Top 25 Preseason Ranking for 2019?

[Rick83]

So, we're going to be close to, if not in, the final top 25 ranking for 2018, and I'm only referring to the AP poll here. Assuming we don't have any more players transfer out, what are our chances for starting the 2019 season ranked? And if we're not ranked preseason, at what point would be be ranked? If we go undefeated through the UNC game on Sept 21st?
My guess is that we'll be 25th preseason and will move up throughout the season as we take down opponents including the Tar Heels and the Gamecocks...we'll in essence be challenging UCF as the top G5 team in the country...assuming we stay healthy in key positions.

Join a better conference....one with tough competition every week and then think about being ranked. Delusional to think that App will ever sustain a ranking in the Top 25 with the Boone market and Sun Belt Conference.

You are very right. We can get in there but the only way to really sustain is either go to a better league or be undefeated every year, with a P5 win included. SBC is not good enough to have losses and still be ranked. 99% of our fans who think we SHOULD be ranked right now would not feel that way if we were still in FCS and we were debating on Georgia Southern or Coastal Carolina with our same resume. We needed to go undefeated to sustain a ranking.

So you think that if we had not lost to Ga Southern and had won out after the Penn State OT loss that we would've dropped out of the Top 25? I respectfully disagree, we were #25 and would have moved a bit higher as we continued to win.

[AppStFan1]

We've been a fixture in the "also receiving votes" area this year. If we know anything it's that the voters follow old habits by giving credit to teams that have a history. So now that we've started receiving votes it's easier for voters to write our name down again. I imagine that we'll be in the 30-35 range of "also receiving votes" in the preseason Coaches poll and 35-40 in the AP. The Coaches poll seems to be friendlier to G5 teams earlier in the season. I imagine that if we see the typical upheaval with the brand-name teams early on then we'll be ranked if we're undefeated after the UNC game.

I'm with you 100% on this. We have to become a brand name and beating P5 teams would help that. Boise State always finds their name in the mix because they are known. How did they get known? They beat Oklahoma in a huge upset. We have come close on many upsets but close only counts in horseshoes and grenades. We have to WIN the upset. Look at the Michigan game. We won 3 FCS national titles and yet the Michigan win is all people talk about. We have to actually get the W or else we can't complain when we aren't given respect. Respect has to be earned.

[appvette]

I want to be ranked at the end of the season.

That is the only time it matters!

I disagree. Being ranked all year is much better than just in the final poll and will likely result in a higher (numerically lower) final poll

Well yes , of course,but that's not where we are as a program.Yet.I want to be in the playoff and beat Alabama for the title.But realistically , anytime in the near future ,end the year in the top 25 or perhaps top 20 ,would be a huge accomplishment.

The statement I disagreed with was that end of year rankings are the only ones that matter. I'm saying rankings throughout the season are important too. I never claimed anything about what's realistic.

[AppStFan1]

So, we're going to be close to, if not in, the final top 25 ranking for 2018, and I'm only referring to the AP poll here. Assuming we don't have any more players transfer out, what are our chances for starting the 2019 season ranked? And if we're not ranked preseason, at what point would be be ranked? If we go undefeated through the UNC game on Sept 21st?
My guess is that we'll be 25th preseason and will move up throughout the season as we take down opponents including the Tar Heels and the Gamecocks...we'll in essence be challenging UCF as the top G5 team in the country...assuming we stay healthy in key positions.

Join a better conference....one with tough competition every week and then think about being ranked. Delusional to think that App will ever sustain a ranking in the Top 25 with the Boone market and Sun Belt Conference.

You are very right. We can get in there but the only way to really sustain is either go to a better league or be undefeated every year, with a P5 win included. SBC is not good enough to have losses and still be ranked. 99% of our fans who think we SHOULD be ranked right now would not feel that way if we were still in FCS and we were debating on Georgia Southern or Coastal Carolina with our same resume. We needed to go undefeated to sustain a ranking.

