AGS Poll Results 2023 Wk4

[AGSPoll]

9/25/2023


Rank
Team:
Total Points
First Place Votes


1
South Dakota State Jackrabbits
1275
51


2
Montana State Bobcats
1189



3
North Dakota State Bison
1187



4
Idaho Vandals
1096



5
Holy Cross Crusaders
1054



6
Furman Paladins
1009



7
Sac State Hornets
928



8
William & Mary Tribe
909



9
Southern Illinois Salukis
876



10
Incarnate Word Cardinals
854



11
Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
691



12
Western Carolina Catamounts
659



13
North Dakota Fighting Hawks
658



14
New Hampshire Wildcats
564



15
Villanova Wildcats
439



16
Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks
431



17
North Carolina Central Eagles
375



18
Weber State Wildcats
373



19
Youngstown State Penguins
316



20
Eastern Washington Eagles
289



21
Fordham Rams
186



22
UC Davis Aggies
182



23
Chattanooga Mocs
149



24
Albany Great Danes
138



25
Montana Grizzlies
135
















ORV:




26
Florida A&M Rattlers
122



27
Central Arkansas Bears
82



28
Mercer Bears
71



29
Eastern Illinois Panthers
65



30
Rhode Island Rams
58



31
Southeast Missouri State Redhawks
45



32
Illinois State Redbirds
44



33
Austin Peay Governors
29



34
Eastern Kentucky Colonels
28



35
Northern Iowa Panthers
19



36
Samford Bulldogs
10



37
Harvard Crimson
9



38T
South Dakota Coyotes
8



38T
Tarleton Texans
8



40
Richmond Spiders
7
















Most Significant Win:
Idaho Vandals






Most Significant Loss:
Montana Grizzlies

[Chalupa Batman]

For your viewing pleasure:

1: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
2: Montana State Bobcats
3: North Dakota State Bison
4: Holy Cross Crusaders
5: Furman Paladins
6: Idaho Vandals
7: Sac State Hornets
8: Southern Illinois Salukis
9: Western Carolina Catamounts
10: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks
11: William & Mary Tribe
12: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
13: Incarnate Word Cardinals
14: Eastern Washington Eagles
15: New Hampshire Wildcats
16: Chattanooga Mocs
17: Eastern Kentucky Colonels
18: North Dakota Fighting Hawks
19: UC Davis Aggies
20: Florida A&M Rattlers
21: Villanova Wildcats
22: North Carolina Central Eagles
23: Southeast Missouri State Redhawks
24: Mercer Bears
25: Missouri State Bears

The Most Significant Win: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
The Most Significant Loss: Weber State Wildcats

[crusader11]

My take on it --

1: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
2: Holy Cross Crusaders
3: Montana State Bobcats
4: North Dakota State Bison
5: Idaho Vandals
6: Sac State Hornets
7: Southern Illinois Salukis
8: Furman Paladins
9: Western Carolina Catamounts
10: William & Mary Tribe
11: North Dakota Fighting Hawks
12: Incarnate Word Cardinals
13: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
14: Eastern Washington Eagles
15: New Hampshire Wildcats
16: Youngstown State Penguins
17: Weber State Wildcats
18: Villanova Wildcats
19: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks
20: Albany Great Danes
21: Fordham Rams
22: North Carolina Central Eagles
23: UC Davis Aggies
24: Eastern Illinois Panthers
25: Florida A&M Rattlers

crusader11

The Most Significant Win: Eastern Washington Eagles
The Most Significant Loss: Montana Grizzlies
Which Conference Does Your Team Play in?: Patriot League

[SeattleCat]

1: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
2: Montana State Bobcats
3: Holy Cross Crusaders
4: Idaho Vandals
5: North Dakota State Bison
6: Incarnate Word Cardinals
7: Sac State Hornets
8: Furman Paladins
9: Southern Illinois Salukis
10: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
11: North Dakota Fighting Hawks
12: William & Mary Tribe
13: New Hampshire Wildcats
14: Western Carolina Catamounts
15: Weber State Wildcats
16: North Carolina Central Eagles
17: Eastern Washington Eagles
18: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks
19: UC Davis Aggies
20: Youngstown State Penguins
21: Villanova Wildcats
22: Fordham Rams
23: Albany Great Danes
24: Florida A&M Rattlers
25: Rhode Island Rams

SeattleCat

The Most Significant Win: Eastern Washington Eagles
The Most Significant Loss: Montana Grizzlies
Which Conference Does Your Team Play in?: Big Sky Conference

[MSUBobcat]

Sooooooo, Montana and Weber still both in and firmly in, respectively? Interesting.... In the mock poll I did yesterday, I ****canned both. I agree with leaving Davis in, slightly behind EWU. Davis probably wins if Larison doesn't get hurt. Their schedule is set up to potentially run the table until the Causeway Classic, but it sounds like they may have to do it without Larison, for several weeks if not the season.

Also.... how much worse did SDSU beat up BYE than NDSU did? Both idle, yet NDSU lost its 2 first-place votes. xlolx (yes, I'm aware it had to do with SDSU beating MSU and MSU thumping Weber)

[Chalupa Batman]

Sooooooo, Montana and Weber still both in and firmly in, respectively? Interesting.... In the mock poll I did yesterday, I ****canned both. I agree with leaving Davis in, slightly behind EWU. Davis probably wins if Larison doesn't get hurt. Their schedule is set up to potentially run the table until the Causeway Classic, but it sounds like they may have to do it without Larison, for several weeks if not the season.

Weber is defensible (though I left them out too). Montana isn’t.

[atthewbon]

1: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
2: Montana State Bobcats
3: North Dakota State Bison
4: Idaho Vandals
5: Holy Cross Crusaders
6: Sac State Hornets
7: Furman Paladins
8: William & Mary Tribe
9: Southern Illinois Salukis
10: Incarnate Word Cardinals
11: North Dakota Fighting Hawks
12: Western Carolina Catamounts
13: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
14: Weber State Wildcats
15: New Hampshire Wildcats
16: Eastern Washington Eagles
17: North Carolina Central Eagles
18: Villanova Wildcats
19: Youngstown State Penguins
20: Albany Great Danes
21: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks
22: UC Davis Aggies
23: Central Arkansas Bears
24: Eastern Illinois Panthers
25: Northern Iowa Panthers

[Bisonator]

Must of picked up some more big sky pollsters this week......xcoffeex

[Professor Chaos]

This week's poll article: https://thefcswedge.com/ags-poll/ags-poll-week-4-top-25-results-5/

Now that was some fun after a boring start to the season! Main criticism I'd have is how can Fordham be in front of Albany? I was also surprised to see FAMU stay stuck at #26 (same spot they were last week) given all the turmoil inside the top 25 this week. Also a little surprised to still see no UAC teams in the top 25 although Central Arkansas is knocking on the door.

[Professor Chaos]

Here was my crack at it this week:

1: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
2: Montana State Bobcats
3: North Dakota State Bison
4: Idaho Vandals
5: Holy Cross Crusaders
6: Sac State Hornets
7: Furman Paladins
8: William & Mary Tribe
9: Incarnate Word Cardinals
10: Southern Illinois Salukis
11: North Dakota Fighting Hawks
12: Western Carolina Catamounts
13: Delaware Fightin Blue Hens
14: New Hampshire Wildcats
15: Youngstown State Penguins
16: Villanova Wildcats
17: North Carolina Central Eagles
18: Florida A&M Rattlers
19: Central Arkasas Bears
20: Weber State Wildcats
21: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks
22: Albany Great Danes
23: Eastern Washington Eagles
24: Chattanooga Mocs
25: Fordham Rams

[POD Knows]

1: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
2: Montana State Bobcats
3: North Dakota State Bison
4: Holy Cross Crusaders
5: Idaho Vandals
6: William & Mary Tribe
7: Furman Paladins
8: Southern Illinois Salukis
9: Sac State Hornets
10: Incarnate Word Cardinals
11: Western Carolina Catamounts
12: North Dakota Fighting Hawks
13: Villanova Wildcats
14: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
15: North Carolina Central Eagles
16: New Hampshire Wildcats
17: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks
18: Florida A&M Rattlers
19: Chattanooga Mocs
20: Youngstown State Penguins
21: Eastern Illinois Panthers
22: Illinois State Redbirds
23: Eastern Washington Eagles
24: Albany Great Danes
25: Central Arkansas Bears

POD Knows

The Most Significant Win: Eastern Washington Eagles
The Most Significant Loss: Montana Grizzlies
Which Conference Does Your Team Play in?: Missouri Valley Football Conference

[caribbeanhen]

Hello Caribbeanhen ,

We have received your AGS Top 25 vote on 9/24/2023 12:29:41

Your vote is listed below.


1: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
2: Montana State Bobcats
3: Holy Cross Crusaders
4: North Dakota State Bison
5: Idaho Vandals
6: Sac State Hornets
7: Southern Illinois Salukis
8: Incarnate Word Cardinals
9: Furman Paladins
10: Western Carolina Catamounts
11: William & Mary Tribe
12: North Dakota Fighting Hawks
13: North Carolina Central Eagles
14: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks
15: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
16: Villanova Wildcats
17: Youngstown State Penguins
18: New Hampshire Wildcats
19: Weber State Wildcats
20: Eastern Washington Eagles
21: Austin Peay Governors
22: Harvard Crimson
23: Central Arkansas Bears
24: Chattanooga Mocs
25: Albany Great Danes

Caribbeanhen

[MSUBobcat]

Weber is defensible (though I left them out too). Montana isn’t.

I would have had them just on the outside. MSU looks like a top-tier FCS school, but a top 20 (18!) doesn't lose 40-0 at home. And it should have been worse. Hall missed 2 FG under 40 yards, missed a PAT and had another PAT blocked. That's 8 points that really should have been made. I would have left them out for the week and re-evaluated after seeing how UNI does against YSU. BBQ will (should) thump NoCo on the road, so if UNI rebounds and beats a now-ranked YSU, put them back in. If YSU beats them handily, Weber has nothing to point to after 5 weeks and I'd leave them out again. But that 16/17 to 25 was a mess trying to put in order in my mock poll.

[dewey]

Here is my top 25.

Hello dewey,

We have received your AGS Top 25 vote on 9/24/2023 11:37:08

Your vote is listed below.


1: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
2: Montana State Bobcats
3: North Dakota State Bison
4: Idaho Vandals
5: Furman Paladins
6: Holy Cross Crusaders
7: William & Mary Tribe
8: Southern Illinois Salukis
9: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
10: Sac State Hornets
11: New Hampshire Wildcats
12: Western Carolina Catamounts
13: Chattanooga Mocs
14: Incarnate Word Cardinals
15: North Dakota Fighting Hawks
16: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks
17: Villanova Wildcats
18: North Carolina Central Eagles
19: Weber State Wildcats
20: Central Arkansas Bears
21: Samford Bulldogs
22: Albany Great Danes
23: Eastern Washington Eagles
24: Harvard Crimson
25: South Dakota Coyotes

dewey

The Most Significant Win: Idaho Vandals
The Most Significant Loss: Montana Grizzlies
Which Conference Does Your Team Play in?: Missouri Valley Football Conference

Dewey

[Chalupa Batman]

I would have had them just on the outside. MSU looks like a top-tier FCS school, but a top 20 (18!) doesn't lose 40-0 at home. And it should have been worse. Hall missed 2 FG under 40 yards, missed a PAT and had another PAT blocked. That's 8 points that really should have been made.

Weber was just outside on mine too, they were one of a handful of teams for the last couple spots.

[POD Knows]

I would have had them just on the outside. MSU looks like a top-tier FCS school, but a top 20 (18!) doesn't lose 40-0 at home. And it should have been worse. Hall missed 2 FG under 40 yards, missed a PAT and had another PAT blocked. That's 8 points that really should have been made. I would have left them out for the week and re-evaluated after seeing how UNI does against YSU. BBQ will (should) thump NoCo on the road, so if UNI rebounds and beats a now-ranked YSU, put them back in. If YSU beats them handily, Weber has nothing to point to after 5 weeks and I'd leave them out again. But that 16/17 to 25 was a mess trying to put in order in my mock poll.I grabbed the teams, in my 15-25 slots that had 500 or better records and what I saw as better SOS. I dropped Montana and would have kept Weber in if they showed any heart or ability against MSU, they didn't, and I have watched them a couple times and that offense is a disaster. MSU is gonna make a lot of teams look kind of bad on offense but Weber was OFFENSIVE on offense. I consider Montana to only have 2 FCS wins and they were both against well below average teams, so they are out of mine. Dropped Mercer and Semo as well, Mercer was a tough call but they haven't beaten anybody either.

But like you said, the bottom end of this poll is a train wreck. I can already see a couple things in mine that I might have tweaked a little bit but there is always next weekend.

[SCPALADIN]

Here is my top 25.

Hello dewey,

We have received your AGS Top 25 vote on 9/24/2023 11:37:08

Your vote is listed below.


1: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
2: Montana State Bobcats
3: North Dakota State Bison
4: Idaho Vandals
5: Furman Paladins
6: Holy Cross Crusaders
7: William & Mary Tribe
8: Southern Illinois Salukis
9: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
10: Sac State Hornets
11: New Hampshire Wildcats
12: Western Carolina Catamounts
13: Chattanooga Mocs
14: Incarnate Word Cardinals
15: North Dakota Fighting Hawks
16: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks
17: Villanova Wildcats
18: North Carolina Central Eagles
19: Weber State Wildcats
20: Central Arkansas Bears
21: Samford Bulldogs
22: Albany Great Danes
23: Eastern Washington Eagles
24: Harvard Crimson
25: South Dakota Coyotes

dewey

The Most Significant Win: Idaho Vandals
The Most Significant Loss: Montana Grizzlies
Which Conference Does Your Team Play in?: Missouri Valley Football Conference

Dewey

Curious your reasoning behind ranking Samford, who is 1-3 with zero D-1 wins, and leaving off Mercer, with 2 D-1 wins and losses vs #6 Furman and FBS Ol Miss.

