**FCS (formerly I-AA) Football Playoff Thread**
 

I don't know how much interest in I-AA football there is here, but I know last year there was some discussion. I, personally, am a JMU fan, and I know there are some other JMU students/alums/fans lurking around. Can they win it with a non-existent passing game and a beat up defense? We'll see.

Here is the bracket: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3117576

There are some really interesting stories brewing here:

UNH getting in with 4 losses?
JMU doesn't get a home game (again).
Delaware State @ Delaware!
Eastern Ill forced to play So Ill... AGAIN.

Should be a great, explosive post-season. I don't really see any clear, NE Patriots type favorites in this field. I will be down in Boone this weekend for JMU @ ASU and at any game JMU goes to past there, if they do go on.

Anyone else going to be hitting up games?

Re: **FCS (formerly I-AA) Football Playoff Thread**
 

I'll be rooting for the Moutaineers again. I loved partying at that school and hopefully when I go down to NC to visit some of my friends over x-mas break I can get to Boone. I hope I get a chance to see Edwards on TV again.

Re: **FCS (formerly I-AA) Football Playoff Thread**
 

APP ST IS HOT HOT HOT

party time in Boone

Re: **FCS (formerly I-AA) Football Playoff Thread**
 

The Delaware-Delaware State game is a huge game in a historical context. The reason is this will be the first time these two teams have every played against one another, even though Del State established a football team in 1923. For years The University of Delaware has avoiding playing Del State, but at least the NCAA scheduled this game. Now the state of Delaware can enjoy a rivalry game for once.

Re: **FCS (formerly I-AA) Football Playoff Thread**
 

Go Dukes! I can't make the trip this weekend due to Thanksgiving and all (yeah...lame). But I'll be wearing my Purple & Gold anyway.

UNH getting in with 4 losses isn't unprecedented. Hell...not only did Montana State get in with 4 losses last year but they hosted a first round game (I think)! Besides, who else is more deserving? Villanova? They were also 7-4. There just weren't enough good 8-3 or better teams this year.

What is unprecedented is the Colonial getting 5 seeds. No conference has ever put 5 teams in the field of 16 before. Go CAA!

As much as it pains me to say this, but JMU at 8-3 probably didn't deserve to host in round 1 anyway. This is probably thinking in fantasy land, but: If we can get past App State and EWU can pull an upset @ McNeese we have a good shot at hosting in round 2. I think Bridgeforth has EWU's stadium beat by 5,000+ seats.

UNI is obviously the favorite. Montana is going to be tough, especially if EWU, ASU or JMU can knock off McNeese as the Grizzlies will have 3 home games.

Delaware/Delaware State looks interesting on the outside due to both teams never facing each other...but Delaware should win this one easily. MEAC teams just don't fair well in the playoffs.

Can't wait till the weekend.

Re: **FCS (formerly I-AA) Football Playoff Thread**
 

Sucks that UMass had to loose to URI in a huricane, but it looks thik they weren't going to seed any CAA teams anyway.

GO UMASS.

Re: **FCS (formerly I-AA) Football Playoff Thread**
 

So if two unseeded teams meet, the team with the larger stadium is home? This tournament has some strange rules.

Re: **FCS (formerly I-AA) Football Playoff Thread**
 

[ QUOTE ]
So if two unseeded teams meet, the team with the larger stadium is home? This tournament has some strange rules.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not the largest stadium, but the largest "bid". This typically works out to be the largest stadium, though.

Yeah, it's strange.

Re: **FCS (formerly I-AA) Football Playoff Thread**
 

How are the 16 teams picked?

Re: **FCS (formerly I-AA) Football Playoff Thread**
 

[ QUOTE ]
How are the 16 teams picked?

[/ QUOTE ]

By a selection committee which historically does stupid things and exhibits a bias against newer schools.

Honestly, this year's field are all pretty solid picks except for UNH. Should have been Norfolk State IMO

Re: **FCS (formerly I-AA) Football Playoff Thread**
 

[ QUOTE ]


Not the largest stadium, but the largest "bid". This typically works out to be the largest stadium, though.

Yeah, it's strange.

[/ QUOTE ]

Exactly. More seats usually means more gate revenue and more concessions which = more money. I believe there are some other factors taken into consideration such as facilities quality, etc. But it really does come down to the money.

