LFN Top 25

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Tis the season...

http://lehighfootballnation.blogspot.com/2015/05/lfns-fcs-top-25.html

One guy's opinion.

[NoDak 4 Ever]

Even with all these great top teams, it's awfully hard to go against the three-time defending champions....Though it seems inconceivable guys like Vraa might graduate with four national championship rings



http://bloggar.nwt.se/genusbooden/files/2014/06/wait-what.jpg

A few guys did graduate with 4 rings. Vraa has a chance at 5

[RichH2]

Not bad. I can hear the cries of "eastern bias"echoing thru the halls. :)

[Lehigh Football Nation]

http://bloggar.nwt.se/genusbooden/files/2014/06/wait-what.jpg

A few guys did graduate with 4 rings. Vraa has a chance at 5

Gah! That goof has been fixed.

[Daytripper]

Not bad. I can hear the cries of "eastern bias"echoing thru the halls. :)
We are too busy trying to dog paddle our way home to care.

[NoDak 4 Ever]

Gah! That goof has been fixed.

Vraa still already has 4 rings. He will be going for number 5 this year.

[SU DOG]

First one to list Samford in the top 25, but it won't be the last.

[knucklehead]

CCU at #2 preseason. As a Big South guy, I like it. We will see, but I think I'd have them more like #5 or #6 right now.

[Go Lehigh TU owl]

Overall, pretty good...

Fordham, imo, is overrated. Nebrich/Jones and Moore had a rapport dating back to their UConn days. That won't be the case with the Marshall QB. They have the potential to be pretty good. It's not like they were a truly elite team last year; solid Top 20, fringe Top 15. This year they'll be fringe Top 25. You're suggesting they'll be as good or better than last year which I find hard to believe....

Montana is underrated. Delaney did a great job keeping the ship from sinking but a fresh face will do wonders for the 'Griz. They're like JMU last year but with more home-grown/in-house talent. Montana will be darn good this year. In fact, this might be the best year for Montana football in quite some time. I'd have the BSC Montana, Montana State then EWU...

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Overall, pretty good...

Fordham, imo, is overrated. Nebrich/Jones and Moore had a rapport dating back to their UConn days. That won't be the case with the Marshall QB. They have the potential to be pretty good. It's not like they were a truly elite team last year; solid Top 20, fringe Top 15. This year they'll be fringe Top 25. You're suggesting they'll be as good or better than last year which I find hard to believe....

Montana is underrated. Delaney did a great job keeping the ship from sinking but a fresh face will do wonders for the 'Griz. They're like JMU last year but with more home-grown/in-house talent. Montana will be darn good this year. In fact, this might be the best year for Montana football in quite some time. I'd have the BSC Montana, Montana State then EWU...

Interesting about Montana. Hard to put them very high because they lose a ton. A lot of it is faith that they'll have a solid team this season with new faces. As you can see, I see them as a Top 25 team despite the challenges.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Fordham has Villanova and Army in consecutive weeks to open the season. If they're overrated they should be blown out in both games. We'll see.

[Go Lehigh TU owl]

Interesting about Montana. Hard to put them very high because they lose a ton. A lot of it is faith that they'll have a solid team this season with new faces. As you can see, I see them as a Top 25 team despite the challenges.

They do lose a lot but they had a very good talent base imo to work from. Delaney was a solid coach but not the guy to get the 'Griz to the next level. Montana's schedule also sets up well. NDSU, Cal Poly, NAU and EWU all visit Missoula. The Brawl is in Bozeman this year which should be their toughest road game....

[Go Lehigh TU owl]

Fordham has Villanova and Army in consecutive weeks to open the season. If they're overrated they should be blown out in both games. We'll see.

They can't do any worse then the 50-6 debacle last year against Villanova. The Wildcats usually play really well in their openers under Talley.

[Gangtackle11]

Nova opens up @ UConn on 9/3 then has 9 days off till Fordham game 9/12.