[POD Knows]

This week's poll article: https://thefcswedge.com/ags-poll/ags-poll-week-4-top-25-results-5/

Now that was some fun after a boring start to the season! Main criticism I'd have is how can Fordham be in front of Albany? I was also surprised to see FAMU stay stuck at #26 (same spot they were last week) given all the turmoil inside the top 25 this week. Also a little surprised to still see no UAC teams in the top 25 although Central Arkansas is knocking on the door.I have both UCA and FAMU in my top 25 but that is because I am a freaking genius that should be emulated by all. xthumbsupx I think UCA is way better than people think, that running back is unreal and I know people are gonna say, but Blutto, he is getting yards against nobody, I think he got over 2 hundo against NDSU, when is that last time that happened.

[Go Lehigh TU owl]

1: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
2: North Dakota State Bison
3: Montana State Bobcats
4: Holy Cross Crusaders
5: Idaho Vandals
6: Furman Paladins
7: Sac State Hornets
8: Incarnate Word Cardinals
9: William & Mary Tribe
10: Southern Illinois Salukis
11: Western Carolina Catamounts
12: Youngstown State Penguins
13: North Dakota Fighting Hawks
14: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
15: North Carolina Central Eagles
16: New Hampshire Wildcats
17: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks
18: Villanova Wildcats
19: Albany Great Danes
20: Fordham Rams
21: Chattanooga Mocs
22: Eastern Washington Eagles
23: Illinois State Redbirds
24: Florida A&M Rattlers
25: Eastern Illinois Panthers

Go Lehigh TU owl

The Most Significant Win: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
The Most Significant Loss: Montana Grizzlies
Which Conference Does Your Team Play in?: Patriot League

[ElCid]

Curious your reasoning behind ranking Samford, who is 1-3 with zero D-1 wins, and leaving off Mercer, with 2 D-1 wins and losses vs #6 Furman and FBS Ol Miss.

Samford is still big time on my watch list, but you gotta get wins. They are dangerous, but many others are more deserving. The bottom 8 spots are pretty tough to fill right now. Lots of good teams with questionable records. I dropped them until they start winning. Mercer is barely in mine. Rough early schedule, but good team.

[taper]

1: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
2: Montana State Bobcats
3: North Dakota State Bison
4: Idaho Vandals
5: Holy Cross Crusaders
6: Furman Paladins
7: Incarnate Word Cardinals
8: William & Mary Tribe
9: Sac State Hornets
10: Weber State Wildcats
11: Southern Illinois Salukis
12: North Dakota Fighting Hawks
13: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
14: North Carolina Central Eagles
15: Mercer Bears
16: New Hampshire Wildcats
17: Western Carolina Catamounts
18: Eastern Washington Eagles
19: UC Davis Aggies
20: Northern Iowa Panthers
21: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks
22: Villanova Wildcats
23: Austin Peay Governors
24: Albany Great Danes
25: Central Arkansas Bears

taper

The Most Significant Win: Furman Paladins
The Most Significant Loss: Sac State Hornets
Which Conference Does Your Team Play in?: Missouri Valley Football Conference

I had to remind myself that this is a ranking, not a rating. I have some teams way higher than I want but there's nobody better to push them down.

[Professor Chaos]

Maybe I shouldn't but I still give Weber St credit for a convincing win at the UNI-dome. I don't see UNI as top 25 caliber right now but they're close enough for that win to still carry some water for Weber St. That win gives them a leg up on a lot of other teams that I considered in that 17-25 range.

[POD Knows]

1: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
2: North Dakota State Bison
3: Montana State Bobcats
4: Holy Cross Crusaders
5: Idaho Vandals
6: Furman Paladins
7: Sac State Hornets
8: Incarnate Word Cardinals
9: William & Mary Tribe
10: Southern Illinois Salukis
11: Western Carolina Catamounts
12: Youngstown State Penguins
13: North Dakota Fighting Hawks
14: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
15: North Carolina Central Eagles
16: New Hampshire Wildcats
17: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks
18: Villanova Wildcats
19: Albany Great Danes
20: Fordham Rams
21: Chattanooga Mocs
22: Eastern Washington Eagles
23: Illinois State Redbirds
24: Florida A&M Rattlers
25: Eastern Illinois Panthers

Go Lehigh TU owl

The Most Significant Win: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
The Most Significant Loss: Montana Grizzlies
Which Conference Does Your Team Play in?: Patriot League
Decent poll but I would flip ISUr and Eastern Illinois, you are a little higher on YSU than I am but they might be better than I think, who knows. Pretty solid all in all, if I had to do my poll over again I would probably drop W&M a couple slots, that marginal win over CSU looks really bad after what WCU did to Charleston.

[MSUBobcat]

I grabbed the teams, in my 15-25 slots that had 500 or better records and what I saw as better SOS. I dropped Montana and would have kept Weber in if they showed any heart or ability against MSU, they didn't, and I have watched them a couple times and that offense is a disaster. MSU is gonna make a lot of teams look kind of bad on offense but Weber was OFFENSIVE on offense. I consider Montana to only have 2 FCS wins and they were both against well below average teams, so they are out of mine. Dropped Mercer and Semo as well, Mercer was a tough call but they haven't beaten anybody either.

But like you said, the bottom end of this poll is a train wreck. I can already see a couple things in mine that I might have tweaked a little bit but there is always next weekend.

Very pleasantly surprised with how the defense is getting after it. Reminiscent of that 2021 defense that was pretty stout.

The bottom half is why I decided to not submit the poll. I haven't seen much, if any, live game time from the teams under consideration, so it was literally going off of box scores to determine placement and I didn't think that was the best way to go. Maybe I'll post it when I get off work. I believe I was lower on YSU, had Albany above Fordham and had FAMU and UCA in.
EDIT: I'm also pretty sure I'm not as high on W&M as the AGS poll. The Campbell win is losing its shine, 2 underwhelming wins over bad teams. And that fateful day in Dec. 2022 in Bozeman is still fresh in my brain. I also had APSU in there somewhere, I think.

[dewey]

Curious your reasoning behind ranking Samford, who is 1-3 with zero D-1 wins, and leaving off Mercer, with 2 D-1 wins and losses vs #6 Furman and FBS Ol Miss.

Good feedback. I probably missed on Samford. Part of me is still thinking about how solid they were last year in the Fargodome.

Dewey

[SCPALADIN]

Samford is still big time on my watch list, but you gotta get wins. They are dangerous, but many others are more deserving. The bottom 8 spots are pretty tough to fill right now. Lots of good teams with questionable records. I dropped them until they start winning. Mercer is barely in mine. Rough early schedule, but good team.

I'm with you. I had Mercer at 24th and dropped Samford completely. They have a very good opportunity to get two conference wins (ETSU & Woffy) going into a big matchup with Furman. They could definitely be back in the thick of things soon.

[MSUBobcat]

1: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
2: Montana State Bobcats
3: North Dakota State Bison
4: Idaho Vandals
5: Holy Cross Crusaders
6: Furman Paladins
7: Incarnate Word Cardinals
8: William & Mary Tribe
9: Sac State Hornets
10: Weber State Wildcats
11: Southern Illinois Salukis
12: North Dakota Fighting Hawks
13: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
14: North Carolina Central Eagles
15: Mercer Bears
16: New Hampshire Wildcats
17: Western Carolina Catamounts
18: Eastern Washington Eagles
19: UC Davis Aggies
20: Northern Iowa Panthers
21: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks
22: Villanova Wildcats
23: Austin Peay Governors
24: Albany Great Danes
25: Central Arkansas Bears

taper

The Most Significant Win: Furman Paladins
The Most Significant Loss: Sac State Hornets
Which Conference Does Your Team Play in?: Missouri Valley Football Conference

I had to remind myself that this is a ranking, not a rating. I have some teams way higher than I want but there's nobody better to push them down.

Is this your Week 4 poll? UNI riding that ISU-o win, which is then flowing thru to Weber riding that UNI win for all it's worth. If the gap between #2 and #10 is that wide, we're going to have major blowouts in the playoffs until the semifinal round.

[wcugrad95]

There are 5 SOCON teams that can still get to 8 or even 9 wins. Even though the league has moved to a division of haves and have-nots (at least through the first 4 weeks), the top 5 teams are capable of beating each other - and lots of other teams - any given weekend. FU's win against Mercer is the biggest so far given how Samford seems down from the early season polls, but the big games are still ahead on the schedule. I wouldn't be surprised to see Samford get to 6 or 7 wins but I also won't be surprised if they finish around 4-4 in the league. There is a big divide, but the top IMO is really good. Huge matchups coming between WCU/UTC/Furman/Mercer may mean we have a logjam at the top, or we might see Furman win them all and be very deserving of a top-4 seed.

[taper]

Is this your Week 4 poll? UNI riding that ISU-o win, which is then flowing thru to Weber riding that UNI win for all it's worth. If the gap between #2 and #10 is that wide, we're going to have major blowouts in the playoffs until the semifinal round.
Yep, I think it is. Like I said, ranking not rating.

[MSUBobcat]

If I skimmed/searched accurately... of the 10 brave souls willing to go public with their vote, not 1 has voted for Montana. That means if ALL the other 41 voters included UM, their average placement would be between #22 and 23 (3.29pt/vote), with more going with 23 than 22. I would suspect another 10 at least don't have them ranked at all either. Starting to think a couple 2nd or 3rd place votes for MSU accidentally went to Montana, similar to how UND used to get NDSU votes.

[uofmman1122]

Who the hell is voting for Montana?

We are trash, guys.

[smilo]

I didn't vote for Montana. Last week was the only week I voted for them at #24.

I also bumped SDSU to the top spot for MSU's thumping.

[MSUBobcat]

Who the hell is voting for Montana?

We are trash, guys.

Gotta admit, I love the juxtaposition of the "How do I beat Griz" avatar and the "Waiting for the Griz to become relevant again." sig.

[Preferred Walk-On]

Gotta admit, I love the juxtaposition of the "How do I beat Griz" avatar and the "Waiting for the Griz to become relevant again." sig.

"It's a think piece about a mid-level team struggling with their own limitations in the harsh face of the other state team's stardom."

[SeattleCat]

I didn't vote for Montana. Last week was the only week I voted for them at #24.

I also bumped SDSU to the top spot for MSU's thumping.

Bobcats lead the entire game until SDSU's last drive and it was short of being avenged by about 3". Not sure I'd call 20-16 comeback win a thumping, if I was the Jacks I would want no part of MSU in the playoffs.

[MSUBobcat]

"It's a think piece about a mid-level team struggling with their own limitations in the harsh face of the other state team's stardom."

xlolxxlolxxlolx Deep thoughts, with PWO. I'm about as deep as a puddle, so I'll see myself out. In a college lit class, I was told my interpretation of what a story or poem meant to me was wrong. xnutsx

[MSUBobcat]

Bobcats lead the entire game until SDSU's last drive and it was short of being avenged by about 3". Not sure I'd call 20-16 comeback win a thumping, if I was the Jacks I would want no part of MSU in the playoffs.

I believe he means he previously was one of the 2 voters from last week that had NDSU at #1, but moved SDSU up even though the xDSU's were both on a bye this weekend because that 4 point win looks much better now.

[TheKingpin28]

1: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
2: Montana State Bobcats
3: North Dakota State Bison
4: Holy Cross Crusaders
5: Idaho Vandals
6: Furman Paladins
7: Sac State Hornets
8: William & Mary Tribe
9: Incarnate Word Cardinals
10: Southern Illinois Salukis
11: North Dakota Fighting Hawks
12: Western Carolina Catamounts
13: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
14: New Hampshire Wildcats
15: Eastern Washington Eagles
16: UC Davis Aggies
17: North Carolina Central Eagles
18: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks
19: Villanova Wildcats
20: Youngstown State Penguins
21: Rhode Island Rams
22: Weber State Wildcats
23: Albany Great Danes
24: Florida A&M Rattlers
25: Mercer Bears

I thought about Chatty at 25 and they should have been in there instead of Mercer and I agree I was wrong on that one.

I guess I am higher on EWU and UC Davis than the consensus but at about 15-17 it became a dartboard IMO.

[SeattleCat]

I believe he means he previously was one of the 2 voters from last week that had NDSU at #1, but moved SDSU up even though the xDSU's were both on a bye this weekend because that 4 point win looks much better now.

That make way more sense... Sometimes you just need to put down the reefer I guess.

[taper]

If I skimmed/searched accurately... of the 10 brave souls willing to go public with their vote, not 1 has voted for Montana. That means if ALL the other 41 voters included UM, their average placement would be between #22 and 23 (3.29pt/vote), with more going with 23 than 22. I would suspect another 10 at least don't have them ranked at all either. Starting to think a couple 2nd or 3rd place votes for MSU accidentally went to Montana, similar to how UND used to get NDSU votes.
Ursus is pretty good at kicking back obvious mistakes like that. By my count Mont St and NDSU combined are 21 points short of all 2-3 rankings. Several posted polls have NDSU below 3. There's not enough available points for someone to have put Montana at 2 or 3(or even 5, which isn't going to happen).

