The problem with 5 teams from the CAA

[WOCO]

I'm not actually arguing if they deserve to have five teams in(even though main is pretty suspect). If a conference has five of the best, they should be in. The real question is how it affects every other team in the playoffs. Because no team from the same conference can play another in the first round, it forces teams to have unreasonable travel. Wofford now has a trip that would be a plane trip last year but a 7 hour bus trip this year. The top of the bracket is loaded but teams are going to have to travel across the country to play in different time zones to get to the NC. At least the bottom is just north and south. If they are going to allow that many teams from one conference in, they need to just seed it 1-16 and play it out the right way. It is really unfair for some teams and a huge advantage for others.

[gbhmt]

I think the problem with 5 teams in the CAA is there are a few teams out there that are better than some of them...

[smcwildcat]

no matter what u guys will always hate on caa.... who said winning a championship would be easy?....travelling is all part of it

[GannonFan]

Seeding is never the answer - most people who say that seeding will help obviously never watched the playoffs in the 80's and 90's when seeding irregularities would make the problems of today look pretty mild by comparison. Heck, seeding-wise, if they use anything like the GPI, and you'll see the CAA host a lot more games than they have/will.

The CAA represented well last year with 5 teams and this year the 16th team was either going to be W&M, Maine, Elon, or Liberty, so it's not shocking nor odd that a 5th CAA team was chosen.

I'm okay if they waive the not allowed to play a conference opponent in the first round rule should a conference get 5 teams in, but then we'll have the inevitable thread moaning that the committee is guaranteeing CAA teams to make the quarters by having them play each other. Someone's always going to gripe.

[charliej]

I think the problem with 5 teams in the CAA is there are a few teams out there that are better than some of them...
I'm not sure.

IMO W&M was probably the one team that I could say should have gotten in over Maine. I didn't expect them to get in,thought it would be Liberty. All the other CAA teams belong in there,I don't think anyone would argue that.

Who else do you think might have been better?

[gbhmt]

I'm not sure.

IMO W&M was probably the one team that I could say should have gotten in over Maine. I didn't expect them to get in,thought it would be Liberty.

Who else do you think might have been better?

Liberty. Their schedule may have hurt them but I think they're just flat out a better football team.

[BigHouseClosedEnd]

I thought the committee would give a bid to Liberty. Of all the teams considered, they are the only one that won a game it needed to win yesterday.

I guess the committee preferred Maine's 'body of work'.

[andy7171]

I think Towson should have gotten that last spot, I mean 7 of tere 9 losses were to ranked teams.
:p

Maine beats Liberty, 9 of 10 meetings.




William and Mary got F'ed.xnonono2x

[appstate1998]

I'm still scratching my head on Maine over W&M...guess having a 12th game really makes this difference. They both lost to 3 playoff bound teams....but the only difference is W&M beat a playoff bound team and Maine did not..Maine also only beat Hofstra by one in overtime and UMASS by one and both of those 1 point wins came off missed PAT's on the final scores. W&M's only close win was against UNH.

I think the wrong team got in personally. Good luck to Maine and I think they will represent the CAA well, but I'm having a hard time buying into this selection

[BDKJMU]

Liberty. Their schedule may have hurt them but I think they're just flat out a better football team.

Have you seen either team play this season? I've at least seen Maine play this season in person, and by looking at Liberty's schedule, I doubt Liberty is the better team, and the committee obviously felt the same way.

[mainejeff]

I'm still scratching my head on Maine over W&M...guess having a 12th game really makes this difference. They both lost to 3 playoff bound teams....but the only difference is W&M beat a playoff bound team and Maine did not..Maine also only beat Hofstra by one in overtime and UMASS by one and both of those 1 point wins came off missed PAT's on the final scores. W&M's only close win was against UNH.

I think the wrong team got in personally. Good luck to Maine and I think they will represent the CAA well, but I'm having a hard time buying into this selection

Why do pro-W&M posters always fail to mention that Maine won 6 of 7 and W&M lost their LAST 2 GAMES..........???

[DB_Atlantic10]

I'm still scratching my head on Maine over W&M...guess having a 12th game really makes this difference. They both lost to 3 playoff bound teams....but the only difference is W&M beat a playoff bound team and Maine did not..Maine also only beat Hofstra by one in overtime and UMASS by one and both of those 1 point wins came off missed PAT's on the final scores. W&M's only close win was against UNH.