[Catatonic]

SLC: A theme emerging from early polls--Beyond ShSU, it's anyone's guess about potential top 25 teams. Depending on which poll you consult, SELA, McNeese, SFA, UCA or Northwestern State could finish second to SAM. And Abilene Christian is a dark horse "break out" candidate.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

SLC: A theme emerging from early polls--Beyond ShSU, it's anyone's guess about potential top 25 teams. Depending on which poll you consult, SELA, McNeese, SFA, UCA or Northwestern State could finish second to SAM. And Abilene Christian is a dark horse "break out" candidate.

Agreed - SLC teams were hard to gauge. Ultimately it looked like SFA had the best chance to me to be Top 25 worthy early on, though I've got my eye on SELA, McNeese.. and ACU, too.

[Tribe4SF]

Glad to see the Tribe here. For the first time in seven years we return a starting QB, and he looked much better during Spring. Questions for the team are WR depth, and DE. OL should be very good with all five starters, and three others with starting experience returning.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Glad to see the Tribe here. For the first time in seven years we return a starting QB, and he looked much better during Spring. Questions for the team are WR depth, and DE. OL should be very good with all five starters, and three others with starting experience returning.

The Tribe are very intriguing to me, with returning starters at both QB and RB as well as their always-strong secondary. They also get UNH at home.

[Fordham]

Ugh. LFN, don't need you pumping up the Rams (but thanks). Would prefer to see Bucknell in your top 25 to represent the PL and have us sneak up on people.

We are truly an unknown. So much experience to replace. There's no way that happens seamlessly. We have talent but it could take a little bit for us to find our footing

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Bucknell sadly is still a show-me team. Personally I think they would have been a shoo-in in the Top 25 if they hadn't dropped their final game last year vs. Colgate. I can see them getting into the Top 25 during the season with a good showing.

[BucBisonAtLarge]

Bucknell is definitely a 'show me' team, and even an end-of-season win against Colgate would not put the Bison into the top-25. Undefeated after Lehigh this season-- that might be interesting but not compelling given the strength of schedule.

Youngstown State, however, is missing from this list and I would like to hear that explained.

[mmiller_34]

SDSU will probably drop a bit from last year. But to drop completely out of the top 25?

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Bucknell is definitely a 'show me' team, and even an end-of-season win against Colgate would not put the Bison into the top-25. Undefeated after Lehigh this season-- that might be interesting but not compelling given the strength of schedule.

Youngstown State, however, is missing from this list and I would like to hear that explained.


SDSU will probably drop a bit from last year. But to drop completely out of the top 25?

SIU > YSU and SDSU, IMO. YSU and SDSU will have a lot of adjustment period, YSU with the new coach, and SDSU with so much leaving. SIU was down a bit last year but are better suited to be a Top 25 team.

[mvemjsunpx]

They do lose a lot but they had a very good talent base imo to work from. Delaney was a solid coach but not the guy to get the 'Griz to the next level. Montana's schedule also sets up well. NDSU, Cal Poly, NAU and EWU all visit Missoula. The Brawl is in Bozeman this year which should be their toughest road game....

Montana could've been at the "next level" last season if they hadn't lost Schmaing, Poole, Henderson, & Naccarato. Three of those four should be ready to go in August.

And it's Derek Crittenden, not David. I'm not sure why he's the one that needs to lead the defense, though. There are several Griz defenders that are more highly touted than him; he wasn't even a starter last year.

[mmiller_34]

SIU > YSU and SDSU, IMO. YSU and SDSU will have a lot of adjustment period, YSU with the new coach, and SDSU with so much leaving. SIU was down a bit last year but are better suited to be a Top 25 team.

I disagree with you there. With SDSU, the biggest question all be if the offensive line can gel with some early injuries. Now onto these topics:

Replacing Sumner: We had to play 6 games without him last year. Backup Lujan went 4-2 in that stretch with wins against UNI and Cal Poly.

