Final Polls

[NorthernPlains]

Doesn't NDSU play Oregon next year? If so they will have at least one loss. If MSU doesn't have any that could move us ahead of them.

If MSU beats Utah, and ND St loses to Oregon, then yes they could flip positions. Typically an FCS doesn't get penalized for losing to and FBS. Yet in that case (cats win-bison lose) it could shuffle things. However I'm not holding my breath

[robgriz]

I would think so. Also pretty cool that four Big Sky teams finished in the top 10.

That is pretty cool. I wonder if that has ever happened before? If so I can’t remember it.

[TomCat88]

Doesn't NDSU play Oregon next year? If so they will have at least one loss. If MSU doesn't have any that could move us ahead of them.

I doubt they lose to Oregon. I like the Ducks, but they weren’t that good this year and won a weak PAC 10. They’ll end up third-fourth in North. Lose starting QB and five other starters on offense. Defense will get worn out.

They also have the distraction of playing Ohio State the following week.

[BozoneCat]

Doesn't NDSU play Oregon next year? If so they will have at least one loss. If MSU doesn't have any that could move us ahead of them.

I doubt they lose to Oregon. I like the Ducks, but they weren’t that good this year and won a weak PAC 10. They’ll end up third-fourth in North. Lose starting QB and five other starters on offense. Defense will get worn out.

They also have the distraction of playing Ohio State the following week.

You can’t be serious. I mean, I know you talk tongue-in-cheek a lot, but the glorification of ndsu has got to end. Oregon was the 5th or 6th best team in the country this year. If you watched them play, that was not a “normal” weak/soft Oregon team, their defense was awesome this year. They have speed like no one else west of the Mississippi. They’ll wax ndsu by 20-30 points.

Your 2nd statement is, however, exactly why ndsu (and every other FCS team that has won a play-up game) has had the level of success they have had in those games. Despite winning, and winning, and winning, they are still overlooked and teams are distracted looking forward to their next game. It happens. How someone overlooks ndsu is beyond me, they have earned more respect than that, but it continues to happen as it is purely human nature. They also tend to play crappy Midwest teams that don’t score a lot of points, which helps.

[TomCat88]

Doesn't NDSU play Oregon next year? If so they will have at least one loss. If MSU doesn't have any that could move us ahead of them.

I doubt they lose to Oregon. I like the Ducks, but they weren’t that good this year and won a weak PAC 10. They’ll end up third-fourth in North. Lose starting QB and five other starters on offense. Defense will get worn out.

They also have the distraction of playing Ohio State the following week.

You can’t be serious. I mean, I know you talk tongue-in-cheek a lot, but the glorification of ndsu has got to end. Oregon was the 5th or 6th best team in the country this year. If you watched them play, that was not a “normal” weak/soft Oregon team, their defense was awesome this year. They have speed like no one else west of the Mississippi. They’ll wax ndsu by 20-30 points.

Your 2nd statement is, however, exactly why ndsu (and every other FCS team that has won a play-up game) has had the level of success they have had in those games. Despite winning, and winning, and winning, they are still overlooked and teams are distracted looking forward to their next game. It happens. How someone overlooks ndsu is beyond me, they have earned more respect than that, but it continues to happen as it is purely human nature. They also tend to play crappy Midwest teams that don’t score a lot of points, which helps.

You’ve got Oregon winning by 20-30 and are claiming I’m not serious? Heaven help us all.

[BozoneCat]

Doesn't NDSU play Oregon next year? If so they will have at least one loss. If MSU doesn't have any that could move us ahead of them.

I doubt they lose to Oregon. I like the Ducks, but they weren’t that good this year and won a weak PAC 10. They’ll end up third-fourth in North. Lose starting QB and five other starters on offense. Defense will get worn out.

They also have the distraction of playing Ohio State the following week.

