Street and Smith's (May!? '19)

[Total Red]

Believe it or not the Street and Smith's football annual has been available since mid-May. I'll repeat the comment I made last year and then I'll try to give it a rest in future years. The race to be first isn't worth it. The magazine should be released in August. The blow up of the transfer portal has only made the problem worse. Case in point - The Illini write up shows MJ Rivers as the starting QB. Rivers is now in the transfer portal and no longer with the team. Tons of teams will have impact transfers over the summer. The dust isn't close to being settled.

The Redbird write up suggests that the offense will be among the league's best with several key returnees (Robinson, Davis, Edgar). On the defensive side of the ball Safety Kirk and Corner Taylor are listed as part of a stout secondary. Surprising. I would claim the defensive front -McKnight, Ridgeway, Lewan and Clark as the strongest unit on the team. That unit got deeper with the recent addition from Univ of Iowa DE/LB Brandon Simon. I thought Simon would back up McKnight but now it looks like the Jack is more likely. We already have Clark and Guhl at the Jack but Simon brings some special pass rush skills. Film on him shows an impressive bull rush. Let's put Simon up against Himmelman and see how far Simon's low gravity power moves take him. I'd pay admission to practice for that one.

 

[Total Red]

Even after all the transfers find new homes predictions will be tricky. I bombed last year. I thought SIU had recruited well and was ready to make a move but the dogs came in at a whimpering 2-9. Indiana St. was the surprise team at 7-4.

Who will tank this year? Another surprise. Street and Smith's is picking Youngstown St. to pull up the rear of the MVFC. Somebody has to and nobody is picking Indiana St. A last place finish would be the end of Bo Pelini at YSU. In fact any losing record could get him fired because YSU is still a proud program. At SIU Nick Hill is also on the hot seat after the 2-9 embarrassment even if he is tight with AD Jerry Kill. Missouri St. has improved but they haven't enjoyed a winning season yet under Coach Steckel. I figure he needs to improve on 4-7 to stick around. All those teams could compete for the bottom and I'll throw Western in there as well. I have a lot of respect for South Dakota coach Bob Nielson. He left some good players behind when he left WIU for USD. Those players are gone now so Western could drop. Conversely I now see South Dakota as the team that could exceed expectations. The 'yotes could be a top 3 MVFC team but I'm also the guy that was picking SIU this time last year.

Who's going to win the Valley? Simple. Even with a new HC and QB you pick the Bison until further notice although they do face a tough road contest Oct. 5.

 

[Adunk33]

https://twitter.com/ValleyFootball/status/1136015334937432065

 

[Redbirds100]

https://m.herosports.com/fcs/football-2019-hero-sports-preseason-top-25-fcs-ajaj

Hero just comes out with its poll

 

[Total Red]

You have to look don't you? No one can really follow the entire FCS and lots of teams will have important personnel changes between now and late August but even so we're still curious about the national perception of how good Illinois State University Football will be. So we check out Street and Smith's, Athlon and Hero Sports but the best guess will be rendered in late July when the MVFC releases their preseason poll. It comes out later and its focuses just on the Valley. It is voted on by the coaches, media and SIDs so there is some real understanding of the talent available and each team's history of accomplishment (in other words pick NDSU to win regardless of who comes and goes).
The MVFC preseason poll has definitely been more accurate than our overly optimistic predictions the last two seasons. We tried to object and cry foul in 2017 and 2018 when the preseason polls picked the Redbirds 5th - "They picked you 5th!!??" but alas the prognosticators knew what they were doing. The Redbirds finished tied for 5th in 2017 and finished 6th in 2018. True, the Valley poll doesn't always get it right. It picked YSU too high last year and INSU too low. And we still cling to 2014 when the Valley preseason poll badly underestimated our infusion of talent. Despite a few aberations a more realistic assessment of our ability awaits. Meanwhile if Hero Sports says we're TOP 10 then why argue.

