I’m not a big pre-season hype guy and for the most part, the pre-season rankings by all the various publications are rather accurate, if there is such a thing as accuracy in preseason polls. Once in awhile, you have to wonder, such as Phil Steele’s Top 40 that was released this week.
I’ve never met Phil Steele and I don’t even know if that is an actual person. But, Stony Brook at No. 15 over MVFC schools Southern Illinois and NDSU? One fact about FCS that is proven every year in the playoffs: the power conferences rule the land. Stony Brook of the Big South Conference finished 6-5 last year, has a 56-59 record this decade and has never qualified for the FCS playoffs.
Phil Steele’s FCS Preseason Top 40
- 1) William & Mary
- 2) Eastern Washington
- 3) Georgia Southern
- 4) Northern Iowa
- 5) Appalachian St
- 6) Delaware
- 7) James Madison
- 8 Montana St
- 9) Wofford
- 10) Sacramento St
- 11) Jacksonville St
- 12) Montana
- 13) Central Arkansas
- 14) New Hampshire
- 15) Stony Brook
- 16) Lehigh
- 17) Southern Illinois
- 18) South Carolina St
- 19) Chattanooga
- 20) North Dakota St
- 21) Murray St
- 22) Sam Houston St
- 23) Massachusetts
- 24) Southern Utah
- 25) Jackson St
- 26) Albany
- 27) Colgate
- 28) UT Martin
- 29) Harvard
- 30) Indiana St
- 31) Liberty
- 32) Florida A&M
- 33) Jacksonville
- 34) Grambling
- 35) McNeese St
- 36) Richmond
- 37) Youngstown St
- 38) UC Davis
- 39) SF Austin
- 40) Bethune-Cookman
Jeff, I agree with you. Anyone that puts Harvard in a top 40 poll is either not real or not living in reality. I would also say Eastern Washington should be Number 1 considering they are the champ and overcame (much to our dismay, I was there) so many obsticles. I really like our chances, rather be the shocker than the shocked when looking at the polles. I hope the taste of the last game has put the emphasis on a few more drills for our young men.
Go Bison
NDSU is either getting no respect or a lot of respect depending on the publication. With how they did in the playoffs and what they have coming back they are a top 10 team
Phil Steele takes into account turnovers, etc. and uses them against team the next year since it usually evens out. You all seem to be forgetting that NDSU was shutout by the worst defense in the league the last game of the year. They only got into the playoffs because the field was expanded.
Teams don’t always continue momentum into the next season and Phil Steele takes that into account. Southern Illinois is a team that had a ton of injuries last year and that does not usually happen back to back. They will be very good. As will UNI.
This is an NDSU fan blog so I suggest you get off it real quick Rob! Expanded playoffs last season or not, we still made the playoffs and were one of the final 8 teams in the FCS…the Missouri State game was terrible don’t get me wrong but getting a number 20 ranking in this preseason poll because of it after what we did after that game is idiocracy!!
Did the Blog format change? I don’t know that I like this format.
Usually the preseason poll takes the final poll from the year before and that is where it starts. I think the Bison should definitely be ranked above many of them teams this guy put above them. The one good thing about being dissed by the so-called “experts” is the players don’t get a big head from reading all the press clippings. Hopefully this disrespect pushes the Bison harder in fall camp.
Is he ranking football? If he is, he should find something he’s good at because this isnt it
Polls are fun to discuss/cuss but lets play the games and sort it all out.
what an embarassment, why do you even publicize this hack’s reports?
I don’t give a dang about pre-season polls and just can’t get worked up about them.
This steele guy is a joke, first he is on blogs begging fcs fans to buy it else he wont do it next year, then comes out with this pile of dog poo. Holloway & Jastrom on list?
Harvard and Indiana St?? I called and cancelled, told him to keep my $12.95, cuz he will need it on the soup line!
If you think that’s bad, the Sporting News has us unranked. Talk about no respect. I guess after we start 3-0 and get another Big 10 win well get some and they will look stupid.
I think it’s a reflection of people still not buying NDSU. Two thoughts:
1. This wasn’t a dominant FCS team last year. They got hot at the right time but they very narrowly made the playoffs. Were it not for some other teams falling, season ends after 3-0 loss to Mo. State. Couple it with the fact they’ve not beaten UNI.
2. The last time NDSU entered a season with hype and expectations (2008), they crashed. Still sticks in a lot of people’s minds. If they wanna change it, they’d better live up to the expectations and big talk.
Zach makes a tough love statement that none of us really wants to hear. But, you are right on the mark.
BS!! there is alot of jealousy towards NDSU in the fcs world, we came in ranked #1, we have a huge fan followinh and weve gotten alot of press for 4 FBS wins. People are gonna try and dog us, time.to shut.everyone up!!! These guys remember the sting of getting JOBBED at ewu, they want to win BAD.
Came in ranked #1 and got our asses handed to us.
I wouldn’t get too worked up about a pre-season poll picked by a guy with very little knowledge about the FCS. The guy is just trying to squeeze every dollar he can out of college athletics. He may have put together a magazine issue covering the FCS but if he has Stony Brook in the top 25 it tells me he really didn’t spend much time putting his magazine together.
Must be a Fargo thing. Just ask those of us who are Roger Maris fans trying to convince the Hall-of-Fame voters.
Who cares about their record over the past decade. NDSU is 18-19 over the past three years… yet they’re a top-15 team? NDSU has qualified for the postseason once in the last decade. Do those stats speak volumes about the history and tradition at NDSU?
Now which is better… winning at least a share of your conference title each of the past two seasons with 5-1 records… or a team who has never won more than half of their conference games in one season. Why would anyone give second thought to a team that can’t even win more than 50% of their conference games?
