Road to SoCon Championship & FCS Championship

[WocoSix]

Agreed lawdog. Furman has to win out, since they probably break the top 25 this week. Only reason I think Samford could get in as an at large is because they were ranked at one time. But a loss to a 1-7 CHAT team does not bode well for them.

[boulder3m]

We just haven't done anything to make the pollsters think we are real. It is hard not to agree with that. Look a the poor ratings of some of the teams we have squeaked by and legitimately say that we should be rated higher. Leadership, either from the coaches or the players, needs to step up and kick some butts.

[SmallTownTerrier]

Coaches Poll out... Slide to #9... Don’t know how on cue this poll is... Western and Citadel with more votes than Furple?? Doesn’t make sense.

[youngterrier]

the coach's poll is nonsense

[BubbaDog]

Yeah, the coaches poll is always a joke. They don't even really try.

[lawdog]

We traditionally have not won big. However, that is true of many good teams; Alabama gets accused of that, but they win, which in the end is all that counts. When we execute as we know how, and do not hurt ourselves with penalties and turnovers, that is what we do - we win, but not big. I will take about six more close wins this year, right now.

BTW, I also cannot believe Furples did not make the Coaches poll. But, they made the Stats poll. http://www.fcs.football/fcsfront.asp
As long as they win out, they have nothing to fear.

[Atldog7]

I think most of us agree that a Bye in the first round could be coveted to give our guys a much needed break. On the flipside of that, I would say that it depends on how we are playing. Sometimes that extra week is a momentum killer for a team that is rolling (insert 2016 Citadel). If we are limping a bit to the finish line, then I would absolutely say that the BYE is what the doctor ordered. But if we get our #@*# together over the next 3 weeks I would almost hate to see the extra week curb some of that Momentum.

[19TERRIER19]

Sagarin has the Furples as the highest rated SoCon team, and 13th in FCS. It still has Samford a notch above us.

I think we no doubt become a top seed if we win out but think there is a possibility the SoCon gets only two in the playoffs, but more likely three. https://www.usatoday.com/sports/ncaaf/sagarin/

To say we have no respect on the national stage is incorrect. We rose to number 5 and dropped only to 8 when we lost. Our national reputation this year has risen to be a very good one.

Parenthetically, undefeated NCA&T is still behind Mercer and WCU in the Sagarin. Their schedule is the problem, but they definitely will make the playoffs (and probably stay undefeated in the regular season) and then make a run, unless prohibited by some tie-in bowl.

NC A&T if they win out will play in the Celebration Bowl or whatever it is called as the champion of their conference and will not even be in the playoffs.........

[lawdog]

Thanks 19T. That is too bad. I would like to see how they do in the playoffs, especially this year. They are solid and well coached.

We played and defeated them in a 2003 playoff game, before they got tied into this bowl.

[Eyes of Old Main]

We played and defeated them in a 2003 playoff game, before they got tied into this bowl.

I always wondered why we never scheduled them after that. We won that one handily, but they are a good program and would be a solid OOC opponent. Same goes for SC State. Both fit our scheduling footprint and probably are struggling for OOC games just like we are.

[woffordgrad94]

We played and defeated them in a 2003 playoff game, before they got tied into this bowl.

I always wondered why we never scheduled them after that. We won that one handily, but they are a good program and would be a solid OOC opponent. Same goes for SC State. Both fit our scheduling footprint and probably are struggling for OOC games just like we are.

+1...SC State always played us good games and that could be a nice little in-state rivalry, something that could replace PC. NC A&T is also a solid program.

[WocoSix]

The official FCS committee release first ranking.

http://www.ncaa.com/news/football/artic ... rst-top-10

[boulder3m]

Since the spokesman is RJ I would think we can assume he is the head of the committee. He does a great job of presenting this. Some of the teams ahead of us have pretty tough games remaining. It is, as it has been all year, up to us to make our own statement. While a seed in the top 4 is unlikely, it is not totally out of the question. Our job is to MAKE the committee respect us.

[youngterrier]

I think if we win out and play respectively against South Carolina, we're looking at a 5-7. 4th would be the best case scenario, but I don't think that's likely. My guess would be 5 or 6. Elon still has James Madison and New Hampshire. A couple MVFC teams ahead of us as well (NDSU and South Dakota) who play each other as well.

If the winners of those games win by a few scores and we win convincingly in the next couple, I think we get the 6 seed. 4 or 5 is probably too optimistic.

Regardless of who we play, there's a very good chance we play Furman and I don't like that.

[walliver]

There's no a lot of difference between 5 and 8. Each of those teams gets a first round buy, and a second round home-game, and, barring upsets plays the rest of the way on the road. A 3 or 4 seed gets two possible home games, but I suspect we need to beat the chickens to get one of those.

IF everything plays out, it is possible we would play the Furman-Kennesaw winner. On the other hand, if Western makes the field, we could easily end up in a bracket with them instead of Furman.

FU is much improved, but I don't fear the Purples. It may have been their first game with a new offense, on the other hand, we had an defensive coordinator coaching his first game as DC against an opponent for which we had no useful film. If we play them again, it will likely be a one-score game, but I still like our chances.