No Love for FCS playoffs from ESPN.

[tsutiger]

No games shown on espn3? What's up with that?

[superman7515]

The NCAA holds all the rights to the games. They chose to broadcast all the games on NCAA.com.

[Saint3333]

Anyone that is truly surprised by this doesn't realize that ESPN doesn't care about the FCS.

[udchuck]

Only the FCS would allow a few 7-4 teams in the playoffs and leave 10-1 teams home. need I say more?

[GATA]

Only the FCS would allow a few 7-4 teams in the playoffs and leave 10-1 teams home. need I say more?

Perhaps we should let Camden County high school into the tournament as well? I think they won 10 games this year.

[Milktruck74]

To defend ESPN (I know how unpopular this is and can't believe I;m doing it), they have to turn a profit and it is always about ratings. The FCS schools don't have the fan base of some of the big basketball teams, there is only so much space and they have to go with what will pull down the most cash. besides most FCS fans that have any dog in the hunt will be in the stands at their respective games. that being said, I'll be glued to NCAA.com tomorrow.

[Milktruck74]

Perhaps we should let Camden County high school into the tournament as well? I think they won 10 games this year.

They don't give schollys either!!!!

[Bogus Megapardus]

Anyone that is truly surprised by this doesn't realize that ESPN doesn't care about the FCS.

Not necessarily true. Lafayette had at least six or seven games on ESPN3 this season.

[udchuck]

Perhaps we should let Camden County high school into the tournament as well? I think they won 10 games this year.

I agree with you,let Camden county HS in the tournament, I read somewhere they beat your college team by 14 points.

[NHwildEcat]

Only the FCS would allow a few 7-4 teams in the playoffs and leave 10-1 teams home. need I say more?

Maybe those teams should have gone 11-0 instead...that 1 loss obviously hurt them.

[3rd Coast Tiger]

Anyone that is truly surprised by this doesn't realize that ESPN doesn't care about the FCS.

Capitalism at it's finest.

[UNH Fanboi]

They better pick up all of the quarterfinal ganes. The Montana-ASU game was the same weekend last year and had great ratings because there were no other college football games that weekend. People will watch quality FCS matchups if there are no other games on.

[NHwildEcat]

They better pick up all of the quarterfinal ganes. The Montana-ASU game was the same weekend last year and had great ratings because there were no other college football games that weekend. People will watch quality FCS matchups if there are no other games on.

I just checked NCAA.com and it shows 4 of the games being picked up by ESPN3.

[LouiseBFree]

They better pick up all of the quarterfinal ganes. The Montana-ASU game was the same weekend last year and had great ratings because there were no other college football games that weekend. People will watch quality FCS matchups if there are no other games on.

Or what?

[WoCoTerrier]

Only the FCS would allow a few 7-4 teams in the playoffs and leave 10-1 teams home. need I say more?

They're not 7-4, but the BCS clearly favors big conferences teams over small conference teams that go undefeated. That's not just an FCS thing.

[theasushow]

i see the ASU game will start at noon next weekend.....great.

[blukeys]

Anyone that is truly surprised by this doesn't realize that ESPN doesn't care about the FCS.

Agreed this is a dog bites man story.

[emilimo701]

Only the FCS would allow a few 7-4 teams in the playoffs and leave 10-1 teams home. need I say more?

so.... this doesn't happen in any other sport? really? or are you just trollin?

[mikebigg]

Interesting stance by ESPN (if true) considering they are rumored to want to create the Legacy Bowl for SWAC-MEAC championship. I still feel the MEAC is missing out on a great opportunity...

[kardplayer]

This falls under "who cares" for me. If I was dying to see my college on TV, I would have gone to a bigger school.

[Bison Fan in NW MN]

Only the FCS would allow a few 7-4 teams in the playoffs and leave 10-1 teams home. need I say more?


It is called "strength of schedule". Maybe your team has a "cupcake" schedule.....

[udchuck]

It is called "strength of schedule". Maybe your team has a "cupcake" schedule.....

That's nothing but an lame excuse,period. Both of the teams in the pioneer league that went 10-1 can whip the butts of more than 75% of the FCS teams in the so-called tough leagues. I think the "Powers that be " don't want them in the playoffs is the embarrassment to the teams that get beat by them. Let the non scollie Jacksonville or Dayton win the first round of the playoffs and the AD from the losing team would commit suicide.LOL win the 2nd or 3rd round all hell breaks loose.

[FargoBison]

That's nothing but an lame excuse,period. Both of the teams in the pioneer league that went 10-1 can whip the butts of more than 75% of the FCS teams in the so-called tough leagues. I think the "Powers that be " don't want them in the playoffs is the embarrassment to the teams that get beat by them. Let the non scollie Jacksonville or Dayton win the first round of the playoffs and the AD from the losing team would commit suicide.LOL win the 2nd or 3rd round all hell breaks loose.

