It's Official: William & Mary was WOOFED!

[Syntax Error]

Ranked higher than Maine in every poll and in the GPI (both of them), William & Mary was WOOFED. xnodx

Welcome Tribe to the land overlookdom, no respect, and selection committee ignore.

On the bright side, you can book your playoff entry for next year! xnodx

[danefan]

Does it count if your own conference Woof's you?

[nwFL Griz]

I agree, though I wanted Liberty to get in....W&M was woofed. I still can't find any reason why Maine gets in over W&M....other than W&M would have gone in on a 2 game losing streak.

[th0m]

Does it count if your own conference Woof's you?

In the CAA, it does xsmiley_wix

[redspider]

I thought Liberty should get in at first over Maine but then I looked at there loses and they were bad. In the end I totally agree that W&M got woofed they had a much tougher schedule than Main playing in the South and beat the best team in the north New Hampshire. Not to mention why did Villanova not get a seed that is ridiculous.

[GrizFamily]

Sorry, guys it's not a woofed, it's a wiffed. They wiffed by losing the last two games.

[TheValleyRaider]

I agree, though I wanted Liberty to get in....W&M was woofed. I still can't find any reason why Maine gets in over W&M....other than W&M would have gone in on a 2 game losing streak.

That really hurts. That and W&M only winning 7 vs. Maine's 8. Yeah, Maine played another game, but they also won it

Comments I've heard from the committee in the past suggest that they really dislike taking teams that come into the playoffs sliding rather than coming on strong. Maine losing their last game doesn't help that, but the fact is W&M at best was the 4th best team in their division. How impressed am I really supposed to be by that? If they couldn't beat any of those 3 teams in the regular season, why would the playoffs be different?

Is that totally fair? No, but neither is life xtwocentsx

[Syntax Error]

... W&M at best was the 4th best team in their division. How impressed am I really supposed to be by that?Wow, tough crowd!

W&M Schedule:
09/06/08 @North Carolina State L, 34-24
09/13/08 VMI W, 52-17
09/20/08 NORFOLK STATE W, 42-12
10/04/08 No. 6 VILLANOVA L, 38-28
10/11/08 @No. 4 New Hampshire W, 38-34
10/18/08 @Delaware W, 27-3
10/25/08 RHODE ISLAND W, 34-24
11/01/08 @Towson W, 34-14
11/08/08 NORTHEASTERN W, 38-17
11/15/08 @No. 1 James Madison L, 48-24
11/22/08 No. 7 RICHMOND L, 23-20 (OT)

[MacThor]

Wow, tough crowd!

W&M Schedule:
09/06/08 @North Carolina State L, 34-24
09/13/08 VMI W, 52-17
09/20/08 NORFOLK STATE W, 42-12
10/04/08 No. 6 VILLANOVA L, 38-28
10/11/08 @No. 4 New Hampshire W, 38-34
10/18/08 @Delaware W, 27-3
10/25/08 RHODE ISLAND W, 34-24
11/01/08 @Towson W, 34-14
11/08/08 NORTHEASTERN W, 38-17
11/15/08 @No. 1 James Madison L, 48-24
11/22/08 No. 7 RICHMOND L, 23-20 (OT)

That doesn't negate 4th place in a 6-team division.

[aust42]

I don't understand all the hubbub about W&M not making the playoffs. W&M did not deserve to make the playoffs with a 7-4 record especially after losing their last two games. W&M's schedule was not any harder than Maines. W&M lost to CAA foes Nova, Richmond and JMU. Maine lost to CAA foes JMU, Richmond and NH. With 8 wins, Maine got the nod over W&M. W&M should have played 12 games like everyone else did this year.

Liberty did not help themselves playing two Div II games. Plus the only "quality" win Liberty had all year was over Elon and Elon was no powerhouse by any means. Liberty's schedule was very weak. Of the 10 1AA teams they played only two ended the season with a winning record.

[DTSpider]

having seen both teams live, w&m is a much better team than maine. at the end of the day though, i don't think either are nc contenders. there were 15 solid playoff teams and 3 or 4 just barely out teams imo...they had to take one.

[aust42]

Ranked higher than Maine in every poll and in the GPI (both of them), William & Mary was WOOFED. xnodx

Welcome Tribe to the land overlookdom, no respect, and selection committee ignore.

