Key FCS conference games in 2018

[bonarae]

Discuss.

http://www.fcs.football/cfb/story.asp?i=20180530122356491822204

[JSUSoutherner]

I can definitely see Austin Pray taking a step forward but JSU has nowhere to go now but up IMO.

[FUBeAR]

Discuss.

http://www.fcs.football/cfb/story.asp?i=20180530122356491822204

”Pretty Special As Well: ...The Citadel at Western Carolina (Nov. 3)”

Why? - 6th & 4th place finishers last year with combined SoCon records of 8-8 & 12-11 overall.

[dewey]

South Dakota State at North Dakota State for the Dakota Marker September 29th in the Fargodome.

It is about time for the Dakota Marker to come back to Fargo.

Go Bison!

Dewey

[Catamount87]

”Pretty Special As Well: ...The Citadel at Western Carolina (Nov. 3)”

Why? - 6th & 4th place finishers last year with combined SoCon records of 8-8 & 12-11 overall.

I suspect that has more to do with the historic nature of that game. One of the other has more than once played spoiler for the other. Each has been in the mix over the last several years and it's been a key game in the overall SoCon race.

Then again, I'd say there are a lot of special matchups in the SoCon with the long time members. WCU/Furman, Furman/Wofford, Furman/Citadel, WCU/ETSU, VMI/Citadel all come to mind. Mercer has been a great addition to the SoCon which is creating some fun games, Furman/Mercer, WCU/Mercer, UTC/Mercer and Citadel/Mercer.

I'm looking forward to 2018, it should be another highly competitive and fun season in the SoCon!

[FUBeAR]

I suspect that has more to do with the historic nature of that game. One of the other has more than once played spoiler for the other. Each has been in the mix over the last several years and it's been a key game in the overall SoCon race.

Then again, I'd say there are a lot of special matchups in the SoCon with the long time members. WCU/Furman, Furman/Wofford, Furman/Citadel, WCU/ETSU, VMI/Citadel all come to mind. Mercer has been a great addition to the SoCon which is creating some fun games, Furman/Mercer, WCU/Mercer, UTC/Mercer and Citadel/Mercer.

I'm looking forward to 2018, it should be another highly competitive and fun season in the SoCon!Yep - agree with that & I get why the other games that were cited are “Key” or “Pretty Special.” I just don’t see why the El Cid @ WCU on 11/3/18 is any more significant than WCU @ Samford on 10/6 or Wofford @ Furman on 10/13 or most any other SoCon game not involving VMI (sorry Keydets).

[VandalBasher]

Montana at Idaho, November 10th. Is this the most played FCS game west of the Mississippi? Probably. Even after a 14 year pause.

EDIT: Idaho at EWU will also be a key game in the BSC this year.

[Go Lehigh TU owl]

Hard to argue with Colgate at Lehigh being the top game in the PL heading into the season.

[BEAR]

A game where Nicholls tries to break an 11 game losing streak to Sam Houston is THE significant game in the SLC? xlolx

I just don't think Sammy will be as good as they were last year.

My vote: SLU v Nicholls (This matchup will push one of those two teams out of title contention. Though the Sammy game does happen earlier.)
OR
SFA v. Sammy (This matchup will test SFA to see if their experience and coaching is enough to win the conference. )

[IBleedYellow]

At this point we have a target on our back for every game we play.

Everyone is gunning for us - so for us every game is a key game. If we're not @ the top of our game it can cost us playoff seed positioning.

[JacksFan40]

SDSU-NDSU is the obvious number 1 in the MVFC. Though I think SDSU-UNI will be a key one as well, considering both 2015 and 2017 losses to UNI were huge on impacting our conference title hopes and playoff seeding and I expect UNI to still be a playoff team.

[JSUSoutherner]

A game where Nicholls tries to break an 11 game losing streak to Sam Houston is THE significant game in the SLC? xlolx

I just don't think Sammy will be as good as they were last year.

