Who's #1 Now???

[Grizball]

1. .... LOST ... Appalachian St at Wofford (3-1), 42-31
2. .... won .... Montana vs. Albany (1-3), 35-14
3. .... won .... Massachusetts at Maine (1-3), 38-7
4. .... won .... Northern Iowa at Drake (3-1), 45-7
5. .... won .... North Dakota St at Central Mich (1-3), 44-14
6. .... won .... McNeese St at Southern Utah (0-4), 41-20
7. .... won .... Southern Illinois vs. Ark-Pine Bluff (1-3), 58-3
8. .... won .... James Madison vs. Coastal Carolina (1-3), 45-10
9. .... won .... Youngstown St vs. Lock Haven Foo-Foo (0-4), 35-3
10. ... won .... New Hampshire vs. Dartmouth (0-2), 52-31
11. ... won .... Delaware at Towson (2-2), 27-7

only top 10 team to play anybody with a "decent" record... lost
*edit.. k, UD and UNI did too and won

[SuperHornet]

I just don't understand how you guys can drop Appy that far. They've lost ONE freaking game. Surely their win over a B(C)$ school counts more than a drubbing of a school in a wannabe FBS conference. I'm sure you guys will change your tune once it's obvious that the Wofford game is just a small error on an otherwise excellent season.

Appy, IMO, will still lose to UM in Chatty, but they'll get there. To say otherwise on a team that is coming off a title and has a Big 11 win is irresponsible at best.

[AZGrizFan]

NDSU thoroughly dominated their FBS opponent, outgained them by 100+ yards, controlled the ball for 36+ minutes and won by 30.

UNI wasn't all that impressive in their victory, they were outgained by 70 yards, barely won the time of possesion and had the benefit of 4 Iowa St turnovers while winning by 11.

I'm not trying to take anything away from UNI but if that victory was impressive enough to jump them over NDSU in the polls, then NDSU's victory certainly has to be impressive enough to warrant jumping UNI in the polls this week.

all FBS opponents are not created equal. Iowa State > Central Michigan.

[AZGrizFan]

Current Sagarin ratings:

1. UNI 4-0
2. SIU 4-0
3. Umass 4-0
4. App State 3-1
5. Youngstown 3-1
6. Delaware 4-0
7. EWU 3-0
8. NDSU 3-0
9. Montana 3-0
10. McNeese 3-0

Sagarin is making more sense every week.

EWU?????

[tplesuk111]

Bottom Line:
UNI can win a National Title this year,
NDSU can NOT.

If that's your logic, why even rank NDSU? The poll has nothing to do with whether or not a team is post season eligible, it has to do with who are the consensus best football teams in the FCS.

The MAC is NOT a legitimate FBS conference. I'd put them on a par with the old Big West football conference, which for their last few years of existence had a Sagarin lower than that of the Big Sky. I don't put much stock into a drubbing of a MAC team. I'd say that Appy's so-called "upset" is more impressive because it came at the expense of a B(C)$ school. Appy should stay in the Top 5, and Montana becomes #1 because they did what they were supposed to do.

True, the MAC is not the best FBS conference and App State's victory over Michigan is a far bigger upset than NDSU's over Central Michigan (if you can even call it an upset). But the MAC is a legitimate football conference, Central Michigan won 10 games last year. Ball State (a team NDSU beat last year) was barely edged by Michigan last year and barely edged by Nebraska last week. Btw, Iowa St. (a Big 12 BCS school and UNI's hat-hanging win to this point) has already lost to 2 MAC schools this year.

[tplesuk111]

all FBS opponents are not created equal. Iowa State > Central Michigan.

9/8/07 Central Michigan 52, Toledo 31
9/15/07 Iowa St 35, Toledo 36

[Grizball]

and now, to answer that $64,000 question...