[caribbeanhen]

1: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
2: Montana State Bobcats
3: North Dakota State Bison
4: Holy Cross Crusaders
5: Idaho Vandals
6: William & Mary Tribe
7: Furman Paladins
8: Southern Illinois Salukis
9: Sac State Hornets
10: Incarnate Word Cardinals
11: Western Carolina Catamounts
12: North Dakota Fighting Hawks
13: Villanova Wildcats
14: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
15: North Carolina Central Eagles
16: New Hampshire Wildcats
17: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks
18: Florida A&M Rattlers
19: Chattanooga Mocs
20: Youngstown State Penguins
21: Eastern Illinois Panthers
22: Illinois State Redbirds
23: Eastern Washington Eagles
24: Albany Great Danes
25: Central Arkansas Bears

POD Knows

The Most Significant Win: Eastern Washington Eagles
The Most Significant Loss: Montana Grizzlies
Which Conference Does Your Team Play in?: Missouri Valley Football Conference




This poll has many similarities to the Answer Key

[uofmman1122]

Gotta admit, I love the juxtaposition of the "How do I beat Griz" avatar and the "Waiting for the Griz to become relevant again." sig.
This avatar was much more appropriate when I made it back in 2006. xlolx xembarrassedx

It's probably time to go with the other one I have had for a long time on every other forum lol

[MSUBobcat]

Ursus is pretty good at kicking back obvious mistakes like that. By my count Mont St and NDSU combined are 21 points short of all 2-3 rankings. Several posted polls have NDSU below 3. There's not enough available points for someone to have put Montana at 2 or 3(or even 5, which isn't going to happen).

I know he usually kicks them back, but mistakes happen. Technically, there's enough points left for someone to have voted UM #1 (the initial 21 points remaining, Crusader and CHen voted NDSU 4th, leaving 2 more points available and SeattleCat voted NDSU 5th for 2 more points). And that's just in the 11 polls posted. If not in error, someone(s) voting for the Griz in the top 20 which is pretty hard to justify and that person(s) got some 'splaining to do. They have 0 votes out of 11, leaving just 40 voters to accumulate 135pts (i.e. 18 votes for #22, 21 votes for #23 and just one more poll leaving them off altogether).

[SCPALADIN]

If I skimmed/searched accurately... of the 10 brave souls willing to go public with their vote, not 1 has voted for Montana. That means if ALL the other 41 voters included UM, their average placement would be between #22 and 23 (3.29pt/vote), with more going with 23 than 22. I would suspect another 10 at least don't have them ranked at all either. Starting to think a couple 2nd or 3rd place votes for MSU accidentally went to Montana, similar to how UND used to get NDSU votes.

Flame away...~#15-25 were really tough this week. No Montana here...

Hello SCPALADIN,

We have received your AGS Top 25 vote on 9/25/2023 7:11:25

Your vote is listed below.


1: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
2: Montana State Bobcats
3: North Dakota State Bison
4: Idaho Vandals
5: Sac State Hornets
6: Furman Paladins
7: Holy Cross Crusaders
8: Incarnate Word Cardinals
9: Southern Illinois Salukis
10: Western Carolina Catamounts
11: William & Mary Tribe
12: North Dakota Fighting Hawks
13: Weber State Wildcats
14: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
15: Eastern Washington Eagles
16: Villanova Wildcats
17: Chattanooga Mocs
18: Youngstown State Penguins
19: New Hampshire Wildcats
20: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks
21: Albany Great Danes
22: Fordham Rams
23: Rhode Island Rams
24: Mercer Bears
25: UC Davis Aggies

SCPALADIN

The Most Significant Win: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
The Most Significant Loss: Montana Grizzlies
Which Conference Does Your Team Play in?: Southern Conference

[grizband]

1: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
2: North Dakota State Bison
3: Montana State Bobcats
4: Holy Cross Crusaders
5: Idaho Vandals
6: Furman Paladins
7: William & Mary Tribe
8: Sac State Hornets
9: Southern Illinois Salukis
10: Incarnate Word Cardinals
11: Villanova Wildcats
12: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks
13: North Dakota Fighting Hawks
14: Illinois State Redbirds
15: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
16: Western Carolina Catamounts
17: Chattanooga Mocs
18: Fordham Rams
19: Weber State Wildcats
20: Eastern Illinois Panthers
21: New Hampshire Wildcats
22: South Dakota Coyotes
23: Youngstown State Penguins
24: North Carolina Central Eagles
25: Tarleton Texans

grizband

The Most Significant Win: Montana State Bobcats
The Most Significant Loss: Montana Grizzlies
Which Conference Does Your Team Play in?: Big Sky Conference

[Preferred Walk-On]

RU ****ing kidding me, wow, this a hot garbage, I get this poll if some weird **** happens during the year but for a pre-season poll this is crap. Sorry, it just is. None of those teams, with the exception of SDSU, has proven they are better than NDSU.

Well, after having my feelings just crushed by this post about my preseason poll, I have had a difficult time bringing myself to once again post a poll. However, after much internal reflection, therapy, soul-searching, and of course, having eyes and actually watching games, I have decided to post my week 4 poll (especially since this week, I have been told, is the first week where it is actually valid to post a poll). Actually, I have just been quite busy (and a bit lazy) this season. Besides, everyone knows PODKnows' polls suck just as bad. ;)

Oh, BTW, NDSU has yet to prove to me that they better than the teams I have ranked above, and if you (I'm looking at you, PODKnows) have been to any games in the Fargodome/US Bank this year (which I have), you cannot honestly say that my statement is incorrect.

Here's my go at it (with commentary)...

----------

Hello Preferred Walk-On,

We have received your AGS Top 25 vote on 9/25/2023 8:29:40

Your vote is listed below.

1: South Dakota State Jackrabbits - There is no disputing who is king of the hill, unless you are the next team...

2: Montana State Bobcats - Nearly pulling out a victory...in SD...with a QB injury...oh, and did you see them demolish a team that AGS had at #12 (and for some reason unbeknownst to me is still ranked #18)?

3: Idaho Vandals - Beat an FBS (even if you debate the merits of that G5 FBS), lost to another FBS, and took care of another team that beat a P5 FBS. This is not your typical FCS-to-FBS-back-to-FCS Vandals team.

4: Holy Cross Crusaders - OK, Sluka can run and throws the ball well enough to beat Patriot teams. But the Crusaders' position in my poll comes from losing to P5 FBS Boston College, which the next week proceeded to lose by 2 pt (read that again, 2 pt) to Florida State. If the Crusaders roll the rest of their opponents, they may just have earned a #3/4 seed (please don't tell me #1 or #2...you all saw the Montana State @ South Dakota State game).

5: Sac State Hornets - Going in and beating your old coach that left for a P5 FBS team is something. Losing to the AGS #6 (now #4) team on the second-to-last possession on the road is nothing to scoff at.

6: North Dakota State Bison - This is an athletic team with so-so discipline. They tackle better than last year, but their defense still needs improvement. Their offense needs a second dimension (or at least the illusion of one). They have beaten my #23 and another team that AGS has at #27 this week (even if half their scoring was in the 4th Qtr, or as you AGS'ers might refer to as "garbage time"?). The Bison need to have a "prove it" game, and I haven't seen it...yet.

7: Southern Illinois Salukis - Demolished Austin Peay, and beat Southeast Missouri State (ranked #16 just last week) and G5 FBS Northern Illinois, who beat Boston College by 3 pt just a week before Holy Cross lost to them. They deserve some recognition.

8: Furman Paladins - Here it is again, the SoCon getting screwed (right FuBEAR?). That win over Kennesaw State soured the Paladins a bit. That said, I think mid-October to early-November is where the Paladins can be promoted (or relegated) regarding playoff seeding.

9: Western Carolina Catamounts - I think the Catamounts are being penalized for past transgressions. As many a wise AGS'er has said, this is a new year, and by week 4, past transgressions should no longer be in play. Ladies and Gentlemen, they just beat Charleston Southern by 56 pt. If I remember correctly, the Buccaneers put a little scare in William & Mary (anybody remember 15-7?...it happened just last week).

10: Incarnate Word Cardinals - Quite honestly, I am just not sure where to put the Cardinals...and quite honestly, we will not know even by the end of the season, unless they take a loss (or two). Just don't see it happening. They are this year's Sam Houston (regarding conference strength and knowing how good they are/can be).

11: William & Mary Tribe - They are here (for now), because of their win against Maine, who I got to see in the Fargodome, and the Campbell win (which is having less-and-less luster as we enter week 5). Let's see what happens when you play Delaware, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Villanova. Oh wait, you don't play any of these teams? Enjoy your stay at #11 (or lower once these teams start playing each other).

12: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens - Hey, nice win against New Hampshire...at home. At least you will play Villanova, but no Tribe or Rams for you. You will need to demonstrate your rank-worthiness not simply by victories, but with some style points as well.

13: New Hampshire Wildcats - That close loss to Central Michigan, two convincing wins against mid-/lower-level FCS, and the close loss to Delaware puts you here. Please tell me you will play some CAA teams to actually validate your ranking. Oh, at least you have Villanova and Rhode Island.

14: North Dakota Fighting Hawks - They were able to handle Northern Arizona (which Montana could not), and although you got run a bit by G5 Boise State, that game was 28-18 going into the 4th Qtr. Your gauntlet begins this week.

15: Villanova Wildcats - Could this be the best CAA team? They have beaten Patriots like they should and just finished off Rhode Island with some authority. The Wildcats will get the chance to play Delaware, New Hampshire, and Albany.

16: North Carolina Central Eagles - I think someone said it somewhere that the Eagles should really be getting some more consideration, despite their conference/schedule. I agree. What they have done is win games they should in the fashion that they should. This is not simply them beating New Hampshire and Jackson State last year. This team is definitely worthy of near Top 15.

17: Youngstown State Penguins - To be quite honest, this is one where I did second-/third-/fourth-guess the rank; however, I just don't see where the teams below have any major justification to be above. But I do concede that this feels like my most questionable ranking.

18: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks - I don't believe that Missouri State is Top 25 (at least yet); and I just cannot justify the Skyhawks being higher (again, at least yet). However, they did handle North Alabama at bit better than my next team (and much better than my #25 team).

19: Mercer Bears - For those that think Mercer should not be ranked, shame on you. The Bears were a little slow out of the gate with North Alabama, but the rest of their performance thus far is not unlike that of EWU or Central Arkansas...if EWU can be ranked and UCA nearly ranked even after being beaten by a team by 25 or 27, then Mercer can still be ranked after losing to Furman.

20: Eastern Kentucky Colonels - For all of you "record-only" voters (i.e., must be .500 or better after 4 games to be ranked), it is disappointing that a team that just beat AGS's #16 SEMO cannot make it above #34. And for those of you saying good-bye to SEMO, they only lost to Southern Illinois by 1 pt (on a TD scored with 0:11 left in the game). The Redhawks should still be in, and the Colonels are as good or (using recency...this past weekend) better than SEMO.

21: Fordham Rams - For those that say one cannot have Fordham above Albany, due to the Great Dane's week 1 (read that again, week 1) win over Fordham, I present to you Montana over NDSU week 0 in 2015 (vs. later in the season...postseason to be exact). First games are always a bit of an enigma. Since that week, Fordham has dominated their FCS competition and bagged an G5 FBS win. That should count for something (and Albany was barely off my list).

22: Southeast Missouri State Redhawks - I refer you to SIU and EKU games.

23: Eastern Washington Eagles - Close (2 OT) loss @ Fresno State and win over UC Davis this past weekend puts the Eagles here. UC Davis probably should not be ranked at this point (and they were just off my list), even if they did have a close loss to Arizona State (low P5, but P5 nonetheless). Eastern Washington ranking here reflects beating (for me) an unranked (in my mind) UC Davis.

24: Florida A&M Rattlers - This is a North Carolina Central type of situation...they need some recognition for winning games they are supposed to and only losing by two scores to South Florida (G5 FBS).

25: Chattanooga Mocs - I left the Mocs for dead after losing like they did to North Alabama. However, destroying Samford the way they did says something, unless Samford is that bad, and it doesn't say anything. Also, their loss was to North Alabama (who had a game under their belt when they played). So I am applying my week 1 thoughts to Chattanooga.

The Most Significant Win: Villanova Wildcats - This was a definitive win over an AGS-ranked opponent that not only propelled Villanova into the poll, but to #15 no less.

The Most Significant Loss: Weber State Wildcats - I realize they lost by 40 to the #2 team (and nearly #1 team), but if you are Top 25, you cannot hang a donut on the scoreboard, even if it is to one of the top teams. You just can't. Also, the Wildcats really did not have any definitive performance to this point (Northern Iowa?). I am usually a big proponent of Northern Iowa (and have said so elsewhere), but from what I have seen this year, a 6-5 Panther team this year probably should not be in the playoffs.

Which Conference Does Your Team Play in?: Missouri Valley Football Conference - Yes, this is my conference, but as you can see from my descriptions above, my bias appears to be both positive AND negative with respect to the MVFC teams...as does my anti-"insert conference other than MVFC here" bias.

[Preferred Walk-On]

xlolxxlolxxlolx Deep thoughts, with PWO. I'm about as deep as a puddle, so I'll see myself out. In a college lit class, I was told my interpretation of what a story or poem meant to me was wrong. xnutsx

Just made me think of Lester Bangs telling young William what to write in Almost Famous.

[Preferred Walk-On]

This poll has many similarities to the Answer Key

Conformist!

[crusader11]

Bravo, PWO. Really awesome post.

[Catbooster]

My ballot this week:

1: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
2: Montana State Bobcats
3: North Dakota State Bison
4: Idaho Vandals
5: Holy Cross Crusaders
6: Furman Paladins
7: Incarnate Word Cardinals
8: Sac State Hornets
9: William & Mary Tribe
10: North Dakota Fighting Hawks
11: Southern Illinois Salukis
12: Western Carolina Catamounts
13: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
14: Youngstown State Penguins
15: New Hampshire Wildcats
16: Villanova Wildcats
17: Central Arkansas Bears
18: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks
19: North Carolina Central Eagles
20: Chattanooga Mocs
21: Eastern Washington Eagles
22: Albany Great Danes
23: UC Davis Aggies
24: Fordham Rams
25: Mercer Bears



The Most Significant Win: Eastern Washington Eagles
The Most Significant Loss: Weber State Wildcats

Lots of movement this week. I'm sure there will be lots of movement next week again.

[MSUBobcat]

21: Fordham Rams - For those that say one cannot have Fordham above Albany, due to the Great Dane's week 1 (read that again, week 1) win over Fordham, I present to you Montana over NDSU week 0 in 2015 (vs. later in the season...postseason to be exact). First games are always a bit of an enigma. Since that week, Fordham has dominated their FCS competition and bagged an G5 FBS win. That should count for something (and Albany was barely off my list).



