OT: D1

[Fightingscot82]

FCS Championship game last night was awesome. Montana State won in OT on a 4th and 14 against Illinois State, who made the championship game as an at-large bid.

[IUP24]

Its really cool to see that a kid can go from D2 to SEC in a blip - but that also means the P4 is going to come poaching.

It also underscores that nobody is really good at evaluating talent or potential. Chambliss was unranked, no stars, and had no D1 offers in high school, not even PWO. A lot of people are fooled to think that being D1 is about skill and performance but the first step is the eye test and a 6-0 skinny QB doesn't get D1 offers unless your dad is a legend. But that D1 rejection/overlooked chip on the shoulder also motivates large swaths of our rosters to dive into the portal the moment they have some college film.

The greatest of ironies is that before a game was played people screaming about who doesn't belong, but the highlights of the playoff have been the performance of 2 and 3 star guys from JMU and Indiana outplaying 4 and 5 star guys. The teams aren't good enough but the coaches and the players individually are.

Like to point out two items in response...

1) I think the big thing that's often overlooked is "fit," especially with college football. Chambliss was perfect for the type of offense that Ferris State was running (albeit, not immediately because he wasn't starting as a freshman).

2) This is taking nothing away from Curt or Indiana, but I do struggle with the moniker at this stage of them being the underdogs and an island of misfits who were underrecruited. That may have been true last year to a point, but it isn't this year. They have the best "team" in the country. I don't care nearly enough to research this myself (although I know somebody will likely do the digging and come to say I was wrong), but I read the other day that Indiana has more 4th, 5th, and 6th year guys on their team than they have freshman and sophomores. And the same article referenced that they have more 6th years in their two-deep than they do underclassmen. The average age of Indiana's team in 23.5 years old, which is just 1.5 years younger in terms of average age than the team with the youngest NFL roster.

It's irrelevant to what stars any of these guys were that are playing at Indiana currently. Because none of the guys Indiana is rolling out onto the field are guys that he recruited himself. Curt's not developing anyone. He's buying finished products on their 3rd or 4th teams. 80-85% of the P4 can't buy the players Curt's buying. His transfer class is absolutely loaded for next year already. Most of the players he has committed are elder statesmen. He will again have a team of 23 year olds going up against 19 year olds that everyone else is trotting out there. Physically there's a huge difference there. I'm not suggesting that Curt should get no credit for helping Mendoza find another level, but he was really good at Cal last year too and wasn't playing behind an offensive line that cost about 8-10 million to put together.

[Fightingscot82]

Former Cal Vulcan Jack Abercrombie is the new OL coach at Washington State.

[Fightingscot82]

Like to point out two items in response...

1) I think the big thing that's often overlooked is "fit," especially with college football. Chambliss was perfect for the type of offense that Ferris State was running (albeit, not immediately because he wasn't starting as a freshman).

2) This is taking nothing away from Curt or Indiana, but I do struggle with the moniker at this stage of them being the underdogs and an island of misfits who were underrecruited. That may have been true last year to a point, but it isn't this year. They have the best "team" in the country. I don't care nearly enough to research this myself (although I know somebody will likely do the digging and come to say I was wrong), but I read the other day that Indiana has more 4th, 5th, and 6th year guys on their team than they have freshman and sophomores. And the same article referenced that they have more 6th years in their two-deep than they do underclassmen. The average age of Indiana's team in 23.5 years old, which is just 1.5 years younger in terms of average age than the team with the youngest NFL roster.

It's irrelevant to what stars any of these guys were that are playing at Indiana currently. Because none of the guys Indiana is rolling out onto the field are guys that he recruited himself. Curt's not developing anyone. He's buying finished products on their 3rd or 4th teams. 80-85% of the P4 can't buy the players Curt's buying. His transfer class is absolutely loaded for next year already. Most of the players he has committed are elder statesmen. He will again have a team of 23 year olds going up against 19 year olds that everyone else is trotting out there. Physically there's a huge difference there. I'm not suggesting that Curt should get no credit for helping Mendoza find another level, but he was really good at Cal last year too and wasn't playing behind an offensive line that cost about 8-10 million to put together.

I do wonder how long the money from Mark Cuban and others will last.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

FCS Championship game last night was awesome. Montana State won in OT on a 4th and 14 against Illinois State, who made the championship game as an at-large bid.