Sports Network's FCS College Football Poll
Team (First-place votes) Record Points Previous Rank
1. Montana Grizzlies (46) 3-0 2,396 2
2. Massachusetts Minutemen (18) 4-0 2,345 3
3. Northern Iowa Panthers (12) 4-0 2,272 4
4. North Dakota State Bison (14) 3-0 2,269 5
5. Appalachian State Mountaineers (8) 3-1 2,108 1
6. McNeese State Cowboys (2) 3-0 1,951 6
7. Southern Illinois Salukis (1) 4-0 1,833 7
8. Wofford Terriers (2) 3-1 1,821 13
9. James Madison Dukes 3-1 1,651 8
10. Youngstown State Penguins 3-1 1,616 9
11. New Hampshire Wildcats 2-1 1,522 10
12. Delaware Blue Hens 4-0 1,486 11
13. Hampton Pirates 3-0 1,170 12
14. Hofstra Pride 3-0 1,086 15
15. Sam Houston State Bearkats 2-1 872 17
16. Illinois State Redbirds 2-2 815 14
17. Western Illinois Leathernecks 3-1 782 19
18. Montana State Bobcats 2-1 772 18
19. Eastern Illinois Panthers 2-2 567 20
20. Furman Paladins 1-2 538 16
21. Eastern Washington Eagles 3-0 415 25
22. Yale Bulldogs 2-0 369 21
23. Nicholls State Colonels 3-1 336 NR
24. Elon Phoenix 2-1 263 NR
25. Richmond Spiders 2-1 171 NR
Others receiving votes: Cal Poly 166, Delaware State 119, The Citadel 111, Villanova 107, South Carolina State 55, Southern 42, Northern Arizona 41, Grambling 39, Lafayette 37, Alabama A&M 36, Lehigh 31, Holy Cross 30, Missouri State 27, San Diego 22, Alabama State 19, Eastern Kentucky 17, Georgia Southern 14, Gardner-Webb 9, UC Davis 9, Drake 8, Tennessee State 6, South Dakota State 5, Stony Brook 4, Chattanooga 3, Harvard 2, Dayton 1, Jackson State 1, Norfolk State 1, Northwestern State 1, Towson 1.


As of September 24, 2007, at 01:35 PM ET

[WYOBISONMAN]

OK......I am not happy with that.....I think that is nuts...

[Grizball]

maybe one of these are more to your liking?

FCS Coaches Poll (Sept 24, 2007)
http://www.soconsports.com/fls/4000/socon/FCS/index.htm

Points Last Week

1. Montana (3-0) (20) 661 2
2. Massachusetts (4-0) (4) 657 3
3. North Dakota State (3-0) (3) 640 4
4. Northern Iowa (4-0) 614 5
5. Appalachian State (3-1) 546 1
6. Southern Illinois (4-0) 536 6
7. McNeese State(3-0) (1) 521 8
8. Wofford (3-1) 509 12
9. James Madison (3-1) 492 9
10. Youngstown State (3-1) 488 7
11. New Hampshire (2-1) 424 10
12. Delaware (4-0) 388 11
13. Hampton (3-0) 334 13
14. Hofstra (3-0) 295 16
15. Sam Houston State (2-1) 240 15
16. Illinois State (2-2) 218 14
17t. Montana State (2-1) 212 18
17t. Western Illinois (3-1) 212 19
19. Furman(1-2) 184 17
20. Yale (2-0) 152 21
21. Eastern Illinois(2-2) 140 22
22. Nicholls State (3-1) 103 20
23. Eastern Washington(3-0) 101 NR
24. Cal Poly (2-2) 72 24
25. Richmond (2-1) 44 NR

Others Receiving Votes: Villanova (31), Lafayette (29), UC Davis (22), Grambling St. (21), San Diego (21), Missouri St. (20), Elon (17), Holy Cross (17), South Dakota St. (15), Delaware St. (13), Georgia Southern (13), South Carolina St. (13), Southern (13), Alabama St. (12), The Citadel (12), Tennessee Tech (9), Lehigh (8), Alabama A&M (7), Texas St. (7), Drake (5), Princeton (5), Butler (2), William & Mary (2), Chattanooga (1), Eastern Kentucky (1), Northern Arizona (1).

or...

http://www.egriz.com/2007/football/agspoll2007.php
Any Given Saturday Poll Top 25
9/24/2007