I get what you're saying here BUT... first off, that UM-NDSU example omits some context. UM won on the last drive of the game... in what ANY Griz fan will tell you is the toughest place on earth for visiting teams, worth at least 7pt/game, so really NDSU won. xsmiley_wix Albany thumped Fordham. It was the first game for both, so the week 1 argument doesn't hold a lot of water for me. I'll concede that maybe Fordham has improved more than Albany since then, but 21 points better? xdontknowx Fordham played Wagner, which admittedly isn't the Wagner of the last few years but still... Wagner. A G5 win is a G5 win... but Buffalo has a tendency to lose to FCS teams and they're currently winless. Then there's transitioning Stonehill, who has eked out a few wins, but not a "high-quality win" IMO.

Albany has the H2H (in dominating fashion) and a road win at somewhat-surprising Morgan State (beat Richmond, 3pt loss to G5 Akron, Towson loss not a good look), a 4 pt loss to the best G5 mentioned in this post, Marshall (3-0), and trailed Hawaii by just 4 until less than 4 minutes left after making one of the longest possible road trips (UNH, Dartmouth, Maine, HC, etc. may be slightly farther). JFK to Oahu is 11 hours on a direct flight.

Week 1 - Albany thumping Fordham >>> Fordham getting thumped
Week 2 - Albany gives Marshall all it wants > Fordham thumping Wagner
Week 3 - Albany hanging with Hawaii << Fordham stealing a G5 scalp (they were down 4 until their last possession, then held on for last 2.5 minutes)
Week 4 - Albany beating Morgan on the road = Fordham curbstomping Stonehill
Conclusion - Albany is better than Fordham by >>

All just my opinion.

[Puddin Tane]

My first time posting my ballot…i get bitched at enuf at home

1: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
2: North Dakota State Bison
3: Montana State Bobcats
4: Idaho Vandals
5: Furman Paladins
6: Incarnate Word Cardinals
7: Holy Cross Crusaders
8: Southern Illinois Salukis
9: William & Mary Tribe
10: Sac State Hornets
11: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
12: Western Carolina Catamounts
13: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks
14: Villanova Wildcats
15: Chattanooga Mocs
16: New Hampshire Wildcats
17: Florida A&M Rattlers
18: Eastern Washington Eagles
19: Tarleton Texans
20: Fordham Rams
21: Eastern Illinois Panthers
22: Illinois State Redbirds
23: Austin Peay Governors
24: North Carolina Central Eagles
25: Central Arkansas Bears

[McCowboys]

9/25/2023


Rank
Team:
Total Points
First Place Votes


1
South Dakota State Jackrabbits
1275
51


2
Montana State Bobcats
1189



3
North Dakota State Bison
1187



4
Idaho Vandals
1096



5
Holy Cross Crusaders
1054



6
Furman Paladins
1009



7
Sac State Hornets
928



8
William & Mary Tribe
909



9
Southern Illinois Salukis
876



10
Incarnate Word Cardinals
854



11
Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
691



12
Western Carolina Catamounts
659



13
North Dakota Fighting Hawks
658



14
New Hampshire Wildcats
564



15
Villanova Wildcats
439



16
Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks
431



17
North Carolina Central Eagles
375



18
Weber State Wildcats
373



19
Youngstown State Penguins
316



20
Eastern Washington Eagles
289



21
Fordham Rams
186



22
UC Davis Aggies
182



23
Chattanooga Mocs
149



24
Albany Great Danes
138



25
Montana Grizzlies
135
















ORV:




26
Florida A&M Rattlers
122



27
Central Arkansas Bears
82



28
Mercer Bears
71



29
Eastern Illinois Panthers
65



30
Rhode Island Rams
58



31
Southeast Missouri State Redhawks
45



32
Illinois State Redbirds
44



33
Austin Peay Governors
29



34
Eastern Kentucky Colonels
28



35
Northern Iowa Panthers
19



36
Samford Bulldogs
10



37
Harvard Crimson
9



38T
South Dakota Coyotes
8



38T
Tarleton Texans
8



40
Richmond Spiders
7
















Most Significant Win:
Idaho Vandals





Most Significant Loss:
Montana Grizzlies





The Albany Great Danes who are #24 in this poll at 2-2....Can someone help me understand this? Is Morgan State a worthy win in 2 OT? Not saying they shouldn't be ranked, but I'm just not seeing it.
Thanks for your insight.

Also, for those ranking Eastern Illinois....They just beat a McNeese team who came in at 0-3, and had been outscored by 18, 42, and 14 points and has little to no rushing defense. The Panthers had to kick a miraculous 50+ field goal with under a minute left, got away with a roughing the punter penalty (even the EIU announcers couldn't believe a flag wasn't thrown), and also had a questionable sideline catch that the officials did not review (talk about some home cooking) just to eek out a win. They have had two last minute comeback wins in a row, and I admire them for that, but again I question a ranking at this point.
Again, I would appreciate insight for those who put them in your top 25. Thanks!

[taper]

The Albany Great Danes who are #24 in this poll at 2-2....Can someone help me understand this? Is Morgan State a worthy win in 2 OT? Not saying they shouldn't be ranked, but I'm just not seeing it.
Thanks for your insight.

Also, for those ranking Eastern Illinois....They just beat a McNeese team who came in at 0-3, and had been outscored by 18, 42, and 14 points and has little to no rushing defense. The Panthers had to kick a miraculous 50+ field goal with under a minute left, got away with a roughing the punter penalty (even the EIU announcers couldn't believe a flag wasn't thrown), and also had a questionable sideline catch that the officials did not review (talk about some home cooking) just to eek out a win. They have had two last minute comeback wins in a row, and I admire them for that, but again I question a ranking at this point.
Again, I would appreciate insight for those who put them in your top 25. Thanks!
Albany beat Fordham 34-13 but is somehow below them. Still wondering about that. Those 2 losses were competitive FBS games. Albany most definitely should be ranked.

[McCowboys]

Albany beat Fordham 34-13 but is somehow below them. Still wondering about that. Those 2 losses were competitive FBS games. Albany most definitely should be ranked.

One good win early in the season. Still want to know if a win against Morgan State in 2 OT was a significant win.
I guess we will see since they have some tough games coming up. Thanks!

[MSUBobcat]

The Albany Great Danes who are #24 in this poll at 2-2....Can someone help me understand this? Is Morgan State a worthy win in 2 OT? Not saying they shouldn't be ranked, but I'm just not seeing it.
Thanks for your insight.

Also, for those ranking Eastern Illinois....They just beat a McNeese team who came in at 0-3, and had been outscored by 18, 42, and 14 points and has little to no rushing defense. The Panthers had to kick a miraculous 50+ field goal with under a minute left, got away with a roughing the punter penalty (even the EIU announcers couldn't believe a flag wasn't thrown), and also had a questionable sideline catch that the officials did not review (talk about some home cooking) just to eek out a win. They have had two last minute comeback wins in a row, and I admire them for that, but again I question a ranking at this point.
Again, I would appreciate insight for those who put them in your top 25. Thanks!

Albany is 2-0 vs FCS, including a beatdown of the #21 team. Their 2 losses (FBS) are a combined 15 points, lead undefeated Marshall in the 4th, and were down 4 to Hawaii until 3:20 left in the game. The bottom half of the poll seem fairly interchangeable at this point.

[McCowboys]

Albany is 2-0 vs FCS, including a beatdown of the #21 team. Their 2 losses (FBS) are a combined 15 points, lead undefeated Marshall in the 4th, and were down 4 to Hawaii until 3:20 left in the game. The bottom half of the poll seem fairly interchangeable at this point.

How good is Fordham? They lost to Albany and then steamrolled some really tough competition, I see. Too bad McNeese didn't play some of Fordham's opponents. The Cowboys might just have picked up a win or two.

[taper]

How good is Fordham? They lost to Albany and then steamrolled some really tough competition, I see. Too bad McNeese didn't play some of Fordham's opponents. The Cowboys might just have picked up a win or two.
Holy Cross is 3-0 against FCS teams with a combined 0 FCS wins between them. HC is #5. Not saying Albany should be top 10, but they're definitely in the poll.

[KPSUL]

KPSUL,

We have received your AGS Top 25 vote on 9/25/2023 6:10:10

Your vote is listed below.


1: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
2: North Dakota State Bison
3: Montana State Bobcats
4: Idaho Vandals
5: Holy Cross Crusaders
6: William & Mary Tribe
7: Southern Illinois Salukis
8: Furman Paladins
9: Sac State Hornets
10: Incarnate Word Cardinals
11: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
12: Western Carolina Catamounts
13: Villanova Wildcats
14: North Carolina Central Eagles
15: North Dakota Fighting Hawks
16: New Hampshire Wildcats
17: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks
18: Youngstown State Penguins
19: Albany Great Danes
20: Fordham Rams
21: Chattanooga Mocs
22: Eastern Washington Eagles
23: Harvard Crimson
24: Austin Peay Governors
25: Rhode Island Rams

KPSUL

The Most Significant Win: Idaho State Bengals
The Most Significant Loss: Weber State Wildcats
Which Conference Does Your Team Play in?: Colonial Athletic Association

[MSUBobcat]

How good is Fordham? They lost to Albany and then steamrolled some really tough competition, I see. Too bad McNeese didn't play some of Fordham's opponents. The Cowboys might just have picked up a win or two.

How good is any of the top 18-ORV? If we're to believe Weber is the 18th best team, they are 40 points (should have been 48) worse than the #2 and couldn't score a point and amassed 208 total yards of offense. FCS is looking very top-heavy this year. xtwocentsx

[POD Knows]

Well, after having my feelings just crushed by this post about my preseason poll, I have had a difficult time bringing myself to once again post a poll. However, after much internal reflection, therapy, soul-searching, and of course, having eyes and actually watching games, I have decided to post my week 4 poll (especially since this week, I have been told, is the first week where it is actually valid to post a poll). Actually, I have just been quite busy (and a bit lazy) this season. Besides, everyone knows PODKnows' polls suck just as bad. ;)

Oh, BTW, NDSU has yet to prove to me that they better than the teams I have ranked above, and if you (I'm looking at you, PODKnows) have been to any games in the Fargodome/US Bank this year (which I have), you cannot honestly say that my statement is incorrect.

Here's my go at it (with commentary)...

----------

Hello Preferred Walk-On,

We have received your AGS Top 25 vote on 9/25/2023 8:29:40

Your vote is listed below.

1: South Dakota State Jackrabbits - There is no disputing who is king of the hill, unless you are the next team...

2: Montana State Bobcats - Nearly pulling out a victory...in SD...with a QB injury...oh, and did you see them demolish a team that AGS had at #12 (and for some reason unbeknownst to me is still ranked #18)?

3: Idaho Vandals - Beat an FBS (even if you debate the merits of that G5 FBS), lost to another FBS, and took care of another team that beat a P5 FBS. This is not your typical FCS-to-FBS-back-to-FCS Vandals team.

4: Holy Cross Crusaders - OK, Sluka can run and throws the ball well enough to beat Patriot teams. But the Crusaders' position in my poll comes from losing to P5 FBS Boston College, which the next week proceeded to lose by 2 pt (read that again, 2 pt) to Florida State. If the Crusaders roll the rest of their opponents, they may just have earned a #3/4 seed (please don't tell me #1 or #2...you all saw the Montana State @ South Dakota State game).

5: Sac State Hornets - Going in and beating your old coach that left for a P5 FBS team is something. Losing to the AGS #6 (now #4) team on the second-to-last possession on the road is nothing to scoff at.

6: North Dakota State Bison - This is an athletic team with so-so discipline. They tackle better than last year, but their defense still needs improvement. Their offense needs a second dimension (or at least the illusion of one). They have beaten my #23 and another team that AGS has at #27 this week (even if half their scoring was in the 4th Qtr, or as you AGS'ers might refer to as "garbage time"?). The Bison need to have a "prove it" game, and I haven't seen it...yet.

7: Southern Illinois Salukis - Demolished Austin Peay, and beat Southeast Missouri State (ranked #16 just last week) and G5 FBS Northern Illinois, who beat Boston College by 3 pt just a week before Holy Cross lost to them. They deserve some recognition.

8: Furman Paladins - Here it is again, the SoCon getting screwed (right FuBEAR?). That win over Kennesaw State soured the Paladins a bit. That said, I think mid-October to early-November is where the Paladins can be promoted (or relegated) regarding playoff seeding.

9: Western Carolina Catamounts - I think the Catamounts are being penalized for past transgressions. As many a wise AGS'er has said, this is a new year, and by week 4, past transgressions should no longer be in play. Ladies and Gentlemen, they just beat Charleston Southern by 56 pt. If I remember correctly, the Buccaneers put a little scare in William & Mary (anybody remember 15-7?...it happened just last week).

10: Incarnate Word Cardinals - Quite honestly, I am just not sure where to put the Cardinals...and quite honestly, we will not know even by the end of the season, unless they take a loss (or two). Just don't see it happening. They are this year's Sam Houston (regarding conference strength and knowing how good they are/can be).

11: William & Mary Tribe - They are here (for now), because of their win against Maine, who I got to see in the Fargodome, and the Campbell win (which is having less-and-less luster as we enter week 5). Let's see what happens when you play Delaware, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Villanova. Oh wait, you don't play any of these teams? Enjoy your stay at #11 (or lower once these teams start playing each other).

12: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens - Hey, nice win against New Hampshire...at home. At least you will play Villanova, but no Tribe or Rams for you. You will need to demonstrate your rank-worthiness not simply by victories, but with some style points as well.

13: New Hampshire Wildcats - That close loss to Central Michigan, two convincing wins against mid-/lower-level FCS, and the close loss to Delaware puts you here. Please tell me you will play some CAA teams to actually validate your ranking. Oh, at least you have Villanova and Rhode Island.

