CAA gets punished ...but for what....success?

[lknspider]

CAA finished with six teams in top 20 rankings.....and only three in the playoffs...sounds a little vindictive by one or more on the committee. Richmond and Towson both should be in. Richmond, National Champ in 2008 turns around a bad 2011 season to an 8-3 season and co-champs of the CAA. They had no bad losses, defeated Villanova soundly at Villanova, defeated JMU while ranked #2 in the country, had a win taken away by the refs at New Hampshire as confirmed by TV replay and announcers (of course CAA is behind the times and doesn't use replay) and they lose to New Hampshire at UNH. Richmond becomes the first 8-3 team not to get in from the CAA since 1996. Towson has an equally strong argument. The good news is almost the entire team for Richmond returns in 2013 and there should be plenty of incentive. Selection committees rarely get it right whether it is NCAA BB, FBS and/or FCS.

[Go Lehigh TU owl]

Politics....

[BEAR]

It was Sam Houston's fault. UCA earned the autobid and Sam stole a spot from the CAA. xdontknowx

[VUCats02]

Ga St and Rhode Island really brought the conference down. Next year, things will be different.

[Professor Chaos]

I'll give you that Richmond should've been in over SBU. Towson had an argument over SBU as well. But both getting in and bumping SDSU as well would've been a travesty.

[danefan]

It was a down year for the CAA (in relative terms) and an up year for other conferences.

Just not enough bids to go around this year.....

[DJnva]

Richmond, National Champ in 2008 turns around a bad 2011 season to an 8-3 season and co-champs of the CAA..


Honestly, I think the committee basically said that ODU was the autobid winner and CAA champ, despite the CAA not saying that. Therefore, they didn't treat Nova as the autobid and have them playing next week. The committee thinks the CAA is not as strong as their poll numbers suggest.

[georgecostanza]

0 quality non-con wins across the board, and the computers reflected that.

[LouiseBFree]

Silly kids, the polls simply don't matter. Committee never looks at them.


CAA finished with six teams in top 20 rankings.....and only three in the playoffs...sounds a little vindictive by one or more on the committee. Richmond and Towson both should be in. Richmond, National Champ in 2008 turns around a bad 2011 season to an 8-3 season and co-champs of the CAA. They had no bad losses, defeated Villanova soundly at Villanova, defeated JMU while ranked #2 in the country, had a win taken away by the refs at New Hampshire as confirmed by TV replay and announcers (of course CAA is behind the times and doesn't use replay) and they lose to New Hampshire at UNH. Richmond becomes the first 8-3 team not to get in from the CAA since 1996. Towson has an equally strong argument. The good news is almost the entire team for Richmond returns in 2013 and there should be plenty of incentive. Selection committees rarely get it right whether it is NCAA BB, FBS and/or FCS.

[TypicalTribe]

I think what a lot of people failed to realise this year, and I say this as a fan of the conference, is that the CAA wasn't particularly good this season compared to most of the last decade. First off, there were two teams that were absolutely terrible, which is a change from the norm when even the bottom-feeders were dangerous. Throw in a W&M team that couldn't get out of it's own way and there were a few easy wins for the better teams.

Secondly, take a look at the non-conference results for the league. 0-10 against FBS in games that were almost entirely routs. Outside of that, the best victories were two wins over a 6-4 Penn team and then a bunch over the likes of St. Francis (PA), Fordham, Campbell, etc. Not a single legitimately "quality" win out of league. On the flip side, CAA teams lost to Lafayette, Brown, CCSU and Monmouth among others. This is the reason the CAA computer rankings were terrible. UNH was 7th in the polls this week but averaged 25th in the computers. Towson and Villanova came in 21st/22nd and Richmond was about the same. Even Old Dominion was 11th in the computers coming into this week. Let's face it, the CAA as a league did very little this year to deserve all the teams ranked in the top 20 but it was a sign of respect for the quality of the league the last 6/7 years.

Lastly, and I think it's a big part of it, I can't remember a year when there was less stability at the quarterback position. UNH, Richmond, Villanova, Delaware, Maine, W&M, GSU and URI all had relatively untested players at the helm. It's hard to put quality football teams on the field in college football without confidence in that position.

For all these reasons, three teams feels about right and I look at Stony Brook as the de facto 4th team anyway, and they earned it when they got some respect with a battle at Syracuse, a rout of Army and a win over Colgate that turned out to be a victory over a conference champion.

[asucrutch23]

The computers hated the CAA this year, but you can probably blame the quirky Big South tie-breaker for losing one spot! Richmond and Towson were undoubtedly two of the first few teams out.

[ebirToG]

Everyone keeps saying it is a down year for the CAA - just out of curiosity... based on what? If all 3 teams get knocked out of the playoffs early, it is an easy argument but until then it is harder to argue.

Either way it is a slap in the face that the Southern autobid at 8-3 gets a seed and the CAA autobid at 8-3 gets a first round game. I dont think VU deserves a seed but at least not a first round game.