I think the wrong team got in personally. Good luck to Maine and I think they will represent the CAA well, but I'm having a hard time buying into this selection
Has anyone ever actually bought into a selection....every year it's something for someone......

[BDKJMU]

I think Towson should have gotten that last spot, I mean 7 of tere 9 losses were to ranked teams.
:p

Maine beats Liberty, 9 of 10 meetings.

William and Mary got F'ed.xnonono2x

Ditto on the Maine-Liberty. But as far as Maine/W&M, I think on a neutral field Maine beats W&M 6 out of 10. Going by what I saw watching both teams live (and sober).

[gbhmt]

Have you seen either team play this season? I've at least seen Maine play this season in person, and by looking at Liberty's schedule, I doubt Liberty is the better team, and the committee obviously felt the same way.

Seeing Liberty dominate a team yesterday that's far better than anyone in Maine's win column was enough for me.

[tribe_pride]

Why do pro-W&M posters always fail to mention that Maine won 6 of 7 and W&M lost their LAST 2 GAMES..........???

W&M did win 5 of 7 over that same period so only 1 win separated the two teams.

W&M lost to Richmond and JMU (itslast 2 games) by a combined 27 points and Maine lost to Richmond by 27 and JMU by 14. Just because W&M had a tougher last 2 games scheduled may have cost us and that sucks.

That said, good luck and give 'em hell.

[MacThor]

Maine was 5th in the CAA. W&M was sixth. It matters.

[appfan2008]

Liberty>Maine

[AshevilleApp2]

Elon could have settled the issue last Saturday, but didn't. I think they are one of the best 16 teams in the country, but you can't lose multiple games late and make the field. Congratulations to the CAA teams who made it in.

[ToTheLeft]

Have you seen either team play this season? I've at least seen Maine play this season in person, and by looking at Liberty's schedule, I doubt Liberty is the better team, and the committee obviously felt the same way.

LOL. I LOVE THIS!

I watched Maine, and saw LU's Schedule. Maine is better.

Do you realize how stupid that statement is?

They might have had a better "resume" (most agree they didn't), but you can't say they're just a better team based on that reasoning...

Oh, I forgot. You looked at LU's schedule and didn't see CAA teams. Clearly it's not a good schedule unless you play Towson, Rhody, and Northeastern. Sheesh, what powerhouses. xthumbsupx

[mcveyrl]

Elon could have settled the issue last Saturday, but didn't. I think they are one of the best 16 teams in the country, but you can't lose multiple games late and make the field. Congratulations to the CAA teams who made it in.

I agree, this is all a moot point if Elon takes care of business Saturday.

I would've liked to have seen Liberty in over another CAA team, but I think W&M should've gotten in over Maine.

Did Maine beat a playoff-caliber team?

[nmatsen]

I personally was very happy to see Maine roll across the screen. I am extremely happy that a running team got into the playoffs and will be joining us for a good ol' game of foosball in the dome Saturday.

[tribe_pride]

Maine was 5th in the CAA. W&M was sixth. It matters.

Maine and W&M tied for 5th. There is no tiebreaker for anything but AQ.

[purplepeopleeaterv2]

I agree, this is all a moot point if Elon takes care of business Saturday.

I would've liked to have seen Liberty in over another CAA team, but I think W&M should've gotten in over Maine.

Did Maine beat a playoff-caliber team?

I feel the same way. However, now that Maine is in, like any other CAA team, they have my backing.

[MacThor]

Maine and W&M tied for 5th. There is no tiebreaker for anything but AQ.

Apparently the selection committee thought otherwise. I know there's no "official" tiebreaker, but if you post the standings 1-12, Maine's name is above W&M's. Finally, 7 D-1 wins was not enough this year.

[slycat]

Since the CAA has a ton of teams int eh playoffs again how about one of them win the national championship?

[89Hen]

The real question is how it affects every other team in the playoffs. Because no team from the same conference can play another in the first round, it forces teams to have unreasonable travel.
xconfusedx Actually since the footprint of the CAA extends from Maine to Virginia (for football) it gives the Patriot, MEAC and SoCon (and Big South & NEC once they start) options for closer games. Not sure I agree with your point at all.

