outstanding! xlolx

[ChickenMan]

and how's that worked for ya? xsmiley_wix

I can't find a word in the English language with that many L's in it...

over the last decade.. 4-4

[MacThor]

Didn't nova only beat Richmond by 6 points? The hyperbole is outstanding! xlolx

Hyperbole aside, his point still stands. :)

UR was not #1 when we played JMU, JMU was.

[jlcharles]

Didn't nova only beat Richmond by 6 points? The hyperbole is outstanding! xlolx

Richmond scored with 1:13 to go to cut it to 6. We limited Richmond's potent rushing game to 83 yards and a 2.5 yard average. While piling up 226 yards on the ground of our own.

[Grizzaholic]

Same old same old. There is no sense in bi****** about it. The selection committee will do what they want every year and just think, next year they will get 6 teams in.

[Big Al]

In all seriousness, W&M, Elon, Liberty & Jax. St. would be in the dance if we had a 20 team playoff. Of course, then people would be b****ing about not getting a first-round bye. There's always something.

[GannonFan]

Richmond scored with 1:13 to go to cut it to 6. We limited Richmond's potent rushing game to 83 yards and a 2.5 yard average. While piling up 226 yards on the ground of our own.


Well, it was a 7 point game with just over 8 minutes to go: you guys scored a FG with 8:00 to go to make it a 10 point game and another FG with 4:04 to go to make it a 13 point game. So when does scoring no longer matter? xlolx You guys outgained Richmond by 70 yards and Richmond was an onside kick and a drive away from winning that game. Manhandling just ain't what it used to be! xlolx

[GannonFan]

Same old same old. There is no sense in bi****** about it. The selection committee will do what they want every year and just think, next year they will get 6 teams in.

In 2010 we'll get 6 in. We'll be just happy with 5 again next year. xnodx

[GreatAppSt]

Elon left themselves in the crapper. 5 from the CAA is NBD this season.

[Appfan_in_CAAland]

In all seriousness, W&M, Elon, Liberty & Jax. St. would be in the dance if we had a 20 team playoff. Of course, then people would be b****ing about not getting a first-round bye. There's always something.

Albany would be in, not Jax St.

[Libertine]

As of 7:20 last night, I became the second-biggest UNI Panther fan in the country, only just behind Cap'n Cat. (Which as I understand, is just how he likes it.)

[whitey]

Nice quick edit Libertine.

[BDKJMU]

In all seriousness, W&M, Elon, Liberty & Jax. St. would be in the dance if we had a 20 team playoff. Of course, then people would be b****ing about not getting a first-round bye. There's always something.

If it was 20 teams this season, Liberty & Albany would have gotten AQs. Last 2 At Large would have probably gone to W&M & Elon. JSU probably would have been the last team out.

[89Hen]

As of 7:20 last night, I became the second-biggest UNI Panther fan in the country, only just behind Cap'n Cat. (Which as I understand, is just how he likes it.)
xeyebrowx Don't hate the player.

[Big Al]

Albany would be in, not Jax St.

Whoop, you're right. I forgot about the NEC aq.

[elon77]

I am typing this from my stool in Crapsville.xbawlingx xbawlingx xbawlingx xbawlingx . If Elon had of delivered like they should have all this talk would never have occurred. Now back to my next case of Falstaffs.

[PantherRob82]

I'm not entirely clear on why Maine can't beat UNI?

agreed.

[PantherRob82]

First trip to the DOME?
xnodx

Maine played in the Dome in 2001.

[JaxSinfonian]

I've got your outrage. Look at Maine's schedule. If they have an argument it's that they got an extra "quality win" over Liberty & Jax State ... Monmouth.

Yes, Maine's overall strength of schedule was tougher, but it's not as if they beat any of the teams that made it so tough.

There was no compelling argument for this pick. When you have three or four teams with roughly equal resumes, why take the one that is the fifth team from their conference, one that's already lost to three of those four other teams? At least make the better CAA teams play another team they haven't faced before as they advance. What's the point of a tournament if it's just a replay of the regular season?

[Libertine]

xeyebrowx Don't hate the player.

I can hate both the player and the game, thank you very much.

[nutterlyattled]

Maine played in the Dome in 2001.

that doesnt do muchgood in college, aside from a coaching standpoint

[nutterlyattled]

I've got your outrage. Look at Maine's schedule. If they have an argument it's that they got an extra "quality win" over Liberty & Jax State ... Monmouth.

