Pre-Season Rankings

[FUBeAR]

Hero Sports published their version…Coach Quarles starting out with a high bar @ #5

Received votes (alphabetical order): Eastern Kentucky, Mercer, Weber State

T25. UC Davis
T25. Richmond
24. Northern Iowa
23. Dartmouth
22. Harvard
21. South Dakota
20. Southeastern Louisiana University
19. Jackson State
18. Eastern Washington
17. Holy Cross
16. Chattanooga
15. Delaware
14. UT Martin
T12. Southern Illinois
T12. Incarnate Word
11. Stephen F. Austin
10. Sacramento State
9. Villanova
8. Kennesaw State
7. Sam Houston
6. Missouri State
5. East Tennessee State
4. Montana
3. Montana State
2. South Dakota State
1. North Dakota State

Love to see a SoCon Team ranked that high and nice to see 2 SoCon Team in the Top 25 and 3 ‘mentioned,’ but FUBeAR fails to see how they don’t have Mercer in about that #12 slot based on the final 2 weeks of last year’s regular season (Mercer over Chatt & ETSU over Mercer in JC, in a back-and-forth affair that turned on a missed FG as time expired).

[DungeonRealm]

Dumb thing about FCS, that Sam Houston can be in this poll
They are leaving and not playoff eligible, why bother letting them be in the poll, idiots in charge of the division that's why

[FUBeAR]

Dumb thing about FCS, that Sam Houston can be in this poll
They are leaving and not playoff eligible, why bother letting them be in the poll, idiots in charge of the division that's why

Per Hero Sports…

“We decided Sam Houston and Jacksonville State were eligible to be ranked in our Top 25 if we deemed one or both of them worthy. The two programs are transitioning to the FBS with their first season in Conference USA coming in 2023. They are not eligible for the FCS playoffs, but they are playing full FCS schedules as part of the WAC (Sam Houston) and ASUN (Jacksonville State) conferences. In our opinion, the players and coaches still deserve to be recognized with individual accolades and team rankings.”

FUBeAR disagrees with what their “Players and Coaches still deserve,” but Hero Sports owns their own content y’know. These are not the rankings of the “idiots in charge of the division.” Those only appear on Playoff Selection Sunday.

[DungeonRealm]

Dumb thing about FCS, that Sam Houston can be in this poll
They are leaving and not playoff eligible, why bother letting them be in the poll, idiots in charge of the division that's why

Per Hero Sports…

“We decided Sam Houston and Jacksonville State were eligible to be ranked in our Top 25 if we deemed one or both of them worthy. The two programs are transitioning to the FBS with their first season in Conference USA coming in 2023. They are not eligible for the FCS playoffs, but they are playing full FCS schedules as part of the WAC (Sam Houston) and ASUN (Jacksonville State) conferences. In our opinion, the players and coaches still deserve to be recognized with individual accolades and team rankings.”

FUBeAR disagrees with what their “Players and Coaches still deserve,” but Hero Sports owns their own content y’know. These are not the rankings of the “idiots in charge of the division.” Those only appear on Playoff Selection Sunday.

So will those two be excluded from the other two main polls that run during the season (Media and Coaches)?
I would surely hope so, would seem idiotic and a poor use of what few resources FCS has for the division to prop up any program on its way out.

[AstroDin]

The DINS have a ways to go to get respect from FCS media, and I bet we will see it from SoCon media; I'm guessing Furman will be placed 5-7.

Just as FuBear suggested, Mercer deserves a little more respect due to beating Chatty and a last-second loss to ETSU.
The same thing can be said for Furman.
Furman lost the lead and the game to ETSU at the very end. Furman also lost at the end to playing very well at the time WCU team. Furman played defensively well enough to beat Chatty but couldn't get any offense.

This will be an interesting year for Furman in the SoCon. Furman had major turnover in its coaching staff. I like the changes, and after watching several practices and a few scrimmages I think Furman will be a different beast on offense and better on defense.

