There are so many of these polls. Which one is the "official" one or is there such a thing? — Toke69

The NCAA Selection Committee for the FCS Playoffs relies on the FCS Coaches Poll and the Stats Perform Poll as part of the criteria for selecting teams for the playoffs. Both of those polls are released every Monday during the season and can be found here:

https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/football/fcs/afca-fcs-coaches-poll

https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/football/fcs/afca-fcs-coaches-poll

Here are the ratings of FCS and transitioning from FCS schools pulled from Sagarin. This is just based on point differentials, not won/loss. Illustrates some of our wins are so unimpressive that they decrease the rating. Last week Davis was ahead of Weber and Sac. Davis appears to be a middling team that narrowly pulled off an upset against Idaho. I don’t think that is accurate, I think if they played Idaho again they’d win.

The Aggies move up 2 spots to #6 in the Stats Perform Poll:

Ags move up 3 spots from #11 to #8 in the FCS Coaches Poll:

We easily could beat Idaho again but what the computer ratings are saying is that if we played Idaho again on a neutral site, they'd be favored (and would deserve to be). Our results outside of that game are not very impressive. Far from an FCS expert but our results are not those of a top-8 team. Idaho lost by 10 to Oregon, beat FBS Wyoming, won at Abilene Christian (now #10) and their only loss is by 2 on the road to us. Meanwhile our ranking is based on us almost always being a decent team (i.e. we started the season ranked) and beating Idaho. Put this way, if Idaho gets the 2-point and wins by 3 in OT, its highly unlikely that we're in the top-10 right now.

Now I get it, the goal is to win the game. And you should absolutely get credit for doing so in the polls. Case in point, we needed a 90+ yard drive and a last play TD just to beat a now 0-5 team and we moved up 3 spots because other teams lost. Just saying I don't necessarily disagree with the computer models that we're not the #6 best team in FCS.

Of course the good thing is we're going to have the chance to prove it over the next 6 games. Similar to how in 2021 we started out 8-1 and were No. 6 but got beaten by 18 and 20 points before SDSt crushed us in the playoffs. Or 2019 we were No.4 after four games but finished 5-7.

Something called "Hero Sports" has the same. — Toke69

Sam Herder was on the Aggie Pride Podcast and writes for Hero Sports. He's one of the people who gets a vote for the FCS poll, and a lot of those people post their ballots. He's just one of 56 (?) people who cast a vote and puts a little article together each week rationalizing his poll.

If we are still #6 come Montana State, I’ll be feeling pretty good about this team. That would mean three solid games in a row - can’t take anyone for granted here!

I edited my previous post about the FCS Coaches Poll. The Ags moved up 3 spots from #11 to #8 in their poll not from #9 to #6. We are now #6 in the Stats Perform Poll, however.

I hope these ratings don't go to our teams head. Too many question marks. We haven't established the run (esp given our stud RB), don't put pressure on the QB, and questions remain on defense.

To our benefit we have a senior-laden offense with largely solid but not dominant players, and we do just enough to win. A weak schedule has facilitated our rise. Who knows, maybe this is a great team effort, and we'll continue to roll. Hopefully we get healthy the next month, which includes 3 winnable games and a perfectly timed bye.

The last 3 games will be a true test, and then next year rebuilding.

Win enough games and get the big win for a playoff spot - ie, no letdowns, so far on track...but the Ags have done this in the past. We've all seen how unconvincing 7 wins is on the West Coast for the playoff committee. Win 8 to make it easier, win 9 to be sure. We all see this team beating Poly and UNC, but with the EWU nemesis on the road, and mind you the Eagles are not a bad football team, they are explosive offensively... and with rough matchups @ Griz in November, the Bobcats who frankly, have dominated UC Davis, including a perfect 3-0 record against Davis...in Davis...and then you're at Sac State. Honestly, if they play like they played in Portland, they're only winning 7 games this year...and grant Poly and UNC credit, because they are going to shoot their shot against us, so there are no gimmies, at all.

