Those Other Guys

Non-Division I for the Division I Fan

Archive for category FCS

It’s Football Time.

Aug 30

Posted by Jon Morse in Division II, Division III, FBS (aka I Couldn't Help Myself), FCS, NAIA | Comments off

After a weekend of NAIA action, for most people the season really begins today.  Excitement abounds, the trolling has begun in earnest on Twitter and message boards, and we’re actually going to get to watch football that matters on our televisions.

Of course, we here at TOG aren’t really all about that stuff, even though we care about it deeply and will be helplessly channel-surfing.

Anyway, we’ll get into fun stuff after the weekend; for the moment, here are the spreadsheets I use — for all five divisions this time (yes, I’m including FBS here as well, because I may as well share it) rather than just the NAIA workbook.  And that has been updated with last week’s games.  Right-click and save.

FBS -247kb

FCS -277kb

D-II -289kb

D-III -369kb

NAIA -145kb

Note: there are a couple of minor errors relating to the postponed games due to Hurricane Isaac.  Specifically, I forgot to note Oregon/Nicholls State as postponed, and listed Louisiana Tech as “idle” this week.  They’ll be fixed next time around.  There may be other postponements before the weekend is over, but it mostly looks like everything that hasn’t been postponed is carrying on as scheduled.

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Previewing 2012: Colonial Athletic Association (FCS)

Aug 22

Posted by Jon Morse in FCS | Comments off

Last year, Towson and Old Dominion shocked the league, having been predicted to finish in the last two spots in the standings.  Instead, Towson won the conference title outright, and Old Dominion tied for second, with both teams making the FCS playoffs.  This year, the two teams return 32 starters between them, and are expected to finish atop the circuit.  Oddly, the national media has James Madison ranked higher than either team, so you can consider this a three-team race (though JMU is probably being overrated in the national poll).

Of course, Old Dominion might finish in first place yet not win the conference title, as they’ve been declared ineligible for the crime of agreeing to leave and join Conference USA.  Also ineligible is Sun Belt-bound Georgia State, but they’re not relevant to the conference race.  Next year, their places will be taken by two teams which made the playoffs last year (and should again this year), Albany and Stony Brook.

As always, this is probably the best conference in FCS, and when the playoff field is selected in November several of these teams will be there.  Six teams are ranked in the FCS poll.  But strange things happen in the Colonial, and you can’t be too surprised if they send five teams to the playoffs and two of them weren’t expected to contend.  And with that… capsules:

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Previewing 2012: Big South Conference (FCS)

Aug 22

Posted by Jon Morse in FCS | Comments off

On the edges, there is no doubt in the minds of the league’s coaches and media as to who belongs where.  Stony Brook took 15 of 18 first place votes, and are ranked 17th in the TSN Division I FCS pre-season poll as well.  Liberty was a clear choice for second, while VMI and Charleston Southern were pretty much uncontested selections for the final two places in the standings.  It’s the middle that’s muddy, and we’ll get to that in a bit.

First, though, is the gorilla in the room.  The defending champions and prohibitive favorites are playing their final year in the conference, as they and their first-round playoff opponents from last year (Albany) are joining the CAA to shore up the leaks caused by the departures of UMass, Old Dominion, and Georgia State.  That will leave the Big South with only six teams, which is still enough to retain the autobid, but… but.  Liberty is actively studying a move to FBS.  Coastal Carolina is looking for other options.  So, what are the Big South’s options if it comes down to it?

Campbell is a member of the conference for basketball, and plays non-scholarship football in the Pioneer League; they could opt to start giving scholarships and bring their program into the fold.  Winthrop, also a member of the conference, has pondered adding football in the past.  The Atlantic Sun has a few teams either playing football in the PFL, or looking into football.  So they’ve got outs if they need them, assuming they can get schools to play along.

Our digression complete, on to the team capsules:

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Previewing 2012: Big Sky (FCS)

Aug 21

Posted by Jon Morse in FCS | Comments off

It’s a whole new world for the Big Sky, as four new teams enter the fold; all of the former Great West teams save South Dakota have joined the party.  That’s Cal-Davis, Cal Poly, North Dakota, and Southern Utah if you weren’t paying attention.  The conference how has thirteen members; each team will play an eight-game conference schedule, and a complex new tie-breaking procedure is in place for the league’s autobid.

Montana State is the clear team to beat, having ruled the roost all year last year right up until they ran into arch-rival Montana.  This year, Montana’s not as much of a threat (more on this in a bit) and the only other credible danger comes from Eastern Washington, a team that’s hard to put a finger on after last year’s injury-plagued debacle.

Quick notes on each team after the jump.

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Ehrmahgehrd, It’s 2012.

Aug 21

Posted by Jon Morse in Division II, Division III, Division News and Notes, FCS, Introductions, NAIA | Comments off

This is just a quick hello, and a welcome back for our third year here at TOG.

As I said back in February, things are going to be changing here; I won’t be doing a weekly recap for each division.  This will be more of a “hey, pay attention to this” rather than “hey, pay attention to everything” format.  However, one thing that will be happening over the next couple of weeks as we lead into the commencement of hostilities is that I’ll be making posts previewing each conference.  Each day, expect one conference from each division (three D-III conferences per day, otherwise I wouldn’t get the previews done until mid-September).

Just to get you on the right path for today’s initial previews, the pre-season top 25 for each division:

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FCS: QF Recaps/SF Previews.

Dec 15

Posted by Jon Morse in Division News and Notes, FCS | Comments off

Brief recaps of the quarterfinal games and previews of the semifinals after the jump.

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FCS: Quarterfinal Previews.

Dec 9

Posted by Jon Morse in Division News and Notes, FCS | Comments off

I’m not providing actual recaps this week, because… well, because this week has been hell. Previews, team capsules, and predictions for the quarterfinal FCS playoff games this week follow.
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FCS: Week 14 Quick Roundup.

Dec 6

Posted by Jon Morse in Division News and Notes, FCS | Comments off

The two strongest conferences pretty much tanked, leaving the Big Sky and Missouri Valley to argue over bragging rights for the year, and three games were decided by odd plays. Scores, links to SID releases, and updated standings after the jump.
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FCS: Second Round Previews (Part Two).

Dec 2

Posted by Jon Morse in Division News and Notes, FCS | Comments off

Previews, team capsules, and predictions for the second-round FCS playoff games taking place in the bottom half of the bracket this week follow.
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FCS: Second Round Previews (Part One)

Dec 2

Posted by Jon Morse in Division News and Notes, FCS | Comments off

Previews, team capsules, and predictions for the second-round FCS playoff games taking place in the top half of the bracket this week follow.
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