2018 Preseason Press

[Adunk33]

A total of 17 MVFC student-athletes are on the HERO Sports pre-season All-America Teams, announced today. Seven represent the league on the Second Team.

http://valley-football.org/news/2018/6/12/football-hero-sports-2018-preseason-all-america-team.aspx

Second Team:
James Robinson, RB

Third Team:
Drew Himmelman, OL

 

[Adunk33]

Also, Birds ranked #12 in FCS Preseason Poll. Seven of 10 MVFC Teams are represented. This is a great conference to be in.
https://herosports.com/fcs/hero-sports-2018-fcs-preseason-top-25-poll-ajaj

#1 NDSU
#5 SDSU
#12 ILST
#13 UNI
#20 YSU

SD and SIU also received votes.

 

[Sanantoniobird]

NDSU doesn't lose a game this year.

 

[fourthandshort]

NDSU doesn't lose a game this year.

they are looking very potent .. even more than usual if they stay healthy. This year's team could rival their 2013 team .. which was their best team ever accordingly to almost everyone on AGS .. which I would have to agree .. that team dominated every phase of game that year. With MVFC probably having a slightly down year, this is shaping up to be a fight for 2nd place. This may surprise some of you, but NDSU has tied for 1st place at least 3 times during current title run .. twice with us and once with SDSU .. think that's it.

Probably not the case this year. We have a real shot at 2nd place, if our defense can figure things out by week 6 at home against WIU .. game 5 after we open MVFC season at MoST in week 5 (game 4). I think our offense will carry us until then and we should be sitting 3-1 going into WIU.

So while we of course need to be ready week 1 .. beat EIU at home and MoST on road. Then assume a win against STX and loss at Colorado St ... our MVFC home opener on Oct 6 against WIU is pivotal as our first tough MVFC game .. defense needs to be ready by then.

 

[crazzymark]

why conceed a loss to CSU? ISU has the talent and a bigger oline and running game.

 

[RedbirdSF67]

Not so "Crazy" thought! CSU lost a lot to graduation. Here are CSU'S games leading up to ours, Colorado, Arkansas and Florida. They could easily take us for granted after that gauntlet. And that last one is in Tallahasee!

 

[RedbirdSF67]

Not so "Crazy" thought! CSU lost a lot to graduation. Here are CSU'S games leading up to ours, Colorado, Arkansas and Florida. They could easily take us for granted after that gauntlet. And the Florida game is in Tallahasee.

 

[RedbirdSF67]

Not so "Crazy" thought! CSU lost a lot to graduation. Here are CSU'S games leading up to ours, Colorado, Arkansas and Florida. They could easily take us for granted after that gauntlet. And that last one is in Tallahasee!

And we are coming off our bye week. Really a lot of good things align for us in that game.

 

[fourthandshort]

why conceed a loss to CSU? ISU has the talent and a bigger oline and running game.

should have prefaced it better ... I'm mainly making the point of what is "most likely" to happen, only for purpose of trying to anticipate how this season's success will depend how things set up the first 4 games ... and then largely depending on whether our defense is able to reload/rebuild by game 5 (week 6) in our MVFC home opener against WIU on Oct 6th. the MVFC grind start Oct 6th.

So I'm not conceding a Colorado St loss, nor taking for granted that we will beat EIU or MoST ... I'm saying, if the "most likely" outcomes happen, then we should be sitting 3-1 going into the WIU game .. I feel like our offense can carry the defense until then.

in theory ........................ :ugeek:

 

[Sanantoniobird]

Not so "Crazy" thought! CSU lost a lot to graduation. Here are CSU'S games leading up to ours, Colorado, Arkansas and Florida. They could easily take us for granted after that gauntlet. And that last one is in Tallahasee!

They playing at Florida or Florida State?

 

[ISUBU]

Not so "Crazy" thought! CSU lost a lot to graduation. Here are CSU'S games leading up to ours, Colorado, Arkansas and Florida. They could easily take us for granted after that gauntlet. And that last one is in Tallahasee!

They playing at Florida or Florida State?

And don't forget UHawaii. Our game at CSU is their 5th game of the season. They open with a home game against Hawaii, a "road" game against Colorado at Denver, a home game with Arkansas and then the game at Gainesville, Florida.

Actually I"m not sure the timing helps us here. I imagine they'll be coming off of two losses and will be very thirsty for a win. Every FBS game is a challenging game for us.

 

[RedbirdSF67]

I'm pretty sure they'll not come out of that grind without key injuries. But they also will come out with enormous experience, so anything we could have gained by them having to play less experienced players to start the season will be lost by then. But I do remember a little game in 2016 by the lake where we tamed the Wildcats.. How much more bite could a Ram have? JK, this game is going to be tough and would be a major upset. But doable, that's why they play the games.

 

[bombay]

Not so "Crazy" thought! CSU lost a lot to graduation. Here are CSU'S games leading up to ours, Colorado, Arkansas and Florida. They could easily take us for granted after that gauntlet. And that last one is in Tallahasee!

I agree that it's a winnable game.

CFN has their season preview for CSU up, ranking them #89.

The Rams lose QB Nick Stevens, WR Michael Gallup, and three strong starters on the O line. In all, eight starters are gone from the attack. Three starters are gone from the defensive line and seven starters in all are done on the defensive side.

 

[crazzymark]

10-1 or 11-0 before playoff games

 

[cpacmel]

http://www.chicagonow.com/prairie-state-pigskin/2018/08/isu-the-best-bet-for-playoffs-national-writers-predict/

Illinois State could be best team in the state of Illinois. Ironically, they play all three of the others at home, a nice problem to have. The game against Western Illinois is probably the most important to the Redbirds. If QB Kolbe can improve his TD/INT ratio from 22/11 and improve his completion percentage, that would be of great benefit. The running game should be solid, at least, with the Robinson-Smith two-headed monster back there. The defense lost a lot and losing Tyree Horton on top of that hinders that even more. The biggest issue might be their Week 1 opponent, St. Xavier(IL). That game won't even count in the eyes of The Committee come selection time, so a 6-2 MVFC/ 8-3 overall finish might be necessary to make the playoffs. And that's probably a little out of reach.
PROJECTION: 7-4 (best case), 4-7 (worst case)...expecting 6-5, but no playoff bid.

Illinois State – 7-4. Illinois State is surely a playoff contender, but St. Xavier being non-Division I may come back to haunt the Redbirds’ at-large candidacy.

Illinois State

Wins: 7

Thoughts: Although they went 6-5 last year, the Redbirds were a Top 24 team and should have made the playoffs. This year’s group looks to be better, so the playoffs are an expectation. The defense does have major question marks with some of its top 2017 players gone. The offense has a chance to be special, led by HERO Sports preseason All-American running back James Robinson. The No. 1 key is consistent quarterback play. If that happens, this team can ascend to the No. 2 or 3 spot in the Valley.

 

[Birdswin]

I agree with the assessment of the St. Xavier game. What is even more irritating about this is - NO ONE in the athletic department thinks this is an issue!!!! I have talked to multiple people about how big of concern this is - all they do is shrug their shoulders - say it is "hard" to schedule. Then I point that it is striking clear to me, the Athletic Dept office personnel do not work as hard as the players. It is a slap in the face of the players to be put at such a disadvantage - especially with all of the work they put in during the Spring and Summer. I basically get no response - like they have NEVER been challenged or heard someone present this type of reasoning.