AGS Top 25 Week 2 Poll Results

[AGSPoll]

Final results for the 2012 Week 2 Poll:

1 North Dakota State Bison 2838 (109)
2 Sam Houston State Bearkats 2634 (2)
3 Old Dominion Monarchs 2256
4 Northern Iowa Panthers 2221
5 Youngstown State Penguins 2211 (1)
6 Appalachian State Mountaineers 2189
7 Montana State Bobcats 2157 (1)
8 James Madison Dukes 2147
9 Wofford Terriers 1647
10 Eastern Washington Eagles 1565
11 Georgia Southern Eagles 1488
12 Montana Grizzlies 1394
13 Illinois State Redbirds 1390
14 Lehigh Mountain Hawks 1295
15 Stony Brook Seawolves 1253
16 Towson Tigers 1223
17 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens 1098
18 New Hampshire Wildcats 958
19 McNeese State Cowboys 797
20 Maine Black Bears 722
21 Central Arkansas Bears 607
22 Indiana State Sycamores 448
23 Cal Poly Mustangs 424
24 The Citadel Bulldogs 364 (1)
25 Albany Great Danes 240

Most Significant Win:
Appalachian State Mountaineers

Most Significant Loss:
Georgia Southern Eagles

26 Norfolk State Spartans 219
27 Jacksonville State Gamecocks 210
28 Sacramento State Hornets 116
29 Eastern Kentucky Colonels 115
30 Bethune-Cookman Wildcats 109
31 Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles 94
32 North Dakota Fighting Sioux 86
33 Harvard Crimson 72
34T Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks 49
34T Coastal Carolina Chanticleers 49
36 Lafayette Leopards 44
37 Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks 43
38 Samford Bulldogs 40
39 Georgetown Hoyas 30
40 South Dakota State Jackrabbits 22

[Go Lehigh TU owl]

Not bad...

SBU deserves more love. MSU still too high..

[asucrutch23]

Wow, not only does The Citadel debut, but a first place vote to boot! Maybe a GSU fan...

[DSUrocks07]

Surprised everyone is so high on Wofford...

My Week 2 ballot (last week ranking)

1: North Dakota State Bison (1)
2: Appalachian State Mountaineers (6)
3: James Madison Dukes (7)
4: Old Dominion Monarchs (8)
5: Sam Houston State Bearkats (2)
6: Lehigh Mountain Hawks (5)
7: Montana Grizzlies (4)
8: Illinois State Redbirds (17)
9: Eastern Washington Eagles (11)
10: Youngstown State Penguins (13)
11: Georgia Southern Eagles (3)
12: Northern Iowa Panthers (14)
13: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens (10)
14: Montana State Bobcats (9)
15: Sacramento State Hornets (NR)
16: Towson Tigers (15)
17: Maine Black Bears (16)
18: Stony Brook Seawolves (19)
19: The Citadel Bulldogs (NR)
20: Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (20)
21: Indiana State Sycamores (21)
22: Wofford Terriers (23)
23: Cal Poly Mustangs (18)
24: Albany Great Danes (NR)
25: Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (25)

[FargoBison]

The best poll so far...

[Go Lehigh TU owl]

My shot

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: Youngstown State Penguins
3: Sam Houston State Bearkats
4: Appalachian State Mountaineers
5: Northern Iowa Panthers
6: James Madison Dukes
7: Stony Brook Seawolves
8: Illinois State Redbirds
9: Old Dominion Monarchs
10: Eastern Washington Eagles
11: Montana Grizzlies
12: Georgia Southern Eagles
13: Lehigh Mountain Hawks
14: Wofford Terriers
15: New Hampshire Wildcats
16: Albany Great Danes
17: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
18: Montana State Bobcats
19: Central Arkansas Bears
20: Towson Tigers
21: McNeese State Cowboys
22: The Citadel Bulldogs
23: North Dakota Fighting Sioux
24: Norfolk State Spartans
25: Maine Black Bears

[asumike83]

Not bad! My Week 2 votes:

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: Sam Houston State Bearkats
3: Northern Iowa Panthers
4: Youngstown State Penguins
5: Old Dominion Monarchs
6: Eastern Washington Eagles
7: Appalachian State Mountaineers
8: Montana State Bobcats
9: Georgia Southern Eagles
10: James Madison Dukes
11: Wofford Terriers
12: Montana Grizzlies
13: Stony Brook Seawolves
14: Lehigh Mountain Hawks
15: Illinois State Redbirds
16: Towson Tigers
17: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
18: New Hampshire Wildcats
19: Maine Black Bears
20: McNeese State Cowboys
21: Central Arkansas Bears
22: Cal Poly Mustangs
23: Indiana State Sycamores
24: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
25: Norfolk State Spartans

[TheRevSFA]

Mine:

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: Sam Houston State Bearkats
3: Montana State Bobcats
4: Northern Iowa Panthers
5: James Madison Dukes
6: Old Dominion Monarchs
7: Appalachian State Mountaineers
8: Youngstown State Penguins
9: Georgia Southern Eagles
10: Wofford Terriers
11: Montana Grizzlies
12: Eastern Washington Eagles
13: New Hampshire Wildcats
14: Towson Tigers
15: Illinois State Redbirds
16: Lehigh Mountain Hawks
17: Maine Black Bears
18: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
19: Stony Brook Seawolves
20: The Citadel Bulldogs
21: McNeese State Cowboys
22: Central Arkansas Bears
23: Norfolk State Spartans
24: Cal Poly Mustangs
25: Indiana State Sycamores

[UNDColorado]

Agreed, that is a good looking poll.

[NoDak 4 Ever]

Here's mine. I think anyone who can beat an FBS team get's some top 25 love. SFA and UTM supplanted Liberty and Chatty.

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: Sam Houston State Bearkats
3: Montana State Bobcats
4: Northern Iowa Panthers
5: Old Dominion Monarchs
6: James Madison Dukes
7: Appalachian State Mountaineers
8: Youngstown State Penguins
9: Wofford Terriers
10: Eastern Washington Eagles
11: Georgia Southern Eagles
12: Montana Grizzlies
13: New Hampshire Wildcats
14: Illinois State Redbirds
15: Towson Tigers
16: Lehigh Mountain Hawks
17: Maine Black Bears
18: Stony Brook Seawolves
19: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
20: McNeese State Cowboys
21: Central Arkansas Bears
22: Campbell Fighting Camels
23: Indiana State Sycamores
24: Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks
25: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks


Apologies to Cal Poly. I messed up the Drop down and gave the vote to Campbell. Probably the only one they got this week!

[Saint3333]

It would be interesting to see if App is ranked higher on non-App fan polls.

Didn't vote but I'd have App no higher than 9 or 10.

[TheRevSFA]

Hell, I didn't give SFA love after that beatdown SMU gave us. If I could give love to SFA's defense only, I would...they kept Gilbert from throwing much...too bad the Offense shot themselves in the foot every ****ing drive.

[TheRevSFA]

It would be interesting to see if App is ranked higher on non-App fan polls.

Didn't vote but I'd have App no higher than 9 or 10.

I had App 7th. Too high?

[AppAlum2003]

I had App 7th. Too high?

About right... Montana win was nice, but still a lot of question marks.

[PantherRob82]

Apologies to Cal Poly. I messed up the Drop down and gave the vote to Campbell. Probably the only one they got this week!

Odd that wasn't caught

[HensRock]

ODU at #3??? Seriously???
They've beat Hampton and Dusquesne. Next they face Campbell! Will they shoot up to #2?
(luckily #1 NDSU is idle)

[PantherRob82]

I don't have any issues. Besides the Montana State 1st place vote. I don't even want to know...

[Squealofthepig]

I gave App credit, but will concede I may have them too high; still, I like to look at who teams played, and their win over the Griz looked better that a few D2 wins for others at the top:

1: North Dakota State Bison (1)
2: Appalachian State Mountaineers (5)
3: Northern Iowa Panthers (3)
4: Sam Houston State Bearkats (4)
5: Old Dominion Monarchs (7)
6: Youngstown State Penguins (8)
7: Eastern Washington Eagles (12)
8: James Madison Dukes (10)
9: Lehigh Mountain Hawks (11)
10: Illinois State Redbirds (13)
11: Maine Black Bears (14)
12: Montana State Bobcats (6)
13: Towson Tigers (15)
14: Stony Brook Seawolves (16)
15: Georgia Southern Eagles (2)
16: Wofford Terriers (18)
17: Montana Grizzlies (9)
18: Central Arkansas Bears (19)
19: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens (20)
20: Sacramento State Hornets (NR)
21: New Hampshire Wildcats (17)
22: Illinois State Redbirds (NR)
23: Indiana State Sycamores (24)
24: Southern Illinois Salukis (NR)
25: Norfolk State Spartans (NR)

I was harsher than most on the GSU and Montana losses (and the Montana State win at Drake), but imagine all will have plenty of room to improve in my poll.

