The Sports Network top 25 (Week 2)

[I-16Bandit]

1. Georgia Southern Eagles (102) 2-0 3,622 2
2. Northern Iowa Panthers (16) 1-1 3,329 4
3. Appalachian State Mountaineers (10) 1-1 3,282 3
4. William & Mary Tribe (5) 1-1 3,048 5
5. Montana State Bobcats (2) 1-1 2,985 6
6. Richmond Spiders (9) 2-0 2,874 9
7. Delaware Blue Hens (1) 1-1 2,688 8
8. North Dakota State Bison (1) 2-0 2,553 11
9. Wofford Terriers 1-1 2,489 7
10. Eastern Washington Eagles (2) 0-2 2,218 1
11. New Hampshire Wildcats 1-1 2,202 13
12. Montana Grizzlies 1-1 1,913 15
13. James Madison Dukes 1-1 1,373 19
14. Chattanooga Mocs 1-1 1,349 23
15. Southern Illinois Salukis 1-1 1,289 17
16. Lehigh Mountain Hawks 1-1 1,222 14
17. Jacksonville State Gamecocks 1-1 1,147 10
18. Central Arkansas Bears 1-1 1,096 18
19. Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks 1-1 971 16
20. Sacramento State Hornets 1-1 959 11
21. Massachusetts Minutemen 1-0 897 21
22. Liberty Flames 1-1 714 24
23. McNeese State Cowboys 0-1 614 22
24. South Dakota Coyotes 1-1 603 NR
25. South Carolina State Bulldogs 1-1 555 NR


Others receiving votes: Southern Utah 289, Eastern Kentucky 224, Penn 199, Murray State 180, Sam Houston State 158, Villanova 128, Towson 116, Jackson State 106, Hampon 100, Youngstown State 98, Bethune-Cookman 62, Western Illinois 50, South Dakota State 45, Harvard 43, Old Dominion 34, Rhode Island 34, Grambling State 26, Maine 22, Morehead State 21, Stony Brook 19, Elon 16, Holy Cross 14, Brown 12, Yale 12, Coastal Carolina 11, Duquesne 10, Delaware State 10, Eastern Illinois 7, Indiana State 7, Georgetown 7, UC Davis 6, Portland State 6, The Citadel 6, Northern Arizona 5, Weber State 4, UT Martin 4, Central Connecticut State 4, Bucknell 3, Furman 3, Florida A&M 2, San Diego 2, Jacksonville 1, Dayton 1, Samford 1.

http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfoot2%2Fmisc%2Ftsn-div-1aa-poll.htm

[superman7515]

Two first place votes for EWU? More votes for Villanova than Towson?

[Pard4Life]

Bucknell 3 votes!?

EWU two first places votes?!

GEORGETOWN 7 VOTES!!?!!!!

Who are these people???

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Central Arkansas give Louisiana Tech every last bit they can handle, yet they're stuck behind JMU, Eastern Washington and Jacksonville State?

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Bucknell 3 votes!?

EWU two first places votes?!

GEORGETOWN 7 VOTES!!?!!!!

Who are these people???

I think it's an even bigger outrage that 1-1 CCSU is rated above the Bison! xlolx

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Bucknell 3 votes!?

EWU two first places votes?!

GEORGETOWN 7 VOTES!!?!!!!

Who are these people???

CCSU getting only 4 is a joke. I had them #25 last week and probably should have kept them ranked after their hard fought loss to JMU. CCSU, URI and the Ivies are my fringe teams. Holy Cross could get there with a win over Harvard.

['neers80]

wofford leads most of the game against a BCS conference school, only loses by a touchdown and a two point conversion and they drop 2 spots? really?

[I-16Bandit]

wofford leads most of the game against a BCS conference school, only loses by a touchdown and a two point conversion and they drop 2 spots? really?

I was thinking the same thing.

[Pard4Life]

I actually had CCSU #24 in my preseaon poll... they are probably a 26-30 team right now.

[AppMAN04]

wofford leads most of the game against a BCS conference school, only loses by a touchdown and a two point conversion and they drop 2 spots? really?

Yeah they should have kept them where they were...

EWU Should not have received any first place votes...

[aceinthehole]

Others receiving votes: Southern Utah 289, Eastern Kentucky 224, Penn 199, Murray State 180, Sam Houston State 158, Villanova 128, Towson 116, Jackson State 106, Hampon 100, Youngstown State 98, Bethune-Cookman 62, Western Illinois 50, South Dakota State 45, Harvard 43, Old Dominion 34, Rhode Island 34, Grambling State 26, Maine 22, Morehead State 21, Stony Brook 19, Elon 16, Holy Cross 14, Brown 12, Yale 12, Coastal Carolina 11, Duquesne 10, Delaware State 10, Eastern Illinois 7, Indiana State 7, Georgetown 7, UC Davis 6, Portland State 6, The Citadel 6, Northern Arizona 5, Weber State 4, UT Martin 4, Central Connecticut State 4, Bucknell 3, Furman 3, Florida A&M 2, San Diego 2, Jacksonville 1, Dayton 1, Samford 1.

