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Can anybody think of a previous performance by a I-AA/FCS conference comparable to the performance by the Missouri Valley this year?

1) Two teams from the MVFC in the national championship game. First time two teams from the same conference have ever made the I-AA/FCS championship game.

2) 30 - 2 against other FCS conferences this year.

3) The only regular season loss was a competitive 28-20 loss by South Dakota, a team that finished 0-8 in the MVFC, to Montana, a team that finished 6-2 in the Big Sky.

4) The other loss was a 35-14 loss by Indiana State, a team that finished 4-4 in the MVFC, to Chattanooga, a team that finished 7-0 in the Southern.

5) The MVFC was 7 - 1 against playoff teams from other leagues. That includes being 6 -1 in the tournament against teams from other conferences along with a win by Indiana State over Liberty during the regular season.

If there's been as good a performance by a conference in the past I sure don't remember it.

I am sure there are times where this could have happened with other conferences but they way they regionalize the bracket, the big sky doesn't stand a chance of getting 2 into the chipper. I am not going to say the MVFC isn't having a good year, they are, but they had the opportunity to get 2 there. I'd have to go back and look at the past brackets to see how often other conferences even had a chance to get 2 in the big game.

I think the Big Sky theoretically had a chance this year because it had two teams (Montana and Eastern Washington) on the side of the brackets Illinois State came out of and one team (Montana State) on the side of the bracket North Dakota State came out of. When you go back I think you will see that there have been plenty of chances for other conferences to do this. You'll find a number of times when one team had two teams in the semifinals with one in each game. That's even happened with the Southland (1995, Stephen F. Austin at Montana and Marshall at McNeese State).

I happen to remember that one specifically because I went to McNeese State and keep hoping the Southland, which should be among the strongest leagues because its geographical footprint is at least as talent rich as that of any other FCS league and may be richer than any, will realize its potential. But I know there have been others because I watch for this every year and remember there have been times when various leagues have had one team in each of the two semis but before this year it's never worked out where both won.

Since I'm off all week maybe I'll get to the point of looking it up. But it's CERTAINLY not a rare thing for leagues to start off the tournament with teams on each side of the bracket. This year the Big Sky, CAA, MVC, OVC, and Southland each had teams on opposites sides of the bracket. I think that there have been multiple leagues with teams on opposite sides of the bracket during the overwhelming majority of the years in which there were at least 16 teams in the tournament and wouldn't be surprised if it was like that EVERY year.

Georgia Southern and Furman played in a couple championships, 1985 & 88. Were they both in the SoCon at that time?

GSU was still independent back then.

Grizalltheway wrote:GSU was still independent back then.

Good memory.

Had ISUr not been seeded they'd have been same side as ndsu I'd bet

clenz wrote:Had ISUr not been seeded they'd have been same side as ndsu I'd bet

I used the nice playoff history page on this site at http://www.championshipsubdivision.com/ ... -playoffs/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and if I didn't miss any this is what I saw in terms of previous instances in which there were two teams from the same conference in the semifinals on opposite sides of the bracket so that if both had won there would've been two teams form the same conference in the championship game.

1978 Murray State Eastern Kentucky OVC
1981 Idaho State Boise State Big Sky
1994 Montana Boise State Big Sky
1995 McNeese State Stephen F. Austin Southland
2007 Delaware Richmond CAA
2008 James Madison Richmond CAA
2010 Villanvoa Delaware CAA
2013 Towson New Hampshire CAA

Interesting that this year was the first time the old Gateway now MVFC had two teams in the semifinals. The CAA had four shots in seven years but it never happened. Another thing is that 8 times in 36 tournaments is not that uncommon. That's 22 percent of the time.

GrizFanStuckInUtah wrote:I am sure there are times where this could have happened with other conferences but they way they regionalize the bracket, the big sky doesn't stand a chance of getting 2 into the chipper. I am not going to say the MVFC isn't having a good year, they are, but they had the opportunity to get 2 there. I'd have to go back and look at the past brackets to see how often other conferences even had a chance to get 2 in the big game.

Probably any time you get three teams in.

JohnStOnge wrote:Interesting that this year was the first time the old Gateway now MVFC had two teams in the semifinals. The CAA had four shots in seven years but it never happened. Another thing is that 8 times in 36 tournaments is not that uncommon. That's 22 percent of the time.

