Top 25

[cpacmel]

Yea really, IMO. ISU being rated in the top 25 is generous. They need a signature win big time. Do you believe ISU should currently be rated in the top 25?

Have you looked at some of the teams that make up the top 25? Tell me what has Grambling done to deserve their ranking? North Carolina Central? Neither one of them has beaten a team above .500.

Say what you want about EIU, but they are leading the OVC with a 5-2 record and 4-0 in their conference.

The polls will sort themselves out, as will the computer rankings.

 

[ChiRedbirdfan]

Yea really, IMO. ISU being rated in the top 25 is generous. They need a signature win big time. Do you believe ISU should currently be rated in the top 25?

Have you looked at some of the teams that make up the top 25? Tell me what has Grambling done to deserve their ranking? North Carolina Central? Neither one of them has beaten a team above .500.

Say what you want about EIU, but they are leading the OVC with a 5-2 record and 4-0 in their conference.

The polls will sort themselves out, as will the computer rankings.

So are you inferring EIU is a signature win for ISU? Massey ratings have them at 51. Their 5 wins that you reference are against teams Massey has rated 57, 77, 84, 85 and 107 out of a 124 FCS teams. I would say that EIU has generally fattin' up on the bottom of The FCS. I stand by the statement that ISU needs a signature win.

 

[cpacmel]

So are you inferring EIU is a signature win for ISU? Massey ratings have them at 51. Their 5 wins that you reference are against teams Massey has rated 57, 77, 84, 85 and 107 out of a 124 FCS teams. I would say that EIU has generally fattin' up on the bottom of The FCS. I stand by the statement that ISU needs a signature win.

I never said EIU was a signature win. It's a good win. . Bottom line is they are 5-2 and 4-0 in their conference. The OVC isn't the MVFC or the CAA but it's also not the SWAC or the MEAC either. So EIU is getting fat on bad teams. How is that different than Grambling, North Carolina Central and countless others who are ranked?

I see that you like to ask a ton of questions, but when are you going to start answering some? You say ISU isn't deserving of a top 25 poll spot or a top 30 computer spot, but what exactly have Grambling and North Carolina Central done to "earn" their spots? Please feel free to use Massey as you did with your EIU research. I'd love to hear how either of those schools deserve their rankings but ISU doesn't. Heck, I'd love to see how those teams deserve their spots over EIU.

 

[Reggie Redbird]

So are you inferring EIU is a signature win for ISU? Massey ratings have them at 51. Their 5 wins that you reference are against teams Massey has rated 57, 77, 84, 85 and 107 out of a 124 FCS teams. I would say that EIU has generally fattin' up on the bottom of The FCS. I stand by the statement that ISU needs a signature win.

I never said EIU was a signature win. It's a good win. . Bottom line is they are 5-2 and 4-0 in their conference. The OVC isn't the MVFC or the CAA but it's also not the SWAC or the MEAC either. So EIU is getting fat on bad teams. How is that different than Grambling, North Carolina Central and countless others who are ranked?

I see that you like to ask a ton of questions, but when are you going to start answering some? You say ISU isn't deserving of a top 25 poll spot or a top 30 computer spot, but what exactly have Grambling and North Carolina Central done to "earn" their spots? Please feel free to use Massey as you did with your EIU research. I'd love to hear how either of those schools deserve their rankings but ISU doesn't. Heck, I'd love to see how those teams deserve their spots over EIU.

CPACMEL, I agree with you. EIU is a decent win right now, and it could get much better depending on how they do against JSU this weekend. It shows that the OVC is likely to get one team in (JSU), unless EIU wins Saturday and takes the front-running spot in the OVC.

EIU has won a lot of close games here recently, 19-16 over SEMO, 19-16 (2 OT) over Tennessee St, 24-23 over Tenn Tech, and 27-24 (2 OT) over Murray State.

I also agree that there are several ranked teams who are only in there based on record. SIU was a bad loss for us, but NAU could find themselves in the top 15.

If we come out and get waxed by USD, our season is pretty much shot. If we can regain our footing, things could get interesting. A win over a top-5 team would be a huge boost.