(First place votes in parenthesis, last week's rank in brackets)
1. Northern Iowa (50)
2. Montana (28)
3. North Dakota St. (17)
4. Massachusetts (9)
5. Appalachian St. (2)
6. McNeese St. (1)
7. Youngstown St.
8. James Madison
9. Wofford (3)
10. Southern Illinois (2)
11. New Hampshire
12. Delaware
13. Hampton
14. Sam Houston St.
15. Furman
16. Hofstra
17. Yale
18. Illinois St.
19. Montana St.
20. Nicholls St.
21. Western Illinois
22. Cal Poly
23. Eastern Illinois
24. The Citadel
25. Richmond

dropped out: Lafayette (23), Drake (24)

Others receiving votes (minimum of 5 votes): Villanova (46), Delaware St. (35), Missouri St. (31), Eastern Washington (30), Northern Arizona (22), Lehigh (21), Lafayette (15), Holy Cross (12), Southern (12), Alabama St. (10), Drake (7), South Carolina St. (7), Princeton (6), San Diego (5), Towson (5)

or... maybe not everybody is as impressed with NDSU as NDSU fans are?

[guinzone]

I hate to say it, but I am going to give Any Given Saturday and their poll credit, they got it all right. Montana has done nothing to deserve the #1 ranking, while UNI and NDSU have. Anyone in the top 10 would destroy the teams on Montana's schedule.... I do not know if that can be said about NDSU or UNI or YSU or SIU's schedule.

[VictorG]

Anyone in the top 10 would destroy the teams on Montana's schedule....

IMO it's way to early to even care much about these polls but it is worth stating here that UM has it's #2's playing IN THE 1ST QUARTER and many #3's early second half or even sooner. This is where they build up experience and debth. Hauck has no ambitions to run up the score but uses these opportunities to get as many kids as they can playing time so they can watch film of themselves in game situations and help themselves improve. He has stated this many times.

This philosophy may not produce many 60 point wins but it does produce playoff appearances, even in down years!

[SuperHornet]

True, the MAC is not the best FBS conference and App State's victory over Michigan is a far bigger upset than NDSU's over Central Michigan (if you can even call it an upset). But the MAC is a legitimate football conference, Central Michigan won 10 games last year. Ball State (a team NDSU beat last year) was barely edged by Michigan last year and barely edged by Nebraska last week. Btw, Iowa St. (a Big 12 BCS school and UNI's hat-hanging win to this point) has already lost to 2 MAC schools this year.

CMU won ten games with a staff no longer there. They are clearly no longer the same team. Their old coach is working wonders at a new school, so CMU's success was clearly due to him and his staff, not the team. Ball State lost because they CHOKED. The Big 8/SWC is nowhere NEAR the Big 11 in terms of football. Again, the Warners' accomplishment, while impressive, does not rise to the level of Appy's downing of Michigan, which has apparently retrieved their heads from thier rears.

Given that, Appy's loss took them about where I expected that it would. Whether they stay there or not will depend on both the backup QB's response to his new-found job and how long the original starter is out. If their impressive defense holds up, however, it may not matter. The Wofford game MAY be a flash-in-the-pan, or it may turn out to be the beginning of the end for them. However, to conclude that they are done already is quite premature.

As far as NDSU goes, as far as I'm concerned, the NCAA's move-up-probation rule is ludicrous at best; if they're really as good as their record indicates, they should be in the playoffs. However, so long as they are not eligible, they should not be eligible for the poll because their presence skews things for everyone else. If NDSU WERE eligible, however, their placement seems to be about right. I'm not impressed with U-MISS (no, that's not a typo for Ole Miss; that's intentional smack). SIU, McNeese, and Hofstra ought to be higher, and U-MISS lower. Other than that, everything else seems about right. I fully expect Appy to get things straightened out and meet the Griz in Chatty (where the trophy or whatever trinket they give the winner will go to Missoula).

[WYOBISONMAN]

I think the Bison got rooked and that Montana shouldn't be #1, but in the grand scheme of things, all of the top 5 teams are probably capable of beating each other. I think that the Bison fans are overly passionate about the rankings because we are not eligible for the playoffs this year.