You can’t be serious. I mean, I know you talk tongue-in-cheek a lot, but the glorification of ndsu has got to end. Oregon was the 5th or 6th best team in the country this year. If you watched them play, that was not a “normal” weak/soft Oregon team, their defense was awesome this year. They have speed like no one else west of the Mississippi. They’ll wax ndsu by 20-30 points.

Your 2nd statement is, however, exactly why ndsu (and every other FCS team that has won a play-up game) has had the level of success they have had in those games. Despite winning, and winning, and winning, they are still overlooked and teams are distracted looking forward to their next game. It happens. How someone overlooks ndsu is beyond me, they have earned more respect than that, but it continues to happen as it is purely human nature. They also tend to play crappy Midwest teams that don’t score a lot of points, which helps.

You’ve got Oregon winning by 20-30 and are claiming I’m not serious? Heaven help us all.

Well, considering they beat Nevada 77-6, Montana 35-3, USC 56-24, and Utah 37-15 this year, I don't think expecting them to beat a lower division team by 20-30 points is really that far a reach.

[JDoub]

Doesn't NDSU play Oregon next year? If so they will have at least one loss. If MSU doesn't have any that could move us ahead of them.

I doubt they lose to Oregon. I like the Ducks, but they weren’t that good this year and won a weak PAC 10. They’ll end up third-fourth in North. Lose starting QB and five other starters on offense. Defense will get worn out.

They also have the distraction of playing Ohio State the following week.

You can’t be serious. I mean, I know you talk tongue-in-cheek a lot, but the glorification of ndsu has got to end. Oregon was the 5th or 6th best team in the country this year. If you watched them play, that was not a “normal” weak/soft Oregon team, their defense was awesome this year. They have speed like no one else west of the Mississippi. They’ll wax ndsu by 20-30 points.

Your 2nd statement is, however, exactly why ndsu (and every other FCS team that has won a play-up game) has had the level of success they have had in those games. Despite winning, and winning, and winning, they are still overlooked and teams are distracted looking forward to their next game. It happens. How someone overlooks ndsu is beyond me, they have earned more respect than that, but it continues to happen as it is purely human nature. They also tend to play crappy Midwest teams that don’t score a lot of points, which helps.

You’ve got Oregon winning by 20-30 and are claiming I’m not serious? Heaven help us all.

Well, considering they beat Nevada 77-6, Montana 35-3, USC 56-24, and Utah 37-15 this year, I don't think expecting them to beat a lower division team by 20-30 points is really that far a reach.

Oregon beat Montana by 32
MSU beat Montana by 34
NDSU beat MSU by 28

So NDSU will beat Oregon by 30 points

I think this will actually be a game. I would favor Oregon, but wouldn't be surprised if NDSU won. NDSU has won six in a row against FBS teams, and are 9-3 overall since moving up from DII against FBS teams.

They have beat ranked FBS teams before. In fact, more than they've lost to ranked FBS teams!

I remember well when Lou Holtz predicted NDSU to beat K-State (when they were defending Big 12 champs, in the mix for the BCS title game, AND went on that year to beat Michigan in a bowl game)

[BozoneCat]

Doesn't NDSU play Oregon next year? If so they will have at least one loss. If MSU doesn't have any that could move us ahead of them.

I doubt they lose to Oregon. I like the Ducks, but they weren’t that good this year and won a weak PAC 10. They’ll end up third-fourth in North. Lose starting QB and five other starters on offense. Defense will get worn out.

They also have the distraction of playing Ohio State the following week.

You can’t be serious. I mean, I know you talk tongue-in-cheek a lot, but the glorification of ndsu has got to end. Oregon was the 5th or 6th best team in the country this year. If you watched them play, that was not a “normal” weak/soft Oregon team, their defense was awesome this year. They have speed like no one else west of the Mississippi. They’ll wax ndsu by 20-30 points.