Yes, Maine's overall strength of schedule was tougher, but it's not as if they beat any of the teams that made it so tough.

There was no compelling argument for this pick. When you have three or four teams with roughly equal resumes, why take the one that is the fifth team from their conference, one that's already lost to three of those four other teams? At least make the better CAA teams play another team they haven't faced before as they advance. What's the point of a tournament if it's just a replay of the regular season?


I completely agree, but what is compelling arguement against this pick, yes they lost to the hard teams, better than loseing to easy teams, which some of the others on the bubble are guilty of

[Big Al]

No doubt all 5 teams in question are bubble teams that aren't likely to go far in the playoffs. That said, with exception of the GPI (which ended up at #17, iirc), Liberty had done all the things that merit an auto invite for a non-AQ conference. I think the committee should always strive to include more conferences in the playoff, rather than including more teams from a larger conference.

[19Duke97]

ANY CAA team want on the ASU schedule after next year.....Man up and call the ASU athletic department....Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere! (And the only reason next year is out is because we already have a schedule)! and JMU already said thanks but no thanks!

If this was truly the case (not sure), this was a decision made solely by the administration, not the coaches, players or fans. MM has stated he would love to have a long standing game with ASU.

[Saint3333]

I believe the McNeese deal was better. I'd like to add JMU back to the schedule in 2010 though.

[appmaj]

I can hate both the player and the game, thank you very much.

What???? Is this true?

I got to tell some friends about this...

[BigApp]

over the last decade.. 4-4

<< buzzer >>

http://www.blm.gov/nstc/soil/Kids/images/wrong.gif

[ccd494]

Not only does losing to Presbyterian mean you should not be in the NCAA tournament, it means you should fold the program. That loss is embarrassing, and Liberty should have gotten sponsors to sign them out of campus so they could hide their heads in the sand. (Sand, like dancing or hand holding, is not allowed on Liberty's campus)

[93henfan]

<< buzzer >>

http://www.blm.gov/nstc/soil/Kids/images/wrong.gif

Delaware's last decade vs. SoCon

Overall: 5-5
Reg Season: 4-3
Playoffs: 1-2

2008 reg season - Furman - L
2007 final - App State - L
2003 semi - Wofford - W
2003 reg season - The Citadel - W
2002 reg season - The Citadel - L
2002 reg season - Georgia Southern - W
2001 reg season - Georgia Southern - L
2000 semi - Georgia Southern - L
2000 reg season - The Citadel - W
1999 reg season - The Citadel - W

[mtgrizfankb]

so lets seee we only had 15 quality playoff worthy teams.... the brackets are suckish due to having to spend money for travel..... the bracket is stacked on one side already with the better teams..... HMMMMMM

FCS comm: (well lets add some more teams and make expences more and have higher score/ less fun games and more cupcake teams... i think thats the solution)

Thank you FCS... i finally figured out who got screwed this year... THE FCS NATION

"DONT FORGET TO ADD IN A FEW WEEKS OF NOT PLAYING FOOTBALL AND HOUSING TWO TEAMS IN HOTEL ROOMS FOR 2 weeks WAITING FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME!!!"-soon to be

[Montana_Mojo]

I'm not at all outraged. Not even bothered by it. Maine is a solid team that was playing well at the end of the year. The selection committee made it clear that they favored teams that were playing well at the end of the year. Maine was. W&M was not.

Who else was the committee going to select? Liberty? Please. Yes, they beat Elon convincingly. But they hail from perhaps the weakest conference in the FCS, and losing to a 4-8 Presbyterian team as recently as three weeks ago is a fatal loss. Simply inexcusable for a team that thinks it deserves a playoff bid.

I think the committee took the team that it believed would be the most competitive against top FCS competition. And I think Maine has proven that it can be. The committees objective is to give at-large bids to the eight best teams that weren't automatic qualifiers/conference winners. I don't think Liberty was one of those teams, and I think the committee did a good job doing that.

[4th and What?]

If you are going to give a conference 5 team they all should be locks. Maine was far from a lock. I would have taken W&M over Maine in their own conference.

Eh? So are you saying W&M was a lock?

I agree that W&M has the better resume, and my vote would of gone with them. But I understand the argument for Maine. If you look at quality losses, it immediately cuts out Liberty, and Maine has a bit of an edge. Maine "needed" to beat UMass and UNH to make the playoffs, and beat UMass and lost to UNH though played them tight. W&M "needed" to beat JMU or Richmond to make the playoffs, and lost to both, though played Richmond tight.