How is 'Nova ahead of Towson? Insane!
Hampton is this really going to be a quality win for ODU (if they can do it)?
ODU - enough said on this topic. They haven't beaten anyone worth mentioning in 3+ years!
I would think URI and Maine need to be higher (certainly higher than ODU or 'Nova)
Yale? A 7-3 team from last year that didn't even play a game yet has 12 votes?
Duquensne and Georgetown really ahead of CCSU?

[crusader11]

CCSU getting only 4 is a joke. I had them #25 last week and probably should have kept them ranked after their hard fought loss to JMU. CCSU, URI and the Ivies are my fringe teams. Holy Cross could get there with a win over Harvard.

I had CCSU and URI at 26 and 27. Holy Cross crept into the poll at 25 after an absolute thrashing of Colgate and losing to UMASS by only 8 points. The winner of Harvard-Holy Cross is probably a top 25 team, in my opinion.

[crusader11]

Duquensne and Georgetown really ahead of CCSU?

I agree. That is an absolute joke. In looking at the "ORV" category in the TSN top 25, I'd put CCSU right around the Harvard and Maine level. Also, think that Holy Cross should have received more votes after going toe-to-toe with UMASS and soundly beating Colgate (maybe that is the homer in me speaking though).

[94 Pirate]

South Carolina St. was #24 last week, they beat #23 BCU (at BCU), and SCSU is now #25? That doesn't make any sense.

[The Eagle's Cliff]

South Carolina St. was #24 last week, they beat #23 BCU (at BCU), and SCSU is now #25? That doesn't make any sense.

I agree, but I think the explanation lies in weighing Conference Strength. It's been a long time since a MEAC playoff team has lived up to their poll ranking. Unless a MEAC team defeats a decent OOC opponent, you'll see more of the same.

That being said, no team in the polls has proven much so far. My Eagles have played 5 good quarters of football out of 8 against teams they were supposed beat. App St. has two weeks off against NC A&T and Savannah St before a telling game vs Chatty. UNI and SFA had the roughest match-up and Jax St is done without their QB. Fortunately, our level doesn't rely too heavily on polls to determine the champion, but the polls will be more accurate in a few weeks.

[wmmii]

CCSU getting only 4 is a joke. I had them #25 last week and probably should have kept them ranked after their hard fought loss to JMU. CCSU, URI and the Ivies are my fringe teams. Holy Cross could get there with a win over Harvard.

I agree and put them in my Top 25. JMU game was not only home but the grand opening of expanded stadium so alot of hype. They played W&M at our place and did a good showing a couple of years ago.

[wmmii]

I agree, but I think the explanation lies in weighing Conference Strength. It's been a long time since a MEAC playoff team has lived up to their poll ranking. Unless a MEAC team defeats a decent OOC opponent, you'll see more of the same.

Agree, it will be interesting to see how Hampton at ODU comes out this weekend since they are 15 miles apart.

[superman7515]

Heard it's a sell-out.

[wmmii]

Heard it's a sell-out.

ODU has all home games sold out, great fan base

[Purple Pride]

Central Arkansas give Louisiana Tech every last bit they can handle, yet they're stuck behind JMU, Eastern Washington and Jacksonville State?

Seriously

[Spiderbone]

Agree, it will be interesting to see how Hampton at ODU comes out this weekend since they are 15 miles apart.

hope it is a day game, tailgating could get a little heated with those two fan bases

[UNIFanSince1983]

SUU still behind Sac State a team they just dismantled by 21 points? SUU not in the polls period is kind of sketchy...

[TwoFeathers]

wofford leads most of the game against a BCS conference school, only loses by a touchdown and a two point conversion and they drop 2 spots? really?

Agreed!

[melloware13]

And every CAA team receives votes!

[UIWWildthing]

So Towson thrashes Villanova 31-10, is 2-0 on the year....and gets less votes than 'Nova? Yeah makes sense to me
xdontknowx

[Truefan]

I agree, but I think the explanation lies in weighing Conference Strength. It's been a long time since a MEAC playoff team has lived up to their poll ranking. Unless a MEAC team defeats a decent OOC opponent, you'll see more of the same.

That being said, no team in the polls has proven much so far. My Eagles have played 5 good quarters of football out of 8 against teams they were supposed beat. App St. has two weeks off against NC A&T and Savannah St before a telling game vs Chatty. UNI and SFA had the roughest match-up and Jax St is done without their QB. Fortunately, our level doesn't rely too heavily on polls to determine the champion, but the polls will be more accurate in a few weeks.

That sounds like Bias and that's putting in a nice way.
That ranking reduction makes no sense. Every year, teams change based on graduation, experience and talent level. The fact that no MEAC team has won a playoff in recent years is not and should not be any determining factor during ranking during the current season. That's what is called pre-season rankings. I was always taught that " Any team can be beat on Any Given Day " .
It is clear that the rankings really want matter to any MEAC school due to perception and some bias.
In the words of Al Davis " Just Win Baby" and all the critics may go away for short period of time but they will always find something the critize even in victory.