That's because outside of YSU and prior to NDSU's arrival, the MFVC had a long history of shitting the bed in the playoffs.

AZGrizFan wrote:

JohnStOnge wrote:Interesting that this year was the first time the old Gateway now MVFC had two teams in the semifinals. The CAA had four shots in seven years but it never happened. Another thing is that 8 times in 36 tournaments is not that uncommon. That's 22 percent of the time.

That's because outside of YSU and prior to NDSU's arrival, the MFVC had a long history of shitting the bed in the playoffs.

Western KY.

Griz setting new lows in the playoffs.

They get every break and advantage and yet they still suck.

Griz are the new UNI.

D1B wrote:

AZGrizFan wrote:
That's because outside of YSU and prior to NDSU's arrival, the MFVC had a long history of shitting the bed in the playoffs.

Western KY.

Griz setting new lows in the playoffs.

They get every break and advantage and yet they still suck.

Griz are the new UNI.

UNI is the new Montana State (sans a Championship).

Ursus A. Horribilis wrote:

D1B wrote:
Western KY.

Griz setting new lows in the playoffs.

They get every break and advantage and yet they still suck.

Griz are the new UNI.

UNI is the new Montana State (sans a Championship).

You're being too generous, Uranus. UNI should go to D2 or drop the program all together. It's over.

With your resources and history of disregarding other sports by focusing 99% of em on football, you think the Griz would have won one lately.

UNI beat both teams in this year's national championship game during the regular season. I wonder if any team has ever done THAT before.

In back to back weeks, no less. Beat Illinois State 42 - 28 on November 1 then beat North Dakota State 23 - 3 on November 8.

UNI is definitely the top program never to win a national championship and it's a better "program" than a number of programs that HAVE won national championships. Like if Illinois State wins this year. UNI has been a much better football program over time than Illinois State.

I believe the MVFC will be the first conference to have a National Champion 4 straight years.

D1B wrote:

AZGrizFan wrote:
That's because outside of YSU and prior to NDSU's arrival, the MFVC had a long history of shitting the bed in the playoffs.

Western KY.

Griz setting new lows in the playoffs.

They get every break and advantage and yet they still suck.

Griz are the new UNI.

Griz won one more playoff game than UNI did this year. AGAIN.

D1B wrote:

Ursus A. Horribilis wrote: UNI is the new Montana State (sans a Championship).

You're being too generous, Uranus. UNI should go to D2 or drop the program all together. It's over.

Agreed. UNI has basically traded places with NDSU and SDSU at this point anyway so why not complete it.

AZGrizFan wrote:

D1B wrote:
Western KY.

Griz setting new lows in the playoffs.

They get every break and advantage and yet they still suck.

Griz are the new UNI.

Griz won one more playoff game than UNI did this year. AGAIN.

Not sure if serious or just retarded....

kalm wrote:

AZGrizFan wrote:
Griz won one more playoff game than UNI did this year. AGAIN.

Not sure if serious or just retarded....

Let him go, he's on a roll.

Montana would be 1-9 in the MV.

Ursus A. Horribilis wrote:

D1B wrote:
You're being too generous, Uranus. UNI should go to D2 or drop the program all together. It's over.

Agreed. UNI has basically traded places with NDSU and SDSU at this point anyway so why not complete it.

Yep. New Super D2 Conference:

Montana
UNI
YOUNGSTOWN
Delaware
Montana State
Eastern Illinois
Holy Cross
Maine
Weber State

D1B wrote:

kalm wrote:
Not sure if serious or just retarded....

Let him go, he's on a roll.

Montana would be 1-9 in the MV.

Well we know the win would be against UNI at least.

Ursus A. Horribilis wrote:

D1B wrote:
Let him go, he's on a roll.

Montana would be 1-9 in the MV.

Well we know the win would be against UNI at least.

Yep. At your place. Maybe. In the Dome, prolly not.

Come back when you have enough talent to hang with
NDSU.

kalm wrote:

AZGrizFan wrote:
Griz won one more playoff game than UNI did this year. AGAIN.

Not sure if serious or just retarded....

Reading comprehension....it's tricky.

AZGrizFan wrote:

kalm wrote:
Not sure if serious or just retarded....

Reading comprehension....it's tricky.

Both teams played opening round
Both teams won opening round

Both teams played second round games
Both teams lost second round games

How could Montana have won one more playoff game than UNI?