Revised Pre Season Poll

[AGSPoll]

1 Eastern Washington Eagles 1214 37
2 William & Mary Tribe 1123 7
3 Appalachian State Mountaineers 1122 1
4 Georgia Southern Eagles 1122 4
5 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens 1031 1
6 Montana State Bobcats 944 0
7 Wofford Terriers 918 0
8 Northern Iowa Panthers 870 0
9 New Hampshire Wildcats 790 0
10 Jacksonville State Gamecocks 758 0
11 Montana Grizzlies 687 0
12 North Dakota State Bison 680 0
13 James Madison Dukes 564 0
14 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks 538 0
15 Lehigh Mountain Hawks 471 0
16 Villanova Wildcats 439 0
17 Richmond Spiders 347 0
18 Liberty Flames 317 0
19 Southern Illinois Salukis 295 0
20 Chattanooga Mocs 234 0
21 South Carolina State Bulldogs 222 0
22 Central Arkansas Bears 213 0
23 McNeese State Cowboys 210 0
24 Cal Poly Mustangs 208 0
25 Southeast Missouri State Redhawks 122 0...


Thanks to all members who participated.

The Rest...

26 Sacramento State Hornets 99 0
27 Southern Utah Thunderbirds 97 0
28 Pennsylvania Quakers 69 0
29 Bethune-Cookman Wildcats 60 0
30 Furman Paladins 51 0
31 South Dakota State Jackrabbits 40 0
32 Western Illinois Leathernecks 35 0
33 Stony Brook Seawolves 31 0
34 Eastern Kentucky Colonels 30 0
35 Harvard Crimson 30 0
36 Jacksonville Dolphins 24 0
37 Rhode Island Rams 23 0
38 Sam Houston State Bearkats 22 0
39 Old Dominion Monarchs 21 0
40 Central Connecticut State Blue Devils 18 0
41 Indiana State Sycamores 18 0
42 Murray State Racers 17 0
43 UC Davis Aggies 17 0
44 North Dakota Fighting Sioux 16 0
45 Robert Morris Colonials 14 0
46 Colgate Raiders 13 0
47 Elon Phoenix 11 0
48 Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles 10 0
49 Dayton Flyers 9 0
50 Florida A&M Rattlers 8 0
51 Samford Bulldogs 4 0
52 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers 4 0
53 Jackson State Tigers 4 0
54 Illinois State Redbirds 4 0
55 Albany Great Danes 4 0
56 Holy Cross Crusaders 2 0
57 Maine Black Bears 2 0
58 Grambling State Tigers 2 0
59 Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks 1 0
60 Yale Bulldogs 1 0

[ursus arctos horribilis]

I know this one a required vote but it's pretty funny how few from some conferences voted.

Big Sky Conference-5
Big South Conference-2
Colonial Athletic Association-13
Great West Conference-6
Missouri Valley Football Conference-4
Northeast Conference-1
Ohio Valley Conference-2
Patriot League-4
Southern Conference-9
Southland Conference-4

[Side Judge]

I know this one a required vote but it's pretty funny how few from some conferences voted.

Big Sky Conference-5
Big South Conference-2
Colonial Athletic Association-13
Great West Conference-6
Missouri Valley Football Conference-4
Northeast Conference-1
Ohio Valley Conference-2
Patriot League-4
Southern Conference-9
Southland Conference-4

Definite east coast bias, or else the top 3 would be the obvious EWU, Bobcats, Griz...

[ursus arctos horribilis]

Definite east coast bias, or else the top 3 would be the obvious EWU, Bobcats, Griz...

It is ECB but anybody that says that can look at the fact that their contemporaries chose not to vote and blame themselves.

The E. Coast voters are very sharp & very fair so they are a good group to have casting the votes anyway cuz it's the smallest bias we'd be likely to get.

[Side Judge]

Just to follow-up, and I realize that this is pre-season and therefore virtually meaningless, but for sake of argument shouldn't Cal Poly and NDSU be ranked higher than Montana?

[Grizzaholic]

Just to follow-up, and I realize that this is pre-season and therefore virtually meaningless, but for sake of argument shouldn't Cal Poly and NDSU be ranked higher than Montana?

No.

[Cocky]

Just to follow-up, and I realize that this is pre-season and therefore virtually meaningless, but for sake of argument shouldn't Cal Poly and NDSU be ranked higher than Montana?
Let me have a few weeks to think about it.

[Side Judge]

No.

Is that the best you can do? Wait, don't answer that...

