#25 CFP

[Mjohn1988]

Great news. It wasn't long ago that this forum was filled with posts about how we would never see the rankings again this year. Took one week and this is the one that matters.

The Cotton Bowl is four wins and eight spots away. Excited to see what happens.

We had to have a lot of help. Several teams lost and we could hit the top 20 again depending on the next two weeks because a lot of teams in the 18-24 range should lose soon. They have tough games.

I'm glad to get this and these rankings are the ones that truly matter. We just need to win out or it really does all go away.

I can say this with 100% certainty as fact that we MUST have the following to happen to be a NY6 contender.

1. Cincy must lose one more. They have Memphis left to play.
2. Memphis must lose one more. They have Cincinnati left to play.
3. SMU must lose one more. They have Navy left to play. If they win out with a win over Navy and the AAC title game they would vault back over us.
4. Boise State must lose one more. They don't have a strong schedule remaining so it does not matter who they lose to. Just take one loss and their hopes are gone.
5. Navy must lose one more. They have Notre Dame and SMU left to play.
6. Most importantly we must win out.

It would help for Louisiana Tech to lose one more but it is not a must. It would just give a little cushion.

With the schedules at least 2 of the 5 things needed will play out for sure. The ideal scenario is that Memphis beats Cincy, Notre Dame beats Navy, Navy loses to SMU, Cincy then wins the AAC with 2 losses, Boise State loses the MWC, and we win out. That is the clear direct, easy path for us in a NY6. Still a lot that needs to happen.

I get what you are saying that many things have to happen but I think there are some situations you mentioned that may not be necessary. For instance, Navy or SMU winning out is probably fine as long as Memphis wins out before title game. Memphis has beaten Navy and SMU so if Memphis beats Houston, South Florida, and Cincy, doesn't Memphis make title game due to head-to-head no matter what Navy/SMU do? One loss Navy or SMU doesn't matter if they aren't in the title game.

The only thing we can do that has any effect on this is to go 1 and 0 for the next 4 weeks in a row. In any case this is an awesome accomplishment for our players, coaches and university. It’s great to be a MOUNTAINEER!!!!!

[AppStFan1]

Great news. It wasn't long ago that this forum was filled with posts about how we would never see the rankings again this year. Took one week and this is the one that matters.

The Cotton Bowl is four wins and eight spots away. Excited to see what happens.

We had to have a lot of help. Several teams lost and we could hit the top 20 again depending on the next two weeks because a lot of teams in the 18-24 range should lose soon. They have tough games.

I'm glad to get this and these rankings are the ones that truly matter. We just need to win out or it really does all go away.

I can say this with 100% certainty as fact that we MUST have the following to happen to be a NY6 contender.

1. Cincy must lose one more. They have Memphis left to play.
2. Memphis must lose one more. They have Cincinnati left to play.
3. SMU must lose one more. They have Navy left to play. If they win out with a win over Navy and the AAC title game they would vault back over us.
4. Boise State must lose one more. They don't have a strong schedule remaining so it does not matter who they lose to. Just take one loss and their hopes are gone.
5. Navy must lose one more. They have Notre Dame and SMU left to play.
6. Most importantly we must win out.

It would help for Louisiana Tech to lose one more but it is not a must. It would just give a little cushion.

With the schedules at least 2 of the 5 things needed will play out for sure. The ideal scenario is that Memphis beats Cincy, Notre Dame beats Navy, Navy loses to SMU, Cincy then wins the AAC with 2 losses, Boise State loses the MWC, and we win out. That is the clear direct, easy path for us in a NY6. Still a lot that needs to happen.

7. No more Scum Belt refs for APP. Saturday's game in Columbia proved the SEC and Sun Belt really do have an obvious alliance against APP. The SEC refs made effort to help SC.

And they still could not shift it in the favor of South Carolina. If you go look at the holding calls made against them we were perfectly clean on our side and they basically mauled our player where the ref either calls it or faces reprimands publicly for letting it go.

[biggie]

That is a pleasant surprise.