So you think that if we had not lost to Ga Southern and had won out after the Penn State OT loss that we would've dropped out of the Top 25? I respectfully disagree, we were #25 and would have moved a bit higher as we continued to win.

Of course we would have sustained our ranking and moved up but we would not have moved up very much. I think the 25-30 range is where we belong right now. Next year we could be a legit top 20 but must beat those teams. If we beat an unranked MTSU by 30 while ranked 21 and the 22, 23, and 24 teams pull upsets over teams in the top 15 then guess what... they would all pass us in the rankings because of their win.

I was saying we could not sustain a ranking every year without actually being some P5 teams because those RV P5 teams who beat others like them or ranked above them would pass us by. We have a ceiling of where we can be coming from the SBC unless we have wins over ranked or RV teams.

We would not have vaulted up to 15 had we beat GSU though. Go look at those G5 teams and they have a certain ceiling. UCF could never crack the top 6 of the rankings this year and those MWC teams have respect but they still have a ceiling. You see 3 of them in the 20-25 range but the voters will never put 3 of them in the top 15. My guess is we would be right behind Army and Fresno State in the final poll if we had beat Georgia Southern.

[AppStFan1]

I want to be ranked at the end of the season.

That is the only time it matters!

I disagree. Being ranked all year is much better than just in the final poll and will likely result in a higher (numerically lower) final poll

Well yes , of course,but that's not where we are as a program.Yet.I want to be in the playoff and beat Alabama for the title.But realistically , anytime in the near future ,end the year in the top 25 or perhaps top 20 ,would be a huge accomplishment.

The statement I disagreed with was that end of year rankings are the only ones that matter. I'm saying rankings throughout the season are important too. I never claimed anything about what's realistic.

Of course I want to be ranked in the preseason and every week after but if you have a choice of being ranked 20th in preseason but lose 3 games or not be ranked and finish undefeated with a top 20 ranking I would rather take the end of year ranking. Anytime we are ranked helps with name recognition but getting ranked low and then losing the very next week every time will stain us as a team not ready and many voters will stop ranking us if we keep it up. We have to win those games when ranked. I really don't care about the preseason rankings as much as I care about finishing there and sustaining it for majority of the season.

[Rick83]

So, we're going to be close to, if not in, the final top 25 ranking for 2018, and I'm only referring to the AP poll here. Assuming we don't have any more players transfer out, what are our chances for starting the 2019 season ranked? And if we're not ranked preseason, at what point would be be ranked? If we go undefeated through the UNC game on Sept 21st?
My guess is that we'll be 25th preseason and will move up throughout the season as we take down opponents including the Tar Heels and the Gamecocks...we'll in essence be challenging UCF as the top G5 team in the country...assuming we stay healthy in key positions.

Join a better conference....one with tough competition every week and then think about being ranked. Delusional to think that App will ever sustain a ranking in the Top 25 with the Boone market and Sun Belt Conference.

You are very right. We can get in there but the only way to really sustain is either go to a better league or be undefeated every year, with a P5 win included. SBC is not good enough to have losses and still be ranked. 99% of our fans who think we SHOULD be ranked right now would not feel that way if we were still in FCS and we were debating on Georgia Southern or Coastal Carolina with our same resume. We needed to go undefeated to sustain a ranking.

So you think that if we had not lost to Ga Southern and had won out after the Penn State OT loss that we would've dropped out of the Top 25? I respectfully disagree, we were #25 and would have moved a bit higher as we continued to win.

Of course we would have sustained our ranking and moved up but we would not have moved up very much. I think the 25-30 range is where we belong right now. Next year we could be a legit top 20 but must beat those teams. If we beat an unranked MTSU by 30 while ranked 21 and the 22, 23, and 24 teams pull upsets over teams in the top 15 then guess what... they would all pass us in the rankings because of their win.