[Smitty]

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: Sam Houston State Bearkats
3: Montana State Bobcats
4: Northern Iowa Panthers
5: Old Dominion Monarchs
6: James Madison Dukes
7: Appalachian State Mountaineers
8: Youngstown State Penguins
9: Eastern Washington Eagles
10: Wofford Terriers
11: New Hampshire Wildcats
12: Towson Tigers
13: Lehigh Mountain Hawks
14: Maine Black Bears
15: Stony Brook Seawolves
16: Georgia Southern Eagles
17: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
18: Illinois State Redbirds
19: McNeese State Cowboys
20: Montana Grizzlies
21: Cal Poly Mustangs
22: Central Arkansas Bears
23: Indiana State Sycamores
24: Albany Great Danes
25: Eastern Kentucky Colonels

[UNH Fanboi]

Not sure if I'm really sold on ODU as a top 3 team yet. Then again, I don't know who else I'd really put up there.

Also, Northern Iowa has a brutal schedule coming up. They've got Iowa next week, then YSU, then NDSU. They could conceivably be 1-4 without a D1 win or ranked #1 after some huge win after week 5.

[NoDak 4 Ever]

ODU at #3??? Seriously???
They've beat Hampton and Dusquesne. Next they face Campbell! Will they shoot up to #2?
(luckily #1 NDSU is idle)

I gave em 5. I basically moved everyone one up 1 and dropped GSU out. NDSU and Sam are logically where they are, and UNI almost beat Wisconsin so they have the stuff. I don't hate MSU up there but gave the benefit of the doubt before to GSU. Top 5 looks somewhat legit. Too few tough challenges to test the teams so far.

[Apphole]

It would be interesting to see if App is ranked higher on non-App fan polls.

Didn't vote but I'd have App no higher than 9 or 10.

Agreed. I'd go 9-10. Montana is Montana but they were still ranked lower than us and outside of the top ten on Saturday.

Come week 8, I expect to be a top 3 team.

[Fear the Bird]

I thought GSU would drop much further

[NoDak 4 Ever]

I thought GSU would drop much further

Citadel isn't Savannah State.

[frozennorth]

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: Sam Houston State Bearkats
3: Youngstown State Penguins
4: Stony Brook Seawolves
5: James Madison Dukes
6: Northern Iowa Panthers
7: Appalachian State Mountaineers
8: Eastern Washington Eagles
9: Illinois State Redbirds
10: New Hampshire Wildcats
11: Montana State Bobcats
12: Lehigh Mountain Hawks
13: Wofford Terriers
14: Georgia Southern Eagles
15: McNeese State Cowboys
16: Towson Tigers
17: Old Dominion Monarchs
18: Maine Black Bears
19: Cal Poly Mustangs
20: Indiana State Sycamores
21: Albany Great Danes
22: Bethune-Cookman Wildcats
23: Central Arkansas Bears
24: Eastern Kentucky Colonels
25: Jacksonville State Gamecocks

I forgot delaware again xconfusedx, and had the moderator insert them at 14, dropping everyone by 1. MSU and GSU both dropped significantly, and ISU-R and EWU got nice upward jumps. Montana, sdsu, jsu, und, nau are among my first out.

[RichH2]

Certainly more accurate thsn TSN.

[BlueHenSinfonian]

1: North Dakota State Bison (1)
2: Youngstown State Penguins (9)
3: Illinois State Redbirds (20)
4: Sam Houston State Bearkats (3)
5: Old Dominion Monarchs (6)
6: James Madison Dukes (8)
7: Montana State Bobcats (7)
8: Northern Iowa Panthers (4)
9: McNeese State Cowboys (16)
10: Lehigh Mountain Hawks (19)
11: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens (15)
12: Appalachian State Mountaineers (10)
13: Stony Brook Seawolves (18)
14: Albany Great Danes (NA)
15: Wofford Terriers (NA)
16: Montana Grizzlies (11)
17: Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (25)
18: Eastern Washington Eagles (13)
19: Maine Black Bears (7)
20: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks (22)
21: North Dakota Fighting Sioux (NA)
22: New Hampshire Wildcats (12)
23: Georgetown Hoyas (NA)
24: The Citadel Bulldogs (NA)
25: Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (NA)

Here is mine, with last weeks rank next to it. I shook it up a lot, and I realize that I moved down some teams which won. Until we're a couple weeks into conference play it's difficult to really get a good picture, so I don't 'slide' teams around much early on.

I'm also going for teams with winning records over even or losing records at this point, with some consideration to points on the board and quality of opponent. In the cold light of day I might have ranked the Hens a bit high.

[dbackjon]

Here's mine. I think anyone who can beat an FBS team get's some top 25 love. SFA and UTM supplanted Liberty and Chatty.

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: Sam Houston State Bearkats
3: Montana State Bobcats
4: Northern Iowa Panthers
5: Old Dominion Monarchs
6: James Madison Dukes
7: Appalachian State Mountaineers
8: Youngstown State Penguins
9: Wofford Terriers
10: Eastern Washington Eagles
11: Georgia Southern Eagles
12: Montana Grizzlies
13: New Hampshire Wildcats
14: Illinois State Redbirds
15: Towson Tigers
16: Lehigh Mountain Hawks
17: Maine Black Bears
18: Stony Brook Seawolves
19: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
20: McNeese State Cowboys
21: Central Arkansas Bears
22: Campbell Fighting Camels
23: Indiana State Sycamores
24: Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks
25: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks


Apologies to Cal Poly. I messed up the Drop down and gave the vote to Campbell. Probably the only one they got this week!


Except NAU and Sac State - both with FBS wins.

[dbackjon]

No love for FBS-beating NAU?

[Dane96]

UNLV is terrible.

[superman7515]

No love for FBS-beating NAU?

I had them in the 20-25 range after not having them on my radar at all Week 1. Even if they fall back out, I figure they at least deserved it this week.

[Sammy94]

Here is mine:

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: Sam Houston State Bearkats
3: Montana State Bobcats
4: Youngstown State Penguins
5: Northern Iowa Panthers
6: Old Dominion Monarchs
7: James Madison Dukes
8: Appalachian State Mountaineers
9: Stony Brook Seawolves
10: Eastern Washington Eagles
11: Georgia Southern Eagles
12: Wofford Terriers
13: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
14: Lehigh Mountain Hawks
15: Montana Grizzlies
16: Towson Tigers
17: McNeese State Cowboys
18: New Hampshire Wildcats
19: Maine Black Bears
20: Illinois State Redbirds
21: Central Arkansas Bears
22: Cal Poly Mustangs
23: Norfolk State Spartans
24: Indiana State Sycamores
25: Albany Great Danes

[BisonBacker]

ODU at #3??? Seriously???
They've beat Hampton and Dusquesne. Next they face Campbell! Will they shoot up to #2?
(luckily #1 NDSU is idle)
I have them at #5 in my poll.

[JMUNJ08]

No love for FBS-beating NAU?

East coast bias.... I totally missed they got the FBS win until I submitted

[UNIFanSince1983]

UNLV is terrible.

So is Eastern Michigan but plenty of people jumped Illinois State into the top 5 or 10 after beating them...

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[dbackjon]

UNLV is terrible.

So is Memphis, Colorado, Eastern Michigan :)

[asumike83]

Agreed, that is a good looking poll.

That's what she said?

[HensRock]

I dropped Delaware completely out of my Top 25.
I refuse to rank them again until they play some stiffer competition.
As usual, with this soft scheduling we'll have no idea how good they are until halfway through the season.
They could grow into a very competitive team this year, but right now they do not look like a top 25 contender IMO.

[frozennorth]

So is Eastern Michigan but plenty of people jumped Illinois State into the top 5 or 10 after beating them...

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

emu was 6-6 last year, unlv was 2-10. Also ISU was a little bit more convincing than NAU in it's larger margin of victory over a better team.