W&M has the quality win though that Maine does not have, which is what most people, including myself, immediately look at. If W&M wanted in, they needed to win one of their last two, otherwise they left it up to the discussion of the committee, which they lost.

[UNHFan]

What we need is CAA teams to start adding SouthCon games for non conference games. That will end the problem!

[BigApp]

Delaware's last decade vs. SoCon



that's all fine and pretty, but the issue/question here is the record against SOUTHERN teams, not SoCon teams. That means teams from the South, not in the Southern Conference.


remind me, what's Maine's record against southern teams??

[beauvighn]

What we need is CAA teams to start adding SouthCon games for non conference games. That will end the problem!

I would like to see a CAA/SoCon challenge each year. Maybe the first game or so of the season. The last season's #1's play all the way down. I think it would be good for FCS football and would settle this issue for that year.

Probably will never happen though. It makes too much common sense. And that's another thing. If common sense is so common...why do so few people have it. :)

[mcveyrl]

I would like to see a CAA/SoCon challenge each year. Maybe the first game or so of the season. The last season's #1's play all the way down. I think it would be good for FCS football and would settle this issue for that year.

Probably will never happen though. It makes too much common sense. And that's another thing. If common sense is so common...why do so few people have it. :)

Would also help to fill the schedule with and gurantee a quality OOC game for each conference.

[GoBlackBears]

MJ, I didn't say WM played Maine.

Maine has no wins over ranked opponents or playoff teams.
Maine lost to UNH at home.
WM beat UNH on the road.
WM was 3-0 versus the north, including the north champ.
WM had the higher GPI
WM is ranked higher.
WM played their IA school much closer.
Maine almost lost to Monmouth.
Against all common opponents, WM had the higher point spread (points scored minus points surrendered).

Maine had an extra win over mighty Iona.

So, tell me exactly why Maine is more deserving of a playoff bid then WM!

Despite MJ, good luck to the Bears, not your fault the committee blew it, represent well.

First off, polls don't mean a thing when it comes to picking at-large teams. That's one thing we've learned over the years in all the NCAA post-season tournaments.

Second, Maine did beat a ranked team @ UMass.xnonox Not an easy place for Maine to win over the years.

Third, Maine was tied with JMU late in the third quarter at home. A poor judgement by their Coaches may have cost them that game when they tried a second onside kick.xoopsx We'll never know for sure. How did William and Mary fair against JMU? They must have had a really close game with the Dukes...xeyebrowx

Fourth, Stop with the crying all already would you, PLEASE.xbawlingx

[89Hen]

I would like to see a CAA/SoCon challenge each year. Maybe the first game or so of the season. The last season's #1's play all the way down.
If you lined them up right now based on standings, who do you think would win?...

AppSt vs JMU (already decided)
Wofford vs Villanova
Elon vs Richmond (already decided)
Furman vs UNH
GSU vs Maine
Samford vs W&M
The Citadel vs UMass
Western Carolina vs Delaware
Chattanooga vs Hofstra

xeyebrowx xeyebrowx xeyebrowx

This little exercise should make some SoCon fans realize what we're talking about when we talk about depth in the conference.

[GoBlackBears]

I'm not at all outraged. Not even bothered by it. Maine is a solid team that was playing well at the end of the year. The selection committee made it clear that they favored teams that were playing well at the end of the year. Maine was. W&M was not.

Who else was the committee going to select? Liberty? Please. Yes, they beat Elon convincingly. But they hail from perhaps the weakest conference in the FCS, and losing to a 4-8 Presbyterian team as recently as three weeks ago is a fatal loss. Simply inexcusable for a team that thinks it deserves a playoff bid.

I think the committee took the team that it believed would be the most competitive against top FCS competition. And I think Maine has proven that it can be. The committees objective is to give at-large bids to the eight best teams that weren't automatic qualifiers/conference winners. I don't think Liberty was one of those teams, and I think the committee did a good job doing that.

Great post Montana Mojo!xbowx Another thing Maine has been willing to do over the years is play tough out of conference opponents. They've traveled to Montana and Youngstown State and have hosted those programs as well over the years. I also remember Maine playing and beating McNeese State one year in Orono when the Cowboys were the #1 ranked I-AA team in the country.

Coach Cosgrove in his attempts to play tough out of conference opponents may have cost his teams a shot at playing the NCAA playoffs over the years. I always enjoyed watching Maine play at home against Montana, Youngstown State or McNeese State, but those days might be gone.