[GrizzBizz]

Hell yeah- gonna have to go with the Griz!!!

...But unlike the BCS, polls mean little here. There are some great teams countrywide, and as always, I'm excited to watch it all unfold. FCS is the way to go! Glad to have discovered this forum, and I'll be checkin' back.

Go Grizz!!

[AZGrizFan]

UNI is my #1 because they have wins, convincing wins, may I add, against better opponents. I am not trying to say Drake and Mankato-Minnesota St. are better than Albany and Ft. Lewis; but they are!

Without arguing the larger point of your thread, I'd take Albany over Drake, straight up, and I'd take Fort Lewis over Mankato Whatever, straight up.

[GREY DAWG]

UNI is # 1, that way when we go to the UNI dome in 3 weeks and beat them, the Salukis can then be #1.

[putter]

Point #1 -> I vote in the AGS poll and do not have Montana ranked #1.

However I want to ask this? Did everyone know Montana's schedule before the season started? Because all the grief they are receiving now, about who they have not played, you would think that these games were just thrown on everyone. Why were they ranked #2 in the pre-season polls if everyone knew that they did not have and overly difficult OOC schedule? They should have been ranked #10-#15 based on their perceived lack of strength for the first 3 games of the year and then adjusted accordingly.

[guinzone]

Point #1 -> I vote in the AGS poll and do not have Montana ranked #1.

However I want to ask this? Did everyone know Montana's schedule before the season started? Because all the grief they are receiving now, about who they have not played, you would think that these games were just thrown on everyone. Why were they ranked #2 in the pre-season polls if everyone knew that they did not have and overly difficult OOC schedule? They should have been ranked #10-#15 based on their perceived lack of strength for the first 3 games of the year and then adjusted accordingly.

I don't think we can look at it like that... We are looking so closely at their OOC because Appy was upset and we want to decide a true #1. I believe the resume's of UNI and NDSU have a much better case with wins over FBS schools and 4-0 records, while Montana has a 3-0 record which anyone in the Top 10 would have, let alone the Top 20 probably!

I am not saying Montana is bad, but I think at this point in the year, UNI and NDSU deserve the #1-#2 slot over Montana for what they have done up to this point. That is my story, and I'm sticking to it lol!


God--You know it's bad when a YSU fan is defending our rival in the GFC, a team I can not stand because they always beat us, and that team is UNI!

[GrizzBizz]

NDSU or Northern Iowa. I picked the Panthers but either would be my pick. Montana needs to play some tougher OOC games. Sorry if all you Montana folks flame me for that but an elite team needs to play some big games.

Naaaaw- its a ligit point, and I agree that the Griz schedule is soft (with the exception of our conference games vs EWU & MSU); However, I think that the soft schedule was a necessity to allow this year's squad to meld and mature as a team. What really matters is that by the time the post-season is upon us, our Griz are healthy enough to compete and poised to for home-field advantage. Coach Hauck knows this. I didn't think that the Griz looked like a no. 2 team on opening week, but they've been improving by leaps and bounds every week. I'm waiting to see how they play against EWU on the 6th before I start running my jaw too much. There were some question marks coming into the season, and allowing time for them to be ironed-out from the security of a soft non-conference schedule may be a bit cowardly, but I think it was tactful coaching in the grand scheme of things. I guess we'll find out as the season unfolds...

[skinny_uncle]

Current Sagarin ratings:

1. UNI 4-0
2. SIU 4-0
3. Umass 4-0
4. App State 3-1
5. Youngstown 3-1
6. Delaware 4-0
7. EWU 3-0
8. NDSU 3-0
9. Montana 3-0
10. McNeese 3-0

Sagarin is making more sense every week.

EWU?????

Why not? They are 3-0. Montana might be higher, but Sagarin factors in Strength of Schedule.

[Tailbone]

Rank 'em any way you like for now.

At the end of the season it will look like this"
1) Montana
2) App State
3) UMass
4) NDSU
5) UNI

Assuming the bracket configuration allows it.
And assuming Armanti can play.