[Sammy94]

Hell, I didn't give SFA love after that beatdown SMU gave us. If I could give love to SFA's defense only, I would...they kept Gilbert from throwing much...too bad the Offense shot themselves in the foot every ****ing drive.

I would have thought you guys would of made it a game at least until halftime. I was hoping that Baylor would have a weaker team this year without RGIII and they killed SMU. I hope the Kats can keep it close this weekend, at least respectable. Sorry but the Jacks are not even in my top 30.

[WrenFGun]

I agree with those who said an FBS win merits top 25 slots. This early in the season when a lot of teams haven't played anyone makes me think they deserve it.

I thought ODU was over-ranked last year until I saw them play. I don't know if I'd have them above YSU, but Pitt does look awful.

I think UNH is properly ranked; they were soundly trounced by a mediocre Big Ten team and looked pretty lousy on special teams in particular. That said, I'm still not sure I understand similar teams like UD/UMaine above them when neither have beaten anyone as good as Holy Cross (and in Maine's case, anyone at all). It's probably still too early to only look at wins, though, so a lot of it is just preseason evaluation.

[unigriff]

1: North Dakota State Bison (1)
2: Youngstown State Penguins (9)
3: Illinois State Redbirds (20)
4: Sam Houston State Bearkats (3)
5: Old Dominion Monarchs (6)
6: James Madison Dukes (8)
7: Montana State Bobcats (7)
8: Northern Iowa Panthers (4)
9: McNeese State Cowboys (16)
10: Lehigh Mountain Hawks (19)
11: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens (15)
12: Appalachian State Mountaineers (10)
13: Stony Brook Seawolves (18)
14: Albany Great Danes (NA)
15: Wofford Terriers (NA)
16: Montana Grizzlies (11)
17: Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (25)
18: Eastern Washington Eagles (13)
19: Maine Black Bears (7)
20: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks (22)
21: North Dakota Fighting Sioux (NA)
22: New Hampshire Wildcats (12)
23: Georgetown Hoyas (NA)
24: The Citadel Bulldogs (NA)
25: Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (NA)

Here is mine, with last weeks rank next to it. I shook it up a lot, and I realize that I moved down some teams which won. Until we're a couple weeks into conference play it's difficult to really get a good picture, so I don't 'slide' teams around much early on.

I'm also going for teams with winning records over even or losing records at this point, with some consideration to points on the board and quality of opponent. In the cold light of day I might have ranked the Hens a bit high.

You drop a team 4 spots for playing a D11 team and winning 59-0 when they had no control over the opponent being put into that date slot? Wow. And promote a team 7 spots into the top 2 for beating a horrible Pitt team?

If tradition holds true the way you all are voting...UNI could be #1 after a win over Iowa this week.

[Screamin_Eagle174]

Here's mine. I think anyone who can beat an FBS team get's some top 25 love. SFA and UTM supplanted Liberty and Chatty.

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: Sam Houston State Bearkats
3: Montana State Bobcats
4: Northern Iowa Panthers
5: Old Dominion Monarchs
6: James Madison Dukes
7: Appalachian State Mountaineers
8: Youngstown State Penguins
9: Wofford Terriers
10: Eastern Washington Eagles
11: Georgia Southern Eagles
12: Montana Grizzlies
13: New Hampshire Wildcats
14: Illinois State Redbirds
15: Towson Tigers
16: Lehigh Mountain Hawks
17: Maine Black Bears
18: Stony Brook Seawolves
19: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
20: McNeese State Cowboys
21: Central Arkansas Bears
22: Campbell Fighting Camels
23: Indiana State Sycamores
24: Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks
25: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks


Apologies to Cal Poly. I messed up the Drop down and gave the vote to Campbell. Probably the only one they got this week!

Yet you left off Sac State and NAU, both who notched FBS wins.

[TheRevSFA]

I would have thought you guys would of made it a game at least until halftime. I was hoping that Baylor would have a weaker team this year without RGIII and they killed SMU. I hope the Kats can keep it close this weekend, at least respectable. Sorry but the Jacks are not even in my top 30.

It was 21-0 at the half. SFA's defense kept Gilbert from throwing. They had Zach Line get two rushing TDs, then they blocked a FG for a TD.

It doesn't help when your starting QB throw 4 picks, get injured, and your back up throws 3 picks. Plus the blocked FG, and a fumble for a TD..and a pick six...it was ugly by the SFA offense

I'd put our defense in the top 20...I'd put our offense below some DII schools after that charade

[theasushow]

Gotta love it when #24 gets a first place vote. That would be like Arizona getting a first place vote in the BCS....yeah I'm sure they are the top team in the nation. SMH.

[MTfan4life]

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: Sam Houston State Bearkats
3: James Madison Dukes
4: Appalachian State Mountaineers
5: Montana State Bobcats
6: Youngstown State Penguins
7: Illinois State Redbirds
8: Stony Brook Seawolves
9: Old Dominion Monarchs
10: Georgia Southern Eagles
11: Northern Iowa Panthers
12: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
13: Eastern Washington Eagles
14: Wofford Terriers
15: Lehigh Mountain Hawks
16: Towson Tigers
17: Montana Grizzlies
18: Indiana State Sycamores
19: The Citadel Bulldogs
20: Central Arkansas Bears
21: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
22: McNeese State Cowboys
23: Norfolk State Spartans
24: Eastern Kentucky Colonels
25: Cal Poly Mustangs

[Screamin_Eagle174]

1: North Dakota State Bison (1)
2: Youngstown State Penguins (9)
3: Illinois State Redbirds (20)
4: Sam Houston State Bearkats (3)
5: Old Dominion Monarchs (6)
6: James Madison Dukes (8)
7: Montana State Bobcats (7)
8: Northern Iowa Panthers (4)
9: McNeese State Cowboys (16)
10: Lehigh Mountain Hawks (19)
11: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens (15)
12: Appalachian State Mountaineers (10)
13: Stony Brook Seawolves (18)
14: Albany Great Danes (NA)
15: Wofford Terriers (NA)
16: Montana Grizzlies (11)
17: Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (25)
18: Eastern Washington Eagles (13)
19: Maine Black Bears (7)
20: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks (22)
21: North Dakota Fighting Sioux (NA)
22: New Hampshire Wildcats (12)
23: Georgetown Hoyas (NA)
24: The Citadel Bulldogs (NA)
25: Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (NA)

Here is mine, with last weeks rank next to it. I shook it up a lot, and I realize that I moved down some teams which won. Until we're a couple weeks into conference play it's difficult to really get a good picture, so I don't 'slide' teams around much early on.

I'm also going for teams with winning records over even or losing records at this point, with some consideration to points on the board and quality of opponent. In the cold light of day I might have ranked the Hens a bit high.

Contradict yourself much? You dropped EWU 5 spots for losing by 4 to a Pac-12 team? Wofford wasn't ranked before this week? Illinois state jumps 20 spots? Hard to take your poll seriously.

[Screamin_Eagle174]

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: Sam Houston State Bearkats
3: Youngstown State Penguins
4: Northern Iowa Panthers
5: Old Dominion Monarchs
6: Eastern Washington Eagles
7: Wofford Terriers
8: Appalachian State Mountaineers
9: James Madison Dukes
10: Illinois State Redbirds
11: Montana State Bobcats
12: McNeese State Cowboys
13: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
14: Stony Brook Seawolves
15: Lehigh Mountain Hawks
16: Montana Grizzlies
17: Georgia Southern Eagles
18: Central Arkansas Bears
19: Towson Tigers
20: Albany Great Danes
21: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
22: New Hampshire Wildcats
23: Norfolk State Spartans
24: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
25: Sacramento State Hornets

[RabidRabbit]

No love for FBS-beating NAU?

Sorry Jon missed that left coast FBS W. Keep it up, and next week, get NUA in. Congrats on the W.

[dbackjon]

emu was 6-6 last year, unlv was 2-10. Also ISU was a little bit more convincing than NAU in it's larger margin of victory over a better team.

Time will tell which is a better team - EMU has stunk it up badly this year. UNLV has lost two games by a field goal - to a what could be a decent Minnesota team.

This is one issue I have with early polls - too many people rely on past years performance, not enough on current year.

[dbackjon]

I agree with those who said an FBS win merits top 25 slots. This early in the season when a lot of teams haven't played anyone makes me think they deserve it.