My vote: SLU v Nicholls (This matchup will push one of those two teams out of title contention. Though the Sammy game does happen earlier.)
OR
SFA v. Sammy (This matchup will test SFA to see if their experience and coaching is enough to win the conference. )

I don't think any of the playoff teams from the SLC will be as good as last year.

[Catamount87]

Yep - agree with that & I get why the other games that were cited are “Key” or “Pretty Special.” I just don’t see why the El Cid @ WCU on 11/3/18 is any more significant than WCU @ Samford on 10/6 or Wofford @ Furman on 10/13 or most any other SoCon game not involving VMI (sorry Keydets).

Definitely agree with you here! Shoot, with the SoCon's current state of parity any game, sans maybe VMI games, should fall under the "Pretty Special" moniker.

[Catbooster]

Montana at Idaho, November 10th. Is this the most played FCS game west of the Mississippi? Probably. Even after a 14 year pause.

EDIT: Idaho at EWU will also be a key game in the BSC this year.
I haven't looked it up, but I'd be surprised if this has been played more times than Cat/Griz. If I remember right, Cat/Griz is the oldest rivalry west of the Mississippi, but there may have been some qualifiers that I'm not remembering on that (or my wife may be right and my memory sucks :D ).

[Schism55]

I don't think any of the playoff teams from the SLC will be as good as last year.
Good observation, I too think this could very well be the case.

[Thumper 76]

Montana at Idaho, November 10th. Is this the most played FCS game west of the Mississippi? Probably. Even after a 14 year pause.

EDIT: Idaho at EWU will also be a key game in the BSC this year.

To your question? No. And it’s not close according to Wikipedia anyways. That game has had 85 meetings, while Brawl of the Wild has 116, Marker Game 106, SDSU/USeD 113. I didn’t dig that he’d through. Wouldn’t be surprised if UND/NDSU has more.


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[VandalBasher]

To your question? No. And it’s not close according to Wikipedia anyways. That game has had 85 meetings, while Brawl of the Wild has 116, Marker Game 106, SDSU/USeD 113. I didn’t dig that he’d through. Wouldn’t be surprised if UND/NDSU has more.


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Thank you for the response. It is always good to have data to keep my opinion in check.

[PAllen]

I have a sneaking suspicion that Colgate/Lehigh isn't going to be all that important this year. I hope that I'm wrong.

[JacksFan40]

Thank you for the response. It is always good to have data to keep my opinion in check.
If we’re going by all NCAA/NAIA divisions, the longest West of the Mississippi is the Black Hills Brawl between Black Hills State and South Dakota Mines. Been played 131 times I believe. It’s the 4th most played in the country.

[Outsider1]

Although I agree with BEAR for the SLC, for us personally EVERY single game is key; period.... We have been fighting for years to have a respectable season again in uphill battles. We are hungry for some fruit. If we don't treat every game like it is a threat, I don't know how much fruit we will bear.

[Outsider1]

I don't think any of the playoff teams from the SLC will be as good as last year.

Nicholls will surprise some people and I believe SLU will also prove themselves worthy of some respect. How much SHSU, UCA and McNeese hold on I don't know. Also, even SFA can ruin a plan or two; especially with Ivey coming on as the new AD. I could be wrong but I see these schools positioning themselves pretty well

[ST_Lawson]

For us, probably our games against Illinois State and Northern Iowa. Both teams we beat last year, but should be very tough games. Those are the ones that will likely determine if we end up 8-3 or 6-5 (or worse). The rest of our conference games are strongly in the "likely win" or "likely lose" categories.

[McNeese75]

Nicholls will surprise some people and I believe SLU will also prove themselves worthy of some respect. How much SHSU, UCA and McNeese hold on I don't know. Also, even SFA can ruin a plan or two; especially with Ivey coming on as the new AD. I could be wrong but I see these schools positioning themselves pretty well

Nicholls will not walk away from Lake Charles with a W this year. And Ivey does not play football so unless he fires Conque..... xlolx

[Outsider1]

Nicholls will not walk away from Lake Charles with a W this year. And Ivey does not play football so unless he fires Conque..... xlolx


All I know is all you LA teams have some funky swampy thing going on. I am more worried with most of ya'll over SFA, but still.... I don't think Ivey will do anything with Conque this year but SFA has enough talent that even with Conque they might make a surprise or two. My better bet is all of you guys to the East having better seasons this year.