[wncapp78]

I would like for WCU to become a good FCS team. Our days of competing are long gone (not that was much competition over the last 15 SoCon years). As someone who lives in the region it would be good for our high school athletes, good from an economic development standpoint and frankly it would be good for North Carolina’s reputation as a strong football state. I haven’t kept up too much with LR this year but their season is good for football in NC.

[AppStFan1]

Great news. It wasn't long ago that this forum was filled with posts about how we would never see the rankings again this year. Took one week and this is the one that matters.

The Cotton Bowl is four wins and eight spots away. Excited to see what happens.

We had to have a lot of help. Several teams lost and we could hit the top 20 again depending on the next two weeks because a lot of teams in the 18-24 range should lose soon. They have tough games.

I'm glad to get this and these rankings are the ones that truly matter. We just need to win out or it really does all go away.

I can say this with 100% certainty as fact that we MUST have the following to happen to be a NY6 contender.

1. Cincy must lose one more. They have Memphis left to play.
2. Memphis must lose one more. They have Cincinnati left to play.
3. SMU must lose one more. They have Navy left to play. If they win out with a win over Navy and the AAC title game they would vault back over us.
4. Boise State must lose one more. They don't have a strong schedule remaining so it does not matter who they lose to. Just take one loss and their hopes are gone.
5. Navy must lose one more. They have Notre Dame and SMU left to play.
6. Most importantly we must win out.

It would help for Louisiana Tech to lose one more but it is not a must. It would just give a little cushion.

With the schedules at least 2 of the 5 things needed will play out for sure. The ideal scenario is that Memphis beats Cincy, Notre Dame beats Navy, Navy loses to SMU, Cincy then wins the AAC with 2 losses, Boise State loses the MWC, and we win out. That is the clear direct, easy path for us in a NY6. Still a lot that needs to happen.

I get what you are saying that many things have to happen but I think there are some situations you mentioned that may not be necessary. For instance, Navy or SMU winning out is probably fine as long as Memphis wins out before title game. Memphis has beaten Navy and SMU so if Memphis beats Houston, South Florida, and Cincy, doesn't Memphis make title game due to head-to-head no matter what Navy/SMU do? One loss Navy or SMU doesn't matter if they aren't in the title game.

The only thing we can do that has any effect on this is to go 1 and 0 for the next 4 weeks in a row. In any case this is an awesome accomplishment for our players, coaches and university. It’s great to be a MOUNTAINEER!!!!!

Exactly. If we lose this weekend or to any game then we are done for sure. There really is nothing that could happen to bounce back. Right now we need so much that I still don't think it happens but let's see how the next 3 weeks play out and then perhaps we could sneak back in the convo as a top 2 candidate. For now let's just go 1-0 and things will work themselves out.

[AppStFan1]

I would like for WCU to become a good FCS team. Our days of competing are long gone (not that was much competition over the last 15 SoCon years). As someone who lives in the region it would be good for our high school athletes, good from an economic development standpoint and frankly it would be good for North Carolina’s reputation as a strong football state. I haven’t kept up too much with LR this year but their season is good for football in NC.

It would help for sure. I'm glad for L-R. I try to check in here and there on those teams. It would be nice for a year where App wins the SBC, ECU wins the AAC, Elon wins the CAA, WCU wins the SoCon, and a NC school wins the ACC. I truly pull for my home state to do well.

[TurfMonkey]

Wow! Doing some mental math to figure out how we crack the top 4.
Very proud!

[appstatealum]

First ranking in the CFP Top 25. I really had to take some time to digest it and marinate on it when I saw it come across. I know all of us on the board bleed black and gold and this is a massive milestone for our program. This is even bigger for the contingent that fully supported the move up from day 1. All of the countless arguments I've had with fans of other teams, even this morning who disrespect our program. Hard to argue with "the committee" who (supposedly) takes everything into account.

Now let's go whoop GaSt's @$$

[AppSt94]

Wow! Doing some mental math to figure out how we crack the top 4.
Very proud!

