Top 25 Watch (real thread)

[ericsaid]

The negativity is coming from new fans who've never experienced the adversity. I'm 35 and realistically I've only experienced 2 or 3 bad seasons in my App State fandom. The 2003 (?) season - we went undefeated at home but winless on the road - and the FBS transition years. Others around here have endured uh-LOT more tough times.

Best way to deal with it is to explain it to them, not rip them apart for having lofty expectations. Turn those fair weather fans into all-terrain fans.

That season was brutal. I think you and I graduated same class

I'm older than both of you guys by a few years. I have seen us get beat by an 0-10 VMI, upset at home by ETSU (who was bad at the time), I went to those road games when we were a low seed and beat Troy down there after losing to them at home, I went to Boise State loss, UNH loss, and have seen the Sparky Woods era.

That 2003 season was very brutal. We were so up and down. The FBS transition years were tough times but yes we have seen rough and great years prior to that time period.

I'm trying not to be looked at as bias towards us when I talk to people. I look at teams and try to measure could we beat them or not. I feel like to truly be a top 25 team in the SBC you need to be a level above them all and really can't lose games to unranked G5 teams. That's why I'm not sure anyone but Cincy is a top 25 team from G5 level this year. I do feel like when healthy it would be 50/50 for us against just about every team from 19-35 range right now. I could see us beating ULL by 2 TDs at home or lose to them by 2 TDs.

We are about to go through a really tough stretch without Sutton and I am hopeful that we can overcome it and still look good. If we can win the next two and destroy CUSA in our bowl game then I will feel like we are still top 25 caliber without our best player. I'm just hesitant that losing Sutton will effect us more than people think. There are many times when a big time player goes down and teams then stop shifting focus to one, which gives others chances. I'm hopeful we can spread the ball out and really keep teams guessing.

This stretch without Sutton will tell us a lot about the heart of this group and the ability of our coaches. My guess is that if we do finish 13-1 we will be around 17-20 in the polls but these next 3 games are going to be super tough. One bit of good news is that we get Harrington back and hopefully Vic Johnson and others will be 100% for the bowl game.

You had a good post going but then you totally discredited yourself by saying Cinci is the only top 25 g5 team.

I did not say they are the only one. I said I'm not sure if there is anyone else I would put there. I have 2 others besides us and Cincy but I feel like the next 2 weeks will confirm or drop them for good for me. Memphis has a chance to answer the question along with Boise State and Navy down the stretch. Outside of Cincy I have not seen anyone go undefeated against G5 teams.

If I had to vote for the top 25 today here is how mine would look. I'm not as kind to the G5 level as many writers. Just being 9-2 or 10-1 does not impress me. There are 6-5 and even a 5-6 team from P5 level that would beat 90% of the G5 teams IMO.

I have Boise State hanging by a thread because I don't really think they would beat us. If they lose or don't look very good in their next 2 games I'm going to drop them out for sure. It would be nice to see Boise, App, Cincy, and Memphis all face one of these 7-4 or 8-3 P5 teams if they aren't in the NY6. I would love to see how 2-4 on that list stack up with those P5s in the 18-28 range.

My top 25 with my top 10 teams just outside of it below.

1. LSU 11-0
2. Ohio State 11-0
3. Clemson 11-0
4. Georgia 10-1
5. Alabama 10-1
6. Oklahoma 10-1
7. Florida 9-2
8. Utah 10-1
9. Minnesota 10-1
10. Wisconsin 9-2
11. Auburn 8-3
12. Penn State 9-2
13. Michigan 9-2
14. Baylor 10-1
15. Oregon 9-2
16. Iowa 8-3
17. Notre Dame 9-2
18. Oklahoma State 8-3
19. Virginia Tech 8-3
20. Cincinnati 10-1
21. Boise State 10-1
22. Iowa State 7-4
23. Southern California 8-4
24. Appalachian State 10-1
25. Memphis 10-1

My top 10 teams just outside of the top 25 for me.

Texas A&M 7-4
Virginia 8-3
Wake Forest 8-3
Navy 8-2
SMU 9-2
TCU 5-6
Pittsburgh 7-4
Texas 6-5
Kansas State 7-4
Louisville 7-4

You have Cincy in front of Memphis? I have a sneaky feeling Memphis could win that game by 15+.

However, if Cincinnati manages to beat Memphis, and Navy wins out, they could win the conference championship game. Won't matter though because Boise State isn't losing this week or the MWC Championship game.

[Black Saturday]

Though we may not win the NY6 race, there is a chance we could be the top ranked G5 at the end of the season if we win the NO Bowl. 13-1 with two P5 wins, two wins over UL, and a win over which conference USA team that's not afraid to play us should put us close to the 15-18 range.

Drink and company have to work on the way the team is coming out of the blocks against LaLa, we cant sleepwalk and get behind a couple of scores and let them take the air out of the ball.

