Just a little sports chatter

The opening round of the FCS playoffs has come and gone and after a couple days a looking from afar, it was a Saturday that was mostly uneventful. Only a couple games had some real intrigue and as I talk about the games, a theme of sloppiness and turnovers comes to the forefront in most of the eight playoff games. One of the other big storylines from the selection show was a record six CAA teams that made the field of 24. Five of those teams were in action during the open weekend and outside of the one guaranteed CAA win, they went winless. And looking back at all of those games the theme of quick starts followed by turnovers and missed opportunities showcased itself. It's a pretty bad look for a conference that was a meat grinder all year and was thought to be the best conference this year. But it goes to show you how crazy the season has been so far. One more interesting note...only one road team won and other than Duquesne impressive showing the only road team...

Well, that's over....well not quite just yet. It was one of the craziest, most unpredictable regular seasons that I can remember and it sure was a lot of fun. It was a mostly quiet week (go figure) in the FCS landscape as it was more of a week of records and accomplishments than it was intriguing. Now that isn't to say we had some really good games and finishes but at the end of the day things came out a little less exciting than the weeks prior. Record Setter It really is a shame that we won't be able to see Samford QB Devlin Hodges in the playoffs. His career ended this past Saturday, and during the 38-27 victory over ETSU, Hodges set the FCS record for passing yards ending his career at 14,584 passing yards. That broke the mark set by the late, great Steve "Air' McNair. Pretty amazing that the record stood for over two decades "Who wouldn't want to be the all-time passing leader? I'm just really glad I've had a lot of help along the way,...

So the season is officially over and it was a wacky season to say the least. We have a clear favorite but after NDSU who really knows who's the second best team out there let alone who's all in that next tier of championship hopefuls. The committee is gonna have its hands full as there will be a lot of teams with 6 and 7 Div-I wins all square on the bubble and looking to be in the field of 24. Needless to say that this year things are a little bit stretched at the bottom. But that is what makes it all the more interesting We'll know officially in about an hour or so, but for now here are my field of 24. Bids done by conference. Few surprises too Big Sky (4) Weber State, UC-Davis, E. Washington, Montana State Big South (2) Kennesaw, Monmouth CAA (6) Deleware, Stony Brook, Maine, James Madison, Towson, Elon Missouri Valley (3) S. Dakota St, N. Dakota St, Indiana St Northeast (1) Duquesne Ohio Valley (2) Jacksonville St, SE Missouri St Patriot (1)...

Well...I think this is the season of chaos or at least confusion cause things once again got turned on its head this week. Things were thought to have finally got to a point where we knew where everyone stood then a couple conferences had some bad weekend (more on that in a sec). It is kinda cool that all this is going down because it makes for a more interesting conversation of who may or may not get into the playoffs this year. And it also opens the door for a few teams that wouldn't normally get some consideration, more than a fair shot if they take care of business. Now the argument can be made that while it is nice to see the middle nice and tight it won't matter come the end of the day cause the top tier of the FCS is now miles away from the pack. And to an extent, they would be right, but its still fun to see the race to the playoffs. One more week left...it will definitely be fun. Oh boy was it a bad week It was a bad week for a few teams and conferences but the...

So its been almost a year since I've been doing this, other posts aside, which is pretty cool. Hopefully, I start turning up the dial on things doing a little bit more but a solid start. Anyways With the Selection Sunday only a couple weeks away the race for the playoff is reaching its final stretch. And the fun part, there are so many teams who look to have that final push to get in the dance. Some who, just a few weeks ago was left for dead (Samford), to the ones who are fading very fast (Illinois State). So unlike last year where I talked about 35 teams, not sure what the hell I was thinking, stick to the one that is on the playoff bubble. For reference, that will be the ones at 6-3 or 5-4 in power conferences or in some cases in lower conferences with big wins. Oh, one more note...not every 5-4 team will be in the bubble lis.  Big Sky Locks: E. Washington, UC-Davis, Weber St Bubble: Idaho St: 6-3 (5-1) Remaining: @Cal Poly, Weber St The Bengals ...

Well just when you think things clear up you get a few results that put things right back in the fog of a couple weeks ago. Some playoff mainstays are in some serious trouble and the group of teams sitting at 5-4 now is large and features a mix of teams with some very interesting resumes, schedules, and conference races that will make the last two weeks very intriguing. But at least a few teams have risen above the fray to give themselves less of a worry but onto the recap of Week 10 Here's your ticket Week 10 saw five teams have an opportunity to punch their ticket into the FCS playoffs, two of those teams got those tickets punched. North Dakota St got a stiff challenge from Youngstown St but secured at least a share of the MVFC championship with a 17-7 in the FargoDome. Mind you it was the Bison's eight straight conference title, and to think people (myself included) thought they were vulnerable. Once again they look like the class of the FCS and with everything else goin...

Yea, not gonna lie, since I've been closely following the FCS this could be the craziest season in terms of the number of teams who not only can win a conference title but can also make the playoffs. Just off the top of my head, maybe about 40-50 or so teams in the jumble to get those coveted 24 playoff spots. Call it parody or luck, I just like to think that things are starting to even out as you see talent go across the board. Yes, the amount of national championship contenders is about the same but even that has new blood and it makes for a very fun last month and a half in the season. Now, this one won't go team by team and talk about the prospects of each cause the next couple of weeks can clear things up nicely. Plus, I don't want to write 40+ outlooks...the one last year took forever, although it did get the most reads (go figure) So we shall do it like this, go thru each conference (yes even the MEAC, SWAC, and Ivy League) and say who should win the conference, ...