[jmufan999]

last year the CAA got lucky with 5 teams. i guess we got "lucky" again. Elon got killed by Liberty. that doesn't bode well, when you're talking about the reputation of a conference. the CAA's reputation (proven over the last 2 years with 5 teams each year) is that we are the best conference. it's not a blow away, it's very close. if you're a fan of a SoCon team, obviously you'll disagree. i probably would too if i was a fan of one of those teams. these are all opinions and are subjective.

[TribeNomad]

I did not think we (W & M) deserved to get in, but think Maine even less so!!

[ngineer]

The only outrage is that the committee took the wrong CAA team to fill the 16th spot. WM had the better resume, played UR much closer than Maine and beat UNH at their place. Committee was right to reject Liberty and Elon based primarily on SOS and then copped out and took a seconf CAA north team over a 4th CAA South squad, even though WM's resume is better.

I agree. If anyone should be upset it is the Tribe. The 'Woofer Award' for 2008.xsmhx

[FUspirit]

CAA would have a much stronger arguement for 5 teams if they actually Played every team in their conference or at least had a Championship Game. Who is to say that JMU is the CAA Champ. they might have gotten beat by NE RI (not likely)or NH during the season or they may have lost to NH in a champ game. It is the same as every year, the Socon teams beat up on each other and eventualy knock each other out of the playoffs, while the CAA plays 6 or 7 conference weaklings and bolster their stats.

[UNHFan]

Just wanted to say its been 5 days since this post and I have yet to wake and feel any outrage.

5 teams baby!!!! wooo hoo!!! UNH....UNH....UNH!!

[charliej]

QUOTE=FUspirit;1231602]CAA would have a much stronger arguement for 5 teams if they actually Played every team in their conference or at least had a Championship Game. Who is to say that JMU is the CAA Champ. they might have gotten beat by NE RI (not likely)or NH during the season or they may have lost to NH in a champ game. It is the same as every year, the Socon teams beat up on each other and eventualy knock each other out of the playoffs, while the CAA plays 6 or 7 conference weaklings and bolster their stats.[/QUOTE]

If you consider a "weakling" to be a team with a losing record,there arent even 6 or 7 in the CAA,there are 5. And there's not a CAA playoff team that played all 5 of those teams. What if I said,"So-con teams are lucky,They get sure wins because they play all the weak teams in the Conference"...That would sound pretty foolish no? Yet it's the other side of your argument.

You may catch a break from year to year,but you also miss some of the cellar dwellers too. Funny how nobody seems to notice that.xrolleyesx

[Jerbearasu]

last year the CAA got lucky with 5 teams. i guess we got "lucky" again. Elon got killed by Liberty. that doesn't bode well, when you're talking about the reputation of a conference. the CAA's reputation (proven over the last 2 years with 5 teams each year) is that we are the best conference. it's not a blow away, it's very close. if you're a fan of a SoCon team, obviously you'll disagree. i probably would too if i was a fan of one of those teams. these are all opinions and are subjective.

Nice post. This year I have to agree with the CAA having 5 (heck even the first team out IMO was W&M so no matter what they would have had 5). My problem is last year when Georgia Southern was left out. I know they didn't have the required D-1 wins but I felt their overall body of work with their SOS and who they beat was good enough to get in.

For the argument that CAA teams don't have to play everyone... Sometimes you miss out on good teams sometimes you have to play them, it's the way the schedule falls that year. But I don't think you should be able to call yourself a conference if you do not play every team in your conference every year and this includes the SEC, ACC, Big 10, Big 12 and every other conference that does not play each other. IMO, if you want 12 teams in your conference then you play no OOC games and just have an 11 game schedule with your conference opponents...

What they should do is split the conference in half and just have an end of the year showdown with the conference champ of each league or however they want to do it.

[FCS_pwns_FBS]

If you lined them up right now based on standings, who do you think would win?...

AppSt vs JMU (already decided)
Wofford vs Villanova
Elon vs Richmond (already decided)
Furman vs UNH
GSU vs Maine
Samford vs W&M
The Citadel vs UMass
Western Carolina vs Delaware
Chattanooga vs Hofstra

xeyebrowx xeyebrowx xeyebrowx

This little exercise should make some SoCon fans realize what we're talking about when we talk about depth in the conference.

So you get to take the 9 best CAA teams and pair them with the SoCon teams? That doesn't sound very fair.

[phillyAPP]

Just wanted to say its been 5 days since this post and I have yet to wake and feel any outrage.