[bluehenbillk]

I agree that UR has the biggest argument over any team left out. The fact is 8-3 makes you a bubble team this year. I think UR can make a real good case against Wofford & Stony Brook, but the committee didn't feel 4 CAA teams belonged...

[CHIP72]

I agree about the CAA being down this season. The league was probably a shade down in 2011 compared to the previous decade (when it was often the best league in Division I-AA) and it went down further this year. The lack of good non-conference wins (which I didn't fully grasp until I did an analysis of the CAA playoff contenders' respective profiles) is a big factor.

I admittedly only really follow the CAA, Patriot League, and Ivy League, but I'd say as a whole Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Division I-AA football was down this year. I know all three of the aforementioned leagues were weaker than normal this season.

Having said all of the above, to me the pecking order in the CAA for the playoffs should have been 1) ODU, 2) Villanova, 3) Towson (arguably had a stronger profile than Villanova), 4) Richmond, 5) UNH, and 6) James Madison (and one could make an argument JMU should be ahead of UNH despite the worse overall record, due to UNH's weaker intra-CAA schedule).

When comparing Towson and Richmond, everybody harps on Towson's two FBS games but the reality is Towson had two excellent road wins over quality teams (Villanova and UNH) while Richmond only had one (Villanova). Among the other CAA playoff contenders only ODU can make the same claim (ODU actually won 3 such games, winning at Towson, Richmond, and James Madison). Richmond's best win was at Villanova? Well, Towson won at Villanova solidly too, and the Tigers thumped UNH at UNH by 29 points to boot.

[asumike83]

Richmond has to be the snub of the year in 2012, I thought they were an absolute lock.

[lknspider]

Silly kids, the polls simply don't matter. Committee never looks at them.

Louise...you are the silly one........polls are subjective opinions.......just like the decision process used by the selection committee .....their subjective opinions! Computer rankings are no more accurate than the mathematicians' SUBJECTIVE OPINIONS who write the formulas. And by the way..........FBS uses polls as part of their calculations to decide the two playoff teams!!!

[Vitojr130]

Louise...you are the silly one........polls are subjective opinions.......just like the decision process used by the selection committee .....their subjective opinions! Computer rankings are no more accurate than the mathematicians' SUBJECTIVE OPINIONS who write the formulas. And by the way..........FBS uses polls as part of their calculations to decide the two playoff teams!!!

^This doesn't make the polls any more valid if the committee doesn't look at them. The way that the BCS uses polls and rankings to pick the championship game teams matters 0% in the FCS world.

[ebirToG]

I agree that UR has the biggest argument over any team left out. The fact is 8-3 makes you a bubble team this year. I think UR can make a real good case against Wofford & Stony Brook, but the committee didn't feel 4 CAA teams belonged...

Or 8-3 with wins against ooc Jacksonville and Howard and a loss to non play-off team gets you a seed!

Just sayin'

CAA may be a bit down this year... but this far?

[BigHouseClosedEnd]

Had JMU beaten ODU on Saturday night, would the CAA have gotten a 4th team?

[Vitojr130]

CAA finished with six teams in top 20 rankings.....and only three in the playoffs...sounds a little vindictive by one or more on the committee. Richmond and Towson both should be in. Richmond, National Champ in 2008 turns around a bad 2011 season to an 8-3 season and co-champs of the CAA. They had no bad losses, defeated Villanova soundly at Villanova, defeated JMU while ranked #2 in the country, had a win taken away by the refs at New Hampshire as confirmed by TV replay and announcers (of course CAA is behind the times and doesn't use replay) and they lose to New Hampshire at UNH. Richmond becomes the first 8-3 team not to get in from the CAA since 1996. Towson has an equally strong argument. The good news is almost the entire team for Richmond returns in 2013 and there should be plenty of incentive. Selection committees rarely get it right whether it is NCAA BB, FBS and/or FCS.

http://media.247sports.com/Uploads/Assets/724/690/690724.jpg

But in all reality, when compared to the other conferences, the CAA got plenty in... Other than within their own conference, they don't have any "quality" wins in their OOC schedules...

[hapapp]

Everyone keeps saying it is a down year for the CAA - just out of curiosity... based on what? If all 3 teams get knocked out of the playoffs early, it is an easy argument but until then it is harder to argue.

Either way it is a slap in the face that the Southern autobid at 8-3 gets a seed and the CAA autobid at 8-3 gets a first round game. I dont think VU deserves a seed but at least not a first round game.

Let's face it, ODU was the class of the CAA and got a seed. Just because the CAA denied ODU the chance to get the autobid doesn't mean the actual autobid deserved one as well. In reality the autobid means nothing for seeding purposes. Beyond that, the #5 seed doesn't really get you much other than a first round bye (which VU might have a legit beef about not getting).

[mcveyrl]

Had JMU beaten ODU on Saturday night, would the CAA have gotten a 4th team?