[GSUhooligan]

I think Maine got in b/c they didn't want 4 teams from the south and only 1 from the north. It would validate some people's complaint about the north and how UNH wouldn't be in the playoffs if they were in the south.

[andy7171]

LOL. I LOVE THIS!

I watched Maine, and saw LU's Schedule. Maine is better.

Do you realize how stupid that statement is?

They might have had a better "resume" (most agree they didn't), but you can't say they're just a better team based on that reasoning...

Oh, I forgot. You looked at LU's schedule and didn't see CAA teams. Clearly it's not a good schedule unless you play Towson, Rhody, and Northeastern. Sheesh, what powerhouses. xthumbsupx

Maine didn't play Towson this year. xconfusedx

[ToTheLeft]

Maine didn't play Towson this year. xconfusedx

I didn't look. I just figured they played all the terrible teams at the bottom of the CAA to get a record like that with no big wins. :p

[andy7171]

I didn't look. I just figured they played all the terrible teams at the bottom of the CAA to get a record like that with no big wins. :p

OK.

While terrible, I suspect they might be slightly better than CSU VMI and Presby.

Not to mention Glenville State and North Greenfield.

:p :p

[89Hen]

They might have had a better "resume" (most agree they didn't), but you can't say they're just a better team based on that reasoning...
FWIW I saw Liberty play three times this year (thanks a lot MASN) and I said it before the selections.... IMHO Liberty was not a playoff team.

[rcny46]

Why do pro-W&M posters always fail to mention that Maine won 6 of 7 and W&M lost their LAST 2 GAMES..........???

I think that was probably a major factor in the committee's decision.

[whitey]

Since the CAA has a ton of teams int eh playoffs again how about one of them win the national championship?

How bout a team other than App State win a National Championship? What a stupid comment.

4 out of the last 5 years the CAA has put a team in the championship game:
2003 National Champions: Delaware
2004 National Champions: James Madison
2006 Runners Up: Massachusetts
2007 Runners Up: Delaware

[jstclmet]

I think Maine got in b/c they didn't want 4 teams from the south and only 1 from the north. It would validate some people's complaint about the north and how UNH wouldn't be in the playoffs if they were in the south.

Not to be a conspiracy theorist, but this logic may actually have some merit. Last year, UNH got in over Nova with identical overall records, but Nova had the better conference record. Had Nova been selected, they would have been the 4th team from the CAA South, and UMass the lone rep from the CAA North. If W&M had been taken, they would have been the 4th rep from the CAA South, where UNH the lone rep from the CAA North. It seems idiotic, that this type of logic may have had some influence, but you can't help but notice the similarity.

The Nova/UNH choice of 07 could have been argued either way, much like the Maine/W&M of 08. When the field reaches 20, these 6 teams will be in the playoffs, and you'll have a new argument on why someone else was left out (perhaps a 7th CAA team) xlolx

[Rob Iola]

I think Towson should have gotten that last spot, I mean 7 of tere 9 losses were to ranked teams.
:p

Maine beats Liberty, 9 of 10 meetings.




William and Mary got F'ed.xnonono2x
Towson beats Liberty, 9 of 10 meetings...

[andy7171]

Towson beats Liberty, 9 of 10 meetings...
xsmhx
Our defense was HORRIBLE this year. Liberty beat Coastal, we go our a$$es handed to us.

[South Carolina Duke]

Sounds like WOCO is lobbyong for Affirmative Action on the football field. This is not another social program.

Maybe we should give every team a trophy and go and enjoy Thanksgiving.

Better yet, have WC give up their position in the playoffs to Furman.

[FCS_pwns_FBS]

Sounds like WOCO is lobbyong for Affirmative Action on the football field. This is not another social program.

Maybe we should give every team a trophy and go and enjoy Thanksgiving.

Better yet, have WC give up their position in the playoffs to Furman.

No, it's kind of the opposite of that. They, like many fans, want merit to determine who gets to host. There's no way Richmond would get to host over Wofford if we had such a system.

[Rob Iola]

xsmhx
Our defense was HORRIBLE this year. Liberty beat Coastal, we go our a$$es handed to us.
Well ok, this would be the once in a decade bright spot for Liberty...