Latest comps (2010) - Cal Poly beats Montana straight up, and NDSU has a better record, an FBS win, a playoff appearance losing at the end to the eventual champion, and beats Montana State.

You got nothin...

[JMUNJ08]

I do like how JMU is picked as the 4th best team by the voters in the CAA in this poll but selected 2nd by the CAA coaches....Things will work themselves out for sure and seems to be an 'out of sight, out of mind' thing to me.


I know this one a required vote but it's pretty funny how few from some conferences voted.

Big Sky Conference-5
Big South Conference-2
Colonial Athletic Association-13
Great West Conference-6
Missouri Valley Football Conference-4
Northeast Conference-1
Ohio Valley Conference-2
Patriot League-4
Southern Conference-9
Southland Conference-4

With some of the ECB and grips for Cal Poly, there were 6 Great West voters. Are there even 6 teams in the conference anymore? That is more than the Big Sky turn out and thus I think Cal Poly can only blame their own conference voters for not believing in them enough. (BTW Montana is about 15th in my poll)

[JMUNJ08]

Just to follow-up, and I realize that this is pre-season and therefore virtually meaningless, but for sake of argument shouldn't Cal Poly and NDSU be ranked higher than Montana?


Let me have a few weeks to think about it.

Correct answer. Comps only do so much on a year to year basis, especially at our level where things seem to be more volatile. Lets hope they both show up the Griz!

[Go Lehigh TU owl]

For some unknown reason i left out NDSU again. Sorry Bison fans, big mistake i know, I could have sworn i had you guys around 8th or 9th. I also dropped Richmond because of the last minute coaching change. I'll give them a huge boost if they play well against Duke.

[Grizzaholic]

Is that the best you can do? Wait, don't answer that...

Latest comps (2010) - Cal Poly beats Montana straight up, and NDSU has a better record, an FBS win, a playoff appearance losing at the end to the eventual champion, and beats Montana State.

You got nothin...

Really? I got SUU beating every team you bring up. Hell, they might even give NDSU a run for its money.

[DJKyR0]

Sorry MVFC'ers, I meant to vote but my internet connection timed out on me and I was too lazy to go back and re-do it. Had NDSU 9th, yes, above Montana.

[molly]

1 Eastern Washington Eagles 1214 37
2 William & Mary Tribe 1123 7
3 Appalachian State Mountaineers 1122 1
4 Georgia Southern Eagles 1122 4
5 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens 1031 1


So, EWU is basically the consensus #1, and then there's a virtual tie for #2. It should be interesting to see how things shake out after the first couple weeks.

[srgrizizen]

Just to follow-up, and I realize that this is pre-season and therefore virtually meaningless, but for sake of argument shouldn't Cal Poly and NDSU be ranked higher than Montana?

Yes they should - in the final 2010 season poll. This year, not so much. It is not unreasonable to believe the Griz will be improved from last year. Anyway, we'll find out soon enough vs. Cal Poly.xpeacex

[Mikeyosef]

Soooo, when App wins this weekend does that automatically put us at #1:)

[chattownmocs]

Im pretty sure I didnt get to vote in this poll, which calls into question its validity.

[HensRock]

Since App and GSU have the same identical score and GSU has more 1st place votes, shouldn't they be switched?
Or maybe listed as a tie for 3rd?

[URMite]

Since App and GSU have the same identical score and GSU has more 1st place votes, shouldn't they be switched?
Or maybe listed as a tie for 3rd?

That was my thought too. After someone else highlighted it.:p

[URMite]

I do like how JMU is picked as the 4th best team by the voters in the CAA in this poll but selected 2nd by the CAA coaches....Things will work themselves out for sure and seems to be an 'out of sight, out of mind' thing to me.

To be honest, how much difference do you see between UNH, JMU, and Delaware? Until we see how the new pieces fit together...

The one I'm surprised at is Nova not falling a bit more, don't they have the 4th most in FCS to replace as to production & minutes?

And I see us as the biggest wildcard in FCS this year. I won't be surprised if we are in the semifinals and I won't be surprised if we are 4-7. We seem to have a lot more good players than people realize but we have no idea how they will be as a team.

[ursus arctos horribilis]

Since App and GSU have the same identical score and GSU has more 1st place votes, shouldn't they be switched?
Or maybe listed as a tie for 3rd?

It is sorted based on points not first place votes so it is what it is. In the future if agspoll wants to make a tie then he can sure do so but I'm not going through it each time and rearranging the results.

[ursus arctos horribilis]

Im pretty sure I didnt get to vote in this poll, which calls into question its validity.

You could have voted but chose not to.