5 teams baby!!!! wooo hoo!!! UNH....UNH....UNH!!


I agree with you, woo hoo !!!

I could care less, its just the way it works. I don't care unless its APP that was left out on the 16th spot.

Da COMMISH said its the BEST 16 teams. Elon blew it and it ALL works out on the field.

Who knows how many CAA teams win in the first round, if they all win its deserved.

[rudy1648]

well, if your 3rd place team (Elon) hadn't got punked by Liberty this weekend, you would have had 3 and the CAA 4.

Point the finger at your conference mate first.

Gotta agree here,,even though a SoCon fan here. Elon fell apart in the last few weeks,,,,if you believe they had that great a team to begin with. Blow out to Wofford,,,then throttled by ASU,,,then being crusified by Liberty. With Furman, Ga S weak these years and only Wofford and Elon picking up the slack,,,,there was little reason to get Elon in. Hopefully FU and GS will get their acts together, Wofford and Elon will continue to improve,,and even Samford get into the mix,,,things should be better for SoCon in coming years. Not much hope for UTC and WCU.

[rudy1648]

If you lined them up right now based on standings, who do you think would win?...

AppSt vs JMU (already decided)
Wofford vs Villanova
Elon vs Richmond (already decided)
Furman vs UNH
GSU vs Maine
Samford vs W&M
The Citadel vs UMass
Western Carolina vs Delaware
Chattanooga vs Hofstra

xeyebrowx xeyebrowx xeyebrowx

This little exercise should make some SoCon fans realize what we're talking about when we talk about depth in the conference.

Well heck,,,why not just start from the bottom on the CAA and work our way up?

Towson/UTC
Northeastern/Western
Delaware/Citadel
Rhode Island/Samford
Hofstra/Ga Southern
Furman/UMass
Elon/Bill and Mary
Richmond/Wofford
ASU/Villanova, James Madison, Maine or NH

When you compare apples and oranges,,,there is no way to come up with an accurate comparison. When we add 3 more schools to our conference,,then we can talk.

[Henny]

Man some of the SoCon fans on this board are a disgrace!!!!

The CAA not only deserves 5 bids, the closest bid was to a CAA team!!!

Face the facts and quit trying to justify why the CAA should have less bids.

If you have a problem with the strength of the CAA overall, look no further than the University of Delaware. UD was a perennial playoff team in the 90s and to a lesser degree, this decade. Other teams in the conference knew they had to catch up and understood what a winning program at the FCS level could do for a school. As it stands, teams caught up(and this year passed UD) to gain football prominence no matter what the cost. In the case of JMU and UMASS it came in the way of taking marginal students, as evidenced by the football team's graduation rates.

Face it The CAA dominance is here to stay !!!!!!

[ValleyChamp]

To answer the original question. I, for one, AM outraged...

[Henny]

UNI has no argument in this matter. UD came to your "Dome" and took it to UNI in convincing style, and Delaware wasn't even the best team in the CAA by a longshot.

[GannonFan]

UNI has no argument in this matter. UD came to your "Dome" and took it to UNI in convincing style, and Delaware wasn't even the best team in the CAA by a longshot.

Wasn't the best team last year by "a long shot"?? How are you defining that? We beat JMU, lost a game by less than a score on the road to UNH, and lost a 5 OT thriller to Richmond? UMass was proven to be a fraud last year so who exactly where we so far behind last year? xconfusedx

[bigappfan10]

there should never never never be a case where one conference got 5 teams in and now its happened twice. I would personally be embarassed if the selection show popped up and asu, furman, gsu, elon, and wofford all got in...give me a break...it creates a situation where the other conferences lose interest because they only get one rep in...5 teams? wow, what disgrace.

[BlueHen86]

there should never never never be a case where one conference got 5 teams in and now its happened twice. I would personally be embarassed if the selection show popped up and asu, furman, gsu, elon, and wofford all got in...give me a break...it creates a situation where the other conferences lose interest because they only get one rep in...5 teams? wow, what disgrace.
It's 5 out of 12 teams, not a terrible ratio. The CAA is a big conference with a lot of good teams, 5 playoff teams is not unreasonable (although I expected only 4 this year). If three CAA teams were to switch over to the Socon, the Socon would be in a position to receive 5 playoff bids. I expect that most Socon fans would be okay with that, and of course the CAA fans would be hypocrites to complain if that were to happen.xpeacex

[skinny_uncle]

Lifetime? Well, we are 1-0 against App State, for one. xcoffeex
Maine is 1-5 against the SOCON. App is the only team from that conference they ever beaten.