On the bright side, you can book your playoff entry for next year! xnodx

Is "Woofed" a term your using in reference to Wofford getting SCREWED by the selection committee in 2002? For those that don't remember Wofford finished 8-3 and was not selected as an at-large in the playoffs even though they beat 8-3 Ap State and 9-2 Georgia Southern which both made the playoffs from the Southern Conference. That was the 1AA crime of the century.

[GATA]

Is "Woofed" a term your using in reference to Wofford getting SCREWED by the selection committee in 2002? For those that don't remember Wofford finished 8-3 and was not selected as an at-large in the playoffs even though they beat 8-3 Ap State and 9-2 Georgia Southern which both made the playoffs from the Southern Conference. That was the 1AA crime of the century.

That's pretty rough...I had actually forgotten about that.

[Ivytalk]

Sorry, guys it's not a woofed, it's a wiffed. They wiffed by losing the last two games.

'Zactly. And it hurts me to say that because my 80-year-old uncle and aunt are longtime season ticket holders.

[Skjellyfetti]

Sorry, guys it's not a woofed, it's a wiffed. They wiffed by losing the last two games.

They lost to JMU and Richmond... I bet several at-larges would have lost to those two. Maine also whiffed against New Hampshire.

But, honestly, I'm not sure any of the "bubble" teams really had that great of a resume. I don't feel to bad for any team that got left out.

[luflame15]

Liberty was woofed if anybody was. So stop complaining.

[Syntax Error]

Is "Woofed" a term your using in reference to Wofford getting SCREWED by the selection committee in 2002? For those that don't remember Wofford finished 8-3 and was not selected as an at-large in the playoffs even though they beat 8-3 Ap State and 9-2 Georgia Southern which both made the playoffs from the Southern Conference. That was the 1AA crime of the century.http://www.championshipsubdivisionnews.com/index.php?blog=5&title=the-csn-way-woof-woof-woof&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
The term came from the great national FCS columnist David Coulson in 2002, who coined the term (a more generic form of Ralph Wallace’s “Wofforded") in this very column before moving to the Sports Network, home of the Walter Payton award and the FCS Top 25 poll. It was named after the aforementioned Wofford Terriers, who in 2002 were skunked from a postseason bid after posting a resume that many thought was worthy of an at-large selection.Basically a team that did not get selected when they had valid reasons to get selected over a team that was selected. W&M's? Ranked higher in the AGS Poll. Ranked higher in the Sports Network Poll. Ranked higher in the Coaches Poll. Ranked higher in the GPI. Ranked higher in the modified GPI. Beat a team that Maine lost to. Played in perhaps the toughest division in the country losing to the #1, #6, and in OT to the #7 teams in the country in that division. Played an FBS very close. etc. etc. etc. All which fits into the "woofed" definition. No pity for them is required, just facts are facts. They were a playoff fringe team, but the best fringe team for those reasons. xtwocentsx

[Syntax Error]

Liberty was woofed if anybody was. So stop complaining.Please, who is complaining but you? Facts are facts. Liberty was a longer shot.

[JaxSinfonian]

Liberty & Jax State were both in better shape for a bid than W&M. (And Maine for that matter.)

Everybody else in the tournament had at least eight wins. If the Tribe wanted in, they should have won just one more game.

If you HAVE to take a fifth CAA team, I guess it's Maine. Not sure why the committee felt they had to do it, though, when there were other teams available with comparable resumes.

[UNH Fanboi]

Why isn't it "woffed"?

[Reign of Terrier]

Because Woofed sounds cooler and is easier to say/pronounce when reading

[dwtime]

I don't understand all the hubbub about W&M not making the playoffs. W&M did not deserve to make the playoffs with a 7-4 record especially after losing their last two games. W&M's schedule was not any harder than Maines. W&M lost to CAA foes Nova, Richmond and JMU. Maine lost to CAA foes JMU, Richmond and NH. With 8 wins, Maine got the nod over W&M. W&M should have played 12 games like everyone else did this year.