[ah59396]

Though we may not win the NY6 race, there is a chance we could be the top ranked G5 at the end of the season if we win the NO Bowl. 13-1 with two P5 wins, two wins over UL, and a win over which conference USA team that's not afraid to play us should put us close to the 15-18 range.

Drink and company have to work on the way the team is coming out of the blocks against LaLa, we cant sleepwalk and get behind a couple of scores and let them take the air out of the ball.

For whatever reason, I’m more worried about Troy than LaLa. We’ve shown time and time again we play at the level of our competition.

The team that beat USC/UNC/LaLa looks so vastly different than the one that played UNCC/Texas State/Coastal. If I had one critique for the coaching staff so far this year, it’s that. Consistency in play versus opponent regardless of caliber.

Troy just got embarrassed, I expect them to give us their absolute best shot.

[NattyBumppo'sRevenge]

Though we may not win the NY6 race, there is a chance we could be the top ranked G5 at the end of the season if we win the NO Bowl. 13-1 with two P5 wins, two wins over UL, and a win over which conference USA team that's not afraid to play us should put us close to the 15-18 range.

Drink and company have to work on the way the team is coming out of the blocks against LaLa, we cant sleepwalk and get behind a couple of scores and let them take the air out of the ball.

For whatever reason, I’m more worried about Troy than LaLa. We’ve shown time and time again we play at the level of our competition.

The team that beat USC/UNC/LaLa looks so vastly different than the one that played UNCC/Texas State/Coastal. If I had one critique for the coaching staff so far this year, it’s that. Consistency in play versus opponent regardless of caliber.

Troy just got embarrassed, I expect them to give us their absolute best shot.

And they aren't going to be bowl eligible this season, so this is their bowl game...at their house.

[Black Saturday]

Though we may not win the NY6 race, there is a chance we could be the top ranked G5 at the end of the season if we win the NO Bowl. 13-1 with two P5 wins, two wins over UL, and a win over which conference USA team that's not afraid to play us should put us close to the 15-18 range.

Drink and company have to work on the way the team is coming out of the blocks against LaLa, we cant sleepwalk and get behind a couple of scores and let them take the air out of the ball.

For whatever reason, I’m more worried about Troy than LaLa. We’ve shown time and time again we play at the level of our competition.

The team that beat USC/UNC/LaLa looks so vastly different than the one that played UNCC/Texas State/Coastal. If I had one critique for the coaching staff so far this year, it’s that. Consistency in play versus opponent regardless of caliber.

Troy just got embarrassed, I expect them to give us their absolute best shot.

You got that right.

[hapapp]

Though we may not win the NY6 race, there is a chance we could be the top ranked G5 at the end of the season if we win the NO Bowl. 13-1 with two P5 wins, two wins over UL, and a win over which conference USA team that's not afraid to play us should put us close to the 15-18 range.

Drink and company have to work on the way the team is coming out of the blocks against LaLa, we cant sleepwalk and get behind a couple of scores and let them take the air out of the ball.

For whatever reason, I’m more worried about Troy than LaLa. We’ve shown time and time again we play at the level of our competition.

The team that beat USC/UNC/LaLa looks so vastly different than the one that played UNCC/Texas State/Coastal. If I had one critique for the coaching staff so far this year, it’s that. Consistency in play versus opponent regardless of caliber.

Troy just got embarrassed, I expect them to give us their absolute best shot.

And they aren't going to be bowl eligible this season, so this is their bowl game...at their house.

They're 5-6 at this point. If they win Saturday, is there something that keeps from being bowl eligible?

[NattyBumppo'sRevenge]

Though we may not win the NY6 race, there is a chance we could be the top ranked G5 at the end of the season if we win the NO Bowl. 13-1 with two P5 wins, two wins over UL, and a win over which conference USA team that's not afraid to play us should put us close to the 15-18 range.

Drink and company have to work on the way the team is coming out of the blocks against LaLa, we cant sleepwalk and get behind a couple of scores and let them take the air out of the ball.

For whatever reason, I’m more worried about Troy than LaLa. We’ve shown time and time again we play at the level of our competition.

The team that beat USC/UNC/LaLa looks so vastly different than the one that played UNCC/Texas State/Coastal. If I had one critique for the coaching staff so far this year, it’s that. Consistency in play versus opponent regardless of caliber.

Troy just got embarrassed, I expect them to give us their absolute best shot.

And they aren't going to be bowl eligible this season, so this is their bowl game...at their house.

They're 5-6 at this point. If they win Saturday, is there something that keeps from being bowl eligible?

I guess you could say this is a catch 22. If they lose this Friday, it will have been their bowl game. If they win, they get a bowl game.

[biggie]

Any word on C Reed? This would be another major loss.

Reed out this week from Drink on weekly conf.