[cx500d]

South Dakota State at North Dakota State for the Dakota Marker September 29th in the Fargodome.

It is about time for the Dakota Marker to come back to Fargo.

Go Bison!

Dewey

If the Dakota marker is physically down in brookings, does that mean that the state of nd technically extended its border 120 miles south? Is that a good thing, or did it result in a lowering of the average IQ of ND?


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[cx500d]

Montana at Idaho, November 10th. Is this the most played FCS game west of the Mississippi? Probably. Even after a 14 year pause.

EDIT: Idaho at EWU will also be a key game in the BSC this year.

I’m looking forward to seeing what Idaho can do this year. My sister lives there so I do have a thing for Idaho.


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[cx500d]

I have a sneaking suspicion that Colgate/Lehigh isn't going to be all that important this year. I hope that I'm wrong.

It should be a good game. I’m looking forward to seeing what Lehigh O can do, and see if Colgate can have a resurgence


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[ngineer]

Hard to argue with Colgate at Lehigh being the top game in the PL heading into the season.

This is late in the season (luckily not on the "tundra") so the relative health of both teams will be crucial. Both teams have some tough, physical OOC games in September and I would expect some dings coming out of that stretch. How well both have recovered by November will tell the tale. These smaller rosters could take their toll. But based on preseason prognostications, this should be the "the game" in the PL that decides the championship.

[Go Lehigh TU owl]

This is late in the season (luckily not on the "tundra") so the relative health of both teams will be crucial. Both teams have some tough, physical OOC games in September and I would expect some dings coming out of that stretch. How well both have recovered by November will tell the tale. These smaller rosters could take their toll. But based on preseason prognostications, this should be the "the game" in the PL that decides the championship.

Lehigh's had Colgate's number this decade. There's no question the Raiders will be looking for payback from last year.

Getting Colgate and Fordham at home is a big boost for Lehigh's league title hopes. HC up there might be a little tricky. However, Lehigh usually plays pretty well up there. I can't see Georgetown or Bucknell posing much trouble. Homefield means very little in Lehigh-Lafayette. I almost feel like Lehigh is more "jacked up" when they play in Easton.

I'm still extremely worried about Lehigh's defense. The DL still seems real shaky. The offense will be very good. Coen and the new OL coach will figure out the right combo of big uglies. I still maintain that's Coen's strength. The WR core won't be as dangerous as whole. Still, it wouldn't surprise if someone steps up and garners a few postseason accolades.

The St. Francis game out of the gate will be a great barometer. Colgate heads to Worcester to face Holy Cross...

3 months....

[Son of Eli]

I predict Yale-Princeton will be the game that decides the Ivy Championship this year.

[FUBeAR]

http://www.espn.com/college-football/conferences/schedule/_/id/29/southern-conference

I see 28 “Key SoCon Conference Games” in 2018: Number 3, 12, 17, 21, 22, 24, 25, 29, 32, 33, 34, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 53, 55, 56, and 57 from the list above.

[DFW HOYA]

Lehigh's had Colgate's number this decade. There's no question the Raiders will be looking for payback from last year.
Getting Colgate and Fordham at home is a big boost for Lehigh's league title hopes. HC up there might be a little tricky. However, Lehigh usually plays pretty well up there. I can't see Georgetown or Bucknell posing much trouble. Homefield means very little in Lehigh-Lafayette. I almost feel like Lehigh is more "jacked up" when they play in Easton.


In 8 of the last 10 years, 16 of 20, and 20 of the last 25, the PL title has been rotated between three schools, and the third (Lafayette) is in a downturn. Does anyone really, really see Colgate or Lehigh worried about anyone else?