Liberty did not help themselves playing two Div II games. Plus the only "quality" win Liberty had all year was over Elon and Elon was no powerhouse by any means. Liberty's schedule was very weak. Of the 10 1AA teams they played only two ended the season with a winning record.

Ah about half the FCS teams play an 11 game schedule but don't let me stop you Blutarsky, you're on a roll!
http://lancemannion.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/bluto.jpg

[charliej]

I don't understand all the hubbub about W&M not making the playoffs. W&M did not deserve to make the playoffs with a 7-4 record especially after losing their last two games. W&M's schedule was not any harder than Maines. W&M lost to CAA foes Nova, Richmond and JMU. Maine lost to CAA foes JMU, Richmond and NH. With 8 wins, Maine got the nod over W&M. W&M should have played 12 games like everyone else did this year. .


Umm....About half the field only played 11 games. Cal Poly only 10xcoffeex

[mainejeff]

I agree, though I wanted Liberty to get in....W&M was woofed. I still can't find any reason why Maine gets in over W&M....other than W&M would have gone in on a 2 game losing streak.

There's 1 reason......xrolleyesx I can throw you a couple of others.

[mainejeff]

Wow, tough crowd!

W&M Schedule:
09/06/08 @North Carolina State L, 34-24
09/13/08 VMI W, 52-17
09/20/08 NORFOLK STATE W, 42-12
10/04/08 No. 6 VILLANOVA L, 38-28
10/11/08 @No. 4 New Hampshire W, 38-34
10/18/08 @Delaware W, 27-3
10/25/08 RHODE ISLAND W, 34-24
11/01/08 @Towson W, 34-14
11/08/08 NORTHEASTERN W, 38-17
11/15/08 @No. 1 James Madison L, 48-24
11/22/08 No. 7 RICHMOND L, 23-20 (OT)

You're being tough on Maine......who were their losses to?

xcoffeex

[mainejeff]

I don't understand all the hubbub about W&M not making the playoffs. W&M did not deserve to make the playoffs with a 7-4 record especially after losing their last two games. W&M's schedule was not any harder than Maines. W&M lost to CAA foes Nova, Richmond and JMU. Maine lost to CAA foes JMU, Richmond and NH. With 8 wins, Maine got the nod over W&M. W&M should have played 12 games like everyone else did this year.

Liberty did not help themselves playing two Div II games. Plus the only "quality" win Liberty had all year was over Elon and Elon was no powerhouse by any means. Liberty's schedule was very weak. Of the 10 1AA teams they played only two ended the season with a winning record.

Stop making sense! Start drinking the W&M kool-aid! xrolleyesx

[mainejeff]

having seen both teams live, w&m is a much better team than maine. at the end of the day though, i don't think either are nc contenders. there were 15 solid playoff teams and 3 or 4 just barely out teams imo...they had to take one.

I wonder if JMU fans feel the same way?

xcoffeex

[mainejeff]

http://www.championshipsubdivisionnews.com/index.php?blog=5&title=the-csn-way-woof-woof-woof&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1Basically a team that did not get selected when they had valid reasons to get selected over a team that was selected. W&M's? Ranked higher in the AGS Poll. Ranked higher in the Sports Network Poll. Ranked higher in the Coaches Poll. Ranked higher in the GPI. Ranked higher in the modified GPI. Beat a team that Maine lost to. Played in perhaps the toughest division in the country losing to the #1, #6, and in OT to the #7 teams in the country in that division. Played an FBS very close. etc. etc. etc. All which fits into the "woofed" definition. No pity for them is required, just facts are facts. They were a playoff fringe team, but the best fringe team for those reasons. xtwocentsx

Maine and W&M did not play each other. No one got woofed, wiffed or otherwise. xpeacex

[Sly Fox]

Uh, MaineJeff. Remind us all who the Bears beat. Oh, that is right. Two teams with winning records. But they lose well.

xlolx

[mainejeff]

Uh, MaineJeff. Remind us all who the Bears beat. Oh, that is right. Two teams with winning records. But they lose well.

xlolx

Remind me who Liberty lost to and who W&M beat? How did W&M end the season......did they win more games than Maine? Bye.

[Sly Fox]

You Maine guys and selection committees are infatuated with losses. Victories, not so much. Still waiting to hear who the Bears beat of ANY significance.

xcoffeex

[Syntax Error]

You're being tough on Maine......who were their losses to?Who were their wins to?