 

[ChiRedbirdfan]

So are you inferring EIU is a signature win for ISU? Massey ratings have them at 51. Their 5 wins that you reference are against teams Massey has rated 57, 77, 84, 85 and 107 out of a 124 FCS teams. I would say that EIU has generally fattin' up on the bottom of The FCS. I stand by the statement that ISU needs a signature win.

I never said EIU was a signature win. It's a good win. . Bottom line is they are 5-2 and 4-0 in their conference. The OVC isn't the MVFC or the CAA but it's also not the SWAC or the MEAC either. So EIU is getting fat on bad teams. How is that different than Grambling, North Carolina Central and countless others who are ranked?

I see that you like to ask a ton of questions, but when are you going to start answering some? You say ISU isn't deserving of a top 25 poll spot or a top 30 computer spot, but what exactly have Grambling and North Carolina Central done to "earn" their spots? Please feel free to use Massey as you did with your EIU research. I'd love to hear how either of those schools deserve their rankings but ISU doesn't. Heck, I'd love to see how those teams deserve their spots over EIU.

Wake your sh*t up! I first said that ISU being rated 24 by the pollsters shows and that most pollsters, be it good or bad, are generally off in their ratings. You disagreed and brought up the ISU computer rating of 29 and added some garbage about teams playing each other who are rated 29 vs 24. I said the higher computer rating proves my point (the poll rating of 24 being generous) and then commented that ISU needs a signature win. You then seemed to disagree and brought up Grambling and North Carolina Central. You also threw out Eastern Illinois, for whatever reason, but I inferred it to mean that you thought EIU was a signature win for ISU since I said ISU needed one. Beating EIU is a decent win but not a signature win and I am not even certain it is a good win since they are unranked and computer rated 51. I would currently call beating EIU an OK/decent win.

For the record I think ISU should currently be ranked some place around 30-35 based upon their performance this year and when also looking at other teams records/performances, hence the comment ISU's rating of 24 is generous along with the comment that they need a signature win.

WTF do you think ISU should be rated? Btw I could care less about Grambling, NC Central, EIU...etc. We could analyze many teams that could be rated higher or lower than ISU. My initial comment that you disagreed with was about ISU being rated 24.

I hope ISU goes out and runs the table. But I have watched several of ISU games and I am a realist too. This ISU offense seems really challenged to me beyond the offensive line being inexperienced, although that is certainly a part of it.

 

[cpacmel]

A ton of inferring going on. Obviously if I continue to bring up Grambling and North Carolina Central being ranked in the polls, and ISU has a better resume than both of them, ISU deserves to be ranked in the top 25. Not sure why that wasn't clear to you. And while you don't care about Grambling (#17) and North Carolina Central (#25) those teams ARE ranked. And are used to show comparison ranked teams.

Btw I could care less about Grambling, NC Central, EIU...etc. We could analyze many teams that could be rated higher or lower than ISU. My initial comment that you disagreed with was about ISU being rated 24.

How do you know where to rank ISU if not compared to other schools? That makes ZERO sense. You can't possibly just watch ISU and say "well that's not the #24th best school in the Nation". How do you have any idea if you don't look at the other schools in the nation? All of a sudden your Billy Packer with your magical eye test? Give me a break.

 

[cpacmel]

Well you and I look at things differently. While you don't care what the current #17 and #24 ranked teams look like I do. Especially when deciding if ISU deserves to be ranked among them. It's dumb going round and round, you obviously have your way of thinking, and I have mine.

 

[fourthandshort]

EIU is a "good" win, because we destroyed an average team. That is how it must be viewed, whether using an objective ranking systems or subjective polling systems .. not that people look closely at how much we dominated that game.

Same for InSU, except we left 20 points on field 1st half .. then didn't show up 2nd half. Imagine if we had been up 43-0 at half against InSU .. no one would have cared that we didn't show up 2nd half .. we played well enough to be up 43-0 .. at half.

Ignoring 2nd half against InSU and then poor showing at NAU due to underestimating them and altitude ... but then SIU happened .. hard to rationalize that one, except that wheels have fallen off.

Doesn't mean we won't get our mojo back .. but we have lost confidence and swagger, and teams may have figured us out and we are not counter adjusting well yet.