[AppStFan1]

That season was brutal. I think you and I graduated same class

I'm older than both of you guys by a few years. I have seen us get beat by an 0-10 VMI, upset at home by ETSU (who was bad at the time), I went to those road games when we were a low seed and beat Troy down there after losing to them at home, I went to Boise State loss, UNH loss, and have seen the Sparky Woods era.

That 2003 season was very brutal. We were so up and down. The FBS transition years were tough times but yes we have seen rough and great years prior to that time period.

I'm trying not to be looked at as bias towards us when I talk to people. I look at teams and try to measure could we beat them or not. I feel like to truly be a top 25 team in the SBC you need to be a level above them all and really can't lose games to unranked G5 teams. That's why I'm not sure anyone but Cincy is a top 25 team from G5 level this year. I do feel like when healthy it would be 50/50 for us against just about every team from 19-35 range right now. I could see us beating ULL by 2 TDs at home or lose to them by 2 TDs.

We are about to go through a really tough stretch without Sutton and I am hopeful that we can overcome it and still look good. If we can win the next two and destroy CUSA in our bowl game then I will feel like we are still top 25 caliber without our best player. I'm just hesitant that losing Sutton will effect us more than people think. There are many times when a big time player goes down and teams then stop shifting focus to one, which gives others chances. I'm hopeful we can spread the ball out and really keep teams guessing.

This stretch without Sutton will tell us a lot about the heart of this group and the ability of our coaches. My guess is that if we do finish 13-1 we will be around 17-20 in the polls but these next 3 games are going to be super tough. One bit of good news is that we get Harrington back and hopefully Vic Johnson and others will be 100% for the bowl game.

You had a good post going but then you totally discredited yourself by saying Cinci is the only top 25 g5 team.

I did not say they are the only one. I said I'm not sure if there is anyone else I would put there. I have 2 others besides us and Cincy but I feel like the next 2 weeks will confirm or drop them for good for me. Memphis has a chance to answer the question along with Boise State and Navy down the stretch. Outside of Cincy I have not seen anyone go undefeated against G5 teams.

If I had to vote for the top 25 today here is how mine would look. I'm not as kind to the G5 level as many writers. Just being 9-2 or 10-1 does not impress me. There are 6-5 and even a 5-6 team from P5 level that would beat 90% of the G5 teams IMO.

I have Boise State hanging by a thread because I don't really think they would beat us. If they lose or don't look very good in their next 2 games I'm going to drop them out for sure. It would be nice to see Boise, App, Cincy, and Memphis all face one of these 7-4 or 8-3 P5 teams if they aren't in the NY6. I would love to see how 2-4 on that list stack up with those P5s in the 18-28 range.

My top 25 with my top 10 teams just outside of it below.

1. LSU 11-0
2. Ohio State 11-0
3. Clemson 11-0
4. Georgia 10-1
5. Alabama 10-1
6. Oklahoma 10-1
7. Florida 9-2
8. Utah 10-1
9. Minnesota 10-1
10. Wisconsin 9-2
11. Auburn 8-3
12. Penn State 9-2
13. Michigan 9-2
14. Baylor 10-1
15. Oregon 9-2
16. Iowa 8-3
17. Notre Dame 9-2
18. Oklahoma State 8-3
19. Virginia Tech 8-3
20. Cincinnati 10-1
21. Boise State 10-1
22. Iowa State 7-4
23. Southern California 8-4
24. Appalachian State 10-1
25. Memphis 10-1

My top 10 teams just outside of the top 25 for me.

Texas A&M 7-4
Virginia 8-3
Wake Forest 8-3
Navy 8-2
SMU 9-2
TCU 5-6
Pittsburgh 7-4
Texas 6-5
Kansas State 7-4
Louisville 7-4

You have Cincy in front of Memphis? I have a sneaky feeling Memphis could win that game by 15+.

However, if Cincinnati manages to beat Memphis, and Navy wins out, they could win the conference championship game. Won't matter though because Boise State isn't losing this week or the MWC Championship game.

I do for now but I would not be shocked if you are right. If the winner of that game wins in a blowout think the loser should fall out but probably just drops to 24-25 range.

Both Cincy and Memphis may be better than us but I'm not sold that they are. I could see games against them go either way. At times they impress me greatly and at others I think they are very beatable just as our team does.

I don't expect Boise State to lose. They are looking better now than they did a month ago but you never know. Anyone can beat anyone on any given Saturday.

[Rick83]

It'll be interesting to see where we are tonight in the CFP rankings. This was interesting in the Troy game notes:

"Among the Group of Five teams currently ranked in the College Football Playoff Top 25, App State is the only one with two wins over P5 teams (both on the road), two wins over ESPN FPI top 40 teams or three road wins over ESPN FPI top 50 teams (none of the others have two road wins over ESPN FPI top 50 teams)."