[Jacked_Rabbit]

Just to follow-up, and I realize that this is pre-season and therefore virtually meaningless, but for sake of argument shouldn't Cal Poly and NDSU be ranked higher than Montana?

Isn't Southern Utah picked by nearly everyone to win the Great West? Why would Cal Poly even be ranked higher than the T-Birds?! But yes, NDSU should be ranked higher than Montana.

NDSU > Montana > So. Utah > Cal Poly

And my Top 25 follows the above...

[JSUBison]

Is there a way we can see the others receiving votes? My last few teams I ranked didn't show up on the top 25, just wanted to see if others thought the same as I did, or if I was off base on a couple. I had Southern Utah at 23, and it looks like a few of you here agree that SUU has potential.

[Jacked_Rabbit]

Is there a way we can see the others receiving votes? My last few teams I ranked didn't show up on the top 25, just wanted to see if others thought the same as I did, or if I was off base on a couple. I had Southern Utah at 23, and it looks like a few of you here agree that SUU has potential.

I completely agree - it is always interesting to see. I had SUU #24 and Cal Poly #25, for what its worth.

[MR. CHICKEN]

16027SUR-PRIZED....RICHMOND......OWN-LAH DROPPED FROM...16 TA 17....AFTERAH...'OL LATRELL.....GOT DUH HIC-CUPS.......ER...UH ...UMM.......AWK!

[ursus arctos horribilis]

Is there a way we can see the others receiving votes? My last few teams I ranked didn't show up on the top 25, just wanted to see if others thought the same as I did, or if I was off base on a couple. I had Southern Utah at 23, and it looks like a few of you here agree that SUU has potential.

Yeah, great idea. I'm not sure why he didn't post them but I'll get em' and throw em' up there cuz I wanted all you that voted to see they were on there anyway.xthumbsupx

[Jacked_Rabbit]

16027SUR-PRIZED....RICHMOND......OWN-LAH DROPPED FROM...16 TA 17....AFTERAH...'OL LATRELL.....GOT DUH HIC-CUPS.......ER...UH ...UMM.......AWK!

Every time I see one of your comments, Mr. Chicken, I simply can't believe you've made 8,510 posts in this Foghorn-Leghorn language... That has to be in the conversation with streaks like Cal Ripken Jr & Dimaggio's... Pretty impressive!!

[MR. CHICKEN]

16029.....AH LOST......8K POSTS....WHEN 'OL RALPHIE.......NODDED-OUT ON HIS KEYBOARD......ONE TUESDAY........AN' HIT DUH DELETE BUTTON...xrolleyesx...AWK!

[ursus arctos horribilis]

Added the rest of the pool so if you see anything that doesn't look right as far as someone you voted for not being there then let me know in a pm.

[Pard4Life]

Interesting that the Ivy teams are not getting any respect, and it is going to be one of the best seasons overall in awhile. Brown and Dartmouth are not even on the radar and they have decent chances.

I had Penn #12, Harvard #20, and Yale #25 (the only person who voted for them). I did not vote for a PL team, including Lehigh... I don't think anyone deserves it yet.

Yale has a great, record-setting QB. He transferred from Nebraska and had schollie offers from Oklahoma, South Carolina, Wisconsin, and Texas AM when he was a senior. Also, the team has a solid core.

Penn has one of the best FCS defenses, and Harvard has a great QB as well... Colin Winters beat Kellen Moore and Andrew Luck in a passing accuracy competition at a Manning event. And, Harvard is solid in all areas too.

[ursus arctos horribilis]

Interesting that the Ivy teams are not getting any respect, and it is going to be one of the best seasons overall in awhile. Brown and Dartmouth are not even on the radar and they have decent chances.

I had Penn #12, Harvard #20, and Yale #25 (the only person who voted for them). I did not vote for a PL team, including Lehigh... I don't think anyone deserves it yet.

Yale has a great, record-setting QB. He transferred from Nebraska and had schollie offers from Oklahoma, South Carolina, Wisconsin, and Texas AM when he was a senior. Also, the team has a solid core.

Penn has one of the best FCS defenses, and Harvard has a great QB as well... Colin Winters beat Kellen Moore and Andrew Luck in a passing accuracy competition at a Manning event. And, Harvard is solid in all areas too.

And part of the problem is that I just haven't seen them on here promoting their teams at all. I've see some information from PL guys and a few CAA fans talking about some of the Ivies but they just ain't keeping it in front of people's faces for consideration.

Not one Ivy voter also chipping in probably doesn't help them either. SWAC, same thing.