I was saying we could not sustain a ranking every year without actually being some P5 teams because those RV P5 teams who beat others like them or ranked above them would pass us by. We have a ceiling of where we can be coming from the SBC unless we have wins over ranked or RV teams.

We would not have vaulted up to 15 had we beat GSU though. Go look at those G5 teams and they have a certain ceiling. UCF could never crack the top 6 of the rankings this year and those MWC teams have respect but they still have a ceiling. You see 3 of them in the 20-25 range but the voters will never put 3 of them in the top 15. My guess is we would be right behind Army and Fresno State in the final poll if we had beat Georgia Southern.

I can't tell if you're contradicting your own post, changing your position, or if you don't realize that being 24th or 25th means you're in the Top 25...

[NattyBumppo'sRevenge]

She's right, let's join the SEC and move out of Boone. Great idea!!!

[AppStFan1]

Join a better conference....one with tough competition every week and then think about being ranked. Delusional to think that App will ever sustain a ranking in the Top 25 with the Boone market and Sun Belt Conference.

You are very right. We can get in there but the only way to really sustain and move up is either go to a better league or be undefeated every year, with a P5 win something that would help. SBC is not good enough to have losses and still be ranked. 99% of our fans who think we SHOULD be ranked right now would not feel that way if we were still in FCS and we were debating on Georgia Southern or Coastal Carolina with our same resume. We needed to go undefeated to sustain a ranking.

So you think that if we had not lost to Ga Southern and had won out after the Penn State OT loss that we would've dropped out of the Top 25? I respectfully disagree, we were #25 and would have moved a bit higher as we continued to win.

Of course we would have sustained our ranking and moved up but we would not have moved up very much. I think the 25-30 range is where we belong right now. Next year we could be a legit top 20 but must beat those teams. If we beat an unranked MTSU by 30 while ranked 21 and the 22, 23, and 24 teams pull upsets over teams in the top 15 then guess what... they would all pass us in the rankings because of their win.

I was saying we could not sustain a ranking every year without actually being some P5 teams because those RV P5 teams who beat others like them or ranked above them would pass us by. We have a ceiling of where we can be coming from the SBC unless we have wins over ranked or RV teams.

We would not have vaulted up to 15 had we beat GSU though. Go look at those G5 teams and they have a certain ceiling. UCF could never crack the top 6 of the rankings this year and those MWC teams have respect but they still have a ceiling. You see 3 of them in the 20-25 range but the voters will never put 3 of them in the top 15. My guess is we would be right behind Army and Fresno State in the final poll if we had beat Georgia Southern.

I can't tell if you're contradicting your own post, changing your position, or if you don't realize that being 24th or 25th means you're in the Top 25...

My point is that yes we would have remained ranked but we were not going to move up a lot. We will only go so high being in the SBC. If we go undefeated next year we likely end up around 15 but if we have just 1 loss to say SC and they are a 7 win team and everyone else we beat is a losing team or G5 then I bet we are still playing this game of hoping certain teams lose to get back in. If a P5 team ranked 18 loses a close game to another P5 they may drop to 24-26 but if we are ranked 18 and lose to a SBC team then we will, and SHOULD, drop out completely and be lucky to keep even 10 votes.

I'm glad we were ranked once but next year I won't be happy being 25 just 1-2 weeks. I want to get in, sustain, and move up. I just know that being in the SBC there is a limit to how far up we can go unless we have some P5 ranked teams on our schedule and beat them.

[Rick83]

What threw me was your agreeing with the Tennessee fan, "Football Chick," that it's delusional to think that we would've expected to maintain a Top 25 ranking being in the Sun Belt. It was totally realistic and close to happening this past season, and to not just maintain it at #25, but to move up some as a ton of teams just ahead of us lost that same weekend...still confused a bit...but we're cool...

[AppStFan1]

The longer App is ranked during the season, the more the brand grows. Every top 25 team gets their game highlights shown on the recap shows (or mostly), which is beneficial. I want App to be ranked all day, every day.