Your 2nd statement is, however, exactly why ndsu (and every other FCS team that has won a play-up game) has had the level of success they have had in those games. Despite winning, and winning, and winning, they are still overlooked and teams are distracted looking forward to their next game. It happens. How someone overlooks ndsu is beyond me, they have earned more respect than that, but it continues to happen as it is purely human nature. They also tend to play crappy Midwest teams that don’t score a lot of points, which helps.

You’ve got Oregon winning by 20-30 and are claiming I’m not serious? Heaven help us all.

Well, considering they beat Nevada 77-6, Montana 35-3, USC 56-24, and Utah 37-15 this year, I don't think expecting them to beat a lower division team by 20-30 points is really that far a reach.

Oregon beat Montana by 32
MSU beat Montana by 34
NDSU beat MSU by 28

So NDSU will beat Oregon by 30 points

I think this will actually be a game. I would favor Oregon, but wouldn't be surprised if NDSU won. NDSU has won six in a row against FBS teams, and are 9-3 overall since moving up from DII against FBS teams.

They have beat ranked FBS teams before. In fact, more than they've lost to ranked FBS teams!

I remember well when Lou Holtz predicted NDSU to beat K-State (when they were defending Big 12 champs, in the mix for the BCS title game, AND went on that year to beat Michigan in a bowl game)

I'll eat crow all day if NDSU wins, or if it's even relatively close. And I'm not saying that Oregon will beat them by 70 or anything crazy. I think the final score will look a little closer than it actually is, as Oregon will probably be able to build a big lead and will get 2nd/3rd string guys some reps and rest starters in anticipation for Ohio State. It's generally much harder for FCS teams to stay competitive with explosive, high-scoring offensive FBS teams (see: MSU vs. Texas Tech), as opposed to lower-scoring, defensive-minded teams (see: MSU vs. Oklahoma State back then). The athletes that Oregon is rolling out is on a completely different level than anything in FCS.

[The MICKSTER]

Doesn't NDSU play Oregon next year? If so they will have at least one loss. If MSU doesn't have any that could move us ahead of them.

If MSU beats Utah, and ND St loses to Oregon, then yes they could flip positions. Typically an FCS doesn't get penalized for losing to and FBS. Yet in that case (cats win-bison lose) it could shuffle things. However I'm not holding my breath

I would agree with the statement in Bold above to a point. If you lose to a Power 5 FBS team, no. If you lose to UTEP or Akron badly then maybe.

I think the indirect penalty for losing to a FBS program is the fact that you are forgoing a chance to play another FCS team. Most years when there is an 11 game season, IF your FCS team schedules 11 FCS opponents they have 11 chances for FCS wins. IF your team plays an FBS team, or 2 like Idaho State does, then you only have 9 or 10 chances....1 or 2 less than some of your conference opponents. I don't mind playing an FBS team in a 12 game season, that makes sense to me. But to play them in an 11 game season when we consistently average ~18k attendance you'd think we could afford to have 11 FCS games every season.

The only thing worse to me than playing an FBS opponent in an 11 game season is playing a DII team....but don't get me started.

I don't see us beating Utah (I'm plannin' on making the game and hope it's competitive), and I don't see NDSU beating the Ducks.

Regarding the Final Poll.....it's ironic that we play the jizz head to head the last game of the season and give them a beat down you wouldn't want to subject pinata to, but yet we're only 1 or 2 above them in the polls. I could see a valid argument for us being above Weber, but it's only a poll so not a big deal.

[91catAlum]

Regarding the Final Poll.....it's ironic that we play the jizz head to head the last game of the season and give them a beat down you wouldn't want to subject pinata to, but yet we're only 1 or 2 above them in the polls. I could see a valid argument for us being above Weber, but it's only a poll so not a big deal.

You think thats bad, this poll has the griz ABOVE us!!!

https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/18221

[BleedingBLue]

Regarding the Final Poll.....it's ironic that we play the jizz head to head the last game of the season and give them a beat down you wouldn't want to subject pinata to, but yet we're only 1 or 2 above them in the polls. I could see a valid argument for us being above Weber, but it's only a poll so not a big deal.