[McNeese75]

Don't even start whining about travel. The Southland teams are not interested in your tears xlolx

[SactoHornetFan]

Don't even start whining about travel. The Southland teams are not interested in your tears xlolx

Or for that matter the teams out west........

[tribe_pride]

Apparently the selection committee thought otherwise. I know there's no "official" tiebreaker, but if you post the standings 1-12, Maine's name is above W&M's. Finally, 7 D-1 wins was not enough this year.

Mac just because alphabetically they are ahead of WM doesn't mean that they definitely are. ;)

You may be right that it was because of 7 D-1 wins, maybe because WM had Richmond and JMU as the last 2 games as opposed to in the middle of the season or another reason. I was just stating the Conference policy of not breaking ties in standings.

[Saint3333]

I think the problem with 5 teams in the CAA is there are a few teams out there that are better than some of them...

And some people want to expand the playoffs to 20 teams.xnonox

[WOCO]

No, it's kind of the opposite of that. They, like many fans, want merit to determine who gets to host. There's no way Richmond would get to host over Wofford if we had such a system.

Thank you for explaining it to him.

[ChickenMan]

Since the CAA has a ton of teams int eh playoffs again how about one of them win the national championship?

this time next week.. you and the Southland Conference will be thinking about next year and three or four CAA teams will be thinking about their next playoff game.

[nutterlyattled]

I think the problem with 5 teams in the CAA is there are a few teams out there that are better than some of them...

who are the others you can argue besides maine?

[gbhmt]

Seeing Liberty dominate a team yesterday that's far better than anyone in Maine's win column was enough for me.

.

[jmu_duke07]

I'm not actually arguing if they deserve to have five teams in(even though main is pretty suspect). If a conference has five of the best, they should be in. The real question is how it affects every other team in the playoffs. Because no team from the same conference can play another in the first round, it forces teams to have unreasonable travel. Wofford now has a trip that would be a plane trip last year but a 7 hour bus trip this year. The top of the bracket is loaded but teams are going to have to travel across the country to play in different time zones to get to the NC. At least the bottom is just north and south. If they are going to allow that many teams from one conference in, they need to just seed it 1-16 and play it out the right way. It is really unfair for some teams and a huge advantage for others.

Harrisonburg is not 7 hours from Wofford... It's barely 7 hours from Charleston. Enjoy the ride! xthumbsupx

[ChickenMan]

Seeing Liberty dominate a team yesterday that's far better than anyone in Maine's win column was enough for me.

Obviously the reason Liberty didn't make the playoffs.. was their very weak schedule..

North Greenville (DII)
Glenville St. (DII)
W. Carolina (3-9)
Youngstown St (4-8)
Coastal Carolina (6-6)
Stony Brook (5-6)
Lafayette (7-4)
Charleston Southern (7-5)
Presbyterian (4-8)
VMI (4-7)
Gardner-Webb (5-6)
Elon (8-4)

you can't lose two games with that schedule and make the playoffs.. maybe next year when the playoffs are expanded.. but not this year

[gbhmt]

Obviously the reason Liberty didn't make the playoffs.. was their very weak schedule..

North Greenville (DII)
Glenville St. (DII)
W. Carolina (3-9)
Youngstown St (4-8)
Coastal Carolina (6-6)
Stony Brook (5-6)
Lafayette (7-4)
Charleston Southern (7-5)
Presbyterian (4-8)
VMI (4-7)
Gardner-Webb (5-6)
Elon (8-4)

you can't lose two games with that schedule and make the playoffs.. maybe next year when the playoffs are expanded.. but not this year

All it came down to to me was that Liberty beat somebody that mattered. Maine didn't, not by a longshot.

[andy7171]

Obviously the reason Liberty didn't make the playoffs.. was their very weak schedule..

North Greenville (DII)
Glenville St. (DII)
W. Carolina (3-9)
Youngstown St (4-8)
Coastal Carolina (6-6)
Stony Brook (5-6)
Lafayette (7-4)
Charleston Southern (7-5)
Presbyterian (4-8)
VMI (4-7)
Gardner-Webb (5-6)
Elon (8-4)

you can't lose two games with that schedule and make the playoffs.. maybe next year when the playoffs are expanded.. but not this year

xnodx

Northeastern rolls through that schedule undefeated.

