2006-2007 NCAA College Football I-AA Discussion

[wade moore]

I think I've tried to get talk going before on this and maybe a couple of others were interested, so I thought I'd try again.

I'm becoming more and more of a fan of I-AA football as I follow my W&M Tribe on the road more, etc. So, I'd love to have a thread for other I-AA fans (if there are any, I think Dark Cloud may follow some of the midwest schools) out there to discuss various things.

So, here it is.

[wade moore]

First Item from me...

I-AA.org has released their first Payton (equivelent to the Heisman for I-A) and Buchanan (DPOY) watch lists:

"Payton Watch" Candidates (Aug. 23)
David Ball, WR, New Hampshire
Alonzo Coleman, RB, Hampton
Omar Cuff, RB, Delaware
Clifton Dawson, RB, Harvard
Jerome Felton, FB, Furman
Jon Grant, QB, UC Davis
Josh Greco, QB, Eastern Kentucky
Clay Green, RB, Jacksonville State
James Noble, RB, Cal Poly
Justin Rascati, QB, James Madison
Kevin Richardson, RB, Appalachian State
Laurent Robinson, WR, Illinois State
Eric Sanders, QB, UNI
Ricky Santos, QB, New Hampshire
Jordan Scott, RB, Colgate
Arkee Whitlock, RB, Southern Illinois

"Buchanan Watch" Candidates (Aug. 23)
Tory Collins, DT, Northwestern State
Zak DeOssie, LB, Brown
Justin Durant, LB, Hampton
Keldrick Holman, S, Stephen F. Austin
Codera Jackson, CB, Youngstown State
Martin Jackson, DE, Alcorn State
Tyler Knight, LB, Mississippi Valley State
Tony LeZotte, S, James Madison
John Mohring, LB, Georgia Southern
Mike Murphy, DE, Montana
Marques Murrell, DE, Appalachian State
Chad Nkang, LB, Elon
Clint Sellers, LB, Eastern Illinois
Kyle Shotwell, LB, Cal Poly
Cameron Siskowic, LB, Illinois State
Pago Togafau, LB, Idaho State

There are quite a few guys that I have seen multiple times because they play in the Atlantic-10 (arguably the strongest conference in I-AA, even without my bias).

Of the guys I see, I give Rascati and Santos the edge right now. Probably with the edge towards Santos. UNH has a VERY high-powered passing game, as you can see from having a WR and their QB on the top list. I personally think WR Ball is overrated, but having him on the ballot with Santos could take votes away.

Edit: Oh, and just realized this from the article:

New Hampshire quarterback Ricky Santos headlines a group of five players who appeared on last year's Walter Payton Award Watch and return in this year's initial pool of 16 Payton candidates. Santos finished in second place in last year's voting in a season where he threw for 3,797 yards and 39 touchdowns in leading the Wildcats to an 11-2 record and a trip to the I-AA quarterfinals.

So Santos was even 2nd last year in voting.

[Klinglerware]

Well, for one thing, 1-AA is now called the "NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision".

Completely cosmetic if you ask me, but hey, there it is...

[rkmsuf]

Go UNH!

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Klinglerware

Well, for one thing, 1-AA is now called the "NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision".

Completely cosmetic if you ask me, but hey, there it is...

I know, I just intentionally ignore that because I think it is absolutely stupid.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

Go UNH!

We don't play in the regular season this year. Too bad after the ass-whoopin' we delivered last year .

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by wade moore

We don't play in the regular season this year. Too bad after the ass-whoopin' we delivered last year .

Basteges denied UNH a perfect regular season.

At Northwestern game 1 this year should be fun.

[illinifan999]

There's a lot of talk on campus about Arkee Whitlock, a lot of people think he's going to have an extraordinary year.

[digamma]

I've seen Clifton Dawson play a number of times. He transferred to Harvard from Northwestern. He needs just over 1,000 yards to become the Ivy League career rushing leader. He can also become the first Ivy running back to rush for 1,000 yards in all four of his college seasons and the first Ivy rusher to be named first team all Ivy all four years.

