Hero Sport’’s Sam Herder hits the nail on the head

[EverettGriz]

Thank god. If that’s herder’s take, I’m penciling us in for the national championship. Dude’s right less often then a broken clock.

 

[hm.grwn.grizfan]

Yep-- it's a real problem. I broke it down a while back and don't have the numbers handy, but suffice it to say that in the playoffs last year, the southern and eastern teams got almost all their wins against each other and then got beat when they had to come west/north.

William & Mary being ranked #4 is a good example. They have a good record against subpar competition but if they played in the MVFC or the Sky they probably wouldn't even be in the top 15-20. Yet there they sit at #4, right behind the Cats who annihilated them in the playoffs last year. Sagarin has them behind HALF of the Big Sky.

Don’t throw stones in glass houses. Griz also got annihilated by MSU last year and have a record against sub par competition.

 

[hm.grwn.grizfan]

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fcs-fans-nation/id1396220851?i=1000628203460

 

[mthoopsfan]

William & Mary being ranked #4 is a good example. They have a good record against subpar competition but if they played in the MVFC or the Sky they probably wouldn't even be in the top 15-20. Yet there they sit at #4, right behind the Cats who annihilated them in the playoffs last year. Sagarin has them behind HALF of the Big Sky.

Don’t throw stones in glass houses. Griz also got annihilated by MSU last year and have a record against sub par competition.

Griz also killed Cats in 2021. Griz playoff opponent was very good. Griz played SA and Weber thought, even without starting qb. Don’t ignore reality.

 

[ordigger]

Herder, who picked the Griz to win by 21-24 hits the nail on the head with his poll and paragraph on the Griz.

https://herosports.com/fcs-top-25-sam-herder-ballot-9-18-2023-bzbz/


I am grateful to again have a vote in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 media poll for the 2023 season. I’ll publish my ballot every week and provide some reasoning for my order.

Notes at the bottom.

FCS Top 25
South Dakota State
North Dakots State
Montana State
Holy Cross
Idaho
Sacramento State
Furman
Incarnate Word
William & Mary
Weber State
Southern Illinois
SEMO
North Carolina Central
New Hampshire
North Dakota
Western Carolina
UC Davis
Florida A&M
Rhode Island
Youngstown State
Montana
Samford
Delaware
Eastern Washington
Central Arkansas
Leaving: Southeastern Louisiana University, Gardner-Webb
Entering: Delaware, Eastern Washington

Moving into my Top 25 are EWU and Delaware. Moving out are SLU and Gardner-Webb. EWU beat ranked SLU this last weekend and also had a 2OT loss at Fresno State the week before, a good FBS G5 squad. Delaware has been on my radar and nearly made my preseason Top 25, and it has cruised past its two FCS opponents Stony Brook and Saint Francis. Gardner-Webb lost to TN State, who just missed the cut.

I kept UCA in at No. 25, even though the Bears were losing pretty decisively for most of the game at NDSU. The final was 49-31, but NDSU held a 49-17 lead early in the fourth quarter. I almost put ACU in at No. 25 with its 2-1 record and close loss vs. a Top 10 UIW team. But looking ahead to this upcoming weekend, I’d favor UCA at home over ACU.

Other movement includes Montana dropping a few spots after squeaking by D2 Ferris State 17-10. Now, Ferris State is an elite D2 team, the two-time defending national champs, is ranked No. 1, and would beat a good number of FCS teams. But Montana still has 63 scholarships to Ferris State’s 36, has way more resources to be a routine top-tier FCS team, and it was in Missoula. And two weeks after having a competitive game against non-scholarship Butler, it raises questions about just how good Montana is. Put their resume on another team’s helmet, and they may not be ranked at all. The Griz still have talent, though, and plenty known names remain that have contributed big-time on past playoff teams. So I’ll keep them in my top 25. Comparing scores is dangerous, but as a “how should a ranked FCS team play against a top D2 team” barometer, FAMU beat D2 No. 4 West Florida 31-10 Saturday.

Other movement saw SIU move up a few more spots after a great road win at SEMO, who didn’t drop too far in a down-to-the-wire game.

Sac State also rose a few spots in the Top 10 after beating FBS P5 Stanford, a result that I called happening back in August (not to brag).

UIW also ended up jumping W&M in the Top 10. UIW made it through a good road test at ACU, who was a 7-win team last year. W&M squeaked by a competitive but overall struggling Charleston Southern program.