14: North Dakota Fighting Hawks - They were able to handle Northern Arizona (which Montana could not), and although you got run a bit by G5 Boise State, that game was 28-18 going into the 4th Qtr. Your gauntlet begins this week.

15: Villanova Wildcats - Could this be the best CAA team? They have beaten Patriots like they should and just finished off Rhode Island with some authority. The Wildcats will get the chance to play Delaware, New Hampshire, and Albany.

16: North Carolina Central Eagles - I think someone said it somewhere that the Eagles should really be getting some more consideration, despite their conference/schedule. I agree. What they have done is win games they should in the fashion that they should. This is not simply them beating New Hampshire and Jackson State last year. This team is definitely worthy of near Top 15.

17: Youngstown State Penguins - To be quite honest, this is one where I did second-/third-/fourth-guess the rank; however, I just don't see where the teams below have any major justification to be above. But I do concede that this feels like my most questionable ranking.

18: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks - I don't believe that Missouri State is Top 25 (at least yet); and I just cannot justify the Skyhawks being higher (again, at least yet). However, they did handle North Alabama at bit better than my next team (and much better than my #25 team).

19: Mercer Bears - For those that think Mercer should not be ranked, shame on you. The Bears were a little slow out of the gate with North Alabama, but the rest of their performance thus far is not unlike that of EWU or Central Arkansas...if EWU can be ranked and UCA nearly ranked even after being beaten by a team by 25 or 27, then Mercer can still be ranked after losing to Furman.

20: Eastern Kentucky Colonels - For all of you "record-only" voters (i.e., must be .500 or better after 4 games to be ranked), it is disappointing that a team that just beat AGS's #16 SEMO cannot make it above #34. And for those of you saying good-bye to SEMO, they only lost to Southern Illinois by 1 pt (on a TD scored with 0:11 left in the game). The Redhawks should still be in, and the Colonels are as good or (using recency...this past weekend) better than SEMO.

21: Fordham Rams - For those that say one cannot have Fordham above Albany, due to the Great Dane's week 1 (read that again, week 1) win over Fordham, I present to you Montana over NDSU week 0 in 2015 (vs. later in the season...postseason to be exact). First games are always a bit of an enigma. Since that week, Fordham has dominated their FCS competition and bagged an G5 FBS win. That should count for something (and Albany was barely off my list).

22: Southeast Missouri State Redhawks - I refer you to SIU and EKU games.

23: Eastern Washington Eagles - Close (2 OT) loss @ Fresno State and win over UC Davis this past weekend puts the Eagles here. UC Davis probably should not be ranked at this point (and they were just off my list), even if they did have a close loss to Arizona State (low P5, but P5 nonetheless). Eastern Washington ranking here reflects beating (for me) an unranked (in my mind) UC Davis.

24: Florida A&M Rattlers - This is a North Carolina Central type of situation...they need some recognition for winning games they are supposed to and only losing by two scores to South Florida (G5 FBS).

25: Chattanooga Mocs - I left the Mocs for dead after losing like they did to North Alabama. However, destroying Samford the way they did says something, unless Samford is that bad, and it doesn't say anything. Also, their loss was to North Alabama (who had a game under their belt when they played). So I am applying my week 1 thoughts to Chattanooga.

The Most Significant Win: Villanova Wildcats - This was a definitive win over an AGS-ranked opponent that not only propelled Villanova into the poll, but to #15 no less.

The Most Significant Loss: Weber State Wildcats - I realize they lost by 40 to the #2 team (and nearly #1 team), but if you are Top 25, you cannot hang a donut on the scoreboard, even if it is to one of the top teams. You just can't. Also, the Wildcats really did not have any definitive performance to this point (Northern Iowa?). I am usually a big proponent of Northern Iowa (and have said so elsewhere), but from what I have seen this year, a 6-5 Panther team this year probably should not be in the playoffs.

Which Conference Does Your Team Play in?: Missouri Valley Football Conference - Yes, this is my conference, but as you can see from my descriptions above, my bias appears to be both positive AND negative with respect to the MVFC teams...as does my anti-"insert conference other than MVFC here" bias.
I will bet you that I watch way more weekend college football than you, unless like me, you have no life. :DAnd I am a Bison season ticket holder, have been since 2007 and haven't missed a home game and have gone to numerous away games and have watched every televised minute of every away game and have done so since I moved back here in 2007. Your poll is perfectly fine except for the NDSU ranking, I refuse, as do most poll voters, to discount NDSU given their past history and their pretty good start this season, given the wins over EWU and UCA. I have them 3rd and won't get in a pissing match over a couple of spots in a poll. I think you have W&M about right, I think I should have nicked them for the CSU game.

I think I watched 5 FCS games this weekend, I have ESPN+, watched 3 BSC games, watched the Furman/Mercer game and the Harvard game. Watched some of the UCA/ACU game and some of some others. I am not an NFL fan so I watched some college football on Sunday. I probably average 15 to 20 hours of FCS per week. I don't know if that is a lot but it probably is too much.

And it won't hurt my feelings if you rip on my poll, your feelings about somebody taking on a poll sounds like a personal problem. I wouldn't take much of anything I say on here personally unless you are an insufferable millennial or Gen Z douchebag, then I hope it keeps you up at night. xsmiley_wix

[McCowboys]

Holy Cross is 3-0 against FCS teams with a combined 0 FCS wins between them. HC is #5. Not saying Albany should be top 10, but they're definitely in the poll.

That is true about HC. As others have said, maybe we need to look more at who teams have played instead of just looking at the record.
The good thing is there are lots of games to be played and things will become more clear.
It's a shame some of these schools don't play out of their region more in nonconference games.

[Preferred Walk-On]

I get what you're saying here BUT... first off, that UM-NDSU example omits some context. UM won on the last drive of the game... in what ANY Griz fan will tell you is the toughest place on earth for visiting teams, worth at least 7pt/game, so really NDSU won. xsmiley_wix Albany thumped Fordham. It was the first game for both, so the week 1 argument doesn't hold a lot of water for me. I'll concede that maybe Fordham has improved more than Albany since then, but 21 points better? xdontknowx Fordham played Wagner, which admittedly isn't the Wagner of the last few years but still... Wagner. A G5 win is a G5 win... but Buffalo has a tendency to lose to FCS teams and they're currently winless. Then there's transitioning Stonehill, who has eked out a few wins, but not a "high-quality win" IMO.

Albany has the H2H (in dominating fashion) and a road win at somewhat-surprising Morgan State (beat Richmond, 3pt loss to G5 Akron, Towson loss not a good look), a 4 pt loss to the best G5 mentioned in this post, Marshall (3-0), and trailed Hawaii by just 4 until less than 4 minutes left after making one of the longest possible road trips (UNH, Dartmouth, Maine, HC, etc. may be slightly farther). JFK to Oahu is 11 hours on a direct flight.

Week 1 - Albany thumping Fordham >>> Fordham getting thumped
Week 2 - Albany gives Marshall all it wants > Fordham thumping Wagner
Week 3 - Albany hanging with Hawaii << Fordham stealing a G5 scalp (they were down 4 until their last possession, then held on for last 2.5 minutes)
Week 4 - Albany beating Morgan on the road = Fordham curbstomping Stonehill
Conclusion - Albany is better than Fordham by >>

All just my opinion.

I get it. Also, just picked a game I was familiar with. Not trying to equate scores, but more-so the result and how it ultimately played out.

I was told by a CAA aficionado when I asked whether Morgan State should be considered, and the response was basically that Richmond sucks. So one would have to by extension suggest that maybe Albany is not that great? Also, I do think Fordham may be 21 pt better after three additional weeks. I am not dismissing someone’s feelings that Albany should be ranked (maybe even above Fordham). However, I don’t subscribe to the suggestion that that can be the only interpretation.


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[UAalum72]

The Albany Great Danes who are #24 in this poll at 2-2....Can someone help me understand this? Is Morgan State a worthy win in 2 OT? Not saying they shouldn't be ranked, but I'm just not seeing it.
Thanks for your insight.
The Morgan State defense only gave up four touchdowns in their first three games (vs. Richmond, FBS Akron, and Towson), and the game was played in pouring rain and high wind.

[MSUBobcat]

I get it. Also, just picked a game I was familiar with. Not trying to equate scores, but more-so the result and how it ultimately played out.

I was told by a CAA aficionado when I asked whether Morgan State should be considered, and the response was basically that Richmond sucks. So one would have to by extension suggest that maybe Albany is not that great? Also, I do think Fordham may be 21 pt better after three additional weeks. I am not dismissing someone’s feelings that Albany should be ranked (maybe even above Fordham). However, I don’t subscribe to the suggestion that that can be the only interpretation.


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That Albany should be ranked (maybe even above Fordham) is far from the only interpretation of results to date. They (Fordham, Albany, Richmond and Morgan State) could ALL suck, and relative to the top 6-10 probably do. I can see why Fordham gets ranked by some and Albany not. They have that shiny G5 scalp and 3-1 record. I think Buffalo loses at Marshall by more than 4. Hawaii... IDK. I think maybe Albany played them tougher than Buffalo would, but perhaps not. Fordham is getting some tread life out of that Buffalo win if you dismiss Wagner and Stonehill, which I do for the most part. But we're really splitting hairs. But that's what this forum is for! I really enjoyed your write-up though. Well reasoned and detailed.

[McCowboys]

The Morgan State defense only gave up four touchdowns in their first three games (vs. Richmond, FBS Akron, and Towson), and the game was played in pouring rain and high wind.

OK. I didn't know. Weather conditions can certainly have an effect on games.

[Preferred Walk-On]

I will bet you that I watch way more weekend college football than you, unless like me, you have no life. :DAnd I am a Bison season ticket holder, have been since 2007 and haven't missed a home game and have gone to numerous away games and have watched every televised minute of every away game and have done so since I moved back here in 2007. Your poll is perfectly fine except for the NDSU ranking, I refuse, as do most poll voters, to discount NDSU given their past history and their pretty good start this season, given the wins over EWU and UCA. I have them 3rd and won't get in a pissing match over a couple of spots in a poll. I think you have W&M about right, I think I should have nicked them for the CSU game.

I think I watched 5 FCS games this weekend, I have ESPN+, watched 3 BSC games, watched the Furman/Mercer game and the Harvard game. Watched some of the UCA/ACU game and some of some others. I am not an NFL fan so I watched some college football on Sunday. I probably average 15 to 20 hours of FCS per week. I don't know if that is a lot but it probably is too much.

And it won't hurt my feelings if you rip on my poll, your feelings about somebody taking on a poll sounds like a personal problem. I wouldn't take much of anything I say on here personally unless you are an insufferable millennial or Gen Z douchebag, then I hope it keeps you up at night. xsmiley_wix

Season-ticket holder here since 2008, and when not at the game, an FCS game is on the TV. That said, I knew that you hadn’t missed anything, but I am glad that you did acknowledge that you are incorporating past history into your poll regarding NDSU. It is hard not to, and I can easily see how this helps put them at #2 (or now, #3), even though I respectfully disagree. I was just pointing out that NDSU is not as strong as years past, and I think you can see that, as a Bison fan. This is not to say that they can’t be.

Mentioning you in the post was meant to be a joke, given your blunt assertion that my preseason poll was, in your opinion, garbage, but I guess the joke might have missed the target. Hey, no worries. I am not easily offended, and just I am sure it is for you, it will not keep me up at night. ;)


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[Preferred Walk-On]

The Morgan State defense only gave up four touchdowns in their first three games (vs. Richmond, FBS Akron, and Towson), and the game was played in pouring rain and high wind.

I appreciate your point. However, that said, is Morgan State's defense that good, or alternatively, were their opponents that bad? I am not sure this stat tilts the scale in either direction, so it really is not a strong argument in either direction for/against Albany. I do believe that the Morgan State win is worthy though, as I even considered whether or not Morgan State should be ranked earlier this year.

That said, I have no problem with Albany being ranked (above or below Fordham). But I also think there are multiple ways to interpret Albany (and Fordham), and I interpret the order a bit differently than others that by the way they say it, strongly indicate that there is only one way to interpret it.

[Preferred Walk-On]

That Albany should be ranked (maybe even above Fordham) is far from the only interpretation of results to date. They (Fordham, Albany, Richmond and Morgan State) could ALL suck, and relative to the top 6-10 probably do. I can see why Fordham gets ranked by some and Albany not. They have that shiny G5 scalp and 3-1 record. I think Buffalo loses at Marshall by more than 4. Hawaii... IDK. I think maybe Albany played them tougher than Buffalo would, but perhaps not. Fordham is getting some tread life out of that Buffalo win if you dismiss Wagner and Stonehill, which I do for the most part. But we're really splitting hairs. But that's what this forum is for! I really enjoyed your write-up though. Well reasoned and detailed.

This was just some of what my brain was going through trying to rank teams this week. Just figured I'd post it, so that it would generate some discussion. I am particularly interested in essentially #3-15. Honestly, one could probably provide reasonable justification for any teams they rank #16-25, but it is all the teams between SDSU/MSU and Villanova/UT-M that intrigue me.

[POD Knows]

Season-ticket holder here since 2008, and when not at the game, an FCS game is on the TV. That said, I knew that you hadn’t missed anything, but I am glad that you did acknowledge that you are incorporating past history into your poll regarding NDSU. It is hard not to, and I can easily see how this helps put them at #2 (or now, #3), even though I respectfully disagree. I was just pointing out that NDSU is not as strong as years past, and I think you can see that, as a Bison fan. This is not to say that they can’t be.

Mentioning you in the post was meant to be a joke, given your blunt assertion that my preseason poll was, in your opinion, garbage, but I guess the joke might have missed the target. Hey, no worries. I am not easily offended, and just I am sure it is for you, it will not keep me up at night. ;)


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Programs that deliver year after year deserve a nod when there are questions. Outside of SDSU, who I think is head and shoulders above everyone else, it is sort of a crap shot but cream and experience rise to the top in most cases and posers get exposed. This NDSU team is not as good as 2019 but they "might" be better than last years team and that team was #2 in the country. These other teams you have in front of them, we will see, you might be right, football is funny, just takes a few injuries to change the entire dynamic.