[ChickenMan]

All it came down to to me was that Liberty beat somebody that mattered. Maine didn't, not by a longshot.

and the loss to Presbyterian doesn't count???

[GannonFan]

All it came down to to me was that Liberty beat somebody that mattered. Maine didn't, not by a longshot.

Really? Which playoff team did Liberty beat? I was all for Liberty being in the playoffs, but let's not lionize Elon. If you do that then you need to give Maine props for beating UMass in Amherst.

[89Hen]

And some people want to expand the playoffs to 20 teams.xnonox
No kidding. It wasn't so much that Liberty or W&M was deserving, it's that they, and Maine really weren't. With 20, now Maine, Liberty, W&M, Albany (1-3 vs CAA) and yet another get in. xcoffeex

[89Hen]

xnodx

Northeastern rolls through that schedule undefeated.
And Delaware would have had a shot at a winning season. xbawlingx :p

[MacThor]

No kidding. It wasn't so much that Liberty or W&M was deserving, it's that they, and Maine really weren't. With 20, now Maine, Liberty, W&M, Albany (1-3 vs CAA) and yet another get in. xcoffeex

And there you have it. Given all the controversy over "last team in" seemingly every year, maybe just reduce the field to 15, give the #1 seed a first round bye and their Thanksgiving off.

[wkuhillhound]

Don't even start whining about travel. The Southland teams are not interested in your tears xlolx

I agree wholeheartedly with that statement. xthumbsupx

[89Hen]

Given all the controversy over "last team in" seemingly every year
And no matter the number, it will always be there. In two years we'll be arguing over the #20/21 team. xcoolx

[Jackman]

The CAA is on record as being against the "regionalized" first round games. It's the other conferences that want the cheap travel games that cause Wofford to have to go to JMU. Talk to your own ADs if you don't like it.

If Liberty doesn't think Maine beat anyone, they can come up to Amherst.

[WOCO]

Harrisonburg is not 7 hours from Wofford... It's barely 7 hours from Charleston. Enjoy the ride! xthumbsupx

My bad, 6 hours on a bus is a lot better than 7. Kinda like making a quick trip to the grocery store.

[andy7171]

My bad, 6 hours on a bus is a lot better than 7. Kinda like making a quick trip to the grocery store.

If you live in Montana or the Dakotas ... yes. :D



If the CAA teams don't play each other, the "same conference can't match up in the first round" rule should not apply.

[89Hen]

If the CAA teams don't play each other, the "same conference can't match up in the first round" rule should not apply.
Interesting thought, but would be tough to implement. They'd have to rig the bracket to make it work (yeah, yeah, they 'rig it' now, but you know what I mean).

[Laserlips]

FWIW:

Doesn't matter if CAA gets 7 teams in the playoff's...

App State wins the prize again this year, and the rest of the teams in the playoff's are just playing to see who's the 1st loser and beyond... xnodx

And I'm not even an App fan....xoopsx


Jesse

[smcwildcat]

random but UNH new stadium plans
http://picasaweb.google.com/.../JkUw8VN085CE3YbStZOyKA

[danefan]

Interesting thought, but would be tough to implement. They'd have to rig the bracket to make it work (yeah, yeah, they 'rig it' now, but you know what I mean).


If you live in Montana or the Dakotas ... yes. :D



If the CAA teams don't play each other, the "same conference can't match up in the first round" rule should not apply.

It could be of use to amend the 2010 rules to allow for it. I tried to do the brackets for this year and had a hard time doing it, especially because it would have been very likely to get 6 CAA teams in the tourney had it been 20.

Really, what is the difference. I see not playing a team from your confernece if you've already played the, but why not matcup up if you hadn't played them this year?

[89Hen]

Really, what is the difference. I see not playing a team from your confernece if you've already played the, but why not matcup up if you hadn't played them this year?
Were you asking me based on my comment about having to "rig" the bracket? I just think that it would be hard to make it so that two teams from the CAA who didn't play each other just happen to find themselves in the exact spot in the bracket that they play each other first round.

[Jackman]

If the CAA teams don't play each other, the "same conference can't match up in the first round" rule should not apply.
Bleh. I'd rather fly to the toughest venue in the bracket than play yet another CAA opponent. I'm bored of you guys. Hell, I'm bored of the Patriot League opponents we always play whenever we make the playoffs. We'd probably be hosting Colgate this weekend if we'd made the extra point against Maine. I think we've played them as often in the last 5 years as we've played Delaware.