For more FCS coverage, follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

The Top 5 so far is looking like the strongest the FCS has had in several years.

SDSU is the most talented FCS team since 2019. NDSU is crushing non-conference opponents (two of which will be on a lot of ballots this week in EWU and UCA) like past championship teams did instead of doing some ho-humming through its schedule like recent squads. Montana State was literally an inch away from beating SDSU in Brookings and looks to have the play in the trenches to compete in the top tier. Holy Cross was a foot away from beating P5 Boston College two weeks ago, cruised past the Ivy League favorite Yale last week, and arguably has the best QB (Matthew Sluka) and LB (Jacob Dobbs) in the FCS right now. And Idaho is living up to the hype offensively, is playing much better than expected defensively, dominated FBS Nevada 33-6 two weeks ago, and was up 17-0 at P5 Cal this last week before things snowballed and lost 31-17.

The next five are looking good as well. Sac State just beat a P5 team in Stanford. Furman still has a loaded roster looking to make further noise in the playoffs. UIW is starting to click and looking better every week. W&M has mostly everyone back from last year’s quarterfinal team. And Weber State looks like it’ll reload once again after some offseason questions.

Every year around this time, we talk about how there looks to be more parity than in past seasons. That usually doesn’t play out come playoff time. We’ll see if it does this year or not. But right now, the FCS is shaping up to be a fun race to the top.

Herders comments are a clear sign this guy has no clue about college football. He is suggesting that no top ranked FCS school ever has a chance against a ranked FBS school. App state would never beat Michigan, nor could the Griz beat Washington. Hell, they couldn’t even compete . Guy should give up his voting rights because of his hypocrisy.

 

[Da Boyz Mom]

William & Mary being ranked #4 is a good example. They have a good record against subpar competition but if they played in the MVFC or the Sky they probably wouldn't even be in the top 15-20. Yet there they sit at #4, right behind the Cats who annihilated them in the playoffs last year. Sagarin has them behind HALF of the Big Sky.

Don’t throw stones in glass houses. Griz also got annihilated by MSU last year and have a record against sub par competition.

Yes but we're not ranked fourth either. I'm not criticizing their team, simply their ranking.

 

[EverettGriz]

No, but we should stop making lame excuses for how poorly we have played, and place the blame squarely on the shoulders of the coaching staff who recruit, supposedly develop, and coach these kids.

I bet you are fun to hang out with and watch games with.

Who the hell would ever invite him??!

 

[get'em_griz]

Meh. I've been watching a lot of games on ESPN+ and there are some teams in the top 10-15 that look small and slow while winning one score games themselves. Meanwhile the Griz get a ton of scrutiny. It's too soon to know much anyway. Just keep winning baby.

I think it’s more to do with where people expect the Griz to be vs. where they actually are. We claim to be a premier football school in the FCS. By that measuring stick we are judged. Regardless of who it is, squeaking out a win vs a D2 school is not a good look. Ferris might be good enough to be a quarterfinal team in the FCS, but since they carry that D2 label, they must be blown out horribly in order to appease. Anything less is an abysmal failure.

Hats off to Coach Annese, tho. He’s got a hell of a team. Maybe we should make some inroads into Michigan and get some beef! I’m sure with the resources the Griz have, we can get some big, mean, and nasty hogmollies. Both sides of the ball!

That's the problem... People can't, or are unwilling, to look past that D2 label. They just want to trash Montana because the expectations for this program are so high. It's astounding how many people trash Montana for "squeaking by" a D-2 program when that Ferris State is better than 80% of the teams that have come into WA-Griz in recent memory. People for whatever reason can't objectively look at the facts that Ferris State is not a typical D-2 program (I find it ironic that FCS fans do this to good D2 teams, but also get butthurt when FBS fans do the exact same thing to us). I would venture to guess that everyone who is piling on either, 1) Hates the Griz, and/or 2) only looked at the box score and did not watch the game.

Had they actually watched the game, they would have seen just how big and fast that Ferris team squad was. IMO, they would be very competitive in the Big Sky and FCS.

 

[mthoopsfan]

I think it’s more to do with where people expect the Griz to be vs. where they actually are. We claim to be a premier football school in the FCS. By that measuring stick we are judged. Regardless of who it is, squeaking out a win vs a D2 school is not a good look. Ferris might be good enough to be a quarterfinal team in the FCS, but since they carry that D2 label, they must be blown out horribly in order to appease. Anything less is an abysmal failure.

