so you are saying the MVC only gets 3 in if YSU wins..?..
Yes. Indiana State would only have 6 D1 wins. YSU would be 7-4, but at best would finish in a 3 way tie for 5th in the conference. That would make it quite difficult to get in ahead of all the 8-3 teams. Check out the thread "Cook carries Youngstown St. past W. Illinois 31-7".
Yes. Youre right about 5th in the conference but when your conference is known by many as the "SEC" of the FCS then it should warrant a bit more merit in my opinion. Also if Im not mistaken the four teams we lost to during the horrific slump in October were all in the top 25 the time we played them if Im not mistaken so that as well should help our chances. Im not sure if we'll be able to beat Indiana State but if we do I think we earned a spot into the playoffs based on the strong finish and not to mention a win at Pitt (who played Notre Dame to the brink before falling in OT). Im hoping these kids can get a taste of playoff football myself. Will they? That is yet to be determined. Lets go guins!
Yeah, at the beginning of the season, that was certainly the case... and most everyone said it... MVFC is the SEC of the FCS world. But then we went through a season similar to last year where everyone in the conference beat each other up. Because of this, I am fully expecting that only 3 teams out of at least 4 or 5 that deserve the playoffs will go from the MVFC.
And therein lies a big problem with FCS... it's very hard to compare the strength of the larger conferences. The reason?... the FBS money games are taking away from cross conference play (good cross conference play like SoCon and CAA) in my opinion. I mean who wants to play Ohio State and then Old Dominion in weeks 1 and 2?! Typically, your FBS game is your big chance to prove something in the early running then everyone retreats for the hills and tries to pad wins on a run of less-than-spectacular teams... that way, later in the season when you have to play YOUR conference's elite, you can afford to lose a game or two.
Example: Take a team like No. 14 James Madison, ranked 3rd in the supposedly "all powerful" CAA... They have three losses... one in a blowout to WVU and the others to Richmond and Villanova. Now, how do I know how good that team is out of conference when their out of conference games are to Alcorn St. and St. Francis (PA) from less than impressive conferences. Then you see a team like YSU (with wins out of conference to FBS Pitt and Once-ranked Albany and losses to 4 ranked in-conference teams) sitting at No. 33. In my mind, there is not enough to go off of to say which of these teams is better than the other. Who's to say that the CAA isn't down as a whole. Who's to say the MVFC isn't just "that good" that a 7-4 team in that conference is better than an 8-3 in another. Now, I'm not necessarily saying that's the case but once again... who's to say.
My opinion is that the CAA will get 4/5 in on past reputation and end up short-changing some teams that are more deserving. Hopefully teams 2-5 in that CAA get handled (last year all but 1 of the 5 CAA "playoff" teams made it out of round 2) and someone finally realizes the only reason they go 8-3, 9-2 is because they stay in the conference and play the equivalent of D2 teams out of it. Man, I would love to see an early season matchup of NDSU and Old Dominion, or SDSU and UNH or even YSU and James Madison... some true marquee games that help us gauge conference strength.
Just a thought... maybe dumb... but just a thought
