I'm most impressed with North Dakota State at #23.
That school is really in a different tier for FCS.
I just hope that we stay away from playing against them in the playoffs unless if it's the championships.
We used to consistently be one of the first teams out of playoff eligibility (as defined by not being able to get to 7 Division I wins). This season, we're one of the first -- only 2 other teams have 7+ Division I wins at this point in the season. NDSU (8-0) got there last week and Colgate (7-0) got there yesterday along with us.
It will be interesting to see if we move much this week. A big win over a famous school at their place might motivate the East Coast voters to give us credit, even if they didn't watch the game and see the first half
When we beat a team it just means they weren’t any good
Just kidding
But it is noteworthy that our schedule is much tougher than Kennesaw, whoever that is.
I get that some voters might be being cautious considering this is our first season being back in the swing of things, but as Brian (from HERO Sports) said, Davis has no FCS losses but is ranked behind 6 teams that do... what can you do? Just keep on winning.
Kennesaw still kind of baffles me. Are they undefeated against FCS? Yes. Have they been blowing teams out? Yes. Have they played a tough SoS similar to a lot of other teams in the top 10? Hell no.
Kennesaw State is a relatively new program only in it's 4th season. They were okay their first 2 seasons but exploded onto the scene in their 3rd making it to the quarter finals before losing to Sam Houston State. I believe that they run a variation of triple option on offense. I just scratch my head seeing they are playing quite literally the worst of the worst in FCS and getting rewarded.
Forgive my ignorance as it has never been an issue before now, but how does the coaches poll (and these other polls) affect playoff seeding? On the one hand, I don't really care about these polls because the team has 3 games remaining against teams that they could lose to. They have to win each week of course. But on the other hand, seeding for he playoffs really matters and if the playoff committee is influenced by the coaches poll, which seems to be off, that's potentially a problem.
Funny enough, someone recently did research on this on AGS and found that the AGS poll more reliably picked the seeds than the coaches poll over the last several seasons.
Well that's encouraging. I'm still in "one week at a time" mode, however. I'd like for the team to get back to "starting fast." Although it's been exciting the last 3 weeks, falling behind early and then relying on your guys to rally back is a dangerous way to play. Let's get back to an early huge lead ala against Northern Colorado.
Yeah we just have to keep winning. NAU and Sac have been especially terrible as of late so I like our chances there. We can't take our foot off the gas peddle for those games by any means, but we SHOULD win those 2. EWU, even without Gubrud, will be a huge challenge. They are like the Aggies in that they can gouge in on the ground or through the air. Winning out would be big time for this program.
The fact that we have over 6 wins for the first time since 2002 (FYI - Star Wars II, Attack of the Clones, premiered that year, for context) is big time. The fact that we have a legit shot at the playoffs is enormous, and the fact that this team could potentially finish the season ranked #2 or #3 in the country is astounding. But again, one week at a time...
Polls are nice, but after we've moved into the top 10 of all these polls, it's time to shift focus away from it IMO. Focus on the vulnerabilities, especially around the slow starts. I'd really like to see more early blowouts so 2nd & 3rd string players can get some experience under their belts. Depth will be huge in the postseason
I'm absolutely in the "one game at a time" frame of mind but, I really don't think we'll make true believers of the FCS coaches and the FCS playoff selection committee members unless we beat EWU. We're a new kid on the block and they're waiting for us to pay our dues...
our own schedule is ranked 160th in the country compared to Kennesaw’s 225th. Both teams are 7-1, their loss to FBS Georgia Southern. Their best win is probably over Samford
I guess it's fine for dorks like us to focus on the polls and look ahead to EWU. I do get worried that 29 & 20 year old kids are doing the same and starting to believe their own hype. Nick Saban is right, that stuff is rat poison. I'm sure Hawkins is all over it, but there is a downside to all this good press.