[atthewbon]

The Albany Great Danes who are #24 in this poll at 2-2....Can someone help me understand this? Is Morgan State a worthy win in 2 OT? Not saying they shouldn't be ranked, but I'm just not seeing it.
Thanks for your insight.

Also, for those ranking Eastern Illinois....They just beat a McNeese team who came in at 0-3, and had been outscored by 18, 42, and 14 points and has little to no rushing defense. The Panthers had to kick a miraculous 50+ field goal with under a minute left, got away with a roughing the punter penalty (even the EIU announcers couldn't believe a flag wasn't thrown), and also had a questionable sideline catch that the officials did not review (talk about some home cooking) just to eek out a win. They have had two last minute comeback wins in a row, and I admire them for that, but again I question a ranking at this point.
Again, I would appreciate insight for those who put them in your top 25. Thanks!

As many have said, I found it hard to rank the last 8 or so teams this week. I thought I would respond because I has Albany 20 and Eastern Illinois 24. Albany is 2-0 vs the FCS and have beat solid Fordham and Morgan St teams. Like someone mentioned the weather was a factor as we had lots of rain in Maryland on Saturday. I watched the end of the game and OT and after looking at the box score Albany really struggled to hold onto the ball but otherwise outplayed a solid Morgan St team. For Eastern Illinois it's primarily based on them beating Illinois St. I had a hard time ranking 1-3 SEMO or EKU and decided to go win 3-1 EIU who beat Illinois St and whose only loss is to a FBS team. I had 11 teams I seriously considered for my final 3 spots and I went with EIU for their record and win over Illinois St.

[Chalupa Batman]

As many have said, I found it hard to rank the last 8 or so teams this week. I thought I would respond because I has Albany 20 and Eastern Illinois 24. Albany is 2-0 vs the FCS and have beat solid Fordham and Morgan St teams. Like someone mentioned the weather was a factor as we had lots of rain in Maryland on Saturday. I watched the end of the game and OT and after looking at the box score Albany really struggled to hold onto the ball but otherwise outplayed a solid Morgan St team. For Eastern Illinois it's primarily based on them beating Illinois St. I had a hard time ranking 1-3 SEMO or EKU and decided to go win 3-1 EIU who beat Illinois St and whose only loss is to a FBS team. I had 11 teams I seriously considered for my final 3 spots and I went with EIU for their record and win over Illinois St.

Your #12 team escaped with a victory against EKU, and the next week the Colonels beat SEMO in a very similar fashion that your #9 team did. Those are there only 2 FCS games as their other losses 2 were FBS (including playing very tough against a Kentucky team ranked #27 in both polls). They were a very easy team to rank in my poll.

[caribbeanhen]

Conformist!

We both have William & Mary at 11

I was thinking of ranking Fordham as you did but I remembered the beat down Albany put on them back in August so I ranked Albany and mostly because they have a QB that can win games

[crusader11]

The Albany Great Danes who are #24 in this poll at 2-2....Can someone help me understand this? Is Morgan State a worthy win in 2 OT? Not saying they shouldn't be ranked, but I'm just not seeing it.
Thanks for your insight.

Also, for those ranking Eastern Illinois....They just beat a McNeese team who came in at 0-3, and had been outscored by 18, 42, and 14 points and has little to no rushing defense. The Panthers had to kick a miraculous 50+ field goal with under a minute left, got away with a roughing the punter penalty (even the EIU announcers couldn't believe a flag wasn't thrown), and also had a questionable sideline catch that the officials did not review (talk about some home cooking) just to eek out a win. They have had two last minute comeback wins in a row, and I admire them for that, but again I question a ranking at this point.
Again, I would appreciate insight for those who put them in your top 25. Thanks!

My .02 -- not all wins and losses are created equal.

In the case of Albany, some voters might be putting value in close losses to Marshall (3-0 with other wins over East Carolina and Virginia Tech...their margin of victory over Albany was slimmer than these two other games) and Hawaii (2-3 with close losses to Vanderbilt and Stanford and other win over New Mexico St). Albany's dominating win over Fordham looks better with Fordham's win against Buffalo. Their win at Morgan St looks decent, too, as Morgan St has beaten Richmond and had a close loss to Akron. So, their 2-2 record ain't bad and is better than other team's who are 3-1 over lesser competition.

I moved EIU into my 25 after their win against Illinois St, a team that was receiving top 25 votes earlier in the season. I wasn't going to drop them after beating McNeese. They're certainly on the fringe, though.

[Preferred Walk-On]

Programs that deliver year after year deserve a nod when there are questions. Outside of SDSU, who I think is head and shoulders above everyone else, it is sort of a crap shot but cream and experience rise to the top in most cases and posers get exposed. This NDSU team is not as good as 2019 but they "might" be better than last years team and that team was #2 in the country. These other teams you have in front of them, we will see, you might be right, football is funny, just takes a few injuries to change the entire dynamic.

I don't begrudge this approach at all. I will say, however, that I am not convinced that this year's team is better than last year's team. And I am even comparing this team to the team they ended with last year, not the team they began with last year.

The #2 team in the country moniker, in my opinion, was probably a bit of byproduct of them making the national championship game, not necessarily their performance in the back half of the season getting there. If the Samford QB starts the entire game, not the second half, that quarterfinal game looks a fair bit different (not saying loss, but closer than score indicates...see Dewey's mention in this thread). If the Incarnate Word QB doesn't yell "500!" twice and chuck the football downfield, it could have been Incarnate Word getting their butts kicked in Frisco. Heck, there was even debate in the final AGS Poll for last year as to who should be #2 (even though I believe those arguments were weak and/or somewhat biased and short-sighted).

My overall point, until I see some indication of real progress from this Bison team, I feel that the teams I currently have in front of them HAVE improved from last year and can be reasonably placed in front of NDSU. In fact, it is because I see NDSU every week that is actually driving my ranking to be less favorable. For someone that is looking at scores/stats only, it is quite easy to say NDSU is #2 (or #3 this week). That, also in my opinion, is precisely why AGS is generally in agreement with you on their ranking.

Quite honestly, I hope I am completely wrong about the teams above NDSU, and that at the end of the season, the Bison prevail. However, as a voter, I am setting my Bison-fandom aside to realistically consider other teams/conferences. You are absolutely correct though..."just takes a few injuries to change the entire dynamic." That South Dakota State team last year was not definitively better than NDSU until after injuries/defections hit the Bison. That is not be used as an excuse, it is simply what happened, and the Jackrabbits did what a championship team should do, they made teams, including the Bison, pay. The Jacks deserved that championship. And also in agreement, "SDSU...is head and shoulders above (almost) everybody else" this year. We'll see how it plays out.

[Preferred Walk-On]

We both have William & Mary at 11

I was thinking of ranking Fordham as you did but I remembered the beat down Albany put on them back in August so I ranked Albany and mostly because they have a QB that can win games

Looking forward to that Oct. 28 Holy Cross @ Fordham game. Hopefully it is better than St. Thomas @ Harvard. ;)

[Mike296]

Hello Mike296,

We have received your AGS Top 25 vote on 9/23/2023 23:22:50

Your vote is listed below.


1: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
2: North Dakota State Bison
3: Montana State Bobcats
4: Idaho Vandals
5: Holy Cross Crusaders
6: Furman Paladins
7: Sac State Hornets
8: William & Mary Tribe
9: Incarnate Word Cardinals
10: Southern Illinois Salukis
11: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
12: North Dakota Fighting Hawks
13: New Hampshire Wildcats
14: Eastern Washington Eagles
15: Western Carolina Catamounts
16: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks
17: UC Davis Aggies
18: Youngstown State Penguins
19: Albany Great Danes
20: North Carolina Central Eagles
21: Eastern Illinois Panthers
22: Fordham Rams
23: Florida A&M Rattlers
24: Illinois State Redbirds
25: Villanova Wildcats

[caribbeanhen]

I will bet you that I watch way more weekend college football than you, unless like me, you have no life. :DAnd I am a Bison season ticket holder, have been since 2007 and haven't missed a home game and have gone to numerous away games and have watched every televised minute of every away game and have done so since I moved back here in 2007. Your poll is perfectly fine except for the NDSU ranking, I refuse, as do most poll voters, to discount NDSU given their past history and their pretty good start this season, given the wins over EWU and UCA. I have them 3rd and won't get in a pissing match over a couple of spots in a poll. I think you have W&M about right, I think I should have nicked them for the CSU game.

I think I watched 5 FCS games this weekend, I have ESPN+, watched 3 BSC games, watched the Furman/Mercer game and the Harvard game. Watched some of the UCA/ACU game and some of some others. I am not an NFL fan so I watched some college football on Sunday. I probably average 15 to 20 hours of FCS per week. I don't know if that is a lot but it probably is too much.

And it won't hurt my feelings if you rip on my poll, your feelings about somebody taking on a poll sounds like a personal problem. I wouldn't take much of anything I say on here personally unless you are an insufferable millennial or Gen Z douchebag, then I hope it keeps you up at night. xsmiley_wix

Do you have Flo? If not you ain’t watching enough games xpeacex

[Chalupa Batman]

The Most Significant Win: Idaho State Bengals


Beating Northern Colorado was that significant?

[grizband]

Beating Northern Colorado was that significant?
I assume they meant Idaho beating Sacramento State.

[Preferred Walk-On]

Do you have Flo? If not you ain’t watching enough games xpeacex

Can’t speak for POD, but this is why I do NOT have Flo, and why I rely on my CAA brethren to point out things the box scores can’t/don’t…

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20230926/f01d44288d2d558ede1670dfd53b951c.jpg


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[MSUBobcat]

Do you have Flo? If not you ain’t watching enough games xpeacex

The ladyfriend has Aunt Flo. Can confirm it aides in watching more games. However, 0/10 do not recommend.

[caribbeanhen]

Can’t speak for POD, but this is why I do NOT have Flo, and why I rely on my CAA brethren to point out things the box scores can’t/don’t…

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20230926/f01d44288d2d558ede1670dfd53b951c.jpg


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try this

https://my.flosports.tv/partner/caa?utm_campaign=caa&utm_medium=partner&utm_source=caasports.com&utm_content=website&rtid=&coverage_id=

should be $12.50 a month

I can totally understand why you don’t have Flo but just letting you know you can get it cheaper than 19.99 a month

edit. I mean 29.99 a month. F that

[Preferred Walk-On]

try this

https://my.flosports.tv/partner/caa?utm_campaign=caa&utm_medium=partner&utm_source=caasports.com&utm_content=website&rtid=&coverage_id=

should be $12.50 a month

I can totally understand why you don’t have Flo but just letting you know you can get it cheaper than 19.99 a month

Not $19.99/mo…it’s 29.99/mo. I’ll check out your link though. $12.50/mo is to buy it for 1 yr.


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[Preferred Walk-On]

try this

https://my.flosports.tv/partner/caa?utm_campaign=caa&utm_medium=partner&utm_source=caasports.com&utm_content=website&rtid=&coverage_id=

should be $12.50 a month

I can totally understand why you don’t have Flo but just letting you know you can get it cheaper than 19.99 a month

edit. I mean 29.99 a month. F that

Just tried the link. $14.99/mo. I would be on the fence, but it is CAA only. Throw in a few more leagues, and I would click the button.


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[caribbeanhen]

Just tried the link. $14.99/mo. I would be on the fence, but it is CAA only. Throw in a few more leagues, and I would click the button.


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Feel no shame, I only have it because I need to watch Delaware…. I think Flo is growing fast though, one day you might need it

[atthewbon]

Your #12 team escaped with a victory against EKU, and the next week the Colonels beat SEMO in a very similar fashion that your #9 team did. Those are there only 2 FCS games as their other losses 2 were FBS (including playing very tough against a Kentucky team ranked #27 in both polls). They were a very easy team to rank in my poll.

I seriously considered ranking them, there were around 20 teams I thought all could have made up the last 10 or so spots. I just decided to lean with teams with the better records (like EIU) but I can see the argument for ranking them. Also while the WCU vs EKU game was close, I think it does matter that WCU was on the road.

[mvemjsunpx]

Previous week in parentheses…


1. South Dakota St. (1)
2. North Dakota St. (2)
3. Idaho (3)
4. Montana St. (6)
5. Southern Illinois (4)
6. Holy Cross (5)
7. Furman (9)
8. Delaware (12)
9. Sacramento St. (7)
10. North Dakota (10)
11. Western Carolina (14)
12. William & Mary (13)
13. NC Central (15)
14. Youngstown St. (16)
15. Albany (20)
16. Villanova (NR)
17. Eastern Washington (22)
18. New Hampshire (11)
19. Incarnate Word (18)
20. Eastern Kentucky (NR)
21. Florida A&M (25)
22. Fordham (NR)
23. Tennessee-Martin (NR)
24. Austin Peay (NR)
25. Elon (NR)

Dropped - UC Davis (8), Rhode Island (17), Southeast Missouri St. (19), Weber St. (21)
Dropped off a Cliff Like an Eagle's Prey - Southeastern Louisiana (23), Montana (24)


W - Montana St.
L - Montana

[Preferred Walk-On]

Feel no shame, I only have it because I need to watch Delaware…. I think Flo is growing fast though, one day you might need it

Even though I am not going to pull the trigger on Flo, I do appreciate the link. Thank you.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Bisonator]

Oh, BTW, NDSU has yet to prove to me that they better than the teams I have ranked above, and if you (I'm looking at you, PODKnows) have been to any games in the Fargodome/US Bank this year (which I have), you cannot honestly say that my statement is incorrect.

1: South Dakota State Jackrabbits - There is no disputing who is king of the hill, unless you are the next team...