 

[Virginia Redbird]

I personally am not very interested in the polls or rankings. Lots of fans enjoy talking about them and complaining about where their team is ranked or feeling good about their team is ranked. Something to talk about during the off season and enjoy if it is your thing. It will all be taken care of on the field so I don't really care where the Birds are ranked or who is #1. In the past few years it was pretty academic. Pick Alabama in the FBS and North Dakota State in the FCS. This year it will be Clemson in the FBS ranked #1 without any doubt and even with the coaching changes in North Dakota, in the FCS it will almost certainly be the Bison. Who will be standing at the end of the season? Nobody knows. Last season Alabama was anointed the FBS Champion by many of the sports "experts" and poll voters before the season and it continued all season long. When Clemson beat Notre Dame decisively the reporting was not primarily that Clemson was that good...it was that Notre Dame did not deserve to be in the playoffs (some of that is most likely just Notre Dame haters). Then Clemson did the same thing to unbeatable Alabama in the title game. There are things to be excited about with this Redbirds team but there are some unknowns as there almost always are. Nothing much else to talk about right now though so enjoy the speculation and discussion!

 

[MadBird]

I personally am not very interested in the polls or rankings. Lots of fans enjoy talking about them and complaining about where their team is ranked or feeling good about their team is ranked. Something to talk about during the off season and enjoy if it is your thing. It will all be taken care of on the field so I don't really care where the Birds are ranked or who is #1. In the past few years it was pretty academic. Pick Alabama in the FBS and North Dakota State in the FCS. This year it will be Clemson in the FBS ranked #1 without any doubt and even with the coaching changes in North Dakota, in the FCS it will almost certainly be the Bison. Who will be standing at the end of the season? Nobody knows. Last season Alabama was anointed the FBS Champion by many of the sports "experts" and poll voters before the season and it continued all season long. When Clemson beat Notre Dame decisively the reporting was not primarily that Clemson was that good...it was that Notre Dame did not deserve to be in the playoffs (some of that is most likely just Notre Dame haters). Then Clemson did the same thing to unbeatable Alabama in the title game. There are things to be excited about with this Redbirds team but there are some unknowns as there almost always are. Nothing much else to talk about right now though so enjoy the speculation and discussion!

Here you go bringing common sense and so forth into the discussion VA Bird, what the heck??

I do like to know what the "experts" are thinking, altho the one mag our own Reinhardt is the national expert so he would know more about ISU than some others. But, it helps set some expectations I think. May be better to sneak up on people, that's fine. but good to know people think your team will be this or that, have this strength or weakness, etc.

Also, on the All-American front, having first team RB and OT would suggest a strong run game, guess you don't have to be an expert to predict that could/should be a strength for us this year. Think that passing game is still a big question mark - Edgar looks good at WR, but he needs help. Davis showed promise, but needs to get consistent, etc. On D, lots of weapons available, I spose there's some trade-off between getting a group familiar with each other and playing together vs. having lots of guys with various skills available to match up with the opponents, lots of substitutions, etc.

Had high hopes to make the NIU game this year, doesn't look like its gonna happen for me, but plan on being at the home opener, for the first time in a couple years.

 

[Virginia Redbird]

Here you go bringing common sense and so forth into the discussion VA Bird, what the heck??

Guilty as charged MadBird!

I enjoy reading the expert comments and predictions too. Some I give quite a bit of credit to for knowing their stuff but quite a few of them I read just for the comedy value of their "expert" opinions. Something to do in the long offseason.
To me, it is kind of like the fan trash talk. The boys on the field will determine who wins and who loses. The Husky fans up north can talk all they want about being superior FBS or just plain BS (I will probably be taken to task for that one). Really the same with our group here. Have fun and enjoy but we have little to no impact on the field. We do have an impact on the program though. Without fans, there is no game. I wonder if the Athletic Department gurus at ISU keep that in mind all the time.
How many days to kickoff now? Fourth...we need a countdown clock!