According to Harvard coach Tim Murphy, Dawson has the speed and rushing ability to play in the NFL, but at his size he needs to become a better receiver to fit in as a typical third down back in the league.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by digamma

I've seen Clifton Dawson play a number of times. He transferred to Harvard from Northwestern. He needs just over 1,000 yards to become the Ivy League career rushing leader. He can also become the first Ivy running back to rush for 1,000 yards in all four of his college seasons and the first Ivy rusher to be named first team all Ivy all four years.

According to Harvard coach Tim Murphy, Dawson has the speed and rushing ability to play in the NFL, but at his size he needs to become a better receiver to fit in as a typical third down back in the league.

A Harvard fan? The whole deal where the Ivy league does not participate in the playoffs drives me crazy. Any opinion on it?

[digamma]

Originally Posted by wade moore

A Harvard fan? The whole deal where the Ivy league does not participate in the playoffs drives me crazy. Any opinion on it?

Hate it. As do almost all followers of Ivy athletics. Almost every year the athletic directors vote unanimously to play in the play-offs for the upcoming season and the school presidents vote unanimously not to play. The presidents win.

It's really too bad--Penn and Harvard have had teams in the last five to seven years that could have made some noise on the national level.

[Klinglerware]

Originally Posted by digamma

Hate it. As do almost all followers of Ivy athletics. Almost every year the athletic directors vote unanimously to play in the play-offs for the upcoming season and the school presidents vote unanimously not to play. The presidents win.

It's really too bad--Penn and Harvard have had teams in the last five to seven years that could have made some noise on the national level.

Agreed. The Ivy Presidents are really the only hold-outs here, most everyone wants playoff participation.

The presidents' reasoning:
- the 1-aa playoff coincides with reading period and finals at most league schools

The alleged additional real reason:
- Harvard and Yale fear that playoff participation will dilute "The Game"

[gottimd]

Go Fightin' Blue Hens....the ass kickin' chickens!

[Klinglerware]

Originally Posted by wade moore

A Harvard fan? The whole deal where the Ivy league does not participate in the playoffs drives me crazy. Any opinion on it?

One general issue here is that, if they ever join the playoff system, the Ivy League will want an autobid (especially considering that the slightly lower-ranked Patriot has one). The Great West also may soon have a legitimate case for an autobid. I wonder who will lose out if these issues ever come to a head?

[BishopMVP]

In the wacky world that is 1-AA football, UMass (Preseason #10) has as good a shot as any other Top 20 team to win it all. When a Delaware fan (probably the most obnoxious in 1-AA) asked what UMass would do differently to even make the playoffs this year, the answer was "Not mail in their last 2 games." Which seems about right.

Last year the defense carried us (#1 nationally in scoring defense), especially as we started a freshman QB and our top 3 RB's were injured at times. They lose 5 starters there, including a couple who might make practice squads in the NFL (S Shannon James in particular) but they have experienced back-ups. Combined with an improved offense should be more than enough to make the playoffs.

3 other notes - we play William & Mary in about a month up here, and we added (really, really nice) field turf this year, a huge improvement over the mud bowl conditions of the past couple years. Also, my HS (I played the other futbol) played against Santos his/my senior year. He ran the option, never pitched, and we only had about 3 players who could bring him down. My friend who played MLB ended up with 33 tackles and we lost 29-27 on a missed 2-pt conversion. He was getting recruited by Penn St, but as a Safety, so he went to UNH to play QB. Shockingly, he's also a huge asshole.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Klinglerware

One general issue here is that, if they ever join the playoff system, the Ivy League will want an autobid (especially considering that the slightly lower-ranked Patriot has one). The Great West also may soon have a legitimate case for an autobid. I wonder who will lose out if these issues ever come to a head?

The NCAA could always just expand the field like in other sports (basketball, lacrosse) but they do have a complex about 1-AA football because of all the pressure put on 1-A to go to a playoff.

Not sure how interesting this is, but Harvard's captain was kicked off the team last month for breaking into his girlfriends dorm and assaulting her. A regular Florida State up there. (Hi Noop!)