Hats off to Coach Annese, tho. He’s got a hell of a team. Maybe we should make some inroads into Michigan and get some beef! I’m sure with the resources the Griz have, we can get some big, mean, and nasty hogmollies. Both sides of the ball!

That's the problem... People can't, or are unwilling, to look past that D2 label. They just want to trash Montana because the expectations for this program are so high. It's astounding how many people trash Montana for "squeaking by" a D-2 program when that Ferris State is better than 80% of the teams that have come into WA-Griz in recent memory. People for whatever reason can't objectively look at the facts that Ferris State is not a typical D-2 program (I find it ironic that FCS fans do this to good D2 teams, but also get butthurt when FBS fans do the exact same thing to us). I would venture to guess that everyone who is piling on either, 1) Hates the Griz, and/or 2) only looked at the box score and did not watch the game.

Had they actually watched the game, they would have seen just how big and fast that Ferris team squad was. IMO, they would be very competitive in the Big Sky and FCS.

Good post. Some of the naysayers don’t understand football either.

 

[Mousegriz]

Don’t throw stones in glass houses. Griz also got annihilated by MSU last year and have a record against sub par competition.

Griz also killed Cats in 2021. Griz playoff opponent was very good. Griz played SA and Weber thought, even without starting qb. Don’t ignore reality.

Played "thought"? Is this chess?

You really do have a rightin' problum. Don't ignore reality.

Ivy League?

 

[thirdandlong]

Griz also killed Cats in 2021. Griz playoff opponent was very good. Griz played SA and Weber thought, even without starting qb. Don’t ignore reality.

Played "thought"? Is this chess?

You really do have a rightin' problum. Don't ignore reality.

Ivy League?

Hilarious!

 

[thirdandlong]

I think it’s more to do with where people expect the Griz to be vs. where they actually are. We claim to be a premier football school in the FCS. By that measuring stick we are judged. Regardless of who it is, squeaking out a win vs a D2 school is not a good look. Ferris might be good enough to be a quarterfinal team in the FCS, but since they carry that D2 label, they must be blown out horribly in order to appease. Anything less is an abysmal failure.

Hats off to Coach Annese, tho. He’s got a hell of a team. Maybe we should make some inroads into Michigan and get some beef! I’m sure with the resources the Griz have, we can get some big, mean, and nasty hogmollies. Both sides of the ball!

That's the problem... People can't, or are unwilling, to look past that D2 label. They just want to trash Montana because the expectations for this program are so high. It's astounding how many people trash Montana for "squeaking by" a D-2 program when that Ferris State is better than 80% of the teams that have come into WA-Griz in recent memory. People for whatever reason can't objectively look at the facts that Ferris State is not a typical D-2 program (I find it ironic that FCS fans do this to good D2 teams, but also get butthurt when FBS fans do the exact same thing to us). I would venture to guess that everyone who is piling on either, 1) Hates the Griz, and/or 2) only looked at the box score and did not watch the game.

Had they actually watched the game, they would have seen just how big and fast that Ferris team squad was. IMO, they would be very competitive in the Big Sky and FCS.

Then how do explain a 10-point win against Ashland, who scored 28 points against Ferris, and had another TD called-back by a holding penalty? And we manage to score 17 points. Ferris ain't the Kansas City Chiefs, my friend.

 

[thirdandlong]

That's the problem... People can't, or are unwilling, to look past that D2 label. They just want to trash Montana because the expectations for this program are so high. It's astounding how many people trash Montana for "squeaking by" a D-2 program when that Ferris State is better than 80% of the teams that have come into WA-Griz in recent memory. People for whatever reason can't objectively look at the facts that Ferris State is not a typical D-2 program (I find it ironic that FCS fans do this to good D2 teams, but also get butthurt when FBS fans do the exact same thing to us). I would venture to guess that everyone who is piling on either, 1) Hates the Griz, and/or 2) only looked at the box score and did not watch the game.

Had they actually watched the game, they would have seen just how big and fast that Ferris team squad was. IMO, they would be very competitive in the Big Sky and FCS.

Good post. Some of the naysayers don’t understand football either.

Would you get off the "posters don't understand football" thingy, Jack? So you played with leather helmets 60 years ago, and now think you invented the game. If we could buy you for what you know, and sell you for what you THINK you know, we would all be multi-millionaires.
Based upon some of your laughable posts, you don't know jack, Jack.

