Are We...Marshall?

[AppSt94]

What would it take for a G5 team to land in the playoff? I think had ECU gone undefeated, they'd be in the conversation.

I don't think that it would have been too far fetched to think they would have been in them ix as an undefeated. They scored a ton of points when they were rolling and offense equals ratings.

[appst89]

First, hats off to the App Admin guys petitioning for us to be bowl eligible. Worst thing NCAA can say is no.

Obviously we are not Marshall but we are probably going down the same path they did after leaving FCS. They had a lot of success and now are poised to possibly go undefeated and possibly land a New Year's Day bowl; however, a 2 loss Boise team is ranked higher and could snag that sweet bowl slot. Is the 2014 Marshall season an example of the best case scenario for teams like App? Go undefeated in a G5 conference but still not rank high enough to garner a significant bowl bid? Don't get me wrong, I realize we have to grow some before we can truely be on the "big dog level" but still. How long has Marshall played at this level?

Will we be happy to reach that level and stay there for years?

Boise played a much tougher schedule than Marshall this year so if the Herd gets left out they have only themselves to blame. Our future schedules are all much tougher than what Marshall played this year so any undefeated season would likely put us in the top spot.

On a side note, I think it is hilarious that so many anti-FBS people pointed to Marshall saying we don't want to end up like them, and now in our first year they are in the discussion for a New Years Day bowl.

I don't want to be anything like Marshall because they cheated to have that success. I don't see anything hilarious about not wanting to cheat.

[BUTCH1991]

Marshall still sucks!

[appvette]

With the new playoff format in place and "seeding" being decided by the committee, does the committee make this decision as well- G5 bowl slot? What ranking makes the call?

My understanding is the same committee does the selection. They say it is simply the highest ranked G5 team so I assume they use the same criteria they use to rank the top 25. However, that becomes tricky when there are no Top 25 G5 teams since they don't publish their rankings beyond the top 25.

If that is the case, and I think you are correct, that would make things REALLY interesting, and potentially very controversial. I don't have a problem with a committee deciding the top 4 and possibley the top 8 if this thing is expanded. I am a firm believer that this deal usually sorts itself out. I have always thought that there should be no rankings until everyone plays at least 6 or 7 games. I mean come on, how can a team be pre-season number 24? How much validity is there with that? If nobody gets ranked until the midway point then there is a level playing field and prior reputations mean nothing. Hell, a month ago everyone thought that the Egg Bowl was going to be the game of the century- now look at Ole Miss!

Is the committee really spending dissecting the games played by the G5 teams? Let's say that next season after 7 games we are 6-1 with a narrow road loss to Clemson and after 7 games they are 6-1 and ranked around 15. Would that be the kind of strength needed to garner committee attention? I have not paid attention to the week by week committee rankings. Where have Marshall and Boise been ranked? Is Boise moving up based on past reputation?

I would assume they only evaluate the teams that are close or in the top 25 throughout the season and aren't doing extra work to evaluate teams and games that aren't on that bubble. Most seasons, you'll have at least one or two G5 teams in or near the top 25 throughout the season so their evaluation for the Top 25 will translate into the evaluation of the top G5 team without any additional work.

[appvette]

Here are some tv ratings that might interest you guys.

As far ass exposure goes the Sunbelt teams in bowl games, even the so called crappy ones, got far more exposure than any FCS team in the playoffs or championships. Only two bowl games had lower viewership than FCS playoff games. OK State vs Purdue was up against 4 bigger bowls the same day in the Rose, Orange, Capital One and Outback bowl. Likewise Ariz St vs Navy was competing with 4 other bowl games the same day. The three highest rated FCS games competed for ratings against a total of one bowl,the BBVA Compass bowl. So if its exposure you want for App, than a crappy bowl game is head and shoulders above any FCS playoff game including the championship.

http://www.championshipsubdivision.com/ ... =4&t=34126

Check Appfan and you'll find several that think just being in the FCS playoffs is more prestigiuos than winning bowl games.

[bigdaddyg]

What would it take for a G5 team to land in the playoff? I think had ECU gone undefeated, they'd be in the conversation.

With their OOC lineup they would probably be on that 5-8 bubble. They had two ACC and one SEC schools.