[Klinglerware]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

Not sure how interesting this is, but Harvard's captain was kicked off the team last month for breaking into his girlfriends dorm and assaulting her. A regular Florida State up there. (Hi Noop!)

Yes, Harvard is having disciplinary issues this year--aside from Thomas (the team captain) several other players have been suspended for varying lengths of time during the upcoming season due to various infractions.

Still, it probably won't make too much of a difference, as Harvard has been attracting a lot of talent lately, and they are still one of the preseason favorites for the Ivy title.

We'll see if Brown can defend it's crown without Hartigan. Brown has a senior QB in DiGiacomo, but he hasn't really been asked to carry the offense due to Hartigan. We probably won't see the tremendous passing production we saw during the late 90s, but hopefully the offense will be a little more balanced this year.

[Klinglerware]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

The NCAA could always just expand the field like in other sports (basketball, lacrosse) but they do have a complex about 1-AA football because of all the pressure put on 1-A to go to a playoff.

It almost seems as though the NCAA wants the 1-AA playoof system to be as dysfunctional as possible (the home-field bidding, wacky autobid and seeding rules, the de-facto cutting out of half the 1-AA conference membership from participation, etc). It's like the NCAA wants to say, "look at what a travesty the 1-AA playoff system is, therfore playoffs can't possibly work at the 1-A level".

[wade moore]

This thing already has more steam than I thought it would! We now have 4 A-10 fans here from 4 different schools.. that tells me two things... First, the A-10 has quality football... Second, East Coast bias baby!

Anyway, UMass does look to improve.. I think next year is more their year though.. I'm thinking next year should be an interesting battle between UMass, W&M, and Richmond in the inaugural season of the CAA Conference... Some of the teop teams in the league lose some key players (just look at the Payton list for reference) while these three schools will have QB's and other skill players that will be in their 3rd and 4th years starting.



On the Ivy issue. Yes, they would need an automatic bid. The fact that the Fitzpatrick lead Harvard team didn't get to compete for the championship is a crime. There is already talk about expanding the playoff field from 12 to 18 and giving some bye weeks. I imagine if the Ivy finally said they wanted in it would really strengthen that argument and in fact may be the only thing to really make it happen.

The crock about it interfering with school is just stupid. Yes, it's in december, but it really only goes into finals if you are in the last couple of rounds, and that's going to happen to an individual school at most once every few years.


oh and, BOO BLUE HENS!


Bishop - W&M, UMass, and JMU all had field turf put in this season. I'm kind of sad that W&M put it in because many thought we had one of the nicest natural turf fields in I-AA. But, I can understand why they did it. On the other hand, JMU getting rid of that TERRIBLE field they had is a blessing.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Klinglerware

It almost seems as though the NCAA wants the 1-AA playoof system to be as dysfunctional as possible (the home-field bidding, wacky autobid and seeding rules, the de-facto cutting out of half the 1-AA conference membership from participation, etc). It's like the NCAA wants to say, "look at what a travesty the 1-AA playoff system is, therfore playoffs can't possibly work at the 1-A level".

Yet I-AA still has a champion that earned it.

[rkmsuf]

UNH is 2!

But if they beat Northwestern...booyeah!

The Sports Network Preseason Top 25
(First-place votes in parentheses)
1. Appalachian State (68) 2,306
2. New Hampshire (14) 2,153
3. Montana (5) 1,954
4. Northern Iowa (3) 1,936
5. Furman (1) 1,928
6. Cal Poly (3) 1,846
7. Youngstown State 1,446
8. James Madison 1,338
9. Illinois State 1,297
10. Massachusetts 1,170
11. McNeese State 1,006
12. Georgia Southern 967
13. Hampton 939
14. Eastern Illinois 865
15. Richmond 835
16. Delaware 815
17. Southern Illinois 809
18. Texas State 770
19. North Dakota State 713
20. Eastern Kentucky 709
21. UC Davis 576
22. Montana State 550
23. Grambling State 511
24. Nicholls State 378
25. Coastal Carolina 356

[wade moore]

3 A-10 teams in the top 10 and 5 in the top 25, incredible.

[PilotMan]

NDSU all the way. Go Bison!