Not hard to figure out. Navy is probably out of it after the Notre Dame game and then we need them to become a spoiler. Memphis and Cincy play in the regular season so one will cancel out the other. They probably meet again, so we would need the two loss team to win the CCG. And of course we need BSU to fall off. Although, it is conceivable that if we and Boise finish each with one loss then we can leapfrog them in the CFP. Need to go 1-0 for the next 4 weeks though.

[Boonegoon]

Great news. It wasn't long ago that this forum was filled with posts about how we would never see the rankings again this year. Took one week and this is the one that matters.

The Cotton Bowl is four wins and eight spots away. Excited to see what happens.

We had to have a lot of help. Several teams lost and we could hit the top 20 again depending on the next two weeks because a lot of teams in the 18-24 range should lose soon. They have tough games.

I'm glad to get this and these rankings are the ones that truly matter. We just need to win out or it really does all go away.

I can say this with 100% certainty as fact that we MUST have the following to happen to be a NY6 contender.

1. Cincy must lose one more. They have Memphis left to play.
2. Memphis must lose one more. They have Cincinnati left to play.
3. SMU must lose one more. They have Navy left to play. If they win out with a win over Navy and the AAC title game they would vault back over us.
4. Boise State must lose one more. They don't have a strong schedule remaining so it does not matter who they lose to. Just take one loss and their hopes are gone.
5. Navy must lose one more. They have Notre Dame and SMU left to play.
6. Most importantly we must win out.

It would help for Louisiana Tech to lose one more but it is not a must. It would just give a little cushion.

With the schedules at least 2 of the 5 things needed will play out for sure. The ideal scenario is that Memphis beats Cincy, Notre Dame beats Navy, Navy loses to SMU, Cincy then wins the AAC with 2 losses, Boise State loses the MWC, and we win out. That is the clear direct, easy path for us in a NY6. Still a lot that needs to happen.

I get what you are saying that many things have to happen but I think there are some situations you mentioned that may not be necessary. For instance, Navy or SMU winning out is probably fine as long as Memphis wins out before title game. Memphis has beaten Navy and SMU so if Memphis beats Houston, South Florida, and Cincy, doesn't Memphis make title game due to head-to-head no matter what Navy/SMU do? One loss Navy or SMU doesn't matter if they aren't in the title game.

Perhaps but I'm trying to think of a clear path. If Navy loses to SMU in theory we don't need them to lose another game but if they beat Notre Dame then they would have a win that could challenge us despite having two losses if they somehow won the AAC.

What we ideally need is the AAC Champ to have 2 losses. That would make it a safe bet. Regardless, the AAC does not matter if Boise State does not lose one more game. If Boise State wins out then my bet is they go whether we win out or not unlesss Cincy wins out then I would say they go. Right now Cincinnati has the best resume of a G5 by far. Their loss is to the #2 team in the country. Nobody else has a good loss like that.

I wouldn't quite say that drubbing Cincy took at the hands of the Buckeyes a "good" loss. Yes, they "played" them but 49-0 is not a good loss to anyone.

[VNova]

That's neat. Keep Pounding! I hope App keeps kicking ass and taking names with pride, passion, and purpose. Heck of an achievement 5 years into the FBS world. If we keep it through the end of the season, we'll beat Boise who had their first Top 25 finish 6 years into FBS.

[AppStFan1]

Great news. It wasn't long ago that this forum was filled with posts about how we would never see the rankings again this year. Took one week and this is the one that matters.

The Cotton Bowl is four wins and eight spots away. Excited to see what happens.

We had to have a lot of help. Several teams lost and we could hit the top 20 again depending on the next two weeks because a lot of teams in the 18-24 range should lose soon. They have tough games.

I'm glad to get this and these rankings are the ones that truly matter. We just need to win out or it really does all go away.

I can say this with 100% certainty as fact that we MUST have the following to happen to be a NY6 contender.

1. Cincy must lose one more. They have Memphis left to play.
2. Memphis must lose one more. They have Cincinnati left to play.
3. SMU must lose one more. They have Navy left to play. If they win out with a win over Navy and the AAC title game they would vault back over us.
4. Boise State must lose one more. They don't have a strong schedule remaining so it does not matter who they lose to. Just take one loss and their hopes are gone.
5. Navy must lose one more. They have Notre Dame and SMU left to play.
6. Most importantly we must win out.