I think ECU is an interesting analogy. IMO they had a strong enough schedule to have been in mix. The USC loss would not have hurt had they not completely laid an egg against Temple and crapped away the Cincinnati game. Obviously they still have at least one tough game to play so work would have been left to do even if they were sitting at 9-1 right now but I think a comparable schedule to their's would be what it takes to have a shot at a big bowl. Even the Carolina blowout looks better now since Carolina has turned it around and is bowl eligible.

[AppGrad78]

A little off topic, but this is as good a place as any to post this. Below are the records of all FCS move-ups in their first season of FBS.

-------------------------------------------First
-------------------------------------------season
Team (1st year at FBS)---------------record
Akron (1987)--------------------------------4-6
Louisiana Tech (1989)---------------------6-4-1
Nevada (1992)------------------------------7-5
Arkansas State (1992)---------------------2-9
Louisiana Monroe (1994)------------------3-8
North Texas (1995)-------------------------2-9
Boise State (1996)-------------------------2-10
Idaho (1996)--------------------------------6-5
Central Florida (1996)---------------------5-6
Ala.-Birmingham (1996)-------------------5-6
Marshall (1997)---------------------------10-3
Buffalo (1999)------------------------------0-11
Middle Tennessee St. (1999)--------------3-8
South Florida (2001)-----------------------8-3
Troy (2001)---------------------------------7-4
Connecticut (2002)------------------------6-6
Florida International (2005)--------------5-6
Florida Atlantic (2005)--------------------2-9
Western Kentucky (2009)-----------------0-12
Old Dominion (2014)----------------------5-6
Georgia Southern (2014)-----------------8-3
Appalachian State (2014)----------------6-5

[moonshine]

Does anybody know how good Clemson is projected to be next year? I know it is early but do they have a lot of returning starters?

Not sure how up to date the depth chart was that I saw but...


Clemson Senior starters on:

Defense
6 of 9 along the DL including all the starters at DE & DT
2 LB's (MLB and WLB)
1 S

Offense
LG
RG
TE
1 RB
1 WR
QB (even though the freshman Watson has gotten some reps this season)
LS

Looks like they'll be replacing quite a bit on Defense which should bode well for App's O if they continue progressing.

[BeauFoster]

A little off topic, but this is as good a place as any to post this. Below are the records of all FCS move-ups in their first season of FBS.

-------------------------------------------First
-------------------------------------------season
Team (1st year at FBS)---------------record
Akron (1987)--------------------------------4-6
Louisiana Tech (1989)---------------------6-4-1
Nevada (1992)------------------------------7-5
Arkansas State (1992)---------------------2-9
Louisiana Monroe (1994)------------------3-8
North Texas (1995)-------------------------2-9
Boise State (1996)-------------------------2-10
Idaho (1996)--------------------------------6-5
Central Florida (1996)---------------------5-6
Ala.-Birmingham (1996)-------------------5-6
Marshall (1997)---------------------------10-3
Buffalo (1999)------------------------------0-11
Middle Tennessee St. (1999)--------------3-8
South Florida (2001)-----------------------8-3
Troy (2001)---------------------------------7-4
Connecticut (2002)------------------------6-6
Florida International (2005)--------------5-6
Florida Atlantic (2005)--------------------2-9
Western Kentucky (2009)-----------------0-12
Old Dominion (2014)----------------------5-6
Georgia Southern (2014)-----------------8-3
Appalachian State (2014)----------------6-5

I would have never guessed that over 40% (including App and GSU) of teams making the leap are at or above .500 in their first season. Of course, it has been 13 years since it last happened, so maybe that's why it seems so rare.

[GreatAppSt]

Rest assured and by the grace of god, we are not, have never been or ever will be anything Marshall!!

Yours always

G.A.S.



[JTApps1]

First, hats off to the App Admin guys petitioning for us to be bowl eligible. Worst thing NCAA can say is no.

Obviously we are not Marshall but we are probably going down the same path they did after leaving FCS. They had a lot of success and now are poised to possibly go undefeated and possibly land a New Year's Day bowl; however, a 2 loss Boise team is ranked higher and could snag that sweet bowl slot. Is the 2014 Marshall season an example of the best case scenario for teams like App? Go undefeated in a G5 conference but still not rank high enough to garner a significant bowl bid? Don't get me wrong, I realize we have to grow some before we can truely be on the "big dog level" but still. How long has Marshall played at this level?