None of this takes away from the potential of this roster .. just hit the skids for now. Got to get it back .. players and coaches .. run game first and foremost, with smart run-pass balance .. then other things will fall in place. Our defense is real .. just get the confidence back and let the secondary look for ball .. pick a couple and they will stop throwing to covered receivers.

 

[saxman210]

How the hell was Youngstown ranked #9 going into this week with a 3-3 record and how far do you think they’ll fall this week losing to UNI?

 

[fourthandshort]

How the hell was Youngstown ranked #9 going into this week with a 3-3 record and how far do you think they’ll fall this week losing to UNI?

They were 3-3 .. with 3 losses as follows: 7 point loss to FBS Pitt (Massey #46), 3 point loss at FCS top 4 USD, and 3 point OT loss to NDSU. So losing to an FBS and 2 top 4 FCS teams by a combined 13 points. Now they have lost to a resurgent UNI on road by just 5 points .. and sit at 3-4. They beat SDSU by 12, then 2 patsies. Their SOS rank is 2nd in FCS.

Their resume is top 10 material, though with UNI loss now putting them at 3-4, you have to expect drop to 15-20th .. though they are still a top 15 team worthy of playoff based on their current resume at 3-4. Their only questionable game is loss to UNI. Every other game they played says top 10 team.

That said, I like our chances next week, if the ISU team that showed up yesterday, also shows up next saturday - we match up very well against YSU. Their offensive strength is their run game .. I think we can deal with that with good game plan. Will guess we can win a low scoring game at YSU.

 

[fourthandshort]

How the hell was Youngstown ranked #9 going into this week with a 3-3 record and how far do you think they’ll fall this week losing to UNI?

They were 3-3 .. with 3 losses as follows: 7 point loss to FBS Pitt (Massey #46), 3 point loss at FCS top 4 USD, and 3 point OT loss to NDSU. So losing to an FBS and 2 top 4 FCS teams by a combined 13 points. Now they have lost to a resurgent UNI on road by just 5 points .. and sit at 3-4. They beat SDSU by 12, then 2 patsies. Their SOS rank is 2nd in FCS.

Their resume is top 10 material, though with UNI loss now putting them at 3-4, you have to expect drop to 15-20th .. though they are still a top 15 team worthy of playoff based on their current resume at 3-4. Their only questionable game is loss to UNI. Every other game they played says top 10 team.

That said, I like our chances next week, if the ISU team that showed up yesterday, also shows up next saturday - we match up very well against YSU. Their offensive strength is their run game .. I think we can deal with that with good game plan. Will guess we can win a low scoring game at YSU.

MVFC is making a very serious case for record 6 playoff bids ... Big Sky has slipped, Southern has slipped, Southland is same. Only CAA is deeper this year - they may deserve 5 teams when all is said and done. But MVFC will have 7-8 teams in top 25 discussion and should have 6-7 in playoff discussion when dust all settles.

We can NOT settle for 5 and think that is good enough .. Patty V better be advocating behind scenes ... 6 MVFC teams this year.

 

[saxman210]

Week 8 rankings

YSU is 19
ISU is 21

Would love to knock them off at the Ice Castle this weekend...

EDIT: In STATS Poll-

YSU is 21
ISU is 16

 

[RollBirds2002]

Looking for a big jump in the coaches this week... All teams ahead of ISU up to 14th ranked WIU lost today.

 

[Loyl2u]

15-18 is probably the right place for us. NAU should move close to top 10. The YSU game matched up perfectly for the Redbirds. Quins wanted to run, had no quarterback or pass blocking. Run D has been our strength all year. For those who think we figured out how to pass cover today, we better play 3 more teams giving up 10 sacks a game and on their 3 rd quarterback. Our only hope is to maintain that type of pressure in our current schemes. Also, getting out early never hurts and seems a necessity to stick with the running game, I hope with the RB's we have we don't abandon too quickly. Our line is I'm sure getting better, but pass blocking is not a strength. Not quite sure why we didn't stick with Malachi on the series in red zone when he was moving the ball. Kolbe is absolutely the # 1, but The QB change creates some defensive issues and absolutely loved putting #5 into the game with Kolbe, creates all kinds of nightmare situations for the defense to think about. Let's hope we get to show that a few more times against WIU so that the rabbits and NDSU have something more to think about.

