For populating the field, you'd do just as well seeding the top 4 then pulling names out of "regional" hats. For predicting outcomes Sagarin is the man.
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Of course he is he has the bison ranked #1
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They just decide how they want things to turn out and then attempt to back into some fairly legitimate sounding reasons for it apparently. The bottom line is they want to save money on travel costs and don't like to admit how dominate one particular conference is.
I don't think anyone who follows JSU was breathing any sighs of relief at that, nor were we thinking much about the number of MVFC teams in our half of the bracket. I don't think there's any such thing as an "easy" path to the playoffs. And really, as a longtime visitor to AGS who is weary of the "OVC teams don't belong" comments, getting an MVFC team or two at our place would have been a great opportunity for the Gamecocks to change the story.
Also, I think plenty of us were somewhat annoyed at seeing Chattanooga as a potential first opponent. Part of the joy of the playoffs for fans is facing unfamiliar competition. We in Jacksonville never tire of seeing the Cocks beat the Mocs, but we've already had that joy this season. Safe to say that many of us will be pulling for Fordham in the first round.
As for McNeese, they'd have to buck lots of history just to get past the second round, right? JSU was a member of the Southland from 1995-2002 for football. McNeese was the only conference team the Gamecocks never beat in that time, so it was sweet to see JSU absolutely dominate the Cowboys in the second round on the road in 2013. For the sake of novelty, I'd prefer one of the CAA teams if JSU reaches the semifinals.
No matter the opponent, it's just great to be making plans for a home game in December.