 

[rgrizfan]

That's the problem... People can't, or are unwilling, to look past that D2 label. They just want to trash Montana because the expectations for this program are so high. It's astounding how many people trash Montana for "squeaking by" a D-2 program when that Ferris State is better than 80% of the teams that have come into WA-Griz in recent memory. People for whatever reason can't objectively look at the facts that Ferris State is not a typical D-2 program (I find it ironic that FCS fans do this to good D2 teams, but also get butthurt when FBS fans do the exact same thing to us). I would venture to guess that everyone who is piling on either, 1) Hates the Griz, and/or 2) only looked at the box score and did not watch the game.

Had they actually watched the game, they would have seen just how big and fast that Ferris team squad was. IMO, they would be very competitive in the Big Sky and FCS.

Then how do explain a 10-point win against Ashland, who scored 28 points against Ferris, and had another TD called-back by a holding penalty? And we manage to score 17 points. Ferris ain't the Kansas City Chiefs, my friend.

We get it you hate the Griz. They are a terrible team. All the coaches should be fired. All the scholarships should be pulled. The university should be shut down. Haters gonna hate!

 

[ElrodGrizzly]

Then how do explain a 10-point win against Ashland, who scored 28 points against Ferris, and had another TD called-back by a holding penalty? And we manage to score 17 points. Ferris ain't the Kansas City Chiefs, my friend.

We get it you hate the Griz. They are a terrible team. All the coaches should be fired. All the scholarships should be pulled. The university should be shut down. Haters gonna hate!

His obsession with hating the Grizzlies is matched only by his hatred of Hoops. You can almost picture him rubbing his hands together in a dark room, thinking up his next PERFECT online insult.

 

[rgrizfan]

That's the problem... People can't, or are unwilling, to look past that D2 label. They just want to trash Montana because the expectations for this program are so high. It's astounding how many people trash Montana for "squeaking by" a D-2 program when that Ferris State is better than 80% of the teams that have come into WA-Griz in recent memory. People for whatever reason can't objectively look at the facts that Ferris State is not a typical D-2 program (I find it ironic that FCS fans do this to good D2 teams, but also get butthurt when FBS fans do the exact same thing to us). I would venture to guess that everyone who is piling on either, 1) Hates the Griz, and/or 2) only looked at the box score and did not watch the game.

Had they actually watched the game, they would have seen just how big and fast that Ferris team squad was. IMO, they would be very competitive in the Big Sky and FCS.

Then how do explain a 10-point win against Ashland, who scored 28 points against Ferris, and had another TD called-back by a holding penalty? And we manage to score 17 points. Ferris ain't the Kansas City Chiefs, my friend.

In a previous post you answered a post about Ferris with..."I think if that were true, they wouldn't routinely play one score games against other D2 football teams." Last year they outscored their opponents 537-219. Even against Ashland it was a 2 score victory. Does not appear that they routinely play one score games against anybody.

 

[Paytonlives]

I wonder if Herder knows this game was 3-3 at halftime?

“ FAMU beat D2 No. 4 West Florida 31-10 Saturday.”

No

 

[AZGrizFan]

I think you're exactly right but it's not only him it's a lot of the voters in the poll. And the current playoff system rewards those lesser conferences with regionalized playoff games.

Yep-- it's a real problem. I broke it down a while back and don't have the numbers handy, but suffice it to say that in the playoffs last year, the southern and eastern teams got almost all their wins against each other and then got beat when they had to come west/north.

it's why I can't stand regionalization of the playoffs. seed 1-24 and THEN we'll see where the power lies. Those east coast teams getting 1-2 cupcakes before they have to finally face someone in the round of 16 or 8. It's BS.

 

[AZGrizFan]

Then how do explain a 10-point win against Ashland, who scored 28 points against Ferris, and had another TD called-back by a holding penalty? And we manage to score 17 points. Ferris ain't the Kansas City Chiefs, my friend.

In a previous post you answered a post about Ferris with..."I think if that were true, they wouldn't routinely play one score games against other D2 football teams." Last year they outscored their opponents 537-219. Even against Ashland it was a 2 score victory. Does not appear that they routinely play one score games against anybody.

That comment of his was disproven by me, but he's gonna stick with his narrative. :lol: :lol:

 

[WILDCATFAN]

No he didn’t. ANY team that’s 3-0 at this point in the season is getting ranked. Period. End of story. People have such higher expectations for the Griz that they tend to UNDER rank them rather than over rank them.

Pre-Jay Hill Weber State would not be ranked at 3-0 with Montana's schedule. Fact.