It's not really telling yet though cuz this was more of a "do it if you can" type of thing but I hope that stuff changes drastically next week.

[Pard4Life]

And part of the problem is that I just haven't seen them on here promoting their teams at all. I've see some information from PL guys and a few CAA fans talking about some of the Ivies but they just ain't keeping it in front of people's faces for consideration.

Not one Ivy voter also chipping in probably doesn't help them either. SWAC, same thing.

It's not really telling yet though cuz this was more of a "do it if you can" type of thing but I hope that stuff changes drastically next week.

True, but you should not have to do promoting to get ranked. I've read that's how it is even done at the FBS level, but it is not hard to do 20 minutes of research. The Ivy QB feature was in the NY Times of all papers...

[Go Lehigh TU owl]

I had Penn at #15.

I also had two PL teams, Lehigh at #14 and Colgate #21.

[Pard4Life]

There we go...

[JSUBison]

I had:

14: Lehigh Mountain Hawks
25: Pennsylvania Quakers

[Pard4Life]

I had:

14: Lehigh Mountain Hawks
25: Pennsylvania Quakers

In reality, those should probably be reversed, and not because I'm a Lehigh hater. The "show-me" game will be Penn vs. Villanova, September 24.

[MR. CHICKEN]

AH HAD DUH QUAKERS...NEXT ONE IN....GUESS IT WAS...DUH NON-PLAYOFF....BIAS....(HARD TA GIVE CREDIT...TA TEAMS...WHO WON'T DANCE)....AWQ!

[ursus arctos horribilis]

True, but you should not have to do promoting to get ranked. I've read that's how it is even done at the FBS level, but it is not hard to do 20 minutes of research. The Ivy QB feature was in the NY Times of all papers...

Actually it is if they are not on your radar then the 20 minutes gets expanded. Show me what to read...I'll read it. I ain't spending 10-15-20 minutes/team looking for links that I don't even know exist. If I can click on them here and you have "advertised" then it is much more likely that I will see it and indeed consider it.

I never, ever read the NY Times so I would have missed that.

You probably wouldn't spend a whole lot of time on the Missoulian or the Ravali Republic if an article weren't posted here either.

[BlueHenSinfonian]

Interesting that the Ivy teams are not getting any respect, and it is going to be one of the best seasons overall in awhile. Brown and Dartmouth are not even on the radar and they have decent chances.

I had Penn #12, Harvard #20, and Yale #25 (the only person who voted for them). I did not vote for a PL team, including Lehigh... I don't think anyone deserves it yet.

Yale has a great, record-setting QB. He transferred from Nebraska and had schollie offers from Oklahoma, South Carolina, Wisconsin, and Texas AM when he was a senior. Also, the team has a solid core.

Penn has one of the best FCS defenses, and Harvard has a great QB as well... Colin Winters beat Kellen Moore and Andrew Luck in a passing accuracy competition at a Manning event. And, Harvard is solid in all areas too.

The problem with the Ivies is that their insular scheduling makes it hard to really gauge them. Looking at this year's Ivy League composite schedule the most aspirational games are against Colgate, Lehigh, Villanova, Albany, and Stony Brook. Villanova is likely going to have a down year, and the Big South, NEC, and PL aren't exactly power conferences.

I have the same problem with ranking SWAC teams. Since there is very little OOC play, and since there are no playoff appearances for the Ivies or the SWAC to get a feel for how they really stack up against teams from other conferences, it's all just semi-educated speculation.

[Pard4Life]

The problem with the Ivies is that their insular scheduling makes it hard to really gauge them. Looking at this year's Ivy League composite schedule the most aspirational games are against Colgate, Lehigh, Villanova, Albany, and Stony Brook. Villanova is likely going to have a down year, and the Big South, NEC, and PL aren't exactly power conferences.

I have the same problem with ranking SWAC teams. Since there is very little OOC play, and since there are no playoff appearances for the Ivies or the SWAC to get a feel for how they really stack up against teams from other conferences, it's all just semi-educated speculation.

True they are very insular. On the other hand, you do not get to see them play. Lafayette plays these teams, and has games against the CAA once in awhile, so it is possible to compare. I've seen top ASU, Richmond, UMass, and Delaware teams, and I think some of the top Ivy teams match-up well. Penn proves it in close losses to Nova each year. Though it's next year, Penn plays W&M, so that's something in the future...

[Pard4Life]

Actually it is if they are not on your radar then the 20 minutes gets expanded. Show me what to read...I'll read it. I ain't spending 10-15-20 minutes/team looking for links that I don't even know exist. If I can click on them here and you have "advertised" then it is much more likely that I will see it and indeed consider it.