Replacing Zenner: If you're familiar with SDSU than you would know that traditionally we've had good success replacing stellar RBs. In the D-1 era: Koenig, Minnett, Zenner. Who is next? Mengarelli had good caries last year and Isaac Wallace is a big back who can get to the second level.

Other Tangibles:
- SIU might be better than SDSU but the two don't play this year.
- After starting on the road at Kansas, SDSU gets 4 in a row at home under the lights.
- Last year our defense was very young, at times it showed. I believe we had two true freshman and a RS frosh play considerable minutes. I am really excited to watch the D play this year.
- SDSU's schedule is favorable to finish 7-4 or 8-3. 9-2 maybe, if we can FINALLY get over that FBS hump. Both worthy of Top 25 IMO.

[clenz]

Have you watched any SIU in the last 4 years?

They are, on now way, better suited to be a top 25 team than SDSU.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Have you watched any SIU in the last 4 years?

They are, on now way, better suited to be a top 25 team than SDSU.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

I noted you didn't say anything about YSU... xlolx

[mmiller_34]

Have you watched any SIU in the last 4 years?

They are, on now way, better suited to be a top 25 team than SDSU.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

I didn't clearly specify what I disagreed with. My bad. Let me fix that. I don't disagree that SIU might be better than SDSU and I am not disagreeing that SIU is a top 25 team.

I am disagreeing that SDSU is NOT a top 25 team.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Truth be known, once you get below NDSU, Illinois St., UNI it's not very easy to handicap. Indiana State, Youngstown, SDSU, SIU are all tough to figure out. Any one of the four could make a run at the title if everything works out, but there's just a fair number of questions with all of them.

[mmiller_34]

Truth be known, once you get below NDSU, Illinois St., UNI it's not very easy to handicap. Indiana State, Youngstown, SDSU, SIU are all tough to figure out. Any one of the four could make a run at the title if everything works out, but there's just a fair number of questions with all of them.

That's fair. I guess I would have instead put YSU and SDSU in place of Byrant and Dartmouth. Just my opinion.

[Go Green]

Tis the season...

http://lehighfootballnation.blogspot.com/2015/05/lfns-fcs-top-25.html

One guy's opinion.

Nice to see Dartmouth get some love. Hopefully we will justify your faith in us!!! :)

[centennial]

Truth be known, once you get below NDSU, Illinois St., UNI it's not very easy to handicap. Indiana State, Youngstown, SDSU, SIU are all tough to figure out. Any one of the four could make a run at the title if everything works out, but there's just a fair number of questions with all of them.
I think you are missing one team- WIU. After mid season they started gelling. They did not get over the hump but they could easily come out to be top 4-5 in the valley. They were 9-3 vs Wisconsin at half time. They lost to NDSU 17-10, to Illinois State 37-34, UNI 27-13. They were inconsistent but on their better days they would have taken out a few playoff teams easily.
Valley- NDSU and ISUr at the top
UNI, SDSU, YSU, SIU, ISUb, WIU hard to judge where they will all land
MSU and SD as dungeon dwellers that can take out above average teams from other conferences

[Lehigh Football Nation]

I think you are missing one team- WIU. After mid season they started gelling. They did not get over the hump but they could easily come out to be top 4-5 in the valley. They were 9-3 vs Wisconsin at half time. They lost to NDSU 17-10, to Illinois State 37-34, UNI 27-13. They were inconsistent but on their better days they would have taken out a few playoff teams easily.
Valley- NDSU and ISUr at the top
UNI, SDSU, YSU, SIU, ISUb, WIU hard to judge where they will all land
MSU and SD as dungeon dwellers that can take out above average teams from other conferences

I see what you mean, WIU is on the radar but to me they're still kind of a show-me team. The MVFC could be a really interesting ride overall.

[Go Green]

That's fair. I guess I would have instead put YSU and SDSU in place of Byrant and Dartmouth. Just my opinion.