The conference season is for playing your conference.
Non-conference games are for playing regional teams.
The playoffs should be about playing schools you don't normally play.

[Appfan_in_CAAland]

How bout a team other than App State win a National Championship?

xnonox Sorry, we will have to say no to that request. xnonox

[danefan]

Were you asking me based on my comment about having to "rig" the bracket? I just think that it would be hard to make it so that two teams from the CAA who didn't play each other just happen to find themselves in the exact spot in the bracket that they play each other first round.

sorry, no. it was a rhetorical question. i didn't make that clear.xthumbsupx

[BigApp]

xnodx

Northeastern rolls through that schedule undefeated.

and Iona goes winless xnodx

[BDKJMU]

I agree, this is all a moot point if Elon takes care of business Saturday.

I would've liked to have seen Liberty in over another CAA team, but I think W&M should've gotten in over Maine.

Did Maine beat a playoff-caliber team?

Did LU?

[mcveyrl]

Did LU?

They did not. My question was related to the comparison of W&M and Maine.

But, my point prior was I would've liked to have seen another non-AQ conference get in, rather than a 5th team from the CAA. I'm all for the CAA getting five teams if there's not a lot else to choose from, but if there are other qualified teams, my issue is that the 5th best team in the CAA had their shot and finished 5th.

If you have to put a 5th CAA team in, though, it should've been W&M.

I really don't have any problems with the selections. An argument can be made for every team that was on the bubble.

[BDKJMU]

Not to be a conspiracy theorist, but this logic may actually have some merit. Last year, UNH got in over Nova with identical overall records, but Nova had the better conference record. Had Nova been selected, they would have been the 4th team from the CAA South, and UMass the lone rep from the CAA North. If W&M had been taken, they would have been the 4th rep from the CAA South, where UNH the lone rep from the CAA North. It seems idiotic, that this type of logic may have had some influence, but you can't help but notice the similarity.

The Nova/UNH choice of 07 could have been argued either way, much like the Maine/W&M of 08. When the field reaches 20, these 6 teams will be in the playoffs, and you'll have a new argument on why someone else was left out (perhaps a 7th CAA team) xlolx

Again, UNH had 2 quality wins (I-A Marshal and UD). Nova had ony 1 quality win- UD. End of arguement. xdeadhorsex

[BDKJMU]

All it came down to to me was that Liberty beat somebody that mattered. Maine didn't, not by a longshot.

You can't say UMass didn't matter by a longshot.

[Aho_Old_Guy]

If Elon had won more than one of their last 4 games there wouldn't be an issue with 5 teams from the CAA.

And I don't think Liberty 's win was ""quality"" - Elon musta really stunk the place up (no offense to Liberty) ...

[charliej]

Again, UNH had 2 quality wins (I-A Marshal and UD). Nova had ony 1 quality win- UD. End of arguement. xdeadhorsex


UNH had Santos...end of argument.:p

[IaaScribe]

xnodx

Northeastern rolls through that schedule undefeated.

That's ********* and you know it.

[jlcharles]

Again, UNH had 2 quality wins (I-A Marshal and UD). Nova had ony 1 quality win- UD. End of arguement. xdeadhorsex

UNH lost 2 of their last 3. As has been said here, how you finish the season also counts.

[paward]

Well ok, this would be the once in a decade bright spot for Liberty...

Not to get off the subject but Rob is that you in the avator? Inquiring mind wants to know.

[Rob Iola]

Not to get off the subject but Rob is that you in the avator? Inquiring mind wants to know.
Nah, that's ol' Gene Oberst:
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/29514




I really look like this (actually that's not too far off, minus of course the talent):

[ViennaSpider]

Ditto on the Maine-Liberty. But as far as Maine/W&M, I think on a neutral field Maine beats W&M 6 out of 10. Going by what I saw watching both teams live (and sober).

I too saw both teams live. W&M beats Maine 4 out of 5 times on a neutral field. The Black Bear's offense/defense was inept for the entire game; W&M's offense only for the first half. The Tribe got hosed.