Big Sky team rankings in the AGS Poll for Week 6:

#2 Montana State
#6 Idaho
#7 Aggies
#15 Montana
#19 Sac State
#22 Northern Arizona
#25 Weber State

https://www.anygivensaturday.com/showthread.php?365999-AGS-Poll-Results-2024-Week-6

I stand corrected. EWU has lost 3 games by 4 points or less against tough opponents.

Thanks. Given that the Aggies moved up in all of the polls despite barely beating a winless team, it's clear that a win is a win. I wonder how many of those who vote in theses polls looked at more than the score? On the other hand, I notice that computer based ratings, e.g. Sagarin, still have UCD below about 14 other FCS schools.

I think Sagarin is closer to reality, especially in this case. Always seems like the FCS polls are even more knee-jerk than FBS.

It is the old question if whether to weight the wins or the point margins. Basing a rating purely on points mis- rates teams that just do enough to win, which is the coaches objective. But ranking just on wins mis-rates teams that are just lucky. What is clear is that point based methods are good forecasters of the point spread would be in future games.

We seem to be playing at the level of our opponents. Play a good team tough followed by a weak team and making it just as tough. I have the same problem on the squash court.

CBS Sports has UCD ranked #6:
and some site called College Football Network has the Aggies at #5. https://collegefootballnetwork.com/fcs-top-25-power-rankings-2024/

Ags remain at #6 in the Stats Perform Poll and their vote total increased from 1,084 to 1,117:



https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/football/fcs/stats-perform-fcs-top-25

The Ags remain at #6 in the FCS Coaches Poll and their vote total increased from 504 to 514:



https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/football/fcs/afca-fcs-coaches-poll

FWIW, Massey has us rated 8th and Sagarin has us 11th.

The ranking of FCS teams filtered from Sagarin’s list includes two transitioning teams, so Davis would be number nine without those

I retract my previous comments about EWU and No Colorado being likely wins.

EWU is dangerous at home, and don't be fooled by their record. They've lost three games by 4 points or less, and battled Montana. This is also their Honecoming game. This will be a battle, and good preparation for our tough ending schedule.

I really hope we keep Dobbins ACTIVELY in the mix, and insert Fisher for a few carries in Crunch time. Semi amateur opinion here, but he seems to have a different gear, hits the hole fast, and sometimes those little guys are tougher to spot. I don't think we've had a back like him. We need playmakers. I think both fill the bill.

We're having trouble running the ball, we need to try something new. We're going to have battles inside the 5-yard line at season's end, and having a formidable fullback would give us another option besides double TEs and Wildcat.

Idea: do we have a brusing FB to clear space for LL? Should we try Nick Afato (LB, 225) or Rex Connors (210)? Think about Afato... he played QB in high school, while Connors came to mind when I saw him return his pick 6. He's an athlete. Even if Afato is a decoy, play him against No Colorado, he gets on tape.

Idea #2 Amone (300#s) or Toki (375#s) at FB ala Fridge Perry.

Go Ags!

I’ll stick with UNC as likely. EWU will take an effort like last Saturday (without allowing as many chunk plays)

that SUU win is looking better (at least according to Sagarin)

SUU lost by a missed extra point in overtime to Tarleton a couple of weeks ago, have an FBS win and their running back has gained 1,000 yards already.

Regarding Eastern Washington whats the expectation for Verner and McWilliams playing in the game?
Alexander had an uneven game, although I’m glad he is still around.

They put Winston Williams in the backfield to block for Larison on a direct snap. TEs have similar skills as fullbacks. They have a bunch of tight ends, if they want to borrow one for that role.

Speaking Tight Ends….what is the status of Ian Simpson? He contributed last year but I have not seen him suit up this year. Injury?

I notice that Sac State is 21 while EWU is 28. They have the same record and a similar strength of schedule, but one would think that the Golden Eagles win would put them ahead of Sac State.

Plough said they were hoping he’d be back soon. I thought he might have played against Poly but must not have been cleared. I believe he’s coming back from leg surgery.

Sagarin is all based on a matrix of point differentials, winning the game doesn’t count. Sac’s, narrower losses to San Jose and Fresno are better than Eastern Washingtons loss to Nevada is part of it.