[FUBeAR]

Dumb thing about FCS, that Sam Houston can be in this poll
They are leaving and not playoff eligible, why bother letting them be in the poll, idiots in charge of the division that's why

Per Hero Sports…

“We decided Sam Houston and Jacksonville State were eligible to be ranked in our Top 25 if we deemed one or both of them worthy. The two programs are transitioning to the FBS with their first season in Conference USA coming in 2023. They are not eligible for the FCS playoffs, but they are playing full FCS schedules as part of the WAC (Sam Houston) and ASUN (Jacksonville State) conferences. In our opinion, the players and coaches still deserve to be recognized with individual accolades and team rankings.”

FUBeAR disagrees with what their “Players and Coaches still deserve,” but Hero Sports owns their own content y’know. These are not the rankings of the “idiots in charge of the division.” Those only appear on Playoff Selection Sunday.

So will those two be excluded from the other two main polls that run during the season (Media and Coaches)?
I would surely hope so, would seem idiotic and a poor use of what few resources FCS has for the division to prop up any program on its way out.

Dunno…agree with you, but not sure how they will be handled in any rankings/polls. They are definitely not eligible for the Playoffs as they are ramping up from 63 to 85 scholarships. Would think, they will be excluded from the Coaches Poll based on this, but Stats Perform (the ‘media poll’) will have to make their own decision.

Think about it though. Both Teams have decent-sized fan bases. Why cut off the ‘clicks’ ranking them and including their Players & Coaches in pre- and post-season “All-whatever” Teams and “…of the Year” honors would generate for their content? Hero Sports made the right financial decision for their stakeholders (while justifying it as being “for the kids” - always a “winning” justification for any self-serving decision) and FUBeAR would imagine that Stats Perform will follow suit.

Remember, Intercollegiate Athletics are ONLY about the money for all involved now.

[AllTimeFU]

The DINS have a ways to go to get respect from FCS media, and I bet we will see it from SoCon media; I'm guessing Furman will be placed 5-7.

Just as FuBear suggested, Mercer deserves a little more respect due to beating Chatty and a last-second loss to ETSU.
The same thing can be said for Furman.
Furman lost the lead and the game to ETSU at the very end. Furman also lost at the end to playing very well at the time WCU team. Furman played defensively well enough to beat Chatty but couldn't get any offense.

This will be an interesting year for Furman in the SoCon. Furman had major turnover in its coaching staff. I like the changes, and after watching several practices and a few scrimmages I think Furman will be a different beast on offense and better on defense.

It looks like we'll have an experienced line with a couple high-end tackles. We gave a new OL coach, Coach McCutchan who look to have great experience and a proven track record.. We have a stable of running backs. A true tight end transfer and much better competition and experience at QB. My question is about play makers at the WR and slot positions. Will the QB have targets in the new system?

[Paul C]

i haven't really looked but my recollection is that ETSU lost a bunch of talent....

[The Jackal]

i haven't really looked but my recollection is that ETSU lost a bunch of talent....

Off the top of my head, they lost their star OT and RB. I think their middle linebacker was old enough to collect social security, so I believe he's gone as well.

[The Jackal]

The DINS have a ways to go to get respect from FCS media, and I bet we will see it from SoCon media; I'm guessing Furman will be placed 5-7.

Just as FuBear suggested, Mercer deserves a little more respect due to beating Chatty and a last-second loss to ETSU.
The same thing can be said for Furman.
Furman lost the lead and the game to ETSU at the very end. Furman also lost at the end to playing very well at the time WCU team. Furman played defensively well enough to beat Chatty but couldn't get any offense.

This will be an interesting year for Furman in the SoCon. Furman had major turnover in its coaching staff. I like the changes, and after watching several practices and a few scrimmages I think Furman will be a different beast on offense and better on defense.

Same story, new season.

Furman is a consistent passing game from being a very dangerous team.

The running backs are excellent. The offensive line is a veteran group.