2: Montana State Bobcats - Nearly pulling out a victory...in SD...with a QB injury...oh, and did you see them demolish a team that AGS had at #12 (and for some reason unbeknownst to me is still ranked #18)?

3: Idaho Vandals - Beat an FBS (even if you debate the merits of that G5 FBS), lost to another FBS, and took care of another team that beat a P5 FBS. This is not your typical FCS-to-FBS-back-to-FCS Vandals team.

4: Holy Cross Crusaders - OK, Sluka can run and throws the ball well enough to beat Patriot teams. But the Crusaders' position in my poll comes from losing to P5 FBS Boston College, which the next week proceeded to lose by 2 pt (read that again, 2 pt) to Florida State. If the Crusaders roll the rest of their opponents, they may just have earned a #3/4 seed (please don't tell me #1 or #2...you all saw the Montana State @ South Dakota State game).

5: Sac State Hornets - Going in and beating your old coach that left for a P5 FBS team is something. Losing to the AGS #6 (now #4) team on the second-to-last possession on the road is nothing to scoff at.

So you believe NDSU would lose to all of these teams if they played them right now?

[POD Knows]

Do you have Flo? If not you ain’t watching enough games xpeacex
Nope. But I think I give the CAA a fair shake in my polls but I do see a lot less of their games during the year.

[Christiank22]

So you believe NDSU would lose to all of these teams if they played them right now?

I don’t understand this guys’ thinking. You can’t “watch” this much FCS football and claim NDSU looks bad. We look better at every position compared to last year aside from leupke at running back. Yet we are still running the ball well.

I don’t think sdsu looks “head and shoulders above everyone else” especially given the fact MSU had them on the ropes.

Pretty sure he just wants to be contrarian cuz that’s kind of the cool thing to do now.

[Preferred Walk-On]

So you believe NDSU would lose to all of these teams if they played them right now?

Right now, unfortunately, yes. Can't keep them from scoring, and not sure can keep up. Reminds me of playing Charleston Southern and Eastern Washington back-to-back and trying the outscoring approach for two weeks. Sure EWU was good that year, but CSU? When we get some better balance and eat more clock to help our defense out, then we'll talk.


I don’t understand this guys’ thinking. You can’t “watch” this much FCS football and claim NDSU looks bad. We look better at every position compared to last year aside from leupke at running back. Yet we are still running the ball well.

I don’t think sdsu looks “head and shoulders above everyone else” especially given the fact MSU had them on the ropes.

Pretty sure he just wants to be contrarian cuz that’s kind of the cool thing to do now.

Was waiting for you to come in and tell us how NDSU is great and how they are only a millimeter behind SDSU (and certainly ahead of MSU, who by the way DOES look head-and-shoulders above everybody else...see this past weekend's game against previously AGS #12, at their place). I had a similar thought when commenting about the FCS Wedge on my way to Frisco last year. Rivalries, MVFC, Bison culture, etc., and I thought the national championship would be a fight. It was not. I really want to put on your glasses and s*** green and gold, but I just can't right now. Give me a couple of weeks once they actually play a game or two away from the Fargodome and/or really show some sort of "step-on-neck" attitude, and I can get on board. Do I think they look "bad", hardly. Do I think other teams have improved/stayed at a level that is on par/better than NDSU, yes. Luckily, that can change, and I am hopeful that with this outstanding coaching staff, it will. Also, Phil Hansen has only given all facets of Bison play a maximum grade of B+ after every game, so far be it for me to argue with a Bison HOF'er and legend. ;)

Now, does anybody else want to discuss ANY of the other 24 (or more) teams besides the Bison? Or am I just spot-on with everything else? That is a joke, for anyone who might take this a bit too seriously. ;)

[SeattleCat]

Was waiting for you to come in and tell us how NDSU is great and how they are only a millimeter behind SDSU (and certainly ahead of MSU, who by the way DOES look head-and-shoulders above everybody else...see this past weekend's game against previously AGS #12, at their place). I had a similar thought when commenting about the FCS Wedge on my way to Frisco last year. Rivalries, MVFC, Bison culture, etc., and I thought the national championship would be a fight. It was not. I really want to put on your glasses and s*** green and gold, but I just can't right now. Give me a couple of weeks once they actually play a game or two away from the Fargodome and/or really show some sort of "step-on-neck" attitude, and I can get on board. Do I think they look "bad", hardly. Do I think other teams have improved/stayed at a level that is on par/better than NDSU, yes. Luckily, that can change, and I am hopeful that with this outstanding coaching staff, it will. Also, Phil Hansen has only given all facets of Bison play a maximum grade of B+ after every game, so far be it for me to argue with a Bison HOF'er and legend. ;)

Now, does anybody else want to discuss ANY of the other 24 (or more) teams besides the Bison? Or am I just spot-on with everything else? That is a joke, for anyone who might take this a bit too seriously. ;)

I feel like you might have just thrown up in your mouth there...

[MSUBobcat]

Right now, unfortunately, yes. Can't keep them from scoring, and not sure can keep up. Reminds me of playing Charleston Southern and Eastern Washington back-to-back and trying the outscoring approach for two weeks. Sure EWU was good that year, but CSU? When we get some better balance and eat more clock to help our defense out, then we'll talk.



Was waiting for you to come in and tell us how NDSU is great and how they are only a millimeter behind SDSU (and certainly ahead of MSU, who by the way DOES look head-and-shoulders above everybody else...see this past weekend's game against previously AGS #12, at their place). I had a similar thought when commenting about the FCS Wedge on my way to Frisco last year. Rivalries, MVFC, Bison culture, etc., and I thought the national championship would be a fight. It was not. I really want to put on your glasses and s*** green and gold, but I just can't right now. Give me a couple of weeks once they actually play a game or two away from the Fargodome and/or really show some sort of "step-on-neck" attitude, and I can get on board. Do I think they look "bad", hardly. Do I think other teams have improved/stayed at a level that is on par/better than NDSU, yes. Luckily, that can change, and I am hopeful that with this outstanding coaching staff, it will. Also, Phil Hansen has only given all facets of Bison play a maximum grade of B+ after every game, so far be it for me to argue with a Bison HOF'er and legend. ;)

Now, does anybody else want to discuss ANY of the other 24 (or more) teams besides the Bison? Or am I just spot-on with everything else? That is a joke, for anyone who might take this a bit too seriously. ;)

I, for one, appreciate your objectivity. I don't know that I'd put the Bison all the way down at 6 but you certainly make a well-reasoned case for why you put them where you did. Luckily, it's only week 4 and there's some upcoming games left this season (and a playoff system) to prove your Bison attackers.... er, brethren, right or wrong.

[Christiank22]

Right now, unfortunately, yes. Can't keep them from scoring, and not sure can keep up. Reminds me of playing Charleston Southern and Eastern Washington back-to-back and trying the outscoring approach for two weeks. Sure EWU was good that year, but CSU? When we get some better balance and eat more clock to help our defense out, then we'll talk.



Was waiting for you to come in and tell us how NDSU is great and how they are only a millimeter behind SDSU (and certainly ahead of MSU, who by the way DOES look head-and-shoulders above everybody else...see this past weekend's game against previously AGS #12, at their place). I had a similar thought when commenting about the FCS Wedge on my way to Frisco last year. Rivalries, MVFC, Bison culture, etc., and I thought the national championship would be a fight. It was not. I really want to put on your glasses and s*** green and gold, but I just can't right now. Give me a couple of weeks once they actually play a game or two away from the Fargodome and/or really show some sort of "step-on-neck" attitude, and I can get on board. Do I think they look "bad", hardly. Do I think other teams have improved/stayed at a level that is on par/better than NDSU, yes. Luckily, that can change, and I am hopeful that with this outstanding coaching staff, it will. Also, Phil Hansen has only given all facets of Bison play a maximum grade of B+ after every game, so far be it for me to argue with a Bison HOF'er and legend. ;)

Now, does anybody else want to discuss ANY of the other 24 (or more) teams besides the Bison? Or am I just spot-on with everything else? That is a joke, for anyone who might take this a bit too seriously. ;)

We have absolutely handled pretty good teams in UCA and EWU. It’s not our fault that’s how the schedule played out. I’m not convinced you would believe in NDSU even if they win the whole thing.

I never said we are the greatest team of all time but there is 0 justification to put us below 3 aside from your negative bias. I’m fine with giving the edge to SDSU and MSU at this point in the season. Never argued against that

[Bisonator]

Right now, unfortunately, yes. Can't keep them from scoring, and not sure can keep up. Reminds me of playing Charleston Southern and Eastern Washington back-to-back and trying the outscoring approach for two weeks. Sure EWU was good that year, but CSU? When we get some better balance and eat more clock to help our defense out, then we'll talk.
Can't keep them from scoring? Our starting defense has given up 24 points in 3 games. I think our defense is vastly improved from last year especially if we can stay healthy. Our backups are a question though as they've been the ones yielding the points late in games. Our offense is averaging 42 a game! If Roehl would call every game like the UCA game the offense is pretty damn good but he just can't help himself at times by running it into a wall. Guess we'll have to agree to disagree for now.

[Chalupa Batman]

I, for one, appreciate your objectivity. I don't know that I'd put the Bison all the way down at 6 but you certainly make a well-reasoned case for why you put them where you did. Luckily, it's only week 4 and there's some upcoming games left this season (and a playoff system) to prove your Bison attackers.... er, brethren, right or wrong.

I like his reasoning as well, but like you I can't see NDSU being down at #6. I think there is a clear top 2 (SDSU, MSU), NDSU alone at #3, and then a really strong group behind them at 4-7 (HC, Furman, Idaho, Sac State. And they are pretty interchangeable in my view). I will say that I think NDSU is a little closer to the 4-7 group than the 1-2 group.

[FUBeAR]

I like his reasoning as well, but like you I can't see NDSU being down at #6. I think there is a clear top 2 (SDSU, MSU), NDSU alone at #3, and then a really strong group behind them at 4-7 (HC, Furman, Idaho, Sac State. And they are pretty interchangeable in my view). I will say that I think NDSU is a little closer to the 4-7 group than the 1-2 group.
That's all well-reasoned and perfectly fair.

And, since 4-7 are all interchangeable, let's everyone just rank those 4 Teams alphabetically and call it a day.

We all good with that?

[Chalupa Batman]

That's all well-reasoned and perfectly fair.

And, since 4-7 are all interchangeable, let's everyone just rank those 4 Teams alphabetically and call it a day.

We all good with that?

I'm good with that.

4. Crusaders
5. Hornets
6. Paladins
7. Vandals

:D

[FUBeAR]

I'm good with that.

4. Paragons of Virtue
5. Racist Islamophobes
6. Stinging, Murderous Pests
7. Vandals (speaks for itself)

:D
FYP

[Preferred Walk-On]

I feel like you might have just thrown up in your mouth there...

Nah, I'm fine there. I respect where MSU has come from and where they are going.

While I am hopeful that the Bison are playing at home throughout the playoffs, I wouldn't mind seeing a repeat of 2010 at Montana State. Apparently, NDSU, despite playing indoors, had no problem with the field that day (must have a great shoe man, like Al Bundy).

[MSUBobcat]

Nah, I'm fine there. I respect where MSU has come from and where they are going.

While I am hopeful that the Bison are playing at home throughout the playoffs, I wouldn't mind seeing a repeat of 2010 at Montana State. Apparently, NDSU, despite playing indoors, had no problem with the field that day (must have a great shoe man, like Al Bundy).

Never forget that Al Bundy scored 4 touchdowns in a single game for Polk High in the city championship!

[Preferred Walk-On]

Can't keep them from scoring? Our starting defense has given up 24 points in 3 games. I think our defense is vastly improved from last year especially if we can stay healthy. Our backups are a question though as they've been the ones yielding the points late in games. Our offense is averaging 42 a game! If Roehl would call every game like the UCA game the offense is pretty damn good but he just can't help himself at times by running it into a wall. Guess we'll have to agree to disagree for now.

I think the "for now" is the important part. I see what you are saying; however, this is not an offense that averages 42 pt/game in the MVFC season. Nor is it an offense that can afford to get down to a good opponent, especially early.

While we may disagree on some points, I have to agree with your comment about Coach Roehl. Loved him as a hard-nosed RB, luke-warm on his ability to be a bit more imaginative and/or at least adapt better to particular situations. I feel like his hard-nosed attitude, or let me rephrase that, stubbornness, sometimes gets in the way of the offense's ability to succeed.

A hypothetical example I might propose would be what if today's Cam Miller were playing in place of Trey Lance in the 2019 National Championship. Do we win with the same "running into a wall" strategy? Do we win now with that strategy that overall really has not changed? We do when we play EWU/UCA. Do we when we play SDSU/MSU or even teams #4-7? Just not as confident as you are, but a lot can happen between week 4 and week 12.

I appreciate all of yours, Christiank22's, PODKnows', and other's criticisms of where I have ranked the Bison. But I think there is now a portion of the FCS that is indeed "catching up" a bit and have placed a bit of doubt in my mind that the Bison reign supreme. I will be ecstatic to be wrong at the end of the season.

[caribbeanhen]

Nope. But I think I give the CAA a fair shake in my polls but I do see a lot less of their games during the year.

Fair shake? If you had Flo you’d have CAA teams lower …, let me check your poll though

[Preferred Walk-On]

Never forget that Al Bundy scored 4 touchdowns in a single game for Polk High in the city championship!

Was that really DJ McNorton that day...? ;P

[caribbeanhen]

Even though I am not going to pull the trigger on Flo, I do appreciate the link. Thank you.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No worries

You’re welcome

I just hate to see people overpaying for stuff

[POD Knows]

I like his reasoning as well, but like you I can't see NDSU being down at #6. I think there is a clear top 2 (SDSU, MSU), NDSU alone at #3, and then a really strong group behind them at 4-7 (HC, Furman, Idaho, Sac State. And they are pretty interchangeable in my view). I will say that I think NDSU is a little closer to the 4-7 group than the 1-2 group.
I agree with this as well. I have the Bison at 3 and I think there is probably a decent gap currently between NDSU and SDSU/MSU. These other teams behind NDSU are teams that need to show something. NDSU is a proven commodity, these other teams are not. Are SAC State/Furman/Idaho better than NDSU, I will believe it when I see it.