[UNHlund]

Does anyone know the official rationale for preventing conference teams from playing each other? With 5 CAA teams in, I'm not sure I understand why they artificially prohibit match-ups that could be bus trips.

[WOCO]

Does anyone know the official rationale for preventing conference teams from playing each other? With 5 CAA teams in, I'm not sure I understand why they artificially prohibit match-ups that could be bus trips.

Good question. I'm sure that was implemented before they started letting 5 teams in from one conference

[luflame15]

Maine sucks. Plain and simple.

[charliej]

Maine sucks. Plain and simple.

Not saying you don't have a gripe...but it ain't with Maine.xsmhx

[EKUSteve]

Seeding is never the answer - most people who say that seeding will help obviously never watched the playoffs in the 80's and 90's when seeding irregularities would make the problems of today look pretty mild by comparison. Heck, seeding-wise, if they use anything like the GPI, and you'll see the CAA host a lot more games than they have/will.

The CAA represented well last year with 5 teams and this year the 16th team was either going to be W&M, Maine, Elon, or Liberty, so it's not shocking nor odd that a 5th CAA team was chosen.

I'm okay if they waive the not allowed to play a conference opponent in the first round rule should a conference get 5 teams in, but then we'll have the inevitable thread moaning that the committee is guaranteeing CAA teams to make the quarters by having them play each other. Someone's always going to gripe.

Amen to that. In 1991, No1 EKU and No2 Samford both had to play on the road in the semis. EKU lost to Marshall. Samford lost to Youngstown.

[JaxSinfonian]

Anyone who argues Maine deserved this bid based on the strength of their schedule is arguing they got in based on the quality of their losses.

The combined records of the 8 teams Maine beat: 35-58

The combined records of the 8 DI teams Liberty beat: 42-51

(We finish last among these three in this, but barely)
The combined records of the 8 teams that Jax State beat: 33-62

[danefan]

Maine sucks. Plain and simple.

come on dude......get over it. Liberty should be pissed at Presby for showing up for one game in their entire season.....

[ToTheLeft]

Who the frig schedules 2 D2 games, thats flat out stupid.

Flat out stupid is not doing your homework. We had 11 DI games lined up and someone backed out. It's been discussed several times on this board. And so what? Take those games out. We were still 8-2. Still a better resume than Maine.

[ToTheLeft]

come on dude......get over it. Liberty should be pissed at Presby for showing up for one game in their entire season.....

Or pissed that we didn't get off the bus that day and let Presby run their offense like it was a 7 on 7 drill.

Or pissed that we layed down at home to Laffy.

Or pissed that NC Central backed out on us, which would have been our 9th DI win.

Or pissed that the selection committee decided that losing to good teams means more than winning against good ones.

[Rob Iola]

Or pissed that we didn't get off the bus that day and let Presby run their offense like it was a 7 on 7 drill.

Or pissed that we layed down at home to Laffy.

Or pissed that NC Central backed out on us, which would have been our 9th DI win.

Or pissed that the selection committee decided that losing to good teams means more than winning against good ones.
Or pissed that the selection committee decided that losing to bad teams means more than winning against bad ones.

[ToTheLeft]

Or pissed that the selection committee decided that losing to bad teams means more than winning against bad ones.

You will notice I included being pissed about the Presby loss in the list.

I get it, we lost to Presby. But I hate that losses means more than wins. Especially when we only had TWO of them.

[WrenFGun]

Maine sucks. Plain and simple.

I should have to pay for comments this intelligent.

[roTSU50]

And some people want to expand the playoffs to 20 teams.xnonox

maybe 10 CAA teams will get in.xrulesx

[ToTheLeft]

I should have to pay for comments this intelligent.

Try going to school here. It's like the Shoney's buffet of intelligent comments and conversation.

[stevdock]

My only issue with the CAA is that they don't play the full round robin like I believe every other conference in FCS does. The good teams would probably still make it through but I'd like to know for sure sometime. The big thing would be would that 5th team still look like a playoff team after playing everyone else in the conference.

[WrenFGun]

Try going to school here. It's like the Shoney's buffet of intelligent comments and conversation.

xlolx

[apaladin]

And there you have it. Given all the controversy over "last team in" seemingly every year, maybe just reduce the field to 15, give the #1 seed a first round bye and their Thanksgiving off.

The #1 seed or ASU if they weren't #1.:D