I never, ever read the NY Times so I would have missed that.

You probably wouldn't spend a whole lot of time on the Missoulian or the Ravali Republic if an article weren't posted here either.

I actually found the link to the NY Times by googling "2011 Ivy League football preview," and also coming across the the Ivy message board. NY Times is a high-profile paper so if you google something broad and it's in the paper, it will show as a top link.

[BlueHenSinfonian]

True they are very insular. On the other hand, you do not get to see them play. Lafayette plays these teams, and has games against the CAA once in awhile, so it is possible to compare. I've seen top ASU, Richmond, UMass, and Delaware teams, and I think some of the top Ivy teams match-up well. Penn proves it in close losses to Nova each year. Though it's next year, Penn plays W&M, so that's something in the future...

PL fans probably have a better idea of how the Ivy teams stack up than anyone else. I watched the Penn/Nova game last year, and Penn looked impressive. Of course, the Dolphins can smack around a superbowl bound Patriots team and still end the season with a losing record. Rivalry games are by their very nature statistically aberrant.

It's also tough, though not impossible, to rank teams through an intermediary. Just because Yale beats Lafayette 35-14 the same season that Delaware beats Lafayette 21-17 doesn't mean that Yale would beat Delaware that year, or even be competitive. The single greatest resource to determining ability beyond the limits of a school's conference is the playoffs, and until they Ivy League deems the FCS playoffs worthy of their exalted presence the Ancient Eight are are going to have big question marks over their heads for most FCS fans.

I'll certainly keep an eye on them this season, and watch what games I'm able to, but I'm not likely to give any Ivy League teams the benefit of the doubt in the rankings unless there is incredibly strong evidence they belong there.

[Pard4Life]

Ivy games are going to be on YES Network if you receive it... not sure who does, but it's the NY Yankees network. I also think the caliber of players is a testament of the league. A few go to the NFL each year. And I still say Clifton Dawson of Harvard is the best RB I've seen at this level.

[SF State Gaters]

Big Sky looks very strong, and only going to get stronger in 2012

[Gil Dobie]

For some unknown reason i left out NDSU again. Sorry Bison fans, big mistake i know, I could have sworn i had you guys around 8th or 9th. I also dropped Richmond because of the last minute coaching change. I'll give them a huge boost if they play well against Duke.

.....and I had Lehigh somewhere around 10 :)

[appfan2008]

Looks like a good poll but sure am ready for the actual games to begin...

[bincitysioux]

.

[darell1976]

Big Sky looks very strong, and only going to get stronger in 2012

Us GWFC teams intend to make the "new" Big Sky the strongest conference in the FCS.

[TheRevSFA]

We're right where I think we should be. I am looking forward to see Brady Attaway take over where Jeremy Moses left off

[JSUBison]

The problem with the Ivies is that their insular scheduling makes it hard to really gauge them. Looking at this year's Ivy League composite schedule the most aspirational games are against Colgate, Lehigh, Villanova, Albany, and Stony Brook. Villanova is likely going to have a down year, and the Big South, NEC, and PL aren't exactly power conferences.

I have the same problem with ranking SWAC teams. Since there is very little OOC play, and since there are no playoff appearances for the Ivies or the SWAC to get a feel for how they really stack up against teams from other conferences, it's all just semi-educated speculation.

xthumbsupx

[JMUNJ08]

To be honest, how much difference do you see between UNH, JMU, and Delaware? Until we see how the new pieces fit together...

The one I'm surprised at is Nova not falling a bit more, don't they have the 4th most in FCS to replace as to production & minutes?

And I see us as the biggest wildcard in FCS this year. I won't be surprised if we are in the semifinals and I won't be surprised if we are 4-7. We seem to have a lot more good players than people realize but we have no idea how they will be as a team.

I do agree that right now there shouldn't be much of a difference that is why Delaway are 5 and JMU in the mid-teens seems odd to me. Putting the little bias I have and following my team more closely than all other schools, I like that our strong D is returning and our offense was getting it together toward the end of last year for us to have a slight edge.

I also agree with your assessments of Richmond and Nova. The coaching change @ UR and Nova losing what seems like every player that I could name off two deep playoff runs should hurt them.

Out of the 11 team league I only see 2 teams (Towson & Maine) that won't be in the mix for a deep playoff run (yes ODU could be scarry or struggle in season 1 in the CAA). That is why I love the CAA. Just hope JMU figures things out and gets on the right side of the playoff bubble for the first time since I left....