[POD Knows]

Fair shake? If you had Flo you’d have CAA teams lower …, let me check your poll though
Yea, do that. I have a few CAA teams in my poll. I would appreciate the input and it is sort of bad that I am more familiar with the teams in the Ivy/Patriot/Big South/NEC than I am with the CAA but I do analyze them pretty closely.

[Bisonator]

I think the "for now" is the important part. I see what you are saying; however, this is not an offense that averages 42 pt/game in the MVFC season. Nor is it an offense that can afford to get down to a good opponent, especially early. That's been the case for just about every Bison team.

While we may disagree on some points, I have to agree with your comment about Coach Roehl. Loved him as a hard-nosed RB, luke-warm on his ability to be a bit more imaginative and/or at least adapt better to particular situations. I feel like his hard-nosed attitude, or let me rephrase that, stubbornness, sometimes gets in the way of the offense's ability to succeed. Yes we agree! I think it's one of his attributes that's hindering his shot at a HC position.

A hypothetical example I might propose would be what if today's Cam Miller were playing in place of Trey Lance in the 2019 National Championship. Do we win with the same "running into a wall" strategy? Do we win now with that strategy that overall really has not changed? We do when we play EWU/UCA. Do we when we play SDSU/MSU or even teams #4-7? Just not as confident as you are, but a lot can happen between week 4 and week 12. We had SDSU on the ropes last season but Roehl got too conservative in the second half. I think Entz has been trying to get Roehl to be more balanced hopefully the UCA game showed his capability to do it.

I appreciate all of yours, Christiank22's, PODKnows', and other's criticisms of where I have ranked the Bison. But I think there is now a portion of the FCS that is indeed "catching up" a bit and have placed a bit of doubt in my mind that the Bison reign supreme. I will be ecstatic to be wrong at the end of the season. We've heard this for years but until more teams prove it in the playoffs I'll be skeptical of them.

My responses in red. Appreciate the discussion!

[MSUBobcat]

Was that really DJ McNorton that day...? ;P

Those Rob Ash years were rough. Absolutely no defense, so if the opponent was able to stop the MSU offense, we were in big trouble. 4-4/6-5 NAU thumped us at Walkup, 2-6/3-8 NoCo gave us all we could handle at home, and even 0-8/1-10 ISU-o pushed us to a 1 score game in their dome. Not at all surprising we got thumped when playing a strong defense. It's taken several years since Ash left to do a 180 on the philosophy, but we're starting to be able to compete in the trenches now.

[HensRock]

No worries

You’re welcome

I just hate to see people overpaying for stuff

Then why are you recommending Flo? It SUCKS. And you have to purchase an entire year.
The "view" from WDSD radio is just as good for Hens games.

It will not get better, as long as there are suckers out there willing to pay for garbage. They have no incentive to improve.

I used Flo for 2 seasons and got rid of it the very day the 2021 season ended. No regrets.

[ElCid]

Then why are you recommending Flo? It SUCKS. And you have to purchase an entire year.
The "view" from WDSD radio is just as good for Hens games.

It will not get better, as long as there are suckers out there willing to pay for garbage. They have no incentive to improve.

How long is the contract? I'm still wondering if someone in the conference got some kickbacks from this deal.

[HensRock]

How long is the contract? I'm still wondering if someone in the conference got some kickbacks from this deal.

Oh, You can quit any time you want - But you have to pay for a FULL YEAR.

And yes, it reeks of some kind of kickback!

[ElCid]

Oh, You can quit any time you want - But you have to pay for a FULL YEAR.

And yes, it reeks of some kind of kickback!

How long is the contract between Flo and the CAA?

[HensRock]

How long is the contract between Flo and the CAA?

Lasts through the 2026-27 academic year.
Delaware is already discussing a partnership with NBC Sports Philadelphia and Delmarva Sports Network for athletics events and this apparently includes Football.

Flo is simply a streaming service to distribute content produced and provided by the individual schools. So the quality varies GREATLY from venue to venue. Some schools do an ok job, but most do not.

[UAalum72]

Then why are you recommending Flo? It SUCKS. And you have to purchase an entire year.

If you go thru the CAA Football site it's $14.99/month billed monthly and you can cancel after the season.

I don't know if the playoffs are on FLO as well

[caribbeanhen]

Then why are you recommending Flo? It SUCKS. And you have to purchase an entire year.
The "view" from WDSD radio is just as good for Hens games.

It will not get better, as long as there are suckers out there willing to pay for garbage. They have no incentive to improve.

I used Flo for 2 seasons and got rid of it the very day the 2021 season ended. No regrets.

Well that wasn’t really much of a recommendation, more like a warning

you can sign up on a month to month basis

PWO posted a snap shot that has the suckers price and I just let him know it can be purchased cheaper

Yea, back in the 70’s I used to listen to all the games on the radio and they were glorious… but I couldn’t listen if I wanted too today

[SeattleCat]

Nah, I'm fine there. I respect where MSU has come from and where they are going.

While I am hopeful that the Bison are playing at home throughout the playoffs, I wouldn't mind seeing a repeat of 2010 at Montana State. Apparently, NDSU, despite playing indoors, had no problem with the field that day (must have a great shoe man, like Al Bundy).

I remember that ass kicking well, our defense had no answer for the Bison O-line. By the 4th qtr the Bobcats were out of gas.

[POD Knows]

I remember that ass kicking well, our defense had no answer for the Bison O-line. By the 4th qtr the Bobcats were out of gas.All of the NDSU/MSU games have been like that, the most recent ones were probably the most lopsided but the fact that MSU now has some NDSU coaching DNA going for them, that will help in the long run. xsmiley_wix

[SeattleCat]

All of the NDSU/MSU games have been like that, the most recent ones were probably the most lopsided but the fact that MSU now has some NDSU coaching DNA going for them, that will help in the long run. xsmiley_wix

Coach Choate is probably most to thank for where we are, Vigen was given the keys to the Cadillac. Choate recognized the lines where a problem so he recruited the **** out of them. We should have 2 more really good o line but one plays in the SEC and the other PAC 12. Vigen's task is to bring it all together and I hope he's the guy to do it, it's looking like it may finally be our year.

[kdinva]

1: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
2: North Dakota State Bison
3: Montana State Bobcats
4: Furman Paladins
5: Holy Cross Crusaders
6: Idaho Vandals
7: William & Mary Tribe
8: Sac State Hornets
9: Incarnate Word Cardinals
10: Southern Illinois Salukis
11: Western Carolina Catamounts
12: North Dakota Fighting Hawks
13: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
14: Villanova Wildcats
15: Weber State Wildcats
16: North Carolina Central Eagles
17: UC Davis Aggies
18: New Hampshire Wildcats
19: Montana Grizzlies
20: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks
21: Fordham Rams
22: Chattanooga Mocs
23: Florida A&M Rattlers
24: Illinois State Redbirds
25: Eastern Washington Eagles


The Most Significant Win: Villanova Wildcats
The Most Significant Loss: Montana Grizzlies

[crusader11]

If you’re ranking Illinois St, think you have to rank EIU.

Please defend your ranking of Montana.

[SpreadTheWord]

Hello SpreadTheWord,

We have received your AGS Top 25 vote on 9/24/2023 14:48:50

Your vote is listed below.


1: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
2: Montana State Bobcats
3: North Dakota State Bison
4: Idaho Vandals
5: Furman Paladins
6: Holy Cross Crusaders
7: Sac State Hornets
8: Southern Illinois Salukis
9: Western Carolina Catamounts
10: Incarnate Word Cardinals
11: North Dakota Fighting Hawks
12: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
13: William & Mary Tribe
14: North Carolina Central Eagles
15: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks
16: New Hampshire Wildcats
17: Youngstown State Penguins
18: Central Arkansas Bears
19: Villanova Wildcats
20: Eastern Kentucky Colonels
21: Southeast Missouri State Redhawks
22: Eastern Washington Eagles
23: Florida A&M Rattlers
24: Weber State Wildcats
25: UC Davis Aggies

SpreadTheWord

The Most Significant Win: Montana State Bobcats
The Most Significant Loss: Montana Grizzlies
Which Conference Does Your Team Play in?: Southland Conference

[Redbird 4th & short]

If you’re ranking Illinois St, think you have to rank EIU.

Please defend your ranking of Montana.
I don't necessarily disagree with your suggested change of EIU for my ISUr. But it's just 1 data point .. you could daisy chain your way thru a bunch of games, and then narrow it to single game to say that proves ABC U should be ranked ahead of XYZ U, but then this creates another single outcome and ranking contradiction. So it doesn't and can't possibly work that way. Especially with EIU winning at home by 1 over ISUr .. coin flip outcome. There are 120 plus teams that have played 2-4 games each ..say 400 games. This one game doesn't carry any more weight in the aggregate than any other single game.

That said, I thought we were legit trending into top 25. But now I'm not so sure at this point. It's 3 things that give me doubt right now ... 1) too inconsistent on offense given our SOS, 2) as dominant as our defense has been statistically (against a weak SOS) in many categories, we aren't getting off the field on 3rd down soon enough, and 3) our placekicking game is a sh-t show again this year.

In any case ... IMO, neither team has earned a top 25 ranking at this point. Way to early with a weak SOS for my Redbirds to rank them. We got bye this week, then SDSU (home), then ISUb (home), then YSU (road). we'll start to figure out real fast, if we are a top 25 or playoff team soon enough .. got some work to do still. But the defense has been pleasant surprise so far ... just need to play someone.

[crusader11]

Given that the season is still pretty young (four weeks in) and there aren’t a ton of data points to go off of, using head to head when comparing two teams carries a lot of weight. I agree that, as the season progresses, many other factors come into play when evaluating one team vs. another.

[Redbird 4th & short]

Given that the season is still pretty young (four weeks in) and there aren’t a ton of data points to go off of, using head to head when comparing two teams carries a lot of weight. I agree that, as the season progresses, many other factors come into play when evaluating one team vs. another.
will agree it carries a little more weight earlier in season.

[MSUBobcat]

I didn't submit this poll for Week 4, but maybe I'll start going forward. Do I request a link from Ursus or how does that work?

1. SDSU
2. NDSU
3. MSU
4. Holy Cross
5. Idaho
6. Furman
7. Sac State
8. SIU
9. W&M
10. UIW
11. WCU
12. Delaware
13. UND
14. UNH
15. UT-Martin
16. Albany
17. YSU
18. 'Nova
19. Fordam
20. FAMU
21. APSU
22. EWU
23. Chatty
24. UCA
25. UC-Davis

Last week was tough and it was my first ballot in years so go easy on me!

[caribbeanhen]

I didn't submit this poll for Week 4, but maybe I'll start going forward. Do I request a link from Ursus or how does that work?

1. SDSU
2. NDSU
3. MSU
4. Holy Cross
5. Idaho
6. Furman
7. Sac State
8. SIU
9. W&M
10. UIW
11. WCU
12. Delaware
13. UND
14. UNH
15. UT-Martin
16. Albany
17. YSU
18. 'Nova
19. Fordam
20. FAMU
21. APSU
22. EWU
23. Chatty
24. UCA
25. UC-Davis

Last week was tough and it was my first ballot in years so go easy on me!


Why is Florida A&M in your poll?

[MSUBobcat]

Why is Florida A&M in your poll?

Truthfully... because I got to about 16 and didn't want to really rank anyone else. xdontknowxxlolx But they were 3-1, with a decent-ish win over Jackson State and beat a top 5/10 DII team the way a top 25 FCS team is supposed to. They put up a decent fight at a mediocre USF, being down just 7 point until halfway thru the 4th quarter. Would have liked them to beat Alabama State by more, considering they also lost at home to Miles, but Miles is 1pt from having 2 SWAC scalps and being undefeated.

At the end of the day. Those last 8-10 spots were tough to put in order.

[caribbeanhen]

Truthfully... because I got to about 16 and didn't want to really rank anyone else. xdontknowxxlolx But they were 3-1, with a decent-ish win over Jackson State and beat a top 5/10 DII team the way a top 25 FCS team is supposed to. They put up a decent fight at a mediocre USF, being down just 7 point until halfway thru the 4th quarter. Would have liked them to beat Alabama State by more, considering they also lost at home to Miles, but Miles is 1pt from having 2 SWAC scalps and being undefeated.

At the end of the day. Those last 8-10 spots were tough to put in order.

Well just know the MEAC pounds the SWAC champ every year so my point is if ranking the Rattlers history shows NC Central is better

[MSUBobcat]

Well just know the MEAC pounds the SWAC champ every year so my point is if ranking the Rattlers history shows NC Central is better

Fair enough. I won't rank either.

[caribbeanhen]

Fair enough. I won't rank either.

wait…… lol

You could rank em both

Im just saying NC Central should be ranked above The Rattlers

[MSUBobcat]

wait…… lol

You could rank em both

Im just saying NC Central should be ranked above The Rattlers

See my comments in your "Lil Darling" thread about NCCU. They're on the watch list, but the squeaker over the lil' darlings hurt them IMO, and they don't really have an impressive win. As I mentioned there, if NCCU beats Elon next week, they'll move to the top 20 or so and if not, I've got them rightly just outside looking in. But if NCCU should be ranked above FAMU, and I don't have NCCU ranked......

[caribbeanhen]

See my comments in your "Lil Darling" thread about NCCU. They're on the watch list, but the squeaker over the lil' darlings hurt them IMO, and they don't really have an impressive win. As I mentioned there, if NCCU beats Elon next week, they'll move to the top 20 or so and if not, I've got them rightly just outside looking in. But if NCCU should be ranked above FAMU, and I don't have NCCU ranked......

ok

I’ll be watchin

[MSUBobcat]

ok

I’ll be watchin

xawesomex Have at it.