I thought ODU was over-ranked last year until I saw them play. I don't know if I'd have them above YSU, but Pitt does look awful.

I think UNH is properly ranked; they were soundly trounced by a mediocre Big Ten team and looked pretty lousy on special teams in particular. That said, I'm still not sure I understand similar teams like UD/UMaine above them when neither have beaten anyone as good as Holy Cross (and in Maine's case, anyone at all). It's probably still too early to only look at wins, though, so a lot of it is just preseason evaluation.


NAU beat UNLV, a team that barely lost to Minnesota. Minnesota kicked the snot out of UNH.

But poll after poll has UNH ranked, but not NAU.

There is little to go on so far this season, but ACTUAL results should logically produce polls that have NAU ranked ahead of UNH, unless you think neither should be ranked at this time.

[dbackjon]

Sorry Jon missed that left coast FBS W. Keep it up, and next week, get NUA in. Congrats on the W.



Thanks.

NAU plays a DII team. If we don't win that game, no ranking is deserved :)

[DSUrocks07]

NAU beat UNLV, a team that barely lost to Minnesota. Minnesota kicked the snot out of UNH.

But poll after poll has UNH ranked, but not NAU.

There is little to go on so far this season, but ACTUAL results should logically produce polls that have NAU ranked ahead of UNH, unless you think neither should be ranked at this time.

I don't have UNH ranked, NAU is in with a group of teams that can definitely move into my Top 25 ballot next week with a D2 win. Gonna be a LOT more shuffling next week as more teams get their FBS games in.

[BlueHenSinfonian]

Contradict yourself much? You dropped EWU 5 spots for losing by 4 to a Pac-12 team? Wofford wasn't ranked before this week? Illinois state jumps 20 spots? Hard to take your poll seriously.

By no sliding I mean that I don't have a rule that says for example 'a win over a tanked FCS team is worth 1 slot up, a win vs FBS is worth 3 spots up, a loss bs an unranked team is three spots down, etc'. I just looked at overall records and take into account performance from last year and redo it each week until there is enough data for this season to let it stand on its own.

I didn't drop EWU for the loss as much as I saw that in re-evaluating the field that I felt other teams should go higher. At this point 2 D1 wins is most important, followed by 2 wins at any level, then 1-0 or 1-1 teams with victories over stronger teams, with FBS wins able to shake all of that up a bit, and BCS victories like YSU had being weighted higher than general FBS.

[BisonBacker]

By no sliding I mean that I don't have a rule that says for example 'a win over a tanked FCS team is worth 1 slot up, a win vs FBS is worth 3 spots up, a loss bs an unranked team is three spots down, etc'. I just looked at overall records and take into account performance from last year and redo it each week until there is enough data for this season to let it stand on its own.

I didn't drop EWU for the loss as much as I saw that in re-evaluating the field that I felt other teams should go higher. At this point 2 D1 wins is most important, followed by 2 wins at any level, then 1-0 or 1-1 teams with victories over stronger teams, with FBS wins able to shake all of that up a bit, and BCS victories like YSU had being weighted higher than general FBS.


Did you seriously jump one team 20 spots? Not trying to be overly critical but that's unheard of or at least should be I would say.

[UNH Fanboi]

NAU beat UNLV, a team that barely lost to Minnesota. Minnesota kicked the snot out of UNH.

But poll after poll has UNH ranked, but not NAU.

There is little to go on so far this season, but ACTUAL results should logically produce polls that have NAU ranked ahead of UNH, unless you think neither should be ranked at this time.

You can't rank teams purely based on 2012 results after only 2 games. It's just too small of a sample size to stand on its own and throw out last year's results. Are the Green Bay Packer tied for worst team in the NFL with 15 other teams because they are 0-1?

Yes, based solely on the UNH-Minn and NAU-UNLV games, NAU would appear to be the better team. NAU will have plenty of opportunity to prove that for sure in the next few weeks.

[narc]

ODU at #3??? Seriously???
They've beat Hampton and Dusquesne. Next they face Campbell! Will they shoot up to #2?
(luckily #1 NDSU is idle)

I suppose we can't all play West Chester (I keed). A #3 ranking is a bit surprising to me as well, anywhere between 15 and 5 seems appropriate given their level of competition and results thus far. These rankings are nice conversation topics but are meaningless until conference play begins.

[dbackjon]

You can't rank teams purely based on 2012 results after only 2 games. It's just too small of a sample size to stand on its own and throw out last year's results. Are the Green Bay Packer tied for worst team in the NFL with 15 other teams because they are 0-1?

Yes, based solely on the UNH-Minn and NAU-UNLV games, NAU would appear to be the better team. NAU will have plenty of opportunity to prove that for sure in the next few weeks.

Can't base solely on 2012, yes. But 2012 needs to start taking larger role than preseason guesses/2011 results.

[MTfan4life]

Not bad! My Week 2 votes:

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: Sam Houston State Bearkats
3: Northern Iowa Panthers
4: Youngstown State Penguins
5: Old Dominion Monarchs
6: Eastern Washington Eagles
7: Appalachian State Mountaineers
8: Montana State Bobcats
9: Georgia Southern Eagles
10: James Madison Dukes
11: Wofford Terriers
12: Montana Grizzlies
13: Stony Brook Seawolves
14: Lehigh Mountain Hawks
15: Illinois State Redbirds
16: Towson Tigers
17: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
18: New Hampshire Wildcats
19: Maine Black Bears
20: McNeese State Cowboys
21: Central Arkansas Bears
22: Cal Poly Mustangs
23: Indiana State Sycamores
24: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
25: Norfolk State Spartans

Not sold on the Citadel quite yet? I'm surprised a big time win over GaSouthern wouldn't garner a little more attention your way, especially considering Citadel competed so well last season in the SoCon. (4 conference losses by a TD or less and another by only 10)

[Pard4Life]

No love for Sac St? Lafayette with 44 votes... that may impove if we beat Penn and WM beats Towson.

[HensRock]

I suppose we can't all play West Chester (I keed). A #3 ranking is a bit surprising to me as well, anywhere between 15 and 5 seems appropriate given their level of competition and results thus far. These rankings are nice conversation topics but are meaningless until conference play begins.

I think your placement of ODU is realistic for the data we have thus far. I had them ranked 9th in my ballot. I also dropped UD completely out of Top 25 because they have not dominated lesser opponents (not talking about point-wise, but in play). Just impossible to rank them until they play some better competition. I feel sort of the same about ODU, but at least it looks like the Monarchs are dominating lesser opponents (at least points-wise). It's tough to go strictly on points though becuase some coaches will "call off the dogs" earlier than others.

BTW, West Chester would be a 2 TD favorite over Campbell (I don't keed xpeacex).

[ursus arctos horribilis]

Can't base solely on 2012, yes. But 2012 needs to start taking larger role than preseason guesses/2011 results.

Other than what we'd prefer to have in the sack with us our thoughts are very similar.

[Sammy94]

I'd put our defense in the top 20

If they go up there and beat MSU next week I'll put the Jacks back in my top 20.

[Twentysix]

If they go up there and beat MSU next week I'll put the Jacks back in my top 20.

Why? I had to talk myself into keeping MSU in my top 25. If SFA beats MSU and Indiana State Throttles Drake, then MSU better not even appear in the ORV category.

[Gil Dobie]

ODU at #3??? Seriously???
They've beat Hampton and Dusquesne. Next they face Campbell! Will they shoot up to #2?
(luckily #1 NDSU is idle)

UND plays a FBS, if they lose, NDSU will drop in most polls. ;)

[UNDColorado]

CSU is nothing special either. I was at the CU vs. Sac State game and let me tell you, CU is baaaaad this year. Good thing the Broncos have Peyton because pretty much all college ball in Colorado is down again this year.

[DSUrocks07]

Why? I had to talk myself into keeping MSU in my top 25. If SFA beats MSU and Indiana State Throttles Drake, then MSU better not even appear in the ORV category.

I think I may have MSU more highly ranked than they deserved (although they did drop from last week), if ISU-b handles Drake and the Cats struggle with SFA then MSU will drop further.

My key game this upcoming week is Liberty-Montana. Side note: Depending on how the Flames look and perform will determine if Norfolk gets into my Top 25.

[GoAgs72]

Due to my West Coast bias I did not have Cal Poly (1-0, weak opponent), Sac State (1-1, one good win but need to prevent what happened last year after Oregon State when I ranked them too high) or NAU (1-1, one good win, one bad loss) in my poll. If they win again, that will change my opinion. I did have Eastern Washington at #6.