(Certainly not my PL team, which is a combined 1-31 versus Colgate and Lehigh.)

[Go Lehigh TU owl]

In 8 of the last 10 years, 16 of 20, and 20 of the last 25, the PL title has been rotated between three schools, and the third (Lafayette) is in a downturn. Does anyone really, really see Colgate or Lehigh worried about anyone else?

(Certainly not my PL team, which is a combined 1-31 versus Colgate and Lehigh.)

I think Fordham has been more of a 3rd wheel to Lehigh and Colgate than Lafayette has. The Rams have had a higher ceiling of success than the 'Pards of the last 15+ years.

[RichH2]

In 8 of the last 10 years, 16 of 20, and 20 of the last 25, the PL title has been rotated between three schools, and the third (Lafayette) is in a downturn. Does anyone really, really see Colgate or Lehigh worried about anyone else?

(Certainly not my PL team, which is a combined 1-31 versus Colgate and Lehigh.)

A pleasant historical review but I am unsure about much predictive value. To a large extent PL is a personaliy driven football conference. QBs and coaches do more to determine seasonal success for teams here. The Hoyas are firmly fit within this parameter albeit with a huge self imposed governor on success. Admittedly, those factors depend on funding and administration support. Lafayette and to a lesser extent Holy Cross have suffered from administration policies. Given recent events at both schools I am more optimistic that both programs will trend upwards. Bucknell has been stuck in mediocrity not for lack of support or a good Head coach but from the singular lack of a QB. Bison have had the talent and annually an excellent D. They have lacked an O that could score points. Fordham has had its moments with stellar players on O but like Lehigh with a papier mache D.
Fordham, Cross and Pards have brought in new HCs with new staffs. On paper each looks to be an upgrade over prior staffs. Now if they can find the QB.
For next year, absent a meteoric rise by some team, Lehigh and Colgate will likely be fighting for the title. Beyond that, one can expect more diversity in championships as programs build.

[RichH2]

In 8 of the last 10 years, 16 of 20, and 20 of the last 25, the PL title has been rotated between three schools, and the third (Lafayette) is in a downturn. Does anyone really, really see Colgate or Lehigh worried about anyone else?

(Certainly not my PL team, which is a combined 1-31 versus Colgate and Lehigh.)

A pleasant historical review but I am unsure about much predictive value. To a large extent PL is a personality driven football conference. QBs and coaches do more to determine seasonal success for teams here. The Hoyas are firmly fit within this parameter albeit with a huge self imposed governor on success. Admittedly, those factors depend on funding and administration support. Lafayette and to a lesser extent Holy Cross have suffered from administration policies. Given recent events at both schools I am more optimistic that both programs will trend upwards. Bucknell has been stuck in mediocrity not for lack of support or a good Head coach but from the singular lack of a QB. Bison have had the talent and annually an excellent D. They have lacked an O that could score points. Fordham has had its moments with stellar players on O but like Lehigh with a papier mache D.
Fordham, Cross and Pards have brought in new HCs with new staffs. On paper each looks to be an upgrade over prior staffs. Now if they can find the QB.
For next year, absent a meteoric rise by some team, Lehigh and Colgate will likely be fighting for the title. Beyond that, one can expect more diversity in championships as programs build.

[RichH2]

In 8 of the last 10 years, 16 of 20, and 20 of the last 25, the PL title has been rotated between three schools, and the third (Lafayette) is in a downturn. Does anyone really, really see Colgate or Lehigh worried about anyone else?

(Certainly not my PL team, which is a combined 1-31 versus Colgate and Lehigh.)