Didn't even know it was on.

Not much marketing.

[Fightingscot82]

Didn't even know it was on.

Not much marketing.

If its available on replay, watch it. Honestly the best game of the post-season.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I do wonder how long the money from Mark Cuban and others will last.

A long time. They've been waiting to win like this forever. In fact, the money flowing in is probably going to drastically increase.

On our level, I wish IUP would mirror what Curt is doing. I don't even want them to sign many freshmen anymore.

[Chuck Norris]

FCS Championship game last night was awesome. Montana State won in OT on a 4th and 14 against Illinois State, who made the championship game as an at-large bid.

Crazy run by Illinois State. From an 8-4 regular season wrapped up by a 30 point loss to a 7-5 Southern Illinois team, to losing the NC game by a point in OT. And they had a fg blocked at the end of regulation that could’ve won it.

[IUP24]

Crazy run by Illinois State. From an 8-4 regular season wrapped up by a 30 point loss to a 7-5 Southern Illinois team, to losing the NC game by a point in OT. And they had a fg blocked at the end of regulation that could’ve won it.

What's comical is that Illinois State is the exact team that those here would have been posting about in the FBS format had they made the field. They would have been mad because they wouldn't be entertained enough with their inclusion in the field. By that token, the Redbirds shouldn't have even gotten on the plane to Fargo. But they did and they went on a historic run. Their upset of NDSU in the Fargo Dome is the greatest postseason upset in the history of any level of college football.

Postseason championship inclusion matters.

[IUPNation]

What's comical is that Illinois State is the exact team that those here would have been posting about in the FBS format had they made the field. They would have been mad because they wouldn't be entertained enough with their inclusion in the field. By that token, the Redbirds shouldn't have even gotten on the plane to Fargo. But they did and they went on a historic run. Their upset of NDSU in the Fargo Dome is the greatest postseason upset in the history of any level of college football.

Postseason championship inclusion matters.

Was hoping Villanova had this ride…

College foosball fans need to realize the regular season gets you invited to a second season where everyone starts 0-0.

[Ram040506]

What's comical is that Illinois State is the exact team that those here would have been posting about in the FBS format had they made the field. They would have been mad because they wouldn't be entertained enough with their inclusion in the field. By that token, the Redbirds shouldn't have even gotten on the plane to Fargo. But they did and they went on a historic run. Their upset of NDSU in the Fargo Dome is the greatest postseason upset in the history of any level of college football.

Postseason championship inclusion matters.

Isn't the Missouri Valley Conference considered one of the top FCS conferences? I think you're reaching a bit on that upset. They finished 3rd in the MVC so they were quite battle tested on the year. Lost to Oklahoma in week 1. Is this not similar to finishing 3rd in the SEC for that level?

[Chuck Norris]

What's comical is that Illinois State is the exact team that those here would have been posting about in the FBS format had they made the field. They would have been mad because they wouldn't be entertained enough with their inclusion in the field. By that token, the Redbirds shouldn't have even gotten on the plane to Fargo. But they did and they went on a historic run. Their upset of NDSU in the Fargo Dome is the greatest postseason upset in the history of any level of college football.

Postseason championship inclusion matters.

Well it’s not really an apples to apples thing with the FBS discussion. Illinois State is in the Missouri Valley which is certainly one of the power conferences of FCS which, along with it being a 24 team field, is what got Illinois State in.

It would be more an equivalent of Missouri making the CFP and going on a run.

[Ram040506]

Well it’s not really an apples to apples thing with the FBS discussion. Illinois State is in the Missouri Valley which is certainly one of the power conferences of FCS which, along with it being a 24 team field, is what got Illinois State in.

It would be more an equivalent of Missouri making the CFP and going on a run.

Or Ole Miss...

[IUP24]

Isn't the Missouri Valley Conference considered one of the top FCS conferences? I think you're reaching a bit on that upset. They finished 3rd in the MVC so they were quite battle tested on the year. Lost to Oklahoma in week 1. Is this not similar to finishing 3rd in the SEC for that level?

They were a four touchdown underdog going up against the greatest dynasty that modern college football has ever seen. I had previously heard all the usual suspects say that how Vegas would handicap a football game should dictate postseason selection and seeding.

[IUPNation]

Or Ole Miss...

Ole Miss is pretty good….