[GreatAppSt]

Not my best effort but in the morning after my weekly third shift who knows what Im thinking.

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: Youngstown State Penguins
3: McNeese State Cowboys
4: Old Dominion Monarchs
5: Eastern Washington Eagles
6: James Madison Dukes
7: Central Arkansas Bears
8: Appalachian State Mountaineers
9: Wofford Terriers
10: New Hampshire Wildcats
11: Sam Houston State Bearkats
12: Montana Grizzlies
13: Montana State Bobcats
14: Northern Iowa Panthers
15: Maine Black Bears
16: Illinois State Redbirds
17: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
18: The Citadel Bulldogs
19: Sacramento State Hornets
20: Georgia Southern Eagles
21: Cal Poly Mustangs
22: Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles
23: Stony Brook Seawolves
24: Lehigh Mountain Hawks
25: Albany Great Danes


I'm normaly higher on HBCUs somehow I messed that upxrolleyesx and would have sworn I put the Sycamores in the 20 somethings must have lost em in a rearranging shuffle.xsmhx

[Engineer86]

I dropped Delaware completely out of my Top 25.
I refuse to rank them again until they play some stiffer competition.
As usual, with this soft scheduling we'll have no idea how good they are until halfway through the season.
They could grow into a very competitive team this year, but right now they do not look like a top 25 contender IMO.

You have my respect, I grow tired of weak ooc schedules.

[BEAR]

Not my best effort but in the morning after my weekly third shift who knows what Im thinking.

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: Youngstown State Penguins
3: McNeese State Cowboys
4: Old Dominion Monarchs
5: Eastern Washington Eagles
6: James Madison Dukes
7: Central Arkansas Bears
8: Appalachian State Mountaineers
9: Wofford Terriers
10: New Hampshire Wildcats
11: Sam Houston State Bearkats
12: Montana Grizzlies
13: Montana State Bobcats
14: Northern Iowa Panthers
15: Maine Black Bears
16: Illinois State Redbirds
17: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
18: The Citadel Bulldogs
19: Sacramento State Hornets
20: Georgia Southern Eagles
21: Cal Poly Mustangs
22: Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles
23: Stony Brook Seawolves
24: Lehigh Mountain Hawks
25: Albany Great Danes


I'm normaly higher on HBCUs somehow I messed that upxrolleyesx and would have sworn I put the Sycamores in the 20 somethings must have lost em in a rearranging shuffle.xsmhx

Oh my frick! Seriously? I'll give you a heads up. We did play great against Murray State. We played great up until the 4th quarter against Ole Miss. Bacone college should be no challenge next week. Sam Houston should look at us like we look at Bacon college though. If we happen to beat McNeese and SFA this year and run the table on the others, I'll give my Bears a top ten look, but after watching both games in person, NO WAY! Offense is good but our defense is swiss cheese. Offense sells tickets and defense wins championships..something I just don't think we have this year...top ten not this year. Top 25, maybe. But thanks for the votes!

[CID1990]

ALLRIGHT.

Who the hell gave El Cid that first place vote?

ASUG8 I bet.

[penguinpower]

Oh my frick! Seriously? I'll give you a heads up. We did play great against Murray State. We played great up until the 4th quarter against Ole Miss. Bacone college should be no challenge next week. Sam Houston should look at us like we look at Bacon college though. If we happen to beat McNeese and SFA this year and run the table on the others, I'll give my Bears a top ten look, but after watching both games in person, NO WAY! Offense is good but our defense is swiss cheese. Offense sells tickets and defense wins championships..something I just don't think we have this year...top ten not this year. Top 25, maybe. But thanks for the votes!

In Youngstown defense sells tickets. But offense is nice to have.

[MTfan4life]

I think I may have MSU more highly ranked than they deserved (although they did drop from last week), if ISU-b handles Drake and the Cats struggle with SFA then MSU will drop further.

My key game this upcoming week is Liberty-Montana. Side note: Depending on how the Flames look and perform will determine if Norfolk gets into my Top 25.

I don't like the idea of comparing the two Drake games because the Indiana State game will be on the road for Drake, and PFL teams show their true stereotyped colors on the road. (being awful is the stereotype)

I put Norfolk in the 25, I thought a road win over a usually quality team was pretty impressive and their program seems to be in a pretty good groove right now.

[WileECoyote06]

I don't like the idea of comparing the two Drake games because the Indiana State game will be on the road for Drake, and PFL teams show their true stereotyped colors on the road. (being awful is the stereotype)

I put Norfolk in the 25, I thought a road win over a usually quality team was pretty impressive and their program seems to be in a pretty good groove right now.

Rep Points!

[BlueHenSinfonian]

Did you seriously jump one team 20 spots? Not trying to be overly critical but that's unheard of or at least should be I would say.

I think I had Illinois State under-ranked the week before. There are three teams with 2 D1 wins one of which being against a FBS school - NDSU, YSU, and Illinois State. All three were formidable last year, and given the performance so far this year I felt they deserved to be at the top of the poll.

[GeauxLions94]

Here's mine ...

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: Sam Houston State Bearkats
3: Montana State Bobcats
4: James Madison Dukes
5: Old Dominion Monarchs
6: Youngstown State Penguins
7: Wofford Terriers
8: Northern Iowa Panthers
9: Appalachian State Mountaineers
10: Eastern Washington Eagles
11: Georgia Southern Eagles
12: Towson Tigers
13: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
14: Lehigh Mountain Hawks
15: Stony Brook Seawolves
16: Montana Grizzlies
17: McNeese State Cowboys
18: Illinois State Redbirds
19: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
20: New Hampshire Wildcats
21: Central Arkansas Bears
22: Cal Poly Mustangs
23: The Citadel Bulldogs
24: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
25: Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks

[1andDone]

Who voted The Citadel #1? I'm suprised I'm the only one who noticed.

[superman7515]

Who voted The Citadel #1? I'm suprised I'm the only one who noticed.

You're not. It's been mentioned about a half dozen times.

[CID1990]

Come on, G8.... Admit the love.

[ursus arctos horribilis]

You're not. It's been mentioned about a half dozen times.

I'm always surprised at the complete lack of pay attention combined with the absolute certainty of statements.

[Squealofthepig]

I'm always surprised at the complete lack of pay attention combined with the absolute certainty of statements.

Have you never met any of us? ;)

[OhioHen]

You can't rank teams purely based on 2012 results after only 2 games. It's just too small of a sample size to stand on its own and throw out last year's results.

OR....
You NEEDto rank teams based on this year's results (measurablr) and ignore both reputation and expectation. Just because (insert name of school here) "has always been good" doesn't mean they will have a great year this year. A simple "so-and-so has 17 returning starters from an 8-3 team" doesn't guarantee success.

[OhioHen]

Who voted The Citadel #1?

Someone who bases their poll SOLELY on this year's results and gives credit based on the perceived quality of the competition. El Cid is the ONLY team that has two relatively solid D-I wins with one of those teams having already won a game when they played them.

[Dane96]

Are you kidding me? I have The Citadel in my poll...but let's look at RESULTS:

1. Handily beat Charleston Southern, which is a team likely to reside in the bottom 10% of FCS this year and currently has been outscored 80-24 including a HOME LOSS throttling to a non-scholarship football team. This same Jacksonville team lost by 58 points to Georgia Southern.

The win over Charleston Southern does not register a beat.

2. Beat Georgia Southern. Let's split this: If we base this on Georgia Southern's performance to date, you can say The Citadel is equal to Georgia Southern because they both beat the same Charleston Southern team pretty badly.

So where does one place The Citadel with their one "strong" win? Well, if you base it on name recognition-- they beat GSU--then you move them way up the Top 25 ladder considering they were not in it to begin with. If you base it on the performance this year...you CANNOT compare this one win to other games played by other teams. Or...do you base it on pre-season slotting, which you said you don't do.

My question-- where did you rank The Citadel.

People need to start looking at ALL games...who did who to what...not just well...they are 2-0. If you are 1-1 with a solid insanely played game vs. another Top squad, e.g. App vs. Montana, and you hold also hold and FCS or FBS loss...to me...that gives more credibility to being in high up in the Top 25 than a team that destroyed a hapless team (Charleston) and beat another peer whose claim to fame this year is beating another team that beat the same hapless team.