It would help for Louisiana Tech to lose one more but it is not a must. It would just give a little cushion.

With the schedules at least 2 of the 5 things needed will play out for sure. The ideal scenario is that Memphis beats Cincy, Notre Dame beats Navy, Navy loses to SMU, Cincy then wins the AAC with 2 losses, Boise State loses the MWC, and we win out. That is the clear direct, easy path for us in a NY6. Still a lot that needs to happen.

I get what you are saying that many things have to happen but I think there are some situations you mentioned that may not be necessary. For instance, Navy or SMU winning out is probably fine as long as Memphis wins out before title game. Memphis has beaten Navy and SMU so if Memphis beats Houston, South Florida, and Cincy, doesn't Memphis make title game due to head-to-head no matter what Navy/SMU do? One loss Navy or SMU doesn't matter if they aren't in the title game.

Perhaps but I'm trying to think of a clear path. If Navy loses to SMU in theory we don't need them to lose another game but if they beat Notre Dame then they would have a win that could challenge us despite having two losses if they somehow won the AAC.

What we ideally need is the AAC Champ to have 2 losses. That would make it a safe bet. Regardless, the AAC does not matter if Boise State does not lose one more game. If Boise State wins out then my bet is they go whether we win out or not unlesss Cincy wins out then I would say they go. Right now Cincinnati has the best resume of a G5 by far. Their loss is to the #2 team in the country. Nobody else has a good loss like that.

I wouldn't quite say that drubbing Cincy took at the hands of the Buckeyes a "good" loss. Yes, they "played" them but 49-0 is not a good loss to anyone.

A loss to #2 by 49 is not equal to a loss to an unranked G5 by 3 at home. The committee will forgive that loss while our loss is held against us. If we were undefeated I still think we would be one spot behind Cincinnati. In fact, when we were undefeated we were still behind them before. We still need them to lose another game.

[bigdaddyg]

How insane is it that Wake is in line right now to play in the freaking Orange Bowl and we could go 12-1 and be back in New Orleans? Crazy

[spacemonkey]

How insane is it that Wake is in line right now to play in the freaking Orange Bowl and we could go 12-1 and be back in New Orleans? Crazy

I agree...but I would change it to "How UNFAIR is that?" and I lecture my children harshly if they ever utter "That's unfair". I may need a lecture.

[EastHallApp]

How insane is it that Wake is in line right now to play in the freaking Orange Bowl and we could go 12-1 and be back in New Orleans? Crazy

Whoever the ACC sends to the Orange Bowl will almost certainly be ranked lower than multiple G5 teams (most likely, not ranked at all).

[AppinATL]

Wow, let this sink in, Appalachian State is #25 in the CFP. I remember standing in the parking lot at KBS after our last FCS game and having a Western fan tell me we would never be relevant again.

That sealed it for us. Those poor dumb bast...s from Cut-a-weed were never right about anything!

[biggie]

Am just trying to figure out if we win out how we get in a better bowl assuming NY6 is out of play.

[Boonegoon]

How insane is it that Wake is in line right now to play in the freaking Orange Bowl and we could go 12-1 and be back in New Orleans? Crazy

Whoever the ACC sends to the Orange Bowl will almost certainly be ranked lower than multiple G5 teams (most likely, not ranked at all).

Certainly not fair but FBS has never been about fairness. Keep the money in the pockets of the big conferences. Always

[AppinATL]

I would like for WCU to become a good FCS team. Our days of competing are long gone (not that was much competition over the last 15 SoCon years). As someone who lives in the region it would be good for our high school athletes, good from an economic development standpoint and frankly it would be good for North Carolina’s reputation as a strong football state. I haven’t kept up too much with LR this year but their season is good for football in NC.

Nope. they can go hang.

[AppinATL]

Am just trying to figure out if we win out how we get in a better bowl assuming NY6 is out of play.

Don't waste any brain cells on that one.The Sun Belt has said repeatedly there is no chance they will give us or anybody else a waiver to go to a non-Sun Belt Bowl unless its a playoff spot or NY6.