A pleasant historical review but I am unsure about much predictive value. To a large extent PL is a personality driven football conference. QBs and coaches do more to determine seasonal success for teams here. The Hoyas are firmly fit within this parameter albeit with a huge self imposed governor on success. Admittedly, those factors depend on funding and administration support. Lafayette and to a lesser extent Holy Cross have suffered from administration policies. Given recent events at both schools I am more optimistic that both programs will trend upwards. Bucknell has been stuck in mediocrity not for lack of support or a good Head coach but from the singular lack of a QB. Bison have had the talent and annually an excellent D. They have lacked an O that could score points. Fordham has had its moments with stellar players on O but like Lehigh with a papier mache D.
Fordham, Cross and Pards have brought in new HCs with new staffs. On paper each looks to be an upgrade over prior staffs. Now if they can find the QB.
For next year, absent a meteoric rise by some team, Lehigh and Colgate will likely be fighting for the title. Beyond that, one can expect more diversity in championships as programs build.

[DFW HOYA]

A pleasant historical review but I am unsure about much predictive value. To a large extent PL is a personality driven football conference. QBs and coaches do more to determine seasonal success for teams here. The Hoyas are firmly fit within this parameter albeit with a huge self imposed governor on success. Admittedly, those factors depend on funding and administration support. Lafayette and to a lesser extent Holy Cross have suffered from administration policies. Given recent events at both schools I am more optimistic that both programs will trend upwards. Bucknell has been stuck in mediocrity not for lack of support or a good Head coach but from the singular lack of a QB. Bison have had the talent and annually an excellent D. They have lacked an O that could score points. Fordham has had its moments with stellar players on O but like Lehigh with a papier mache D.
Fordham, Cross and Pards have brought in new HCs with new staffs. On paper each looks to be an upgrade over prior staffs. Now if they can find the QB.
For next year, absent a meteoric rise by some team, Lehigh and Colgate will likely be fighting for the title. Beyond that, one can expect more diversity in championships as programs build.

You're half right.

One might assume that the "a huge self imposed governor on success" on Georgetown is scholarships. And yet, if Georgetown was able to justify spending $4 million a year on scholarships, there's a fair guarantee they would still be in the cellar, and not because of QB's and coaches. Yet few PL fans want to get into that discussion.

[RichH2]

Much too dour an outlook DFW. True Admission standards and AI are there. And certainly a limiting factor but not nearly as fatal as you perceive. Your potential pool may be smaller but I see no reason why Hoyas wont get a fair percentage of talent. You get top talent now just not enough. I assume with 4 Mil in schollies the stadium will be finished also. :)

[DFW HOYA]

Much too dour an outlook DFW. True Admission standards and AI are there. And certainly a limiting factor but not nearly as fatal as you perceive. Your potential pool may be smaller but I see no reason why Hoyas wont get a fair percentage of talent. You get top talent now just not enough. I assume with 4 Mil in schollies the stadium will be finished also. :)

Points to consider (and I'll be glad if this moves to the PL thread just in case someone bemoans that the PL is taking over yet another thread):

1. Georgetown's SAT average entering 2018-19 is 692V/702M, 99th percentile nationally. Excepting Colgate, that's 100-150 points higher than every other PL school and there aren't a lot of football kids at that range to begin with. The ability to recruit with that kind of AI disparity is not to be ignored. And if you're a lineman or receiver with a 1240 SAT--your admissions chances aren't good.

"Students in the last application cycle who received perfect scores on their verbal and math sections had admit rates of 46 percent and 32 percent, respectively. For applicants who scored between 600 and 649, the chances of admission dropped to 8 percent and 6 percent, respectively."

http://www.thehoya.com/rising-sat-scores-affect-admissions-decisions/ (http://www.thehoya.com/rising-sat-scores-affect-admissions-decisions/)

2. You note that "I see no reason why Hoyas wont get a fair percentage of talent". It's been 17 years and it just hasn't happened. Not a single PL recruited player from Georgetown has made a all-PL offensive team ever. Bad luck, or something else?

3. "You get top talent now just not enough". Where is this top talent? It's not there. When you've lost 15 straight in the PL and 18 of 19 overall, there's only so much you can lay at the feet of the coaches.