[FCS_pwns_FBS]

Gotta agree here,,even though a SoCon fan here. Elon fell apart in the last few weeks,,,,if you believe they had that great a team to begin with. Blow out to Wofford,,,then throttled by ASU,,,then being crusified by Liberty. With Furman, Ga S weak these years and only Wofford and Elon picking up the slack,,,,there was little reason to get Elon in. Hopefully FU and GS will get their acts together, Wofford and Elon will continue to improve,,and even Samford get into the mix,,,things should be better for SoCon in coming years. Not much hope for UTC and WCU.


You call a one-touchdown win "being throttled"?

[blur2005]

Maine is 1-5 against the SOCON. App is the only team from that conference they ever beaten.
Irrelevant, the only team in the SoCon Maine would have lost to for certain this year (the only thing that matters) is Appalachian State. I expect Wofford would win in a game between the two but I can't say it with such certainty...otherwise, Maine would either have even odds (Elon) or be favored.

[Syntax Error]

Richmond was number 1 until they were manhandled by Nova.Stand corrected. Though they weren't "manhandled"
#1 Falls

The road in the Colonial Athletic Association is a tough place to win, even if you’re the #1 team in the nation. And despite a valiant fourth-quarter comeback, the Richmond Spiders failed to recover an onside kick in the closing minute that could have given them a chance to prevail over 19th-ranked Villanova. In the 26-20 victory, the Wildcats would win the battle on the ground, out-rushing the Spiders 226-83 paced by runningback Aaron Ball’s 123 yards and 2 touchdowns. Villanova placekicker Joe Marcoux’ performance would end up being the difference in the game: a career-long 48 yarder and 29 yarder would be two of Marcoux’s four field goals on the afternoon and would be the margin of difference in the game.
http://www.championshipsubdivisionnews.com/index.php?blog=5&title=fcs-recap-photo-finishes&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
First off, polls don't mean a thing when it comes to picking at-large teams...Yes they do, and so does the GPI. But somehow the Maine squad got picked over W&M even though the Tribe was higher ranked in all of them. Granted it was a slim margin.
If anyone should be upset it is the Tribe. The 'Woofer Award' for 2008.W&M is the official WOOFED team of 2008. Sentimental favorite is Liberty.
Face it The CAA dominance is here to stay !!!!!!xhomerx

No dominance is here to stay. xreadx

[Henny]

Syntax You are truly livinging in a bubble if you dont think this CAA thing is goung to continue.

You may be enduring this throught the next decade with ODU and GSU along for the ride.

[Henny]

The outrage is the SoCon thinking they are equal to the CAA from Top to Bottom = here is a chance all members can let it out !

[Syntax Error]

Syntax You are truly livinging in a bubble if you dont think this CAA thing is goung to continue.

You may be enduring this throught the next decade with ODU and GSU along for the ride.I think you are confusing dominance with a conference having 10% of FCS getting the most teams in the tourney. If I had to pick a dominant conference it would be the Socon. When's the last time a Socon team was not in the semis? They have a definite upper and lower in their conference but whether it's GSU, ASU, FU, or WC they always make deep runs. Always. Hence they have the best playoff record and most champions. Granted the CAA has strung together a couple very dominant seasons but saying it is here to stay is presumptive don't you think? A little? xpeacex

[Henny]

I think you are confusing dominance with a conference having 10% of FCS getting the most teams in the tourney. If I had to pick a dominant conference it would be the Socon. When's the last time a Socon team was not in the semis? They have a definite upper and lower in their conference but whether it's GSU, ASU, FU, or WC they always make deep runs. Always. Hence they have the best playoff record and most champions. Granted the CAA has strung together a couple very dominant seasons but saying it is here to stay is presumptive don't you think? A little? xpeacex

Well this is kind of an up yours post than. 5 teams in the final 16. and 4 surly to advance, Again the CAA was under pressure to compete after UD's prominance after 15 years. The have done it . Give them credit. You are showing a So Con bias yourself!

[Syntax Error]

You are showing a So Con bias yourself!xhomerx

Facts are facts and that is what I stated. I have no bias anyway. Fans (homers) are so funny here. If someone talks objectively and it doesn't jibe with the fomer's view, suddenly the person is biased (east coast bias/west coast bias/northern bias/southern bias/and envy on all sides). xlolx
Well this is kind of an up yours post than. 5 teams in the final 16. and 4 surly to advanceWhatever. The facts speak for themselves and that is all I was saying. xlmaox

[MarchingMountaineer]

Well this is kind of an up yours post than. 5 teams in the final 16. and 4 surly to advance, Again the CAA was under pressure to compete after UD's prominance after 15 years. The have done it . Give them credit. You are showing a So Con bias yourself!