Me too but if you are asking would I rather be a preseason ranked team who doesn't live up to expectations or a team who surprises and enters the poll during the season and finishes high then I rather be the ladder.

Of course we all want to be ranked as much as possible and as high as possible but I'll take disrespect in week 1 if we have the respect towards the end of the season.

[AppStFan1]

What threw me was your agreeing with the Tennessee fan, "Football Chick," that it's delusional to think that we would've expected to maintain a Top 25 ranking being in the Sun Belt. It was totally realistic and close to happening this past season, and to not just maintain it at #25, but to move up some as a ton of teams just ahead of us lost that same weekend...still confused a bit...but we're cool...

We would have to go undefeated or be 11-1 EVERY year to maintain that. If we lose SBC games we can't maintain it and honestly if we were even ranked 16th for 3 straight weeks and then lose to a 4-win Coastal Carolina or something not only would we drop we would fall completely out.

In the SEC you can lose a game and still get votes but we can't lose conference games and maintain them. Of course if we win every game or maybe just lose one every couple years we can maintain but that is hard to do. When you are in the P5 you have a little more wiggle room. Georgia would have to lose like 3 straight games after the Texas loss just to completely fall out. App could have been 15th and lost to MTSU by 7 and then not only fall out but likely lose all our votes.

We outgrew the SoCon and in the next 5-6 years I predict we will have outgrown the SBC and really be begging to move to AAC or something if things keep going the way they are.

Here are some ways in which our world has changed and will not go back.

1. Not we will have players who THINK they should go pro early and thus we are likely to see this happen with Duck every year or at least every 2 years or so. Personally I was going to be more scared next year with 2 who could potentially go early because there is no doubt Evans and Sutton have better physical tools. All 3 are very good players though.

2. We are going to lose coaches because coaches want money and App is just not able to pay out the big money to keep them.

3. Our rankings are much more volatile. In the past in FCS we had to lose several games to lose all of our votes because our league was a top dawg and we had a ton of name value. We have pretty good name value for a G5 but we are still a G5 and one loss to anyone who is not a P5 ranked team or G5 ranked team is going to completely cost us all our votes whereas before we did not have to worry about that.

4. We will always see players who commit early but decommit when a P5 offers because we are getting much better players than we ever have before.

5. One other way it has changed is that boosters really must pay more to YOSEF and tickets are now higher and will only go up more being in the FBS.

These are new ways of life that everyone must realize and get use to.

[HighlandsApp]

We climbed back up in the S&P+ computer model rankings

https://www.sbnation.com/college-footba ... ll-playoff

[APPRIDE]

We climbed back up in the S&P+ computer model rankings

https://www.sbnation.com/college-footba ... ll-playoff

thanks for posting...went in and waz scrolling amongst the usual suspects in the 20-30 range and couldn’t find us...scrolled down even more & thought this is odd...then scrolled way up and that’s sum fine company were keeping up there! I like this computer ranking stuff!

[Rick83]

We climbed back up in the S&P+ computer model rankings

https://www.sbnation.com/college-footba ... ll-playoff

Wow, thanks! S&P rank of 11 and the 3rd highest G5...behind Fresno St and UCF but neither of them have much of a margin over our rating. Pretty impressive.

[Rick83]

We climbed back up in the S&P+ computer model rankings

https://www.sbnation.com/college-footba ... ll-playoff

Wow, thanks! S&P rank of 11 and the 3rd highest G5...behind Fresno St and UCF but neither of them have much of a margin over our rating. Pretty impressive.

Also impressive (sarcasm)...Georgia Southern comes in at 63rd!

[AppStFan1]

We climbed back up in the S&P+ computer model rankings

https://www.sbnation.com/college-footba ... ll-playoff

This is why I don't put much stock into computers. Sagarin is the best and they have some crazy stuff in there. No way NDSU is a top 20 team, Texas should be higher, Miss St should be lower, and there are many others that just don't make sense based on what we know for sure.

