playoffs

[guinpen]

Looks to me that every team we beat this year made the play-offs.

[Double ET]

Looks to me that every team we beat this year made the play-offs.

Also, many of the teams who beat us.

[guinpen]

Looks to me that every team we beat this year made the play-offs.

Also, many of the teams who beat us.

this is true, we played 6 play-off teams and split with them 3-3. Throw in Mich St and 7 out of our 10 game schedule were as tough as I can recall.

[goodnews]

The FCS is so watered down that suggesting that it's the toughest schedule you can recall is a stretch.  Although the MVFC is well represented, I don't believe that the teams are more talented.  Actually, I think the overall talent of the middle-of-the-road teams in the conference is less talented then in the past

[YSUGO]

I agree about the playoffs being watered down. 

[penguinpower]

The FCS is so watered down that suggesting that it's the toughest schedule you can recall is a stretch.  Although the MVFC is well represented, I don't believe that the teams are more talented.  Actually, I think the overall talent of the middle-of-the-road teams in the conference is less talented then in the past

I see your perspective.  However, have you considered that the rich get richer?  What I'm saying here is have you considered that the best teams are getting better making the middle of the road look worse? 

When I look at NDSU, SDSU and UNI I see teams that could bully several power 5 teams....even mid level power 5.  And they have.  They've even beaten them.  Do you think the 2007 Appalachian State team could beat the NDSU teams of the last 5 years?  I don't think they would have the same level of success.  They had exceptional speed on those team's but they weren't going to consistently win against more physical teams. The MVFC has to be the most difficult conference at a y level from a parody standpoint. NDSU could play with just about anyone in the country with that defense.

[guinpen]

The FCS is so watered down that suggesting that it's the toughest schedule you can recall is a stretch.  Although the MVFC is well represented, I don't believe that the teams are more talented.  Actually, I think the overall talent of the middle-of-the-road teams in the conference is less talented then in the past

Whether the FCS is watered down, or not, is a separate issue, and for the record I do not agree that it is. Back in the day when Appy beat Michigan it was a shocker, over the past 10 years MVFC has done quite well against P5 schools, winning quite a few games and taking many other games to the wire. NDSU is having problems getting P5 schools on the schedule.

Two of our middle-of-the-road teams UNI and MSU lost to P5 Iowa St 16-10 and Oklahoma St 23-16.

My point was simply this, I do not recall a season where we played this many play-off teams along with a P5 school.

[Penguin Nick]

It's a joke that 24 teams make the tournament...way too many.  The regular season has been watered down.  I believe 16 was plenty, I could live with 20 but that's it. 

[Wick250]

It's a joke that 24 teams make the tournament...way too many.  The regular season has been watered down.  I believe 16 was plenty, I could live with 20 but that's it. 

Once the partial scholarship leagues and even the non-scholarship Pioneer League forced their way into the playoffs, expansion to 24 became inevitable. I am all for a return to 16 but that should come only with the elimination of the automatic bids to the weak leagues.  And that will never happen.

[YSUGO]

The playoffs are a joke.  You have teams that spend the bare minimum in the smaller leagues less schollys etc.  take out the Ivy League and HSBU schools that have their own bowl that takes out another league.  As for the rich get richer I don’t think making the playoffs makes you money.  And again being in a conference where we are always going to be a bubble team is competitive and economically a disaster as our track record has shown in the MVFC.

[penguinpower]

The playoffs are a joke.  You have teams that spend the bare minimum in the smaller leagues less schollys etc.  take out the Ivy League and HSBU schools that have their own bowl that takes out another league.  As for the rich get richer I don’t think making the playoffs makes you money.  And again being in a conference where we are always going to be a bubble team is competitive and economically a disaster as our track record has shown in the MVFC.

What I meant by rich get richer is not really about.money.  it s about the caliber of players.  That's what I meant.