Me thinks people really don't do a ton of research at all when doing their polls.

[OhioHen]

a team that destroyed a hapless team (Charleston) and beat another peer whose claim to fame this year is beating that same hapless team.

Me thinks people really don't do a ton of research at all when doing their polls.

Question for you - how did Georgia Southern and The Citadel beat the same hapless team in week 1? And you're asking others to do THEIR research?

[darell1976]

Here is mine:

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: Sam Houston State Bearkats
3: Appalachian State Mountaineers
4: Montana State Bobcats
5: Northern Iowa Panthers
6: Old Dominion Monarchs
7: James Madison Dukes
8: Youngstown State Penguins
9: Georgia Southern Eagles
10: Wofford Terriers
11: Lehigh Mountain Hawks
12: Stony Brook Seawolves
13: Montana Grizzlies
14: Towson Tigers
15: Eastern Washington Eagles
16: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
17: New Hampshire Wildcats
18: Illinois State Redbirds
19: McNeese State Cowboys
20: Maine Black Bears
21: Central Arkansas Bears
22: Cal Poly Mustangs
23: Illinois State Redbirds
24: Norfolk State Spartans
25: North Dakota Fighting Sioux

[Dane96]

"Question for you - how did Georgia Southern and The Citadel beat the same hapless team in week 1? And you're asking others to do THEIR research?"

Oh let me clarify since my venom was flowing at your polling process that I forgot to add a key word or two. Here it is for the one poster who apparently is living on a different planet than all other posters:

GSU's core win was over Jacksonville...who smoked Charleston Southern. Charleston Southern's been smoked by all. So...throw out any win as "important" if it was directly or transitively related to Charleston Southern and you are left with:

The Citadel beat Georiga Southern= Someone voting that as enough to be the Number 1 team in the nation.

Easier for you to understand now?

Funny thing...your reply deflects exactly a pertinent question that you CANNOT answer.

How is THE CITADEL the number 1 team in the land? How could you possibly come to that conclusion.

[Gil Dobie]

OR....
You NEEDto rank teams based on this year's results (measurablr) and ignore both reputation and expectation. Just because (insert name of school here) "has always been good" doesn't mean they will have a great year this year. A simple "so-and-so has 17 returning starters from an 8-3 team" doesn't guarantee success.

It's a combination of previous years results, players coming back, strength of schedule and this years results.

[Twentysix]

Here is mine:

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: Sam Houston State Bearkats
3: Appalachian State Mountaineers
4: Montana State Bobcats
5: Northern Iowa Panthers
6: Old Dominion Monarchs
7: James Madison Dukes
8: Youngstown State Penguins
9: Georgia Southern Eagles
10: Wofford Terriers
11: Lehigh Mountain Hawks
12: Stony Brook Seawolves
13: Montana Grizzlies
14: Towson Tigers
15: Eastern Washington Eagles
16: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
17: New Hampshire Wildcats
18: Illinois State Redbirds
19: McNeese State Cowboys
20: Maine Black Bears
21: Central Arkansas Bears
22: Cal Poly Mustangs
23: Illinois State Redbirds
24: Norfolk State Spartans
25: North Dakota Fighting Sioux

Both of your illinois state redbirds are ranked 10 spots to low minimum. I can't honestly see how you can rank Montana state #4. The rest of it I have minor issues with but its not too bad.

Cannot believe people are praising a poll with montana state having a #1 vote.

[penguinpower]

Both of your illinois state redbirds are ranked 10 spots to low minimum. I can't honestly see how you can rank Montana state #4. The rest of it I have minor issues with but its not too bad.

Cannot believe people are praising a poll with montana state having a #1 vote.

Agree

[darell1976]

Both of your illinois state redbirds are ranked 10 spots to low minimum. I can't honestly see how you can rank Montana state #4. The rest of it I have minor issues with but its not too bad.

Cannot believe people are praising a poll with montana state having a #1 vote.

Why can't Montana St be #4?

[frozennorth]

Why can't Montana St be #4?

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=322522181

being down to a non-scholarship team in the fourth quarter is not something ranked teams do, definitely not something that top 5 teams do, and absolutely not something the #1 team does.

[superman7515]

Really? Because Colgate, Lehigh, and others certainly had some Top 5 teams on the ropes in years past.

[NoDak 4 Ever]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=322522181

being down to a non-scholarship team in the fourth quarter is not something ranked teams do, definitely not something that top 5 teams do, and absolutely not something the #1 team does.

I don't agree. One of the hallmarks of scholly teams (and greater numbers of schollys per team) is depth. A team can start fast but run out of gas which tends to happen. Look at MoState's game against K State. They gave up 35 in the 4th quarter making the game a total blowout.

A win is a win.

[darell1976]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=322522181

being down to a non-scholarship team in the fourth quarter is not something ranked teams do, definitely not something that top 5 teams do, and absolutely not something the #1 team does.

I thought what counts in polls are wins and losses. Not what time did the ranked team trail the unranked team. Thats a new one to me.

[superman7515]

I thought what counts in polls are wins and losses. Not what time did the ranked team trail the unranked team. Thats a new one to me.

Just read these threads, there are all sort of unwritten rules about where other people will allow you to rank teams on your ballot. Haha

[darell1976]

Just read these threads, there are all sort of unwritten rules about where other people will allow you to rank teams on your ballot. Haha

This one by Frozennorth makes no sense. How dare a ranked team trail a non-schollie. So if Prairie View hangs with NDSU but loses it late in the game maybe I should knock NDSU from the top 5.

[UNIFanSince1983]

The problem with polls is that are voted on by biased people. This poll gets bad because some people are much more biased than others. Some people look at a team and say well they always struggle in the postseason and don't vote them as high. Or they say this team was good last year and is usually tough and then over inflates their ranking. Also some people end up being prisoners of the moment and will over rank a team based on their most recent game. From time to time teams will struggle and someone will get beat or play a close game with someone they shouldn't. Clearly a lot of people overreacted this week in relation to Montana State and The Citadel.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[asumike83]

In spite of some voter bias, I still think this is the best FCS Top 25 poll out there.

[No_Skill]

This one by Frozennorth makes no sense. How dare a ranked team trail a non-schollie. So if Prairie View hangs with NDSU but loses it late in the game maybe I should knock NDSU from the top 5.

Yes...absolutely, yes.

[darell1976]

Yes...absolutely, yes.

Well not to worry I doubt PV will lead NDSU unless its a 3-0 lead in the first or something like that. I see this game a carbon copy of the RMU game.

[theasushow]

Someone who bases their poll SOLELY on this year's results and gives credit based on the perceived quality of the competition. El Cid is the ONLY team that has two relatively solid D-I wins with one of those teams having already won a game when they played them.

OR it's some over emotional diehard Citadel fan who is jumping at the mere opportunity to vote their team number 1 (since they havent had a win that big in years)....regardless at how ridiculous it would be to have a team ENTER the polls at #1. When it's all said and done at the end of the season...The Citadel did in fact, garner a first place vote this season. It was a fantastic win, but to enter the polls at the top spot is absurd.

[frozennorth]

This one by Frozennorth makes no sense. How dare a ranked team trail a non-schollie. So if Prairie View hangs with NDSU but loses it late in the game maybe I should knock NDSU from the top 5.

Absolutely.

[DJKyR0]

Well not to worry I doubt PV will lead NDSU unless its a 3-0 lead in the first or something like that. I see this game a carbon copy of the RMU game.

...which the top team in the FCS, by rights, should provide. If we're not able to smash the RMUs and PVAMUs on our schedule, we don't deserve the top ranking. This is how polls are supposed to work, by my reckoning.

[Twentysix]

In spite of some voter bias, I still think this is the best FCS Top 25 poll out there.

That I agree with. MSU being voted #1 is complete bedlam, even if its one poll.

And yes darell. If NDSU is losing to PVAM in the late 3rd or even the 4th qtr you should drop us out of the top 10. PVAM is not a great team, neither is drake.

[citdog]

Gotta love it when #24 gets a first place vote. That would be like Arizona getting a first place vote in the BCS....yeah I'm sure they are the top team in the nation. SMH.


it wasn't from me either!

no homer


or homo

[theasushow]

it wasn't from me either!

no homer


or homo


haha...like i said before, awesome win, im scared to death about saturdays game now.

[HensRock]

My question-- where did you rank The Citadel.