Obviously, you have to play the games.

But as things stand right from a returning talent standpoint, Dartmouth should do no worse than 9-1. I get that 10-0 in the Ivy League gets you a #17 in the rankings. But surely 9-1 merits a top 25 ranking?

[bulldog10jw]

Obviously, you have to play the games.

But as things stand right from a returning talent standpoint, Dartmouth should do no worse than 9-1. I get that 10-0 in the Ivy League gets you a #17 in the rankings. But surely 9-1 merits a top 25 ranking?

Isn't that what Princeton said last year?

[Go Green]

Isn't that what Princeton said last year?

No.

They said that they would go 10-0. And that anything other than that would be a failure.

http://blog.princetontigersfootball.com/2014/04/epperly-zeuli-are-2014-captains.html

:)

[clenz]

I didn't clearly specify what I disagreed with. My bad. Let me fix that. I don't disagree that SIU might be better than SDSU and I am not disagreeing that SIU is a top 25 team.

I am disagreeing that SDSU is NOT a top 25 team.
Right. I should have used the quote function.

I was responding to the same notion and saying that if you've (LFN in this sense of the you've) watched SIU at all over the last 4 years it'd be pretty clear that they are, in no way, better positioned to be a top 25 team a head of SDSU. This could change, but SIU is something like 19-21 since Kills upperclassmen left and the stache has had a majority of his players in the system

[Green26]

Montana could've been at the "next level" last season if they hadn't lost Schmaing, Poole, Henderson, & Naccarato. Three of those four should be ready to go in August.

And it's Derek Crittenden, not David. I'm not sure why he's the one that needs to lead the defense, though. There are several Griz defenders that are more highly touted than him; he wasn't even a starter last year.

I agree. The UM offense loses several key players, including the very good qb, but returns 2 all-american candidates who didn't play last season: Henderson and Schmaing. The o-line was weak and inexperienced last year, partly by the unexpected loss of the 2 starting tackles, and will be improved. The new o-line coach is excellent. The defense loses several key players, but returns many good players and has some other terrific young players who stood out in spring ball. The defense should be as good or better than last season, according to the players. Crittendon is good, and a Rhodes Scholar candidate, but the other d-end Holmes is better.

The big question is whether and how fast can new coaches install a new offense, and get a new starting qb up to full speed. The expected starter, a junior, has thrown 6 passes in his career. There are several back-ups with talent, but they didn't seem to be close to catching the junior in spring ball. These things, and the very tough schedule early in the season, are the reasons I'm fine with a low pre-season ranking. I don't worry about the Bobcats. UM will likely beat them, in my view. They're ranked too high in this "poll". I would have put Cal Poly and Idaho St. in the ranking.

[Uncle Rico's Clan]

And it's Derek Crittenden, not David. I'm not sure why he's the one that needs to lead the defense, though. There are several Griz defenders that are more highly touted than him; he wasn't even a starter last year.

I thought this was odd too, it would be awesome if Crittendon has a great year, but I don't see him as being the linchpin on defense. At this point I'm thinking the defense should be tough with an experienced, stronger than usual secondary, good returning talent in the linebackers, and a defensive line that will do a solid job.

[jmufan999]

8 is way too high for JMU. nice list as i certainly couldn't do it, and i really only follow JMU closely. but 8 is extremely respectful, probably too respectful.

lots of issues on the oline. think the offense will still be good, but Vad will really have to carry the offense if the oline struggles. i really worry about a pass rush after losing 2 talented senior DE's, and we lost an All-American safety (Marlowe) to the NFL. arguably the most talented defensive player (CB Moreland) is still suspended, status is up in the air.

the last 4 games are absolutely brutal. 8 wins is probably the ceiling unless we beat SMU somehow. but 8 wins won't make you a top 8 team by year's end. too many question marks for my liking. 7-4 is my current prediction, subject to change.