Alex Bonser: Does UC Davis get seeded if they pick up a second loss, or do they have to run the table?
Brian: I think that depends on who they lose to, by how much, and what the other top teams are doing. Vague enough? Let me give you a scenario ... let's say UC Davis wins two and falls at Eastern Washington by 3 points in overtime ... I think UC Davis is likely still a 6 to 8 seed because frankly, it still doesn't have an FCS loss.
On the flip side, if UC Davis loses at home by 20 to Sacramento State in the season finale, that will be looked at differently than an overtime loss to EWU on the road. So those are the dynamics, I think.
Chase: This is an interesting question. On the one hand, UC Davis could definitely take a loss in Cheney and still have the resume of a playoff seed -- wins over Idaho State and Montana look nice, and the FBS win is better on paper than it is in reality. On the other hand, it does seem pretty unlikely that the Big Sky gets three playoff seeds.
If I'm an Aggies fan, I'm framing the Eastern Washington game as a seeding elimination game in my head, with the knowledge that Davis could probably still slip into a seeded position when it's all said and done.
Sam: It depends who the loss is to, really. If it happens against EWU and the Eagles don't suffer any losses from here on out, you'd think EWU would get a seed in front of UC Davis. And a lot would have to go wrong for Weber to drop out of the seeds. While it is possible, I don't see three Big Sky teams getting a seed.
Even with a loss to EWU, UC Davis could arguably still have a better overall resume than the Eagles. But it appears the committee really values head to head wins.
Wouldn't that be a heck of an upset. The Dukes still have an entire game to turn this one around though and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they did.
I've heard criticism of the JMU offense; they're supposedly not explosive like the Ags are. This might be a bigger hurdle for them than it would be for the Ags or another good spread team.
From what I understand their offense is good, but they struggle specifically to put away drives in the red zone. Massey has their offense ranked at #8 so they aren't slouches when they have the ball.
Also, New Hampshire wasn't terrible last time I saw them against SDSU. They had a solid game plan and were able to battle for a while, until they got outmatched by FBS speed. If it's the same coach as back then, he seemed like he knew what he was doing in terms of playing up to competition.
Looking at some FCS sources on twitter, apparently UNH was supposed to be pretty good this season but got decimated by injuries. Starting to get some players back and it's showing.
James Madison has a bad offense. They’ve struggled since conference play to find consistency. Their d is pretty elite but
Hard to overcome 6 turnovers. (Only gave up 300 yards) UNH lost Knight (QB) wk 1 and struggled without him. They’ve been awful until the last two weeks where they found some consistency. JMU was truly the one team thought to compete w the Bison again they look very pedestrian on offense. I mentioned in another thread My #2 team is South Dakota st.
It’s NDSU in one tier and then everyone else. They also play in the best FCS conference by a long shot. Don’t be fooled into thinking 17-7 means anything. Every year except one during their title run they lost a head scratching game then went on to destroy teams on their path to a national title. Title games have been generally competitive but this is the Bison’s best team of the bunch IMO
Alright, back to Earth...take care of the Hornets. In a rivalry week, we can't take anything lightly.
Games of note that have implications for UC Davis' playoff situation:
Eastern Washington @ Portland State
Weber State @ Idaho State
Montana State @ Montana (need big Griz win?)
South Dakota @ South Dakota State
Jacksonville State @ Kennesaw State
Towson @ James Madison
Samford @ East Tennessee State
Maine @ Elon
Western Illinois @ Indiana State