Simple - right below Georgia Southern. Consider: El Cid won by 2 on their home field. If you apply the normal 3+ point home advantage, that says that GSU would have won by 1 on a neutral field - that's pretty close. Anyway, that's where I ranked them.

[Twentysix]

Ranked cit 15 and gsu 21. I expect cit to drop, possibly even out of the poll entirely after a few weeks.

[theasushow]

I think The Citadel is right where they need to be...we will know more after the ASU game. I remember a couple years ago when JMU beat VT we all put them towards the top after 1 victory, and i think they ended up going 6-5 or 7-4 and didnt even make the playoffs. I learned my lesson that year about impulsive voting.

[Twentysix]

I think The Citadel is right where they need to be...we will know more after the ASU game. I remember a couple years ago when JMU beat VT we all put them towards the top after 1 victory, and i think they ended up going 6-5 or 7-4 and didnt even make the playoffs. I learned my lesson that year about impulsive voting.

There just isn't enough data to call a week 2 poll impulsive. A lack of data should create large swings in placing imo. Its a scatter plot with 2 points atm. It should and will become more accurate as more games are played. (Unless you mean a cit #1 vote, that is impulsive, and ridiculous)

[asumike83]

Albany and The Citadel were my 'last two out', although the Bulldogs could prove me wrong this weekend.

[CID1990]

Sure is a lot of ink being spilled over what was obviously a joke vote.

Seriously, I am nearly convinced it was either one of the ASU voters or one of the GSU voters (for different reasons).

Of course nobody thinks El Cid is the best team in the country.

[OhioHen]

Funny thing...your reply deflects exactly a pertinent question that you CANNOT answer.

How is THE CITADEL the number 1 team in the land? How could you possibly come to that conclusion.

WINS get points in my system. LOSSES get no points (lose a close game to Alabama - get zero points).

Points are based on conference affiliation and my perceived strength of that conference as a whole (yes this has limitations as, for example, St. Francis counts the same as Albany). There are some exceptions (like downgrading Georgia State one level) but I don't have time to correct EVERY aberration.

Points are adjusted upward based on wins a team has at the time it was beaten.

Early in the season (until teams have played enough games to mitigate the severity of the impact of FBS and lower division games), my poll looks REALLY strange (even to me). My method puts Albany at #5 this week. By the end of the season last year, the method correctly predicted EVERY at large playoff team and all eight teams that received a bye were in my top 8. Not true of the AGS poll overall.

Now - specifically to how The Citadel is #1 at the end of week 2.

Beat Charleston Southern - 4 points based on Big South champion having a playoff bye last year. Does this over-value Chuck South? Probably but...
Beat Georgia Southern - 4.1 points based on SoCon champion having a bye and GaSo having one win.
Total 8.1 points, adjusted by averaging all games played and multiplying by 10 (to put everyone on a standard scale accounting for byes) = 40.5

No other team has better than 40 points (Lafayette, based on one game).

Youngstown State as another example
Beat Pittsburgh - 5 points based on BCS conference
Beat Valparaiso - 2 points based on Pioneer Conference
Total 7 points, adjusts to = 35.

Albany also has 35 points in my system. North Dakota State only has 30.5. I don't claim that my system is perfect, nor do I like what my poll looks like early in the season based on it, but I stick by it because over the long haul it works (and the only assumption made is in assigning numeric values to teams based on their conference). Think of it like a Sagarin rating without artificial starting numbers (everyone starts at zero).

[OhioHen]

OR it's some over emotional diehard Citadel fan who is jumping at the mere opportunity to vote their team number 1 (since they havent had a win that big in years)....regardless at how ridiculous it would be to have a team ENTER the polls at #1. When it's all said and done at the end of the season...The Citadel did in fact, garner a first place vote this season. It was a fantastic win, but to enter the polls at the top spot is absurd.

Who said that The Citadel entered the voter's poll at #1? Perhaps they were in the same voter's poll the previous week. xsmiley_wix

[OhioHen]

There just isn't enough data to call a week 2 poll impulsive. A lack of data should create large swings in placing imo. Its a scatter plot with 2 points atm. It should and will become more accurate as more games are played. (Unless you mean a cit #1 vote, that is impulsive, and ridiculous)


Sure is a lot of ink being spilled over what was obviously a joke vote.

Seriously, I am nearly convinced it was either one of the ASU voters or one of the GSU voters (for different reasons).

Of course nobody thinks El Cid is the best team in the country.

No, the vote did not come from ASU or GSU (and could not have come from The Citadel because a lone #1 from a homer is not counted).

Not a joke vote - very real based on a numeric value system (see brief explanation in post #115 of this thread).

Do I "think" The Citadel is the best team in the country? Can't say - haven't seen everybody live or on TV. But my system (which works well once teams have played 4-5 games each) spit them out at the top team based on first two weeks results.

[theasushow]

Who said that The Citadel entered the voter's poll at #1? Perhaps they were in the same voter's poll the previous week. xsmiley_wix

Touche, I guess the previous weeks win over Chuck South did warrant top 25 consideration.

[OhioHen]

Touche, I guess the previous weeks win over Chuck South did warrant top 25 consideration.

More so than ANY loss.

[OhioHen]

I don't claim that my system is perfect, ... but I stick by it because over the long haul it works

Looked back at last year's poll results. You may recall that in the final (Week 12) regular season poll last year, Sam Houston State was ranked #1. The earliest that any other poll member ranked the Bearkats #1 was Week 9 (three total #1 votes that week). My system identified them as #1 beginning with Week 5 (and I was questioned about it by the poll committee). I stuck to my system and it proved to be right (until the championship game).

This doesn't mean that my #1 for The Citadel this week will turn out to be a brilliant vote (I have my doubts just like the rest of you). And yes, my submission was questioned by the committee - they are doing their job.

BUT... no other member of the poll got the final regular season #1 right anywhere near as early last year.

[PantherRob82]

Really? Because Colgate, Lehigh, and others certainly had some Top 5 teams on the ropes in years past.

Lehigh and Colgate are MUCH different than Drake.

[PantherRob82]

I think the wins and losses argument is funny. This is a Top 25 poll. The teams you think are the 25 best teams in FCS football. It is NOT a Top 25 in the Wins Column poll.

For example:
On Sept 22nd UNI and YSU play:
4 Northern Iowa Panthers 2221
5 Youngstown State Penguins 2211 (1)

Even if this game plays out to be 21-20, or go to OT, some people who vote will automatically slide the loser X number of slots because they lost.

Sometimes a game being played can show your poll is accurate.

If the #3 team in the country 6 weeks in has some good wins, and then beats your #7 team by a FG, to me that shows the #7 team was probably slotted right. xthumbsupx

[DSUrocks07]

I think the wins and losses argument is funny. This is a Top 25 poll. The teams you think are the 25 best teams in FCS football. It is NOT a Top 25 in the Wins Column poll.

For example:
On Sept 22nd UNI and YSU play:
4 Northern Iowa Panthers 2221
5 Youngstown State Penguins 2211 (1)

Even if this game plays out to be 21-20, or go to OT, some people who vote will automatically slide the loser X number of slots because they lost.

Sometimes a game being played can show your poll is accurate.

If the #3 team in the country 6 weeks in has some good wins, and then beats your #7 team by a FG, to me that shows the #7 team was probably slotted right. xthumbsupx

xoutofrepx

[UNH Fanboi]

I think the wins and losses argument is funny. This is a Top 25 poll. The teams you think are the 25 best teams in FCS football. It is NOT a Top 25 in the Wins Column poll.

For example:
On Sept 22nd UNI and YSU play:
4 Northern Iowa Panthers 2221
5 Youngstown State Penguins 2211 (1)

Even if this game plays out to be 21-20, or go to OT, some people who vote will automatically slide the loser X number of slots because they lost.

Sometimes a game being played can show your poll is accurate.

If the #3 team in the country 6 weeks in has some good wins, and then beats your #7 team by a FG, to me that shows the #7 team was probably slotted right. xthumbsupx

I generally agree, but at a certain point there has to be a balancing act between ranking based on results and who is the "best" team. A team could theoretically be a 9:1 favorite over every team in FCS yet still lose every game (probability of (.1)^11). Also, if Team A and Team B have similar resumes but Team A gets really lucky and to beat Team B head-to-head, you still have to rank Team A higher, even though Team B may be the better team in theory.