[ice4277]

Any I-AA's have a good shot at beating I-A's in non-conference games this year?

[Izulde]

How is Princeton looking?

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by ice4277

Any I-AA's have a good shot at beating I-A's in non-conference games this year?

I'd argue that New Hampshire has a shot at Northwestern...

I'll be at the W&M at Maryland game Saturday... We've had a good shot against Marshall and UNC the last two years, but I think they run away with this one..

I'll have to dig into the other schedules to see if there are any others.

[Wolfpack]

We get to play Appy State on Saturday in Raleigh. I'm pretty sure we're still decently favored, especially as it will be the opening night of the newly expanded Carter-Finley Stadium and the crowd should be quite pumped for it.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Wolfpack

We get to play Appy State on Saturday in Raleigh. I'm pretty sure we're still decently favored, especially as it will be the opening night of the newly expanded Carter-Finley Stadium and the crowd should be quite pumped for it.

I don't know a ton about this years Appy State team, but they are a perrannual contendor in the I-AA, so I would imagine if some breaks go their way they'd have a shot.

[Klinglerware]

Originally Posted by Izulde

How is Princeton looking?

They are losing a lot of key players from last year, but they do get to play Brown, Harvard, and Penn at home. The Ivy League being as unpredictable as it is, that translates into anywhere from a 3 to a 7 win season...

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by ice4277

Any I-AA's have a good shot at beating I-A's in non-conference games this year?

I think that NDSU has a resonable shot at beating Ball State when it plays them as their first IA opponent in Sept. I will be in Muncie for that one with a buddy of mine. Their October game against Minnesota? Not a chance in hell.

[illinifan999]

Originally Posted by ice4277

Any I-AA's have a good shot at beating I-A's in non-conference games this year?

I think SIU has a pretty decent shot of beating Indiana.

[stevew]

7. Youngstown State 1,446

Go Penguins!

[LloydLungs]

Originally Posted by ice4277

Any I-AA's have a good shot at beating I-A's in non-conference games this year?

Southeastern Louisiana gets a crack at former coach Hal Mumme's New Mexico State Aggies tomorrow night. Since NMSU was 0-12 last year you never know. SELA has a decent team from an excellent conference but is not a I-AA power.

[wade moore]

I saw Three I-AA upsets on the scoreboard:

Richmond 13
Duke 0

Montana State 19
Colorado 10

Portland St. 17
New Mexico 6


You have to consider the Montana St. game to be the biggest upset.



As for my Tribe, they played respectably against Maryland and it was a very fun game to watch. I think our QB could really have a breakout year.

[Butter]

Can't believe Colorado lost by 9 at home!

Also, noticed Jacksonville State almost upset Furman in Greenville, SC... is Furman just not that good this year, or just rusty?

[RedKingGold]

Meh, Villanova sucks.

That's my current alma mater (for graduate school, college = King's College = a little tiny D-III school)

That's all I have to say about Division I-AA/

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Also, noticed Jacksonville State almost upset Furman in Greenville, SC... is Furman just not that good this year, or just rusty?

I think it may be as much a case of Jax State sort of (nearly) having Furman's number. It took a TD on the final play of the game for Furman to win the season opener last year. Or maybe JSU is just a little more motivated after losing to them 49-7 in the 2004 playoffs.

Plus, JSU isn't a terrible team. Although they were 6-5 last year, they lost their first three games (FU, UTC, UAB) by a total of 12 points,

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Can't believe Colorado lost by 9 at home!

Also, noticed Jacksonville State almost upset Furman in Greenville, SC... is Furman just not that good this year, or just rusty?

http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/...58#post1238458

Meh, Villanova sucks.

That's my current alma mater (for graduate school, college = King's College = a little tiny D-III school)

That's all I have to say about Division I-AA/

Wow, another A-10er...

Actually, Villanova I think is looking to improve this year and next with some young talent, aren't they?