I read somewhere that somebody on the committee said JMU would not have gotten in even with a win against ODU.

[Hammerhead]

So 5 out of 10 at-large bids should all be from a single conference?

[TwoFeathers]

Yeah, but there were other teams that got hosed also (Lehigh anyone???). They clearly wanted to spread the At Large's around.

[TwoFeathers]

Yep, I think ODU could win it all this year.


Everyone keeps saying it is a down year for the CAA - just out of curiosity... based on what? If all 3 teams get knocked out of the playoffs early, it is an easy argument but until then it is harder to argue.

Either way it is a slap in the face that the Southern autobid at 8-3 gets a seed and the CAA autobid at 8-3 gets a first round game. I dont think VU deserves a seed but at least not a first round game.

[MacThor]

I think what a lot of people failed to realise this year, and I say this as a fan of the conference, is that the CAA wasn't particularly good this season compared to most of the last decade. First off, there were two teams that were absolutely terrible, which is a change from the norm when even the bottom-feeders were dangerous. Throw in a W&M team that couldn't get out of it's own way and there were a few easy wins for the better teams.

Secondly, take a look at the non-conference results for the league. 0-10 against FBS in games that were almost entirely routs. Outside of that, the best victories were two wins over a 6-4 Penn team and then a bunch over the likes of St. Francis (PA), Fordham, Campbell, etc. Not a single legitimately "quality" win out of league. On the flip side, CAA teams lost to Lafayette, Brown, CCSU and Monmouth among others. This is the reason the CAA computer rankings were terrible. UNH was 7th in the polls this week but averaged 25th in the computers. Towson and Villanova came in 21st/22nd and Richmond was about the same. Even Old Dominion was 11th in the computers coming into this week. Let's face it, the CAA as a league did very little this year to deserve all the teams ranked in the top 20 but it was a sign of respect for the quality of the league the last 6/7 years.

Lastly, and I think it's a big part of it, I can't remember a year when there was less stability at the quarterback position. UNH, Richmond, Villanova, Delaware, Maine, W&M, GSU and URI all had relatively untested players at the helm. It's hard to put quality football teams on the field in college football without confidence in that position.

For all these reasons, three teams feels about right and I look at Stony Brook as the de facto 4th team anyway, and they earned it when they got some respect with a battle at Syracuse, a rout of Army and a win over Colgate that turned out to be a victory over a conference champion.

Good points, and I agree. I'm not sure why UR played two Big South teams this year OOC but that didn't help. Unfortunately there's no way to predict which teams are going to destroy your SOS in advance. Heck, UR was supposed to finish 9th in the CAA this year so maybe VMI & G-W thought they had a winnable game on their OOC slate. In the past couple of years we've had Stony Brook (can't remember why that was canceled) and Coastal Carolina who made the playoffs.

UR's AD was told that the Spiders were left out because of a "lack of quality wins" and that it didn't come down to us vs UNH (UNH wasn't even one of the last teams in). What is baffling to me is that if they weren't going to put UR in for that reason, why'd they include UNH so early? UNH played the weakest schedule of any CAA team.

[MacThor]

So 5 out of 10 at-large bids should all be from a single conference?

No, but 3 is not so unreasonable.

[MarkyMark]

No, but 3 is not so unreasonable.

CAA got 3 in right?, not sure why Richmond is considered 4th best but lots of good 8-3 teams missed the playoffs.

With the expansion of the Big Sky and MV Conferences I feel there will be very few years that any 1 conference gets 4 bids in the future.

[dazedandconfused]

Had JMU beaten ODU on Saturday night, would the CAA have gotten a 4th team?

If JMU had won, Towson would have won the tiebreaker (ELO Chess ratings) and got the auto qualifier. Looks like Villanova would be the ones complaining.

[MacThor]

3 at-larges. I don't think anyone here was lobbying for 5 at large bids for the CAA.

[UNH Fanboi]

But in all reality, when compared to the other conferences, the CAA got plenty in... Other than within their own conference, they don't have any "quality" wins in their OOC schedules...

I agree that the CAA is down this year, but what quality OOC wins did the SoCon have? ASU had one decent win over Coastal Carolina and that's it for the entire conference (sorry, Montana means nothing this year). The fact is that aside from their 1 FBS game per year, power conference teams rarely schedule tough OOC matchups because there is no incentive to do so when your in conference schedule is already tough. A conference can still be good without big OOC wins--sometimes there just aren't good wins to be had in the schedule.

[AmsterBison]

Meh. The numbers in parentheses are Sagarin rankings for all DI.

The CAA top seed, ODU (114) is facing the winner of Bethune-Cookman (149) v Coastal Carolina (162). I wish NDSU was getting punished like that.

Also, the CAA's three teams are spread out into three separate semi-final brackets. I wish that the MVFC was getting punished like that. The CAA will definitely have a chance to rise to the top.