Will we be happy to reach that level and stay there for years?

Boise played a much tougher schedule than Marshall this year so if the Herd gets left out they have only themselves to blame. Our future schedules are all much tougher than what Marshall played this year so any undefeated season would likely put us in the top spot.

On a side note, I think it is hilarious that so many anti-FBS people pointed to Marshall saying we don't want to end up like them, and now in our first year they are in the discussion for a New Years Day bowl.

I don't want to be anything like Marshall because they cheated to have that success. I don't see anything hilarious about not wanting to cheat.

I wasn't referring to their cheating, but rather that they had a few downs year until recently when Doc Holiday turned them around. These people were saying Marshall we don't want to be a no name FBS team like Marshall. I doubt they are saying that about Marshall or us at this point.

[JTApps1]

With the new playoff format in place and "seeding" being decided by the committee, does the committee make this decision as well- G5 bowl slot? What ranking makes the call?

My understanding is the same committee does the selection. They say it is simply the highest ranked G5 team so I assume they use the same criteria they use to rank the top 25. However, that becomes tricky when there are no Top 25 G5 teams since they don't publish their rankings beyond the top 25.

The Committee does actually release a new Top 25 each Tuesday along with their Top 10. ESPN shows all of the rankings, but they usually go through 25-11 quickly.

[TheMoody1]

QB (even though the freshman Watson has gotten some reps this season)

Watson became the starter early in the season but has had limited playing time due to injury. If he gets healthy we will have our hands full with that guy.

[JTApps1]

Does anybody know how good Clemson is projected to be next year? I know it is early but do they have a lot of returning starters?

Not sure how up to date the depth chart was that I saw but...


Clemson Senior starters on:

Defense
6 of 9 along the DL including all the starters at DE & DT
2 LB's (MLB and WLB)
1 S

Offense
LG
RG
TE
1 RB
1 WR
QB (even though the freshman Watson has gotten some reps this season)
LS

Looks like they'll be replacing quite a bit on Defense which should bode well for App's O if they continue progressing.

I was talking to a buddy of mine who is a big Clemson fan, and they are very excited about their offense for next year, but very concerned about losing most everyone on the defense.

He still predicted a 4 TD win for the Tigers though. I just smiled and said ok... we'll see about that in Sept.

[moonshine]

Watson became the starter early in the season but has had limited playing time due to injury. If he gets healthy we will have our hands full with that guy.

That's what I thought but wasn't 100% sure as I haven't really kept up with Clemson. Watson had an outstanding game against UNC but I just went back and watched the highlights and at least 4 of his 6 TD passes were due to blown coverage. Hopefully Woody can come up with a good gameplan to keep him in check.

[hapapp]

Does anybody know how good Clemson is projected to be next year? I know it is early but do they have a lot of returning starters?

Can we play Saturday's game first?

[EastHallApp]

QB (even though the freshman Watson has gotten some reps this season)

Watson became the starter early in the season but has had limited playing time due to injury. If he gets healthy we will have our hands full with that guy.

Watson alone might be enough to make them preseason top 10. That kid is spectacular.

[TheMoody1]

QB (even though the freshman Watson has gotten some reps this season)

Watson became the starter early in the season but has had limited playing time due to injury. If he gets healthy we will have our hands full with that guy.

Watson alone might be enough to make them preseason top 10. That kid is spectacular.

My son is at Clemson so I have seen them play a few times this year. He is definitely Armanti-esque.

[AppSt94]

QB (even though the freshman Watson has gotten some reps this season)

Watson became the starter early in the season but has had limited playing time due to injury. If he gets healthy we will have our hands full with that guy.

Watson alone might be enough to make them preseason top 10. That kid is spectacular.

My son is at Clemson so I have seen them play a few times this year. He is definitely Armanti-esque.

Well then can someone get this kid a summer job cutting grass?

[appvette]

Does anybody know how good Clemson is projected to be next year? I know it is early but do they have a lot of returning starters?

Can we play Saturday's game first?

Nope we prefer to talk about it now. The subject of this thread is our potential best bowl. With us ineligible this year, the Idaho game is irrelevant to this discussion.