I don't know. Athlon has still always been a very pro A-10/CAA site. That is all the rankng for NDSU is. #1 or #3 ...should always be a 1-loss or undefeated team ...and they are defending champs. You are quite correct on some key losses. In fact they should be #3 team in the MVFC. None-the-less ...if you are going to show respect of the top-5 ...#1 is where a defensing champ belongs.
5. JMU
6. ODU
7. Towson
I mean Old Dominion proved the problems in the CAA in 2011, yet they have these high rankings. If you are doing your homework ...you will see that Villanova returns "literally" the entire team ...less the punter. Also, they have had only 1 season with more than 3-losses in the past 10-years (last year). Where are they? ODU returns their star QB, but loses all their receivers, all but 1 O-lineman, the entire secondary, punter, and kicker. Now if you look very closely, ODU had 2 punters last year, so they are okay. They also return their RB's. So things look good for them ...but not top-10 worthy. JMU ...we all know their coach is an ass ...but he wins. But they have had 5-losses in each of the past 3-seasons (how was that play-off worthy? We all know the answer). They lose much of their defensive middle and secondary ...along with their two-best O-Linemen. I understand they brought in a new QB. Towson brought in a great cpach a few years back ...you have to respect their rank @ 7. In fact you could call them the top team in the CAA, but with no track record ....probably not. They do return a lot of seniors ...but who knows ...they could just as easily end-up with a more traditional 2-win season.
I guess my point it that they are picking favorites, more than analyzing. In fact, the only reason YSU is in any top-25 is out of respect for the heritage, and name recognition. Will we be the big "sleeper" in 2012? I hope so.