Re: **FCS (formerly I-AA) Football Playoff Thread**
 

[ QUOTE ]

Honestly, this year's field are all pretty solid picks except for UNH. Should have been Norfolk State IMO

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah. I can't really complain about any of the picks. Flipping UNH with any of: Norfolk State, Villanova, Holy Cross, Albany, Alabama A&M or even non-scholly Dayton would have been okay with me.

But really I don't think any of those teams are more deserving than UNH. UNH ranks 16th in GPI. That's ahead of all those teams I just mentioned. Sagarin has UNH ranked higher than all those teams except Nova.

UNH also has 3 of their 4 losses to playoff teams (JMU, Richmond, UMASS). They beat another playoff team, Delaware and FBS Marshall. Their resume ain't bad.

The committee did the right thing though, by sending the last team in to the #1 seed, UNI...despite the travel costs.

Re: **FCS (formerly I-AA) Football Playoff Thread**
 

Are we still allowed to talk about how stupid it is that they changed the name from 1-AA to FCS?
I know it's old news but it still bugs the crap out of me.

Re: **FCS (formerly I-AA) Football Playoff Thread**
 

DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUKES

Re: **FCS (formerly I-AA) Football Playoff Thread**
 

wow delaware state is bad

Re: **FCS (formerly I-AA) Football Playoff Thread**
 

[ QUOTE ]
Are we still allowed to talk about how stupid it is that they changed the name from 1-AA to FCS?
I know it's old news but it still bugs the crap out of me.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, I-AA was cool.

Also, we might as well also talk about how awesome the playoff system is here and how gay the BCS system is. If I-A had a playoff system it would make college football playoffs the best sports playoffs in the US....better than the NCAA tournament, profootball playoff, and baseball playoffs.

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[ QUOTE ]
wow delaware state is bad

[/ QUOTE ]

yep..

after being bombarded for weeks about why delaware/delaware st. haven't played, and it was 37-0 delaware..they're interviewing the old delaware coach, and he's asked, 'why haven't they played'..

he chuckled, looked at the field, and said, 'well, i think you're looking at ONE of the reasons...'

HAHA!

Re: **FCS (formerly I-AA) Football Playoff Thread**
 

Unfortunately I don't pay as much attention to 1-AA as I did when I was in school (Montana State), but the playoff system sure is exciting... I was at the Montana - Montana St. game last weekend and was pretty impressed with the Grizzlies overall. They're gonna be tough to beat, especially at home...

Re: **FCS (formerly I-AA) Football Playoff Thread**
 

[ QUOTE ]
Are we still allowed to talk about how stupid it is that they changed the name from 1-AA to FCS?
I know it's old news but it still bugs the crap out of me.

[/ QUOTE ]

To be honest with you, it's growing on me. At least the new names are properly descriptive; it used to seriously life-tilt me to hear people describing a baseball or a basketball program as being I-AA (when the division only exists for football).

Re: **FCS (formerly I-AA) Football Playoff Thread**
 

App state getting extremely lucky that they won that game today vs JMU. We'll see if they can ride this good luck throughout the playoffs. I think UDel could be a team to watch out for the rest of the way. This should be an amazing bracket this year.

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As for the Committee they are always bad and biased in their selections for the most part. THey hate Wofford and Wofford will never get in unless we win the SoCon and the automatic bid. That being said Wofford should have had a home game since we won the automatic bid and beat App state and opening day for conference play. But we went out to montana and won. They could not stop our rushing attack. Wofford was set up to try and get beat by that committee. Well Wofford won and has proably more momentum than any team in the playoffs now cause the first game was a big one for wofford. If wofford and App state win again, App should have to come back to wofford to play us again cause we won the heads up game and because there is obvious favortism for App in the committee. I am and have always been a wofford fan and have seen a few 9-2 and 9-3 seasons end with no playoffs for our team. Understand this, Wofford is more about getting that committee and makeing them look bad than winning the games. But we must win the games to do that. The selection committee needs to be done away with and go on a power rateting system like the BCS and the top 16 teams at the end of the season with all the points and other things factored in go to the playoffs not this coaches and AD's picking people for favor later on, Frankly the committee is BS and Wofford has been stung by them more than anyone. All that being said GO T-DOGS! after treeing the grizz we are going to be hard to stop. Although I doubt anyone is going to beat UNI. Good luck to all of you and your teams.