Prove it. Call up your AD tell him to schedule NDSU, we'd give you a $150k guarantee for coming up here.

[udchuck]

Prove it. Call up your AD tell him to schedule NDSU, we'd give you a $150k guarantee for coming up here.


Get real,--- yea, I'll call him the first thing Monday morning,----call your coach and tell him to get his team ready to play this Friday. Send the check to me.Ill PM my address to you.

[udchuck]

Prove it. Call up your AD tell him to schedule NDSU, we'd give you a $150k guarantee for coming up here.

BTW, Before you play Dayton, lets see if you can win a game against a team Dayton already beat. Robert Morris.
Dayton 28 RMU 14 1st game this year. lets see just how good NDSU is.

[risephoenix]

That's nothing but an lame excuse,period. Both of the teams in the pioneer league that went 10-1 can whip the butts of more than 75% of the FCS teams in the so-called tough leagues.

Which still makes them worse than the 25% of the power conference teams that are IN the playoffs.

[udchuck]

Which still makes them worse than the 25% of the power conference teams that are IN the playoffs.

LOL---Wow---,what an intelligent remark, Gezzz, another deep thinker LOL maybe next in line for a congressional seat.LOL

[Appfan_in_CAAland]

Anyone that is truly surprised by this doesn't realize that ESPN doesn't care about the FCS.

When exactly is ESPN supposed to show Coastal Carolina v. Western Illinois amongest all the big rivalry games they had on the schedule today between teams with more than 1000 fans? Perhaps they should have pre-empted the Ohio State v. Michigan or Florida-Florida State games. No cares about them anyway, after all they aren't playing for a real "championship".

[GaSouthern]

Only the FCS would allow a few 7-4 teams in the playoffs and leave 10-1 teams home. need I say more?

Glad GSU is 8-4!

[BigApp]

Only the FCS would allow a few 7-4 teams in the playoffs and leave 10-1 teams home. need I say more?

Every single one of those 7-4 teams would smoke your 10-1 team. And you know it.

[hujo21]

How about moving the playoffs back one week and you won't have this problem? Makes sense to me!

[udchuck]

Every single one of those 7-4 teams would smoke your 10-1 team. And you know it.

Horse Manure,And you know it.

[Reign of Terrier]

Horse Manure,And you know it.

nothing against Robert Morris, but they lost by double digits to the third place MVC team, a conference whose champion lost to a Patriot league team, and their second place team struggled with the worst team in the field. A win against RMU wasn't that big of a deal

[smallcollegefbfan]

Only the FCS would allow a few 7-4 teams in the playoffs and leave 10-1 teams home. need I say more?

Usually I would be in agreement with you but it depends on who you play and beat. If a 7-4 team has 2 losses to FBS teams and a loss to the #2 and #5 FCS team but has 7 D1 wins including wins over 3 ranked teams but a 10-1 team was beat by a ranked FCS team by 30 and does not have a win over a single ranked team I would take the 7-4 team over the 10-1 team any day of the week.

Playoff selection is not all about records but picking the 10 at-large teams they feel are the best in the country. Dayton, Jacksonville, and Liberty did nothing to show they truly deserved a playoff bid this year outside of winning 8 or 10 games against teams outside of the top 40. In fact from what all I have seen the SWAC, Pioneer League, Big South, MVFC, and everyone but Lehigh in the Patriot League are pretty weak this year. Those leagues just don't have much talent this particular season. The PFL and NEC are getting better and once they add scholarships could have the talent to compete but at this time those would just be blowout games if they faced top 10 teams. The fact that there will be a couple blowout games this weekend proves you could probably justify having just 8 teams in the playoffs, especially this season. Jacksonville, Dayton, Robert Morris, and Liberty are all definitely 20-30 type teams but the gap between the top 10 and teams in the 20-30 range is bigger than you would expect. I would even venture to say the gap between those who finish in the top 8-12 and those 15-20 is going to be a bigger than we usually see. Now in defense of the PFL I believe Dayton and Jacksonville could beat Coastal Carolina or hang tight but I don't think Coastal was very good this season. The Big South is weaker than it has been in recent years but I do expect it to be stronger in 2011. The PFL could be stronger too depending on how many Dayton players return and how many Jacksonville players return. It would not shock me to see McGregor lead JU to an impressive season and possibly earn a bid next year. The only reason I did not say that about Dayton is because I'm not sure who your quarterback will be.

[smallcollegefbfan]

Horse Manure,And you know it.