In the case of JMU and UMASS it came in the way of taking marginal students, as evidenced by the football team's graduation rates.


So you're saying that the CAA is trying to sell itself on its football programs rather than its academic programs, huh?

NOW I understand why the CAA needs to stack the deck.
xreadx

[SideLine Shooter]

best conference best teams...

Somebody Smokin Something!xnodx xnodx xnodx

[MacThor]

What we need is CAA teams to start adding SouthCon games for non conference games. That will end the problem!

You mean like Richmond over Elon? JMU over ASU?

[th0m]

In the case of JMU and UMASS it came in the way of taking marginal students, as evidenced by the football team's graduation rates.

Please don't let the facts hit you in the ass on your way out of this thread:

Graduation rates ( http://www.ncaa.org/wps/ncaa?ContentID=38757 )

Sorted by percentage for FB players:

UNH 93
W&M 91
Villanova 90
Richmond 89
Northeastern 76
Towson 75
Delaware 75
JMU 73
Hofstra 63
URI 62
Maine 60
UMass 58

Delaware is a whopping 2% better than JMU.

[UNHFan]

good job th0m! Delaware and JMU will start getting higher rates. CAA Football will have a much easier recruiting each year. Great players and students want to play and be seen, and the CAA is making it happen. Can you imagine what its going to be like in another 5 years? Compare today to 5 years ago. Very proud of the FBS and the strides its making every year.

[FCS_pwns_FBS]

Well this is kind of an up yours post than. 5 teams in the final 16. and 4 surly to advance, Again the CAA was under pressure to compete after UD's prominance after 15 years. The have done it . Give them credit. You are showing a So Con bias yourself!

Are you kidding? 3 of the CAA games are pretty much a coinflip, the fourth has a slim chance of being a CAA loss, and the fifth a very slim chance of being a CAA loss.

The CAA gets many teams in because the conference is split. You can beat 2 of the 5 conference teams on your schedule with a winning record and still get in. Then of course all you have to do is beat all the Patriot, Pioneer, NEC, and Ivy league teams on your OOC schedule and you are in. You could never beat only 2 of the 5 SoCon teams with a winning record (there is actually 6, but let's say there was 5) and expect to make the playoffs, especially with all of the impossible FBS games that we have.

[YoUDeeMan]

What they should do is split the conference in half and just have an end of the year showdown with the conference champ of each league or however they want to do it.

OK, taken separately, the CAA South got 3 teams in the playoffs. They all played each other and had a pretty good set of OOC games.

Anyone disagree with JMU? Nope. Anyone disagree with a 9-2 Villanova? Nope. Anyone disagree with Richmond? Nope.

And, the CAA North got 2 teams in. Anyone disagree with UNH? Nope. Anyone disagree with Maine? xeyebrowx Maybe. But they played everyone in the solid CAA North and had a decent set of OOC games.

And who has an argument over Maine? Certainly not Elon or another SoCon team. The only ones who have a case would be W&M (and taking 4 teams from the CAA South would be an "outrage" to some folks) and possibly Liberty.

Liberty. Who did they play and who beat them? xeyebrowx

So we're back to W&M.

Looking at the CAA as two separate conferences, does anyone really think it is an outrage that there are 5 teams from those two conferences?

[Eaglegus2]

There will always be a Team that is punked by the Committee. The advangtage will be to the Northeastern teams as long as the chairman is from the CAA.

Does anyone know when there will be a different set of committee members named?

Elon could have made it a lot easier. W&M actually deserved to be there.

[BigApp]

Irrelevant, the only team in the SoCon Maine would have lost to for certain this year (the only thing that matters) is Appalachian State. I expect Wofford would win in a game between the two but I can't say it with such certainty...otherwise, Maine would either have even odds (Elon) or be favored.

what was Maine's record against scholarship programs again??

[Syntax Error]

There will always be a Team that is punked by the Committee. The advangtage will be to the Northeastern teams as long as the chairman is from the CAA.

Does anyone know when there will be a different set of committee members named?The chair doesn't have anything to do with the amount of CAA teams chosen. Look at the polls and the GPI. The CAA teams earned it.