No way we are that high right now. We are ahead of Penn State who we lost to and we did not beat anyone in the top 50. Not sure how they come up with this?

If I am a college student or a player or even in the support staff this is super cool to see but the coaches know that is not legit and any responsible fan knows we should not be that high. Had we beat Penn State and Georgia Southern then I would buy it.

[appstatealum]

We climbed back up in the S&P+ computer model rankings

https://www.sbnation.com/college-footba ... ll-playoff

This is why I don't put much stock into computers. Sagarin is the best and they have some crazy stuff in there. No way NDSU is a top 20 team, Texas should be higher, Miss St should be lower, and there are many others that just don't make sense based on what we know for sure.

No way we are that high right now. We are ahead of Penn State who we lost to and we did not beat anyone in the top 50. Not sure how they come up with this?

If I am a college student or a player or even in the support staff this is super cool to see but the coaches know that is not legit and any responsible fan knows we should not be that high. Had we beat Penn State and Georgia Southern then I would buy it.

Well you just took a fresh dump on our party......

[NattyBumppo'sRevenge]

We climbed back up in the S&P+ computer model rankings

https://www.sbnation.com/college-footba ... ll-playoff

This is why I don't put much stock into computers. Sagarin is the best and they have some crazy stuff in there. No way NDSU is a top 20 team, Texas should be higher, Miss St should be lower, and there are many others that just don't make sense based on what we know for sure.

No way we are that high right now. We are ahead of Penn State who we lost to and we did not beat anyone in the top 50. Not sure how they come up with this?

If I am a college student or a player or even in the support staff this is super cool to see but the coaches know that is not legit and any responsible fan knows we should not be that high. Had we beat Penn State and Georgia Southern then I would buy it.

Well you just took a fresh dump on our party......

He also agreed with the Tennessee chick with 6 posts on YC that said App fans were delusional to think we could be consistently a top 25 partially because we are in the Boone market. He needs a bidet.

[Rick83]

We climbed back up in the S&P+ computer model rankings

https://www.sbnation.com/college-footba ... ll-playoff

This is why I don't put much stock into computers. Sagarin is the best and they have some crazy stuff in there. No way NDSU is a top 20 team, Texas should be higher, Miss St should be lower, and there are many others that just don't make sense based on what we know for sure.

No way we are that high right now. We are ahead of Penn State who we lost to and we did not beat anyone in the top 50. Not sure how they come up with this?

If I am a college student or a player or even in the support staff this is super cool to see but the coaches know that is not legit and any responsible fan knows we should not be that high. Had we beat Penn State and Georgia Southern then I would buy it.

I don't think the S&P is the kind of poll you're thinking of. It's an objective, data-driven analysis of a team's effectiveness or efficiency. I personally love any kind of analysis that shows App that high in the company of the elite teams in the country. I've already seen this pop up on Facebook and it's a positive thing for our program.

[Rick83]

We climbed back up in the S&P+ computer model rankings

https://www.sbnation.com/college-footba ... ll-playoff

This is why I don't put much stock into computers. Sagarin is the best and they have some crazy stuff in there. No way NDSU is a top 20 team, Texas should be higher, Miss St should be lower, and there are many others that just don't make sense based on what we know for sure.

No way we are that high right now. We are ahead of Penn State who we lost to and we did not beat anyone in the top 50. Not sure how they come up with this?

If I am a college student or a player or even in the support staff this is super cool to see but the coaches know that is not legit and any responsible fan knows we should not be that high. Had we beat Penn State and Georgia Southern then I would buy it.

Well you just took a fresh dump on our party......

He also agreed with the Tennessee chick with 6 posts on YC that said App fans were delusional to think we could be consistently a top 25 partially because we are in the Boone market. He needs a bidet.

I'm staying in the delusional camp...been called far worse..