Yeah I'm not sure every one of them would smoke them. I think CCU, WIU, and UNI would have been close games. NDSU proved they are probably the most talented team in the MVFC this year by beating RMU down pretty good. And people saw RMU has some talent but the lack of scholarships, which I continue to point out, is the big difference and why the PFL and NEC are not ready yet.... But they will be when they add more.

I will back BigApp up by saying that Georgia Southern would smoke them all though. GSU would beat Dayton and JU both by at least 24-30 points. App beat JU pretty good, with the speed and scholarship depth wearing them out in the second half and GSU beat App.

Here I'm going to hammer my point home in a way you can't argue at all. JU and Dayton are 10-1 and Georgia from the SEC is 6-6. Does that mean that JU and Dayton should be playing in a FBS bowl game instead of them because of their record? No. And why is that? Georgia played a much much much tougher schedule, has more scholarships, superior talent, and much better attendance. The same can be said for why GSU, NDSU, etc. were selected over Dayton and JU. They have more scholarships, better talent, better attendance, and played a much much tougher schedule.

[trouthunter]

I've got it! Since FCS games are determined by a playoff, the staff at ESPN does not have as much room for comment. Seriously, "TCU should be rated higher than Boise State because they have more players on professional rosters from previous seasons." Of course that is before they lost the other day...

[Eagle22]

That's nothing but an lame excuse,period. Both of the teams in the pioneer league that went 10-1 can whip the butts of more than 75% of the FCS teams in the so-called tough leagues. I think the "Powers that be " don't want them in the playoffs is the embarrassment to the teams that get beat by them. Let the non scollie Jacksonville or Dayton win the first round of the playoffs and the AD from the losing team would commit suicide.LOL win the 2nd or 3rd round all hell breaks loose.

If Dayton or Jacksonville were to schedule three OOC games versus "power" conferences, and end up with a 9-2 record losing two of those three games, they'd have a much better shot of being an at-large entrant to the playoffs than playing their current schedule and going 10-1 and losing to a Lafayette or Appalachian State. Had Dayton beaten Lafayette (who at least by their record looked pretty bad), maybe they have an outside shot at gaining support for entry ...

Until they decide to beef up the schedule, I'm all for seeing a 7-4 team in ahead of them.

[Mntneer]

That's nothing but an lame excuse,period. Both of the teams in the pioneer league that went 10-1 can whip the butts of more than 75% of the FCS teams in the so-called tough leagues. I think the "Powers that be " don't want them in the playoffs is the embarrassment to the teams that get beat by them. Let the non scollie Jacksonville or Dayton win the first round of the playoffs and the AD from the losing team would commit suicide.LOL win the 2nd or 3rd round all hell breaks loose.
Is this guy for real?

xlmaox

[smallcollegefbfan]

Is this guy for real?

xlmaox

Rhode Island is going to the NEC because they can't win the CAA and they will be a top 3 team in the NEC easily. Jacksonville would have fully gained my support for entering the playoffs if they had just played App within 17 points or so. ASU should beat the 15-20 teams in that 14-20 point range on average but beating JU by around 30 puts them in the 24-35 range in my mind.

If Dayton and JU are going to complain though then maybe they should go to the CAA so that way if they go 7-4 they would still get in? I'm being dead serious on that one. If they feel 10-1 in the NEC is better than 7-4 in the CAA they should just change leagues so they can get in the playoffs.

[AppTrex77]

This falls under "who cares" for me. If I was dying to see my college on TV, I would have gone to a bigger school.

ESPN could, at least, run the FCS scores across the screen more than one time on game days... especially during the playoffs!!! I watched two FBS games Saturday on ESPN/ABC just to catch FCS game scores. I caught the a$$ end of the FCS score run before the two FBS games even started and NEVER saw them after that. The only score I saw was GSU and SCST. They wore out the FBS scores going across there; hell, I almost memorized them all Saturday, especially the T25 scores. I don't care what division a school is in, all game scores should be reported in order to cover the ENTIRE viewing audience. I pay extra for ESPN availability just like any other fan does.

[udchuck]

He has no reply to my comparison on Georgia. Heck Rhode Island is going to the NEC because they can't win the CAA and they will be a top 3 team in the NEC easily. Jacksonville would have fully gained my support for entering the playoffs if they had just played App within 17 points or so. ASU should beat the 15-20 teams in that 14-20 point range on average but beating JU by around 30 puts them in the 24-35 range in my mind.

If Dayton and JU are going to complain though then maybe they should go to the CAA so that way if they go 7-4 they would still get in? I'm being dead serious on that one. If they feel 10-1 in the NEC is better than 7-4 in the CAA they should just change leagues so they can get in the playoffs.