#14 Maine's wins:
#64 Monmouth West W, 21-17
#53 Stony Brook W, 28-13
#28 Delaware W, 27-10
#38 Hofstra W, 41-40 (2 OT)
#55 Northeastern W, 20-0
#121 Iona W, 55-7
#17 Massachusetts W, 21-20
#58 Rhode Island W, 37-7
Average Rank: 54.25

#12 William & Mary's wins
#78 VMI W, 52-17
#89 Norfolk State W, 42-12
#9 New Hampshire W, 38-34
#28 Delaware W, 27-3
#58 Rhode Island W, 34-24
#63 Towson W, 34-14
#55 Northeastern W, 38-17
Average Rank: 54.28

A wash.

See, Jeff, this isn't a HUGE WOOF but it is still a woof. The only woof.

[Syntax Error]

Remind me ... who W&M beat? How did W&M end the season.......
W&M? Ranked higher in the AGS Poll. Ranked higher in the Sports Network Poll. Ranked higher in the Coaches Poll. Ranked higher in the GPI. Ranked higher in the modified GPI. Beat a team that Maine lost to. Played in perhaps the toughest division in the country losing to the #1, #6, and in OT to the #7 teams in the country in that division. Played an FBS very close. etc. etc. etc. All which fits into the "woofed" definition. No pity for them is required, just facts are facts. They were a playoff fringe team, but the best fringe team for those reasons.
No one got woofedhttp://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/483232/2/istockphoto_483232_i_can_t_hear_you.jpg
"La La La La La La, I can't Hear You"

I understand Jeff, Maine is in the playoffs and that is your basis.

xlolx

[bainsey]

Woof, screwjob, whatever you want to call it, it's all about sour grapes.

The quality of the teams Maine and W&M beat were similar. S.E.'s listing bears that out.

The quality of the teams Maine and W&M lost to were similar. Both teams had four "quality losses," as the NCAA calls them. Both lost to JMU & Richmond. Maine and W&M lost to similarly-ranked teams UNH and Villanova, respectively. You can make a case that Iowa (Maine's loss) is stronger than NC State (W&M's loss).

S.E.'s listing of each team's defeated opponents and their rankings is interesting. What's more interesting, I count eight wins for Maine, seven for W&M. Maine still showed up on the field and got the job done one more time than did W&M.

W&M wasn't screwed. It was edged.

[Rob Iola]

None of the bubble teams made a strong case for the last slot with the exception of Liberty. And Liberty's weak schedule and bad losses killed any chance they had. Actually the team that got shafted was 8-3 Jacksonville State, with 2 OVC losses and a loss to Ga. Tech. If EKU upsets Richmond this weekend then the door will be opened in the future to OVC at-larges, but for now they get the MEAC treatment (see A&M, Florida, who also finished strong at 8-3).

7-4 is a mighty pedestrian record even in the CAA - good enough only for 4th place in a 6 team division. W&M couldn't win when it counted and will stay home as a result - it doesn't matter who got in over them.

[eaglesrthe1]

xcoffeex Woofed is a term that should only be used for particular, extreme circumstances. It doesn't happen every year, and didn't this year. xrulesx

[OhioHen]

but the fact is W&M at best was the 4th best team in their division.

Similar to Oklahoma State being the 4th best team in their division in that other non-playoff division but being considered one of the top 16 in the country.

[PurpleandGold]

Maine has no significant wins this season, at least WM had the UNH win.

Saying that Maine has one extra win is completely silly when you consider that it was Iona.

There is an argument that if you can't beat the top three in your division then you don't belong in the playoffs. I accept that fully. But Maine lost to two of those three and the best team in their division, how is that any better?

Records are similar, for me, the difference is the number of significant wins. For the committee, the difference is the division affiliation.

[Tribe4SF]

7-4 is a mighty pedestrian record even in the CAA - good enough only for 4th place in a 6 team division.

Yeah, and those four teams went 12-0 against the other division.xrolleyesx

[PurpleandGold]

I would like to add that while I think WM had a better case for a playoff spot than Maine, I'm happy to see Maine return to the playoffs, and I'm happy to see the CAA get five again.

