IdaGriz01
Well-known member
With only three ranked teams losing, I was somewhat inclined to maybe skip this week. I don’t expect a major shakeup in the next STATS poll. However, the fact that two teams in the top five lost does provide some interest.
Guess, Team (Record), [Current Rank]
1 Sam Houston (7-0) [1]
#2 NDSU (8-0) [2]
#3 James Madison (7-1) [5]
#4 Montana State (7-1) [6]
#5 Eastern Washington (7-1) [7]
#6 Southern Illinois (6-2) [3]
#7 SE Louisiana (7-1) [8]
#8 UC Davis (7-1) [9]
#9 SDSU (6-2) [10]
#10 Villanova (6-2) [4]
#11 Montana (6-2) [11]
#12 Kennesaw State (7-1) [12]
#13 UT Martin (7-1) [13]
#14 UNI (5-3) [16]
#15 ETSU (7-1) [13]
#16 Sac State (6-2) [15]
#17 Missouri State (5-3) [17]
#18 VMI (6-2) [18]
#19 Princeton (7-0) [19]
#20 Jackson State (7-1) [20]
#21 South Dakota (5-3) [21]
#22 William & Mary (6-2) NR
#23 Incarnate Word (6-2) [22]
#24 Weber State (4-4) [23]
#25 Eastern Kentucky (6-2) [25]
NR Rhode Island (5-3) [24]
The first question is: What will the pollsters do with Southern Illinois and Villanova? The Salukis led (on the road) at halftime, but scored only a FG in the second half. Northern Iowa is ranked, and the pollsters seem to generally give “extra credit” to UNI … so a loss to them is somewhat “okay.” Thus, I’m guessing that SIU will only drop three spots, although four would not surprise me.
Villanova is another matter. Many of us thought William & Mary should have been ranked last week … but they weren’t. Thus, the Wildcat’s loss, at home to an unranked team and by almost two touchdowns, will look bad to the pollsters. I’m guessing they’ll drop a full six spots, although they might hang on at #9.
The next (related) question is: How much will the pollsters reward Northern Iowa for their win over the #3 ranked team? Because it’s UNI, I might guess three or four spots. However, that would jump their (4-3) record over two (7-1) teams. I’d like to think the pollsters would not do that, so I’m going with just two spots up. (But I’m not going to be shocked if the Panthers get in even higher.)
FWIW: For a while, the winning, but piss-poor performance by the Griz had me worried that they might slip a spot or two. Luckily, the teams just below the Griz did not exactly shine either: Kennesaw State barely hung on against Gardner-Webb (3-5), scoring the winning touchdown with 11 seconds left in the game. And UT Martin had to come from behind in the last minute to squeak by Austin Peay (3-5), 17-16. ETSU had a bye, so they don’t really figure in. Sac State, with a similar 6-2 record, might have had an outside shot, but they didn’t look that good against Northern Colorado (3-6).
Rhode Island is sure to drop out of the top-25, with their crushing home loss, 45-24, to unranked Maine (4-4). Their likely replacement is easy to call: William & Mary with their upset of #4 Villanova. The only real question was where to put them. I finally decided that their (6-2) record might slot them in around Incarnate Word (also 6-2). However, I could easily see them move in several spots higher.
Guess, Team (Record), [Current Rank]
1 Sam Houston (7-0) [1]
#2 NDSU (8-0) [2]
#3 James Madison (7-1) [5]
#4 Montana State (7-1) [6]
#5 Eastern Washington (7-1) [7]
#6 Southern Illinois (6-2) [3]
#7 SE Louisiana (7-1) [8]
#8 UC Davis (7-1) [9]
#9 SDSU (6-2) [10]
#10 Villanova (6-2) [4]
#11 Montana (6-2) [11]
#12 Kennesaw State (7-1) [12]
#13 UT Martin (7-1) [13]
#14 UNI (5-3) [16]
#15 ETSU (7-1) [13]
#16 Sac State (6-2) [15]
#17 Missouri State (5-3) [17]
#18 VMI (6-2) [18]
#19 Princeton (7-0) [19]
#20 Jackson State (7-1) [20]
#21 South Dakota (5-3) [21]
#22 William & Mary (6-2) NR
#23 Incarnate Word (6-2) [22]
#24 Weber State (4-4) [23]
#25 Eastern Kentucky (6-2) [25]
NR Rhode Island (5-3) [24]
The first question is: What will the pollsters do with Southern Illinois and Villanova? The Salukis led (on the road) at halftime, but scored only a FG in the second half. Northern Iowa is ranked, and the pollsters seem to generally give “extra credit” to UNI … so a loss to them is somewhat “okay.” Thus, I’m guessing that SIU will only drop three spots, although four would not surprise me.
Villanova is another matter. Many of us thought William & Mary should have been ranked last week … but they weren’t. Thus, the Wildcat’s loss, at home to an unranked team and by almost two touchdowns, will look bad to the pollsters. I’m guessing they’ll drop a full six spots, although they might hang on at #9.
The next (related) question is: How much will the pollsters reward Northern Iowa for their win over the #3 ranked team? Because it’s UNI, I might guess three or four spots. However, that would jump their (4-3) record over two (7-1) teams. I’d like to think the pollsters would not do that, so I’m going with just two spots up. (But I’m not going to be shocked if the Panthers get in even higher.)
FWIW: For a while, the winning, but piss-poor performance by the Griz had me worried that they might slip a spot or two. Luckily, the teams just below the Griz did not exactly shine either: Kennesaw State barely hung on against Gardner-Webb (3-5), scoring the winning touchdown with 11 seconds left in the game. And UT Martin had to come from behind in the last minute to squeak by Austin Peay (3-5), 17-16. ETSU had a bye, so they don’t really figure in. Sac State, with a similar 6-2 record, might have had an outside shot, but they didn’t look that good against Northern Colorado (3-6).
Rhode Island is sure to drop out of the top-25, with their crushing home loss, 45-24, to unranked Maine (4-4). Their likely replacement is easy to call: William & Mary with their upset of #4 Villanova. The only real question was where to put them. I finally decided that their (6-2) record might slot them in around Incarnate Word (also 6-2). However, I could easily see them move in several spots higher.