[Twentysix]

I generally agree, but at a certain point there has to be a balancing act between ranking based on results and who is the "best" team. A team could theoretically be a 9:1 favorite over every team in FCS yet still lose every game (probability of (.1)^11). Also, if Team A and Team B have similar resumes but Team A gets really lucky and to beat Team B head-to-head, you still have to rank Team A higher, even though Team B may be the better team in theory.

And that is disregarding the fact that college football is scripted. :)

[Dane96]

WINS get points in my system. LOSSES get no points (lose a close game to Alabama - get zero points).

Points are based on conference affiliation and my perceived strength of that conference as a whole (yes this has limitations as, for example, St. Francis counts the same as Albany). There are some exceptions (like downgrading Georgia State one level) but I don't have time to correct EVERY aberration.

Points are adjusted upward based on wins a team has at the time it was beaten.

Early in the season (until teams have played enough games to mitigate the severity of the impact of FBS and lower division games), my poll looks REALLY strange (even to me). My method puts Albany at #5 this week. By the end of the season last year, the method correctly predicted EVERY at large playoff team and all eight teams that received a bye were in my top 8. Not true of the AGS poll overall.

Now - specifically to how The Citadel is #1 at the end of week 2.

Beat Charleston Southern - 4 points based on Big South champion having a playoff bye last year. Does this over-value Chuck South? Probably but...
Beat Georgia Southern - 4.1 points based on SoCon champion having a bye and GaSo having one win.
Total 8.1 points, adjusted by averaging all games played and multiplying by 10 (to put everyone on a standard scale accounting for byes) = 40.5

No other team has better than 40 points (Lafayette, based on one game).

Youngstown State as another example
Beat Pittsburgh - 5 points based on BCS conference
Beat Valparaiso - 2 points based on Pioneer Conference
Total 7 points, adjusts to = 35.

Albany also has 35 points in my system. North Dakota State only has 30.5. I don't claim that my system is perfect, nor do I like what my poll looks like early in the season based on it, but I stick by it because over the long haul it works (and the only assumption made is in assigning numeric values to teams based on their conference). Think of it like a Sagarin rating without artificial starting numbers (everyone starts at zero).

The Big South didn't have a playoff bye... they beat the NEC champ in the last seconds with an endzone interception, winning by 3.

But sure...you keep on truckin...

[Dane96]

I think the wins and losses argument is funny. This is a Top 25 poll. The teams you think are the 25 best teams in FCS football. It is NOT a Top 25 in the Wins Column poll.

For example:
On Sept 22nd UNI and YSU play:
4 Northern Iowa Panthers 2221
5 Youngstown State Penguins 2211 (1)

Even if this game plays out to be 21-20, or go to OT, some people who vote will automatically slide the loser X number of slots because they lost.

Sometimes a game being played can show your poll is accurate.

If the #3 team in the country 6 weeks in has some good wins, and then beats your #7 team by a FG, to me that shows the #7 team was probably slotted right. xthumbsupx

Solid Reasoning!

[superman7515]

The Big South didn't have a playoff bye... they beat the NEC champ in the last seconds with an endzone interception, winning by 3.

But sure...you keep on truckin...

I thought they won with a touchdown with almost 13 minutes left in the game. Had to go back to the box score, doesn't look like they scored at all in the last minute or on an interception, so they didn't win in the last minute, the NEC team just failed to win in the last minute.

[OhioHen]

The Big South didn't have a playoff bye...

Error noted. Liberty's accomplishment was the previous year. My data will have to be adjusted. Too late to change this week's poll, but will be reflected in future submissions. For the record - even dropping Big South values by a point each, the same 25 teams would have been in my top 25 with minor placement modifications. I would have been beaten up over Lafayette being #1 instead of for The Citadel being there.

Thank you for helping make my data better the rest of the season (and I have corrected the data for the first two weeks).

[Dane96]

I thought they won with a touchdown with almost 13 minutes left in the game. Had to go back to the box score, doesn't look like they scored at all in the last minute or on an interception, so they didn't win in the last minute, the NEC team just failed to win in the last minute.

Fair.

[PantherRob82]

I generally agree, but at a certain point there has to be a balancing act between ranking based on results and who is the "best" team. A team could theoretically be a 9:1 favorite over every team in FCS yet still lose every game (probability of (.1)^11). Also, if Team A and Team B have similar resumes but Team A gets really lucky and to beat Team B head-to-head, you still have to rank Team A higher, even though Team B may be the better team in theory.

I agree. I wouldn't rank UNI higher than YSU that week if UNI won, even if I thought UNI should have won. There has to be a balancing act between results and quality of play. I still think JMU's 6-5 year was much better than many of the 9-2 or 8-3 teams getting ranked. They lost 4-5 games by a combined 10-12 points.

[Silenoz]

This one by Frozennorth makes no sense. How dare a ranked team trail a non-schollie. So if Prairie View hangs with NDSU but loses it late in the game maybe I should knock NDSU from the top 5.

Probably...

And I agree almost completely with Rob. Montana dropped behind Delaware (beat a terrible MEAC and a DII) and Towson (bye after a MAC thrashing) in some polls after that App State loss. That makes no sense to me. The polls should be a balance of what you think the best teams are, and how well they've performed.

[Tribal]

Mine

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: Sam Houston State Bearkats
3: Montana State Bobcats
4: Youngstown State Penguins
5: Northern Iowa Panthers
6: Appalachian State Mountaineers
7: Wofford Terriers
8: James Madison Dukes
9: Eastern Washington Eagles
10: Illinois State Redbirds
11: Old Dominion Monarchs
12: Georgia Southern Eagles
13: Stony Brook Seawolves
14: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
15: Montana Grizzlies
16: Towson Tigers
17: McNeese State Cowboys
18: New Hampshire Wildcats
19: Lehigh Mountain Hawks
20: Indiana State Sycamores
21: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
22: Maine Black Bears
23: Norfolk State Spartans
24: Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks
25: Eastern Kentucky Colonels

[Screamin_Eagle174]

I generally agree, but at a certain point there has to be a balancing act between ranking based on results and who is the "best" team. A team could theoretically be a 9:1 favorite over every team in FCS yet still lose every game (probability of (.1)^11). Also, if Team A and Team B have similar resumes but Team A gets really lucky and to beat Team B head-to-head, you still have to rank Team A higher, even though Team B may be the better team in theory.

JFC that's stupid. Your examples are based purely off of subjectivity.

[Squealofthepig]

JFC that's stupid. Your examples are based purely off of subjectivity.

Well, to be fair, we have to have some subjectivity - I mean, the Eagles last year were one hell of a team even when they were 0-3. Going purely objectively, you'd put them way at the bottom, but subjectively, you were still worthy of top 25 votes.

We all have to strive for some balance of objectivity/subjectivity, but where each voter draws the line each week is up to them (and to be fair, I went more objective than subjective this week than last year at this time).

[UNH Fanboi]

JFC that's stupid. Your examples are based purely off of subjectivity.

What exactly do you disagree with?

[WileECoyote06]

Error noted. Liberty's accomplishment was the previous year. My data will have to be adjusted. Too late to change this week's poll, but will be reflected in future submissions. For the record - even dropping Big South values by a point each, the same 25 teams would have been in my top 25 with minor placement modifications. I would have been beaten up over Lafayette being #1 instead of for The Citadel being there.

Thank you for helping make my data better the rest of the season (and I have corrected the data for the first two weeks).

That was Coastal Carolina in 2010. They hosted and lost to Western Illinois in the first round of the playoffs. I remember because many people thought Coastal would be sent to SCSU, but actually Statesboro is closer to Orangeburg than Conway. Liberty has yet to advance to the playoffs.

FYI. . . .

[superman7515]

Everyone was right. Clearly The Citadel this week is not looking like a team people should have been giving top ten votes to, certainly not a #1.

[Dane96]

Yawn.

You miss the point.

Now, any argument to the contrary is just silly this week b/c the Citadel is looking really gd.

[dbackjon]

Some people need to be eating crow about the Citadel...

And Kudos to OhioHen

[Dane96]

He lucked out.

His reasoning was bull****...and is akin to SAGRIN's...self-admittedly.

That said, the Citadel is the real deal.

[Twentysix]

Some people need to be eating crow about the Citadel...

And Kudos to OhioHen

That games is #15 vs #18 in my poll. Citadel will probably move up to around 10 possibly higher, depending on other teams. ASU probably will drop from 18 to 25 or out of the poll.