The fan base has been burned out and a new stadium (or the half of the planned stadium that will eventually be built) won't fix that. Wins will. And I'm not talking about games with BC or UConn or even Villanova to stir up Georgetown's 190,000 alumni, but if you're losing to an Ivy League team by four touchdowns at the half, where's the fun in that? If someone from the league office had stood up after Georgetown's first season in 2001 (when the Hoyas were 3-7, winless in the PL) that "in 15 or 20 years, it won't be any better, and probably worse", what would you have thought?

[PaladinFan]

http://www.espn.com/college-football/conferences/schedule/_/id/29/southern-conference

I see 28 “Key SoCon Conference Games” in 2018: Number 3, 12, 17, 21, 22, 24, 25, 29, 32, 33, 34, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 53, 55, 56, and 57 from the list above.

I expect a lot of parity in the SoCon. I'm not really in love with the concept of "key" matchups in conference games because every conference game is an important matchup for every team.

Throwing darts at the wall, I presume that the marquee SoCon games in 2018 (as I sit here in early June) will be the round robin between Samford/Furman/Wofford. I think those are the three best teams.

A second group of three consisting of Mercer, the Citadel, and WCU, has enough talent to beat any of the first three. Putting emotions, rivalries, and the importance of conference wins aside, the second group went 1-8 against the first group last year. They are key games, but not the marquee games.

I don't think any game involving VMI will be much to write about. I expect the Keydets to be awful. They were bad last year, look like they are going to be worse this year, and I expect most of the SoCon teams to be better.

Again, it's June and this is just guessing. Last year we all thought UTC/JSU was going to be a marquee matchup, which ended up featuring a Mocs team that ended up not being very good.

[Mike296]

All I want this year is a conference title, I just hope JSU doesn’t play spoiler.....

[PaladinFan]

All I want this year is a conference title, I just hope JSU doesn’t play spoiler.....

To be the man you gotta beat the man.

[ElCid]

http://www.espn.com/college-football/conferences/schedule/_/id/29/southern-conference

I see 28 “Key SoCon Conference Games” in 2018: Number 3, 12, 17, 21, 22, 24, 25, 29, 32, 33, 34, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 53, 55, 56, and 57 from the list above.

One of the key games will be our game against Wofford on 1 Sept, if for nothing else, it being the first week. Having these early conf games sucks. But it will put whoever wins in a good place...and whoever loses behind the 8 ball early. Not sure how we will do this year, lots of question marks, but this game may tell the tale for both teams.

[PaladinFan]

One of the key games will be our game against Wofford on 1 Sept, if for nothing else, it being the first week. Having these early conf games sucks. But it will put whoever wins in a good place...and whoever loses behind the 8 ball early. Not sure how we will do this year, lots of question marks, but this game may tell the tale for both teams.

I agree. I guess the conference is fairly well hamstrung by OOC scheduling, but having conference games at the beginning of the season really isn't ideal.

[katss07]

All I want this year is a conference title, I just hope JSU doesn’t play spoiler.....
No one considers a team who has won 30 something straight conference games isn’t a spoiler.

[ElCid]

I agree. I guess the conference is fairly well hamstrung by OOC scheduling, but having conference games at the beginning of the season really isn't ideal.

Unless you win. Then it is awesome. I am convinced the biggest reason we won the conference in 16 is because of our wins in week 1 and 2 against Mercer and Furman. Not that they were favorites, but they were in the mix and spoilers at worst. At least at the time. It must have given the Dogs big time confidence. The flip side is true as well. Drop one or two conf games in the first 2 weeks and you could be toast in the SOCON.

[Mike296]

No one considers a team who has won 30 something straight conference games isn’t a spoiler.

I can’t argue this point at all.

[Catamount87]

Drop one or two conf games in the first 2 weeks and you could be toast in the SOCON.

Amen to that!

[PaladinFan]

Amen to that!

I can see there might be a benefit. Wofford beat Furman by 1 point the first week of the season. Furman was playing mostly freshmen and inputting a brand new system on both sides of the ball.

There's a good chance, I think, that if Wofford had seen Furman at full tilt in the middle of the season (like most SoCon teams did) they easily could have lost that game. Of course, they won the SoCon by that single point margin.