I was able to read the article even though I'm not an ESPN+ subscriber.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/i ... on-preview

Oh I like this sentence, even though I hate the G5/P5 distinction..

"Thanks both to the top-20 potential of Coastal Carolina and App State and the top-75 or so potential of everyone else, the East grades out as the single best division in the Group of Five heading into 2021"

Interesting that in the Troy preview we are one of their likely losses and in our preview they are a toss up

appmaj wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 13, 2021 10:11 am

Interesting that in the Troy preview we are one of their likely losses and in our preview they are a toss up

Good catch.

That game is right at the 65/35 cutoff between "likely" and toss-up. Guess he couldn't decide which way to categorize it.

Pretty good article. The guy actually does some digging on teams and doesn't just gloss over like most G5 stories. He is educated enough on us to realize how close we could have been to an undefeated season and openly wonders if pay back will be on this team's mind. Good read.

Not sure I follow the below. UL preview says 10-2 (7-1) in conference, however GS would be best in West. With that said, I do like the synopsis of our season. Even with a bland offense, we were still close to a special season above the actual results which were actually pretty good.
According to SP+, the worst team in the Sun Belt East -- in this case, Georgia Southern -- would be the best team in the West. That tells you most of what you need to know about the current balance of power in #FunBelt country.

Yeah , he screwed that up. Otherwise entertaining

ArmantiWaterSafety wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 13, 2021 10:00 am

Oh I like this sentence, even though I hate the G5/P5 distinction..

"Thanks both to the top-20 potential of Coastal Carolina and App State and the top-75 or so potential of everyone else, the East grades out as the single best division in the Group of Five heading into 2021"

So, probably better than the Pac-12 lol

it wouldn't let me read. so it says we should have a double digit win season?

Neer86 wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 13, 2021 3:13 pm

it wouldn't let me read. so it says we should have a double digit win season?

From the article:

Projected record: 9-3 (6-2)

Likely wins*: ULM (98% win probability), Elon (97%), South Alabama (95%), Georgia Southern (86%), Marshall (84%), at Arkansas State (84%), vs. East Carolina (83%), at Georgia State (73%)

Relative tossups: at Troy (65%), Coastal Carolina (57%)

Likely losses: at Louisiana (35%), at Miami (21%)

Road trips to Miami, Louisiana and Troy could prevent a run at 12 wins, but 2020 (he means 2021) could still be outstanding if a new QB sticks.

Marshall at 84%, did they lose a lot?

This could be our best home schedule without a P5 on it ever.

Saint3333 wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 13, 2021 3:43 pm

Marshall at 84%, did they lose a lot?

This could be our best home schedule without a P5 on it ever.

Had to look it up. But new coach and missing best RB and LB. Doesn’t sound too bad for them to fall that much.

Let's face it, we play in the Sun Beast.

Tbachelor, what he said is the GS would be 2nd in the West..... not first. I have followed Bill Connolly for several years. He's a real stat guy. I also liked the fact that somebody recognizes how good the East division is and also the West division is pretty average. As has been mentioned, it is pretty cool to say that the East division is the best division in G5.

Coastal’s schedule is the worst i’ve seen, their SOS is going to be bad. Kansas, UMass, ulm, wow, thise 3 combined might not win a game. Id be pissed to have that talent coming back and not be able to showcase it. The shame.

biggie wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 13, 2021 3:47 pm

Saint3333 wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 13, 2021 3:43 pm

Marshall at 84%, did they lose a lot?

This could be our best home schedule without a P5 on it ever.

Had to look it up. But new coach and missing best RB and LB. Doesn’t sound too bad for them to fall that much.

The Marshal team we played at the beginning of the season was much different than the team they were at the end. They imploded at the tail end, losing 20-0 to Rice, lost to UAB in conference championship, then losing their bowl game to Buffalo. Prior to the loss to Rice, they were #16 and undefeated eyeing a potential New Years bowl. They fired their coach and they’ve had 14 transfer out. They did have a 4 star defensive lineman transfer in.

NattyBumppo'sRevenge wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 14, 2021 6:42 am

biggie wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 13, 2021 3:47 pm

Saint3333 wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 13, 2021 3:43 pm

Marshall at 84%, did they lose a lot?

This could be our best home schedule without a P5 on it ever.

Had to look it up. But new coach and missing best RB and LB. Doesn’t sound too bad for them to fall that much.

The Marshal team we played at the beginning of the season was much different than the team they were at the end. They imploded at the tail end, losing 20-0 to Rice, lost to UAB in conference championship, then losing their bowl game to Buffalo. Prior to the loss to Rice, they were #16 and undefeated eyeing a potential New Years bowl. They fired their coach and they’ve had 14 transfer out. They did have a 4 star defensive lineman transfer in.

Ah, didn't see about the transfers the article I saw was a couple months ago before the transfers I guess. Knew they sucked at the end of the year.

AppOrange wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 13, 2021 9:26 pm

Coastal’s schedule is the worst i’ve seen, their SOS is going to be bad. Kansas, UMass, ulm, wow, thise 3 combined might not win a game. Id be pissed to have that talent coming back and not be able to showcase it. The shame.

Makes you wonder if the Chickens put those cream puffs on the schedule to get some easy W's before the SBC schedule begins. May also help their 2nd stringers get some snaps and keep the #1's healthier for the conference stretch.

Bootsy wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 14, 2021 6:59 pm

AppOrange wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 13, 2021 9:26 pm

Coastal’s schedule is the worst i’ve seen, their SOS is going to be bad. Kansas, UMass, ulm, wow, thise 3 combined might not win a game. Id be pissed to have that talent coming back and not be able to showcase it. The shame.

Makes you wonder if the Chickens put those cream puffs on the schedule to get some easy W's before the SBC schedule begins. May also help their 2nd stringers get some snaps and keep the #1's healthier for the conference stretch.

They do play Buffalo, who has been pretty good recently. Though they might not have expected that when the game was scheduled (and vice versa from Buffalo's end).

It would make sense that prior to last year Coastal might have been trying to schedule to get to 6 wins rather than position for rankings and a potential NY6 bid.

EastHallApp wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 14, 2021 9:14 pm

Bootsy wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 14, 2021 6:59 pm

AppOrange wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 13, 2021 9:26 pm

Coastal’s schedule is the worst i’ve seen, their SOS is going to be bad. Kansas, UMass, ulm, wow, thise 3 combined might not win a game. Id be pissed to have that talent coming back and not be able to showcase it. The shame.

Makes you wonder if the Chickens put those cream puffs on the schedule to get some easy W's before the SBC schedule begins. May also help their 2nd stringers get some snaps and keep the #1's healthier for the conference stretch.

They do play Buffalo, who has been pretty good recently. Though they might not have expected that when the game was scheduled (and vice versa from Buffalo's end).

It would make sense that prior to last year Coastal might have been trying to schedule to get to 6 wins rather than position for rankings and a potential NY6 bid.

Exactly. It's not like those games weren't scheduled years ago.