IdaGriz01
Well-known member
With only four upsets among the ranked teams, I considered skipping my guesses this week. Of course, those four came among just twenty chances, since five teams had byes this week. We also had three ranked-vs-ranked matchups … so at least three ranked teams had to lose. In any case, the four upsets we did get offer some interesting possibilities.
Poll Guess, Team, (Record), #Current Rank
#1 NDSU (5-1) [1]
#2 SDSU (5-1) [2]
#3 Montana (5-0) [3]
#4 Montana State (5-1) [4]
#5 Sac State (5-0) [5]
#6 Weber State (5-0) [7]
#7 Jackson State (5-0) [8]
#8 Holy Cross (6-0) [9]
#9 Delaware (5-1) [6]
#10 Incarnate Word (5-1) [10]
#11 Chattanooga (4-1) [11]
#12 Mercer (5-1) [12]
#13 Samford (5-1) [13]
#14 Elon (5-1) [14]
#15 William & Mary (5-1) [16]
#16 Villanova (3-2) [15]
#17 SIU (4-2) [17]
#18 UT Martin (4-2) [18]
#19 SE Missouri State (5-1) [21]
#20 North Dakota (4-2) [22]
#21 New Hampshire (4-2) NR
#22 Richmond (3-2) [23]
#23 Fordham (5-1) NR
#24 Eastern Kentucky (3-2) [24]
#25 SE Louisiana (3-3) [19]
Missouri State (2-4) [20]
EWU (1-4) [24]
It’s hard to say how far Delaware will fall after their road loss at #16 William and Mary. I’m guessing not all that much. That one loss puts them alone in third place in the conference. Plus. they lost by only 5 points. On the flip side: What will the pollsters do to reward W&M? A big bump up would move them past Elon. But Elon beat the Tribe just a couple weeks ago. Sometimes the pollsters ignore that, but I don’t think they will in this case.
The next order of business: How far will SE Louisiana drop? They lost at home to an unranked team that few of us have ever heard of … Texas A&M-Commerce. FYI: This was the first Southland Conference game played by Commerce, which just moved up from D-II, where they were a power. I assume they are in the probationary phase and not eligible for the FCS playoffs. About the only halfway good news for SELA is that they only lost by a field goal. I’m guessing they will barely hang on at the bottom, but I could easily see them drop further. If that happens, it would make room for Rhode Island (3-2, idle), currently the top “Other Receiving Votes.”
The next two are easy calls, in my view. Missouri State has now lost four games in a row. They lost at home, and by 17 points. Yes, it was to a ranked team, but I just don’t see the pollsters keeping them in the top-25. Same goes for EWU, which was barely in the top-25 anyway.
With those two dropping out, which teams might move in? I think the pollsters will elevate New Hampshire, which is now tied with Elon for the lead in the CAA. I’m guessing they’ll go in at #21, just above Richmond.
The other possibility I see is Fordham. This may be a stretch, but their QB has been putting up some gaudy passing numbers: He leads the FCS in passing yards and passing touchdowns. That has gained a lot of attention and might be enough to nudge his team into the top-25. I guessed #23 because of their 5-1 record.
Poll Guess, Team, (Record), #Current Rank
#1 NDSU (5-1) [1]
#2 SDSU (5-1) [2]
#3 Montana (5-0) [3]
#4 Montana State (5-1) [4]
#5 Sac State (5-0) [5]
#6 Weber State (5-0) [7]
#7 Jackson State (5-0) [8]
#8 Holy Cross (6-0) [9]
#9 Delaware (5-1) [6]
#10 Incarnate Word (5-1) [10]
#11 Chattanooga (4-1) [11]
#12 Mercer (5-1) [12]
#13 Samford (5-1) [13]
#14 Elon (5-1) [14]
#15 William & Mary (5-1) [16]
#16 Villanova (3-2) [15]
#17 SIU (4-2) [17]
#18 UT Martin (4-2) [18]
#19 SE Missouri State (5-1) [21]
#20 North Dakota (4-2) [22]
#21 New Hampshire (4-2) NR
#22 Richmond (3-2) [23]
#23 Fordham (5-1) NR
#24 Eastern Kentucky (3-2) [24]
#25 SE Louisiana (3-3) [19]
Missouri State (2-4) [20]
EWU (1-4) [24]
It’s hard to say how far Delaware will fall after their road loss at #16 William and Mary. I’m guessing not all that much. That one loss puts them alone in third place in the conference. Plus. they lost by only 5 points. On the flip side: What will the pollsters do to reward W&M? A big bump up would move them past Elon. But Elon beat the Tribe just a couple weeks ago. Sometimes the pollsters ignore that, but I don’t think they will in this case.
The next order of business: How far will SE Louisiana drop? They lost at home to an unranked team that few of us have ever heard of … Texas A&M-Commerce. FYI: This was the first Southland Conference game played by Commerce, which just moved up from D-II, where they were a power. I assume they are in the probationary phase and not eligible for the FCS playoffs. About the only halfway good news for SELA is that they only lost by a field goal. I’m guessing they will barely hang on at the bottom, but I could easily see them drop further. If that happens, it would make room for Rhode Island (3-2, idle), currently the top “Other Receiving Votes.”
The next two are easy calls, in my view. Missouri State has now lost four games in a row. They lost at home, and by 17 points. Yes, it was to a ranked team, but I just don’t see the pollsters keeping them in the top-25. Same goes for EWU, which was barely in the top-25 anyway.
With those two dropping out, which teams might move in? I think the pollsters will elevate New Hampshire, which is now tied with Elon for the lead in the CAA. I’m guessing they’ll go in at #21, just above Richmond.
The other possibility I see is Fordham. This may be a stretch, but their QB has been putting up some gaudy passing numbers: He leads the FCS in passing yards and passing touchdowns. That has gained a lot of attention and might be enough to nudge his team into the top-25. I guessed #23 because of their 5-1 record.