Defensively, the backfield is stacked. The front seven is big and physical.

We've got to find ways to throw the ball consistently. Maybe this is the year and Wilson is the guy.

[apaladin]

The DINS have a ways to go to get respect from FCS media, and I bet we will see it from SoCon media; I'm guessing Furman will be placed 5-7.

Just as FuBear suggested, Mercer deserves a little more respect due to beating Chatty and a last-second loss to ETSU.
The same thing can be said for Furman.
Furman lost the lead and the game to ETSU at the very end. Furman also lost at the end to playing very well at the time WCU team. Furman played defensively well enough to beat Chatty but couldn't get any offense.

This will be an interesting year for Furman in the SoCon. Furman had major turnover in its coaching staff. I like the changes, and after watching several practices and a few scrimmages I think Furman will be a different beast on offense and better on defense.

It looks like we'll have an experienced line with a couple high-end tackles. We gave a new OL coach, Coach McCutchan who look to have great experience and a proven track record.. We have a stable of running backs. A true tight end transfer and much better competition and experience at QB. My question is about play makers at the WR and slot positions. Will the QB have targets in the new system?

Competition yes but experience at QB has to be a no. One QB has less than one year, one has a couple of starts at another school and has yet to practice at FU, and a true freshman. The whole group has less than a years experience.

[AllTimeFU]

The DINS have a ways to go to get respect from FCS media, and I bet we will see it from SoCon media; I'm guessing Furman will be placed 5-7.

Just as FuBear suggested, Mercer deserves a little more respect due to beating Chatty and a last-second loss to ETSU.
The same thing can be said for Furman.
Furman lost the lead and the game to ETSU at the very end. Furman also lost at the end to playing very well at the time WCU team. Furman played defensively well enough to beat Chatty but couldn't get any offense.

This will be an interesting year for Furman in the SoCon. Furman had major turnover in its coaching staff. I like the changes, and after watching several practices and a few scrimmages I think Furman will be a different beast on offense and better on defense.

It looks like we'll have an experienced line with a couple high-end tackles. We gave a new OL coach, Coach McCutchan who look to have great experience and a proven track record.. We have a stable of running backs. A true tight end transfer and much better competition and experience at QB. My question is about play makers at the WR and slot positions. Will the QB have targets in the new system?

Competition yes but experience at QB has to be a no. One QB has less than one year, one has a couple of starts at another school and has yet to practice at FU, and a true freshman. The whole group has less than a years experience.

Valid points on the QB situation. Just hoping for some improved play through new faces, new places and new OC. Looks like that's the linchpin to this team. I guess that's just about every team.

[FUBeAR]

Transfer QB from PC had 12 QB starts and played in 18 games as QB there (Fall of 2019 & Spring 2021). He was a leading PFL QB during this timeframe.

https://gobluehose.com/sports/football ... -huff/5296

In the Fall of 2021, playing for the Coach what does not punt and who came to PC using the BYOQB methodology, he was 17-21 (80.95%) for 225 yards and 4 TD’s with 0 INT’s while playing “Not QB” in 4 games for the Ho’s of Blue.

[Afurmanfan]

Jace has the talent and attitude you need in a qb. Will have a season of practice and a lot of game experience, along with a spring practice and a preseason practice. Much different than true freshman having missed preseason. Oh yeah-with 10 more pounds of muscle.
Still young but huge difference in preparation versus last season.

[AstroDin]

^^^ I might be placing way too much stock in the QB/OC coaching change.
So take what I'm going to say for what it's worth—probably nothing.

In the practices and scrimmages, I saw Justin Roper's coaching style and interactions are more hands-on and appear more detailed-related to the QBs and technique.

Also, I overheard someone say that Jace and JR have clicked. Not saying that Jace didn't with GQ, just that there appears to be a connection with JW/JR, for what that's worth.

I guess we will see how JR coaches up this stable of QBs.


Concerning the receiving corp… we need to remember Wayne Andersn Jr is now playing slot - a big move IMO.