Every team went 4-4 in the conference. Its one of the top 3 toughest in the country. Every team is good. When SDSU is picked near the bottom you know we are tough.
The Bison won the Great West Conference when they were in it. They had two 10-1 seasons and they beat FBS teams while doing it. What is left in the Great West Conference is worse than what was there when the Bison were in it. The Missouri Valley Football Conference is a much tougher conference with established football programs.
The run the Bison had in the playoffs was no fluke. They completely manhandled Montana State at their place in a blowout win. If not for the blown call on Jensen’s fumble the Bison could very well have won the national championship.
Note that when NDSU had those two 10-1 seasons, winning the GWFC title in 2006 and a shoulda-woulda in 2007, those were the last years that NDSU had a great QB.
DJ is great, the OL is great and everything that goes with NDSU’s traditionally strong running game. But, it does not matter how well you run the ball – without a great QB the team will not win titles! Simple as that.
NDSU hasn’t had a great one since Walker. In my heart I don’t think Jensen is that next guy…I think we’ll have to wait for Thorton or Wentz. But I hope I’m wrong!
Cant believe people are that proud of winning a 5 team conference.
Flip side-everyone looks at the blown call, but everyone forgets that the best player on Eastern, Taiwan Jones, was knocked out of that game with an injury. A team that, at times, was one dimensional with Jones ended up driving 90 yards in the final minute without him to tie the game. And that team also went on, without their best player, to win the next two games and the title.
If the attitude at NDSU is “the only reason we didn’t win a title was because we got screwed on a bad call”, then don’t be shocked if 2008 repeats itself in 2011. If the attitude is “the only reason we didn’t win a title was because we let a team back in a game we had”, then the hype is deserved and will come.
Zach you prove my point again. East Wash had (still has) a great QB that led them on that game winning drive.
If you have a QB that can make the throws, you can win titles.
NDSU not finding a great QB this season is going to result in a similar season to 2010. Possibly making the playoffs, but not winning the conference title and not winning the playoff title.
CFM. how many playoffs wins did your team have? How many big 12 teams did you beat on the road?? NDSU deserves a top 5 ranking, sorry but its true……If they get ANY QB & WR play, or vigen call plays better than just tecmo bowl NDSU WILL RULE!
There you go again calling out another team when no mention was made whatsoever of another school. You constantly shoot your mouth off about trolls and this being a Bison blog when time after time you open the freakin door for them.
My team won the only “playoff” game they played. It’s called a bowl game. My team won 8 games against FBS competition and was ranked in the top 25.
That doesn’t matter though, because it doesn’t make NDSU’s 4-4 record in conference last year any better. It doesn’t improve their 3-8 record from 2009, either.
We should have the #1 ranking going into this season and WILL have the #1 coming out of it. Its not even close. This guy is like all others who are jealous of our success. We know how good our team is and our players definately know how good they are. You won’t even be able to call it shocking the world when you could beat up on 3/4ths of the Big10. Everyone just wait and see.
I just hope cfm didn’t go to NDSU because he can’t add. Bohl is an even .500 the past three seasons at 18-18. Smells like a Sue degree to me or some other inferior BS degree.
My bad. I apologize for degrading coach Bohl by suggesting he had lost one more game than he had won. Clearly, I was wrong and coach Bohl deserves great honors for going .500 over the past three seasons.
I do find it unique that many NDSU fans on this blog assume someone who doesn’t toe the Bison line is automatically a UND fan. For having not played each other in football since 2003, it’s curious that NDSU fans don’t have a new rivalry with fans from another team they actually play. I guess there aren’t a lot of SDSU, UNI or Minnesota fans that actually care a whole lot about the NDSU football program. Based on the instant reactions of intense dislike for UND, it also seems a lot of Bison fans also don’t have a real dislike for any of the current conference-mates.
Kevin, why so I insecure? poor guy. I thought CFM was Cedar Falls Man. But its ok kevin, thanks for trolling a real D1 football blog at NDSU!!
You forget the 20-2 in 2 years and 8-5 last year.
There you go again, dropping another game and making yourself a victim.
Let’s play a game or two before crowning ourselves the 2011 Overlords of FCS.
Hater alerts. How bout, NDSU curbstomped Mon St & EWU minus 14 pts on 2 busted runs. How about if Vigen or ANY QB steps up this team will be even better. NDSU can only get better. Boyer takes over for gratzek, mwill better than gatlin, and B-Turn is better than Ardnt!!
Lakes, I agree with everything except MWill being better than Gatlin. Gatlin was an athlete who the coaches just told to line up across from someone and cover them man to man. The reason he didn’t play more was because he didn’t understand the defense but when they needed someone to shut down a WR, it was Gatlin they called on, not Williams. I don’t know if Williams will have the physical tools Gatlin has.
Who give a rats ass about a football poll in July! Just go out and win games and the The Bison will get ranked where they should be. Just Win Baby!! Words to live by!!!
Cause its all about the lack of respect we get from everyone in FCS. Its all out of envy as well. They are jealous of the success we have had. They are all jealous of our tradition and they all know how loaded we are for the next 4 years and when we win the NC this year, we’ll win it the next 3. The lack of respect is a slap in the face.
We have had no real success in FCS as of yet. You have to EARN respect. It isnt given.
Cfm I already said your a uni fan, relax bud.
We got plenty of respect beating BCS teams on the road!!!! fcs is small time, NDSU is ready for FBS
NDSU’s never even won it’s conference. Not ready yet. And if you want to kill NDSU athletics by putting them in a dead WAC or SunBelt conference, be my guest. Unless Boone T. Pickens is waiting to give them a donation, being a low level 1A is no better than being 1AA.