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Klinglerware

Well, for one thing, 1-AA is now called the "NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision".

Completely cosmetic if you ask me, but hey, there it is...

In my defense, ESPN is still referring to them as I-AA on their website .

[Klinglerware]

Originally Posted by wade moore

In my defense, ESPN is still referring to them as I-AA on their website .

Technically, the change isn't effective until December. But with that being said, who cares? I agree with you that the new name is essentially meaningless.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Klinglerware

Technically, the change isn't effective until December. But with that being said, who cares? I agree with you that the new name is essentially meaningless.

This reminds me of a building on campus that was known as "Tercenteniary Hall" (sp?) because it was completed in the school's 300th year. Everyone called it T-Hall. In my Sophomore year it was bought by someone to be named, but everyone from my class and earlier refused to call it the new name and it was always T-Hall to us.

[Easy Mac]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Can't believe Colorado lost by 9 at home!

Also, noticed Jacksonville State almost upset Furman in Greenville, SC... is Furman just not that good this year, or just rusty?

As the resident FU alum (unless sjshaw comes back), we're really not that good. We're ranked highly, but that's mainly on reputation. Losing Ingle Martin really hurt, and Ronaldo Grey is just inexperienced at QB. It always takes the team a while to get into the swing of things, and even then there are more nail biters than is necessary. Should be an interesting year in the SoCon, with Georgia Southern trying a whole new offense.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

Should be an interesting year in the SoCon, with Georgia Southern trying a sane offense.

Fixed that for ya.

[Sublime 2]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

Go UNH!

UNH alum?

[LoneStarGirl]

I graduated from Mississippi Valley State and I would be suprised if they won 2 or more games. But Tyler Knight is a hell of a football player and it would be awesome for Valley to get some sort of recognition for one of their players.

[Sublime 2]

UNH 34 - Northwestern 17

Nice to see being a New Hampshire kid!

[Jas_lov]

Well, my 4th ranked Northern Iowa Panthers were upset today by DII North Dakota! UNI took a 3 point lead with 1:30 to play, but North Dakota got the game winning TD with about a minute left to go. It was a terrible loss at home to a DII school. Certainly dissapointing. Well, at least Iowa was able to pull one through without Drew Tate.

[Easy Mac]

Originally Posted by wade moore

Fixed that for ya.

If it aint broke, don't fix it, and it looks like the fix done broke.

Elsewhere, my FU won again, looking lethargic through the first half only to sneak out another win. App State beat up James Madison, showing it should be a two horse race for the SoCon title. Georgia Southern lost to Central Connecticut State... ok, because that would have happened before. Wofford lost to Coastal Carolina, which I'm sure that will cause the Chanticleer alum to bang on the SoCon door some more. Seriously, you're a second rate school, as your loss to Elon showed last week. Elon lost to Townson this week... seriously. Chattanooga looks set to lose to Memphis. And finally, The Shitadel lost to intra-city rival Charleston Southern. Honestly, this could be the greatest week in Charleston sports talk radio history. I love it.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

If it aint broke, don't fix it, and it looks like the fix done broke.

Elsewhere, my FU won again, looking lethargic through the first half only to sneak out another win. App State beat up James Madison, showing it should be a two horse race for the SoCon title. Georgia Southern lost to Central Connecticut State... ok, because that would have happened before. Wofford lost to Coastal Carolina, which I'm sure that will cause the Chanticleer alum to bang on the SoCon door some more. Seriously, you're a second rate school, as your loss to Elon showed last week. Elon lost to Townson this week... seriously. Chattanooga looks set to lose to Memphis. And finally, The Shitadel lost to intra-city rival Charleston Southern. Honestly, this could be the greatest week in Charleston sports talk radio history. I love it.

The JMU game makes me happy, shows that may have taken another step back this season.

The New Hampshire win was huge, but not all that surprising.

[ScottVib]

Big Victory for Central Connecticut State over 6-Time National champ Georgia Southern today. The NEC is starting to be a bit of a pain in the rear to the autobid conferences.