FCS Playoffs: Road to Chattanooga

It's been down lately, but the Missouri Valley has had years where it got four in. If Northern Iowa hadn't almightily shit the bed against Illinois State, it probably would have got three this year.

 

Well, you've got to take out both the Ivy League and SWAC, which don't participate. Then, take out the non-scholly leagues like the Pioneer that play Division II or Division III non-conference schedules. In the end, you really have about 70-80 teams that compete in leagues that could be considered fit for playoff berths. Even in those leagues, there are teams that are just going through the motions with no hope of ever making a 16, 20 or 32 team field. So, when all is said and done, there is really only 50-60 schools that allocate the resources to even make the field, much less compete for the title. Say that number is at 60 and the field is expanded to 20 teams. That means 1/3 of the teams that make even a half-assed effort to make the playoffs get a bid.

 

I'm still waiting for some ex-Ivy League football player who is now an attorney to take the league to court for prohibiting football players from participating in NCAA playoffs when every other team at their school can if selected.

Recently, with the rise of Villanova and Richmond to national prominence again, the CAA is the best conference in FCS football, by a long shot. It deserves its multiple berths.

 

The CAA/A-10/Yankee Conference has been one of the top 2-3 leagues in I-AA/FCS for a long time.

 

True, but now it's stronger than ever.

Spiders hadn't been a player for quite some time, and now appear to be building a premier program, with a great on-campus facility coming to replace a decrepit stadium. W&M has returned to prominence after some lean years, as has Villanova.

The CAA South is beastly when Delaware and JMU don't even finish in the top half. And ODU will be a factor when it comes on-line, as it will go head-to-head with JMU for a lot of players (UR and W&M generally recruit from a different pool).

UNH, UMass and Maine should benefit as the number of FCS programs in that region steadily get winnowed. Fewer schools for players from that region to choose from and you'd think that would consolodate the talent somewhat.

 

From what I've seen, ODU and William and Mary go after a lot of the same people, at least in the 757 area code. ODU's emergence probably hurts Christopher Newport, which can live on the second/third-tier of Hampton Roads high school players (which are pretty good in their own right). That and being the one public school in USA South is why they've been a playoff contender from day one.

Wonder how they're going to divide the teams into divisions with Northeastern out, ODU coming in for the 2011 season and Georgia State shortly after that. Maybe ODU/UR/W&M/JMU/Towson/Ga. State in the south and everyone else in the north. The original plan, if I recall, was ODU/UR/W&M/JMU/Towson/Delaware in one division, Georgia State going to the north division because they're the odd team out and at least they're among airline hubs.

Micro: You're a UR guy, so answer me this -- why only an 8,700-seat stadium? Robins Center seats more than that. I get moving onto campus and out of Carytown, but they could be two-time defending NCAA champs when they move in, and they could end up turning a lot of people away, couldn't they? Also, just how much money has the Robins family given to the school? They've got the football stadium named after them, as well as the basketball arena and business school, among other things.

 

Wow, either the admittance standards at ODU have risen dramatically since I was in Virginia, which is quite possible, or W&M gets some special admits.

Capacity at the stadium had to be smaller than the Robins Center to appease the snotty, NIMBY neighbors and get it approved by the city, as the university has demonstrated it can handle crowds of 9,100 for basketball.

Of course, those same neighbors who don't want added traffic on football Saturdays don't acknowledge that the university was there first and that it increases their property values, and they don't think twice about walking their dogs or running through campus at every opportunity because they have something akin to a state park in their neighborhood.

When he died in 1995, Claiborne Sr.'s obit said he'd publicly donated more than $100 million. I've seen estimates in the $150-$200 million range from the entire Robins family, when the acknowledged and "anonymous" gifts that can only come from that source are added up.

For sure the original $50 million gift in 1969 kept the school from going public like W&M was forced to do. He was certainly one of the most generous benefactors in the history of American higher education, and one of the most humble.

 

SC State at App State on ESPNU at noon, FWIW.

 

Crushing loss for S.C. State. Lining up to kick a field goal and take a lead late in the 4th, the snap goes all kinds of haywire and App State picks it up and goes in for a touchdown and the winning points.

 

Translation: App State made enough stakes to lose. But SC State made even more errors.

And I'm stunned that Montana is getting taken behind the woodshed at home, now 48-21, by SoDakState.

 

True. What little I saw (was a little preoccupied with the glory that was Carolina 34-Clemson 17), looked like a festival of turnovers.