Re: **FCS (formerly I-AA) Football Playoff Thread**
 

[ QUOTE ]

Honestly, this year's field are all pretty solid picks except for UNH. Should have been Norfolk State IMO

[/ QUOTE ]

UNH nearly beat the number one seed yesterday. UNI scored the winning touchdown with 7 seconds left.

Re: **FCS (formerly I-AA) Football Playoff Thread**
 

bump

Re: **FCS (formerly I-AA) Football Playoff Thread**
 

history repeats itself for JMU... up 8 with 5 min to go and blow it by going for it on 4th and 2 on own 30 up by 5 with 3 min to go... and then blow it again after driving the field to the 10 for a GW FG and fumble. hard to lose that one.

Re: **FCS (formerly I-AA) Football Playoff Thread**
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

Honestly, this year's field are all pretty solid picks except for UNH. Should have been Norfolk State IMO

[/ QUOTE ]

UNH nearly beat the number one seed yesterday. UNI scored the winning touchdown with 7 seconds left.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ok yeah, I made that post before that game.

Also, I am still so depressed from the JMU game. You have the ball on the 10 yard line, set to kick a FG to win the game with 30 seconds left and you fumble.

How does that even happen?

The image of the ASU crowd going nuts (I was there) is burned into my head forever.

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Uggh...first the Mets collapse, then the Jets are awful and now JMU getting bit by the "mountain magic". I'll be back in this thread later this week with some predictions. I just can't think about FCS football right now.

Re: **FCS (formerly I-AA) Football Playoff Thread**
 

seeing this thread makes me sad and excited at the same time. My team is eligible for the first time next year and nearly finished off a perfect season losing a heartbreaker in the last game of the year due to horrendous special teams. I also heard from several players that if they would have won that game the NCAA would have given them some sort of ring. Anyone know anything about this?

Re: **FCS (formerly I-AA) Football Playoff Thread**
 

Obviously you are speaking of North Dakota State. I too can't wait to see what they can do next year. They have an excellent team and program. And next year they will be in the Gateway, arguably the toughest FCS conference in the country (the CAA and SoCon might have something to say about that though).

I don't know if the NCAA would have given them some sort of ring should they have had a perfect season. I guess they could have gotten a ring for winning the Great West Conference, but the loss to South Dakota State nullified that possibility.

Re: **FCS (formerly I-AA) Football Playoff Thread**
 

Well Round 2 begins in a few hours.

Eastern Washington @ Appalachian State (Noon)
Even though Eastern Washington has been playing it's best football for weeks now, how can you not like the Mountaineers at home? The long plane ride for EWU coupled with the early start time and some more of the mountain magic will have ASU in the Semi's once again.

Delaware @ Northern Iowa (2pm)
Delaware looked great last week at home, but somehow a High School team made it into the I-AA playoffs and faced them. Meanwhile, UNI barely got past the CAA's (arguably) 5th best team in UNH. Delaware has some serious offensive fire power in Flacco and Cuff, but the Panthers can play some D. Delaware grabs the lead early but their defense lets them down again in the 2nd half. Northern Iowa by 14.

Massachusetts @ Southern Illinois (3:15pm)
Both of these teams are pretty evenly matched. The Saluki's have faired a bit better on offense this year, but its too damn close to call. I can see this game going to OT, maybe more than one. I'll just go with UMASS because I'm a CAA homer.

Richmond @ Wofford (7pm)
Wait a damn minute! Wofford gets a home game in the playoffs? That's can't be right. But it is! The Terriers went up to Missoula last weekend and beat previously undefeated Montana in a close one. Their "reward" was a home game against CAA Co-Champion Richmond. Both of these teams can seriously run the football. But Wofford is a bit too one dimensional for my liking and the Spiders are pretty good at stopping the run. I like Richmond in this one.

Re: **FCS (formerly I-AA) Football Playoff Thread**
 

Well I went 50/50. Congrats to Delaware and Richmond. These teams are representing the CAA well.

Re: **FCS (formerly I-AA) Football Playoff Thread**
 

Gateway winner UNI lost...but Gateway Illinois rep, SoIll is still going strong.

Go Salukis!!

Re: **FCS (formerly I-AA) Football Playoff Thread**
 

[ QUOTE ]
Well I went 50/50. Congrats to Delaware and Richmond. These teams are representing the CAA well.

[/ QUOTE ]

I watched the whole Delaware game....sweet win. CAA football is fun to watch.