 

[fourthandshort]

Need to give credit to OC Dicken and OL for this sudden turnaround in our run game .. most of our problems in our 2 losses emanated from inability to establish run, and build game plans with a run/pass balance that didn't expose our 2 weakest position groups .. OL and WR groups. It was bad game planning, bad play calling, and bad execution .. actually started 2nd half against InSU, who has a very solid defensive line.

If I had to point to our undoing midseason .. it would be the first half of InSU when we struggled to run and Kolbe lit them up in pass game. Our OL and run game got exposed, and Dicken bailed out by thinking we could pass our way out of it .. then our WR group got exposed, and then Gibbs went down, leaving everything to Schnell .. with no other strong options. Dicken did same thing last year thinking we could pass our way out of our problems.

As for Kolbe, this will all ultimately help him as we will have much better run/pass balance when we face teams who we won't run all over.

Quick stat to point out showing how much better Kolbe has been in pocket this year compare to last year:

Negative Yard Plays:

2016 Team (12) .. - 408 yards in 429 carries .. -34 yards per game
2016 Kolbe .. -289 yards in 80 carries .. or 71% of team and -24 yards per game

2017 Team (8) .. - 233 yards in 321 carries .. -29 yards per game
2017 Kolbe .. - 86 yards in 32 carries .. or 37% of team and -11 yards per game

Note, Kolbe is throwing 30 passes per game in 2017 behind a brand new OL, the exact 30 passes per game as last year behind a very veteran OL. He is also running or leaving pocket less. Yet has less than half as many negative yard plays despite throwing just as much this year and playing behind a very young OL.

So to those who question whether he has improved in pocket pressure .. he has improved considerably behind very young OL.

p.s. I just wish he would keep the ball a few times more each game on his read option plays .. usually had a few with wide open field more than couple times each game

 

[saxman210]

One projection has 5 Valley teams in, with UNI being in the first 4 out. Interestingly has USD getting a bye and us playing at Central Arkansas in the second round.

http://www.nobowls.com/

 

[dpdoughbird06]

One projection has 5 Valley teams in, with UNI being in the first 4 out. Interestingly has USD getting a bye and us playing at Central Arkansas in the second round.

http://www.nobowls.com/

Makes sense. NCAA loves bus-able games. And pairing us against same opponent repeatedly (previously either a Valley team in second round or EWU and their Inferno).

But still much football to be played against ranked opponents; if Birds run the table and finish 9-2 they aren't leaving Hancock until national semis. I'd dare committee not to have a Valley team among top four seeds.

 

[RollBirds2002]

13th in the coaches. Well deserved after 2 strong games and all the losses between 14th and 20th this weekend. Pretty big drop off in votes for #14 Weber State. NAU up to 16th so that's good for the Birds:

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

 

[Adunk33]

One projection has 5 Valley teams in, with UNI being in the first 4 out. Interestingly has USD getting a bye and us playing at Central Arkansas in the second round.

http://www.nobowls.com/

That projection only has 2 Valley teams playing each other in the second round... way off! HA!

But YSU is out of the Top 25 and so is UNI.

UNI finishes at home against South Dakota and then plays Mo State and Indiana State. If they win out and finish at 7-4 they will be in.
YSU is cooked.
Western will be in as long as they go 2-1 in their last 3 (@ILST, @INST, vs SIU)

Basically, go 7-4 while playing a MVFC schedule should get you in.

 

[Redbirdwarrior]

As I see it, there are 3 ways for things to break out from this point.

1) ISU wins more 2+ of it's remaining games and goes into the postseason no worse than the 8 seed, getting a bye and hosting 1-2 rounds.
2) ISU wins 1 of the next 3 and makes the playoffs at 7-4, hosting a game in the first round before hitting the road in the second.
3) ISU gets swept and is left out on selection gay with a 6-5 record.

If I had to guess, I say ISU beats Western and locks its playoff spot before playing what many believe are the two most difficult games on the schedule in SDSU and NDSU.

I personally LOVE the NDSU home game to end the year. If ISU plays anything like they have in all 6 wins this year, I'd say they walk out with a W over the Bizon, but a win this week would take lots of pressure off this young team. It would be easier to beat NDSU if you are just playing them for seeding (and possibly an MVFC championship share) than a "win to get in" situation.