[Tribe4SF]

Saying that Maine has one extra win is completely silly when you consider that it was Iona.



McCutcheon is now saying that was part of the reasoning. Interesting that the W&M AD was assured by a committee member that teams would not be penalized for choosing to play 11 games this year. McCutcheon is scrambling to justify the choice, and denying any advocacy for Maine, but Jack Cosgrove's comments told a different story.

[Rob Iola]

Yeah, and those four teams went 12-0 against the other division.xrolleyesx
No argument there - CAA South is far stronger than the CAA North, almost separate conferences. UD finished 3rd in the division last year and almost won the whole thing. The problem is that W&M had their destiny in their hands and couldn't seal the deal - when you leave it up to the committee you have nothing to complain about regardless of who they pick...

[Black and Gold Express]

Wow, tough crowd!

W&M Schedule:
09/06/08 @North Carolina State L, 34-24
09/13/08 VMI W, 52-17
09/20/08 NORFOLK STATE W, 42-12
10/04/08 No. 6 VILLANOVA L, 38-28
10/11/08 @No. 4 New Hampshire W, 38-34
10/18/08 @Delaware W, 27-3
10/25/08 RHODE ISLAND W, 34-24
11/01/08 @Towson W, 34-14
11/08/08 NORTHEASTERN W, 38-17
11/15/08 @No. 1 James Madison L, 48-24
11/22/08 No. 7 RICHMOND L, 23-20 (OT)

They played four I-AA teams worth a damn and went 1-3. One quality win on that schedule and we're supposed to think they got hosed? Or are you playing that weak "good loss" card that never holds water?

W&M did not get woofed. They killed themselves by blowing it on the field. Truth be told, looking at Maine's resume, neither probably should have been in.

[UNHFan]

I think all the posts above are right on! No team should ever get in losing 2 in a row. And I pray no team ever gets in with 2 D2 Wins either! Wait I take that back. If a team is 11-0 with 2 D2 Wins and 9 D1 wins they should get in.

[Cap'n Cat]

Sorry, guys it's not a woofed, it's a wiffed. They wiffed by losing the last two games.


Exactly.

xnonox

Same reason SIU doesn't have a seed over UNI - rumbled, fumbled, stumbled to win many of their games going in.

[Tribe4SF]

They played four I-AA teams worth a damn and went 1-3. One quality win on that schedule and we're supposed to think they got hosed? Or are you playing that weak "good loss" card that never holds water?


And Maine played three of those teams and went 0-3. Tribe was 1-2 against the same teams. One quality win is better than none.

[Cocky]

None of the bubble teams made a strong case for the last slot with the exception of Liberty. And Liberty's weak schedule and bad losses killed any chance they had. Actually the team that got shafted was 8-3 Jacksonville State, with 2 OVC losses and a loss to Ga. Tech. If EKU upsets Richmond this weekend then the door will be opened in the future to OVC at-larges, but for now they get the MEAC treatment (see A&M, Florida, who also finished strong at 8-3).

7-4 is a mighty pedestrian record even in the CAA - good enough only for 4th place in a 6 team division. W&M couldn't win when it counted and will stay home as a result - it doesn't matter who got in over them.

Playing in a good conference shouldn't get you in. Winning in a good conference should get you in. All of the teams considered would beat Towson, Hofsta, and Northeastern this year.

[UNHFan]

And Maine played three of those teams and went 0-3. Tribe was 1-2 against the same teams. One quality win is better than none.


I agree its the losing 2 in a row that killed ya.

[SideLine Shooter]

Liberty was woofed if anybody was. So stop complaining.

Read Post #10. Face the facts.

[MacThor]

You Maine guys and selection committees are infatuated with losses. Victories, not so much.

Eight wins are more than seven.

[Rob Iola]

Exactly.

xnonox

Same reason SIU doesn't have a seed over UNI - rumbled, fumbled, stumbled to win many of their games going in.
Wait - what? Now we're talking about how good teams looked winning? SIU beat UNI heads up, so by definition they are the better team.

[Tribe Head]

I attended the W&M/UR game. I bleed green and gold. I don't feel W&M or Maine deserved an at large bid. For now, V for Villanova. GO CATS