You think thats bad, this poll has the griz ABOVE us!!!

https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/18221

That's just the power rankings though. Based on a whole slew of factors including SOS. We are #4 in Jason's final Top 25.

[Bobcat4Ever]

The final Sagarin ratings give Oregon about 15 points + 3 points for home field advantage over NDSU, so 2-3 scores. Oregon is rated #6 by the complex computer algorithm, and NDSU is #31, just ahead of #32 Boise State. Personnel will change by next year, but this is a pretty good ballpark idea of what could happen. Montana State is #87, Montana is #90, out of 256 D-I teams. The Oregon Ducks are rated at 29 + 3 = 32 points over the Bobcats.

[BLACKnBLUEnGOLD]

Regarding the Final Poll.....it's ironic that we play the jizz head to head the last game of the season and give them a beat down you wouldn't want to subject pinata to, but yet we're only 1 or 2 above them in the polls. I could see a valid argument for us being above Weber, but it's only a poll so not a big deal.

You think thats bad, this poll has the griz ABOVE us!!!

https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/18221

That's just the power rankings though. Based on a whole slew of factors including SOS. We are #4 in Jason's final Top 25.

It's hard to take a power ranking seriously when it ranks the Colonial ahead of the Big Sky.

[Long Time Cat]

The final Sagarin ratings give Oregon about 15 points + 3 points for home field advantage over NDSU, so 2-3 scores. Oregon is rated #6 by the complex computer algorithm, and NDSU is #31, just ahead of #32 Boise State. Personnel will change by next year, but this is a pretty good ballpark idea of what could happen. Montana State is #87, Montana is #90, out of 256 D-I teams. The Oregon Ducks are rated at 29 + 3 = 32 points over the Bobcats.

Interesting. Since we play Utah and I don't know how Sagarin works, how are the Utes rated compared to the Cats?

[Bobcat4Ever]

Interesting. Since we play Utah and I don't know how Sagarin works, how are the Utes rated compared to the Cats?

Sure, no problem. I also just noticed that Weber is rated #88, so three Big Sky teams almost on top of each other at 87, 88, and 90. No wonder why games are so unpredictable. Basically home team wins.

Utah is rated at #20, is a 19.8 point favorite over MSU + 3 for home = 22.8 or roughly a 3 score favorite on the field of play.

Overall, not so bad. Idaho is a 35 + 3 = 38 point underdog to Utah, and they are still ahead of some of the mighty Sun Belt teams.

By the way, the Sagarin computer conference ratings has the MVFC at #21, the Big Sky at #22, and the CAA at #23. All the FCS conferences as a whole trail all the FBS conferences or conference divisions. This is not true at all for individual teams where many FCS teams are rated higher than one or more FBS teams. Montana State is rated ahead of 46 FBS teams.

[Long Time Cat]

Interesting. Since we play Utah and I don't know how Sagarin works, how are the Utes rated compared to the Cats?

Sure, no problem. I also just noticed that Weber is rated #88, so three Big Sky teams almost on top of each other at 87, 88, and 90. No wonder why games are so unpredictable. Basically home team wins.

Utah is rated at #20, is a 19.8 point favorite over MSU + 3 for home = 22.8 or roughly a 3 score favorite on the field of play.

Overall, not so bad. Idaho is a 35 + 3 = 38 point underdog to Utah, and they are still ahead of some of the mighty Sun Belt teams.

By the way, the Sagarin computer conference ratings has the MVFC at #21, the Big Sky at #22, and the CAA at #23. All the FCS conferences as a whole trail all the FBS conferences or conference divisions. This is not true at all for individual teams where many FCS teams are rated higher than one or more FBS teams. Montana State is rated ahead of 46 FBS teams.

THNX!