You are kidding aren't you ? You suggest we change our whole League concept to get into the playoffs ????? or leave the PFL just to get in the playoffs ?? Why ?????? The whole FCS has Very little respect in the sporting world none, little respect. If JU or UD would have gone in the playoffs great,if not well, SO BE IT, The sun did shine that next morning.
Sir, We like the Pioneer League just the way it is. We travel to Florida,California ,North Carolina,New York,Ohio,Indy,etc,etc, sure we do have some weak teams,in time they will get better. It's a solid League,and will only get better and expand.
Going to another league to get into the playoffs is not an option,in time the PFL will get an AQ.right now it is something for fans to complain about, fodder for discussions, you know the way fans are, this team beat that team, that beat some-other team ,that this team can't win in this league so move into another league.etc,etc,etc. get my point ?? mind boggling.

[udchuck]

Is this guy for real?

xlmaox

You Mntneer, You say ( Is this guy for real ?)
It seems to me you would be the Last person to disagree with me. You from APP State, LOOK what happened when You guys beat Michigan a few years ago.that Mich AD and coach probably got drunk for two days after that game. And it will be another 20 years before they play another FCS team. Lets say for example JU would have gotten in the playoffs this year, Some how play APP ST and beat you guys, would that be embarrassing or would you say it was just another game ????

[BoroNative]

Only the FCS would allow a few 7-4 teams in the playoffs and leave 10-1 teams home. need I say more?

One of the 9-2 teams got their a$$e$ handed to them by a 7-4 team with true freshmen backup QB. What's your point? In the FBS, some undefeated teams don't get a sniff at a title.

[soweagle]

You Mntneer, You say ( Is this guy for real ?)
It seems to me you would be the Last person to disagree with me. You from APP State, LOOK what happened when You guys beat Michigan a few years ago.that Mich AD and coach probably got drunk for two days after that game. And it will be another 20 years before they play another FCS team. Lets say for example JU would have gotten in the playoffs this year, Some how play APP ST and beat you guys, would that be embarrassing or would you say it was just another game ????

The difference is that when ASU beat Michigan, the ASU fans did not claim they should be in a BCS bowl game.

[smallcollegefbfan]

You are kidding aren't you ? You suggest we change our whole League concept to get into the playoffs ????? or leave the PFL just to get in the playoffs ?? Why ?????? The whole FCS has Very little respect in the sporting world none, little respect. If JU or UD would have gone in the playoffs great,if not well, SO BE IT, The sun did shine that next morning.
Sir, We like the Pioneer League just the way it is. We travel to Florida,California ,North Carolina,New York,Ohio,Indy,etc,etc, sure we do have some weak teams,in time they will get better. It's a solid League,and will only get better and expand.
Going to another league to get into the playoffs is not an option,in time the PFL will get an AQ.right now it is something for fans to complain about, fodder for discussions, you know the way fans are, this team beat that team, that beat some-other team ,that this team can't win in this league so move into another league.etc,etc,etc. get my point ?? mind boggling.

Obviously your concept is not getting you into the playoffs so either change your scholarships, schedule and beat top 10 teams, or don't complain. The committee was very blunt in their statement on selection day. NDSU has been confirmed as the last team to get in with Liberty being the only other team that was under legit consideration. JU and Dayton didn't even get a legit look at the playoffs. I'm not picking on you guys just saying either don't complain about it or do something about it like I mentioned.

And as someone else said a 9-2 team was beat by a 7-4 team. You need to forget looking at records of teams and look at the actual speed, overall talent, and strength of the schedule they played.

[BigApp]

...will be another 20 years before they (Michigan) play another FCS team.

sorry bub, UM has played 2 FCS teams since (Delaware State and UMass).

Horse manure, I know

[blukeys]

sorry bub, UM has played 2 FCS teams since (Delaware State and UMass).

Horse manure, I know

Don't expect facts from udchuck.

[udchuck]

sorry bub, UM has played 2 FCS teams since (Delaware State and UMass).

Horse manure, I know

Didn't really know,I don't follow everyone's schedule,thanks for the correction. Who won the games ??

[udchuck]

Don't expect facts from udchuck.

?????????????????What Facts you looking for?????????

[BlueHenSinfonian]

sorry bub, UM has played 2 FCS teams since (Delaware State and UMass).

Horse manure, I know

I'm very surprised Michigan scheduled UMass this year. If UMass had been firing on all cylinders this season that game could have gone very differently. I don't understand the logic behind high profile FBS programs scheduling top flight CAA, SoCon, or Big Sky teams - if they win their fans will still see it as a victory over a 'cupcake', but they stand a much greater chance of losing than if they schedule the Del States, Georgia States, and Valpos of the FCS world.

[FargoBison]

A little FCS love from Scott Van Pelt..

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y157/bisonfan2008/vanpelt.jpg