Chairman John F. McCutcheon, University of Massachusetts, term expires SEP 2010

[Tubby Raymond]

The only outrage is that the committee took the wrong CAA team to fill the 16th spot. WM had the better resume, played UR much closer than Maine and beat UNH at their place. Committee was right to reject Liberty and Elon based primarily on SOS and then copped out and took a seconf CAA north team over a 4th CAA South squad, even though WM's resume is better.

Tribe should have had a shot. Those last two losses didn't help your case much xbawlingx

[BigApp]

Face it The CAA dominance is here to stay !!!!!!

dunno 'bout that. Can't use Iona as a crutch anymore!

gleaned from the AP newswire:

Somerset, NJ -- Officials from the Northeast Conference (NEC), who spoke on the condition of anonimity, have indicated a sudden influx of inquiries into the availability of NEC football teams future schedules. Particularly Wagner, Monmouth and St Francis' Athletic Directors have received a skyrocketing amount of phone calls last week as Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) officials scramble to replace Iona on their future football schedules.

[GoBlackBears]

So far the outrage of the weekend was the bye that Villinova appears to have received. Bottom line is simple. Seed the teams 1-16 and have them play that way regardless of travel. Obviously if a #10 team draws better then a #7, then the #10 would host if they put in the best bid.

I'm excited that the first CAA team is about to advance and advance rather easily. But the CAA's best team all season was JMU, and they should have been playing Colgate today and not Villinova.

[mainejeff]

So far the outrage of the weekend was the bye that Villinova appears to have received. Bottom line is simple. Seed the teams 1-16 and have them play that way regardless of travel. Obviously if a #10 team draws better then a #7, then the #10 would host if they put in the best bid.

I'm excited that the first CAA team is about to advance and advance rather easily. But the CAA's best team all season was JMU, and they should have been playing Colgate today and not Villinova.

Agreed.

[Tubby Raymond]

Agreed.

Never gonna happen. Putzy

BTW, for those who doubted the CAA, how do ya like dem apples? xthumbsupx

[Tubby Raymond]

Are you kidding? 3 of the CAA games are pretty much a coinflip, the fourth has a slim chance of being a CAA loss, and the fifth a very slim chance of being a CAA loss.

Better check dem scores bunky

[rufus]

Today JMU played its worst football since its 2006 opener against D-II Bloomsburg. We better make some major improvements before we face serious competition in a CAA team next week. If we play like we did today, Villanova is going to put up 60 points on us.

[Purple For Life]

Maine is making a case...for being left out!

[JMad03]

Today JMU played its worst football since its 2006 opener against D-II Bloomsburg. We better make some major improvements before we face serious competition in a CAA team next week. If we play like we did today, Villanova is going to put up 60 points on us.

Sorry rufus, can't disagree with you any more. I'll cite one example- Duke. That one was awful. I was there. If you think this game was worse than that one, then I don't know what you're smoking.
First off, Wofford is a very good team. We didn't play our best, but it was no way anywhere close to that game. Offensively, except for that interception, we played very well on offense. Any day we score 38 points on a top FCS team and come out on top is a good day. If that INT doesn't happen, a close game turns into a 2+ possession game.
Wofford's offense is something we very rarely get to see- a good option team. There aren't any offenses like the terriers that the Dukes see on a regular basis.
There is one thing I will definitely agree with you on- tackling. Holy cow, not good. If we keep tackling like we did today, we're not getting past Nova.
The Dukes were definitely not flat today. Played with a lot of heart which was nonexistant for that game. So I think to compare this game to Bloomsburg is way off the mark.

[matfu]

Today JMU played its worst football since its 2006 opener against D-II Bloomsburg. We better make some major improvements before we face serious competition in a CAA team next week. If we play like we did today, Villanova is going to put up 60 points on us.

Doubt Mickey will agree with you. Wofford is a very good team. the app state debacle was just "one of those games". ayers wanted to play app again in the playoffs and i for one (a furman fan) THINK second time around, wofford may have beaten app state. My point is, on offense Wofford can be almost unstoppable (and that is even more true if you don't see them every year).

[purplepeopleeaterv2]

Doubt Mickey will agree with you. Wofford is a very good team. the app state debacle was just "one of those games". ayers wanted to play app again in the playoffs and i for one (a furman fan) THINK second time around, wofford may have beaten app state. My point is, on offense Wofford can be almost unstoppable (and that is even more true if you don't see them every year).

I agree with this guy.