2022 FCS Playoffs Thoughts & Discussion

[DePereBisonFan]

Probably I missed something, but why doesn't the WAC get a bid this year? Same with MEAC.
Also - how did EKY get in over Austin Peay, when they have the same conference and OOC record yet Austin Peay beat them head to head?
Good showing by St Thomas this year. They will be in the MVFC before we know it.

[Professor Chaos]

Probably I missed something, but why doesn't the WAC get a bid this year? Same with MEAC.
Also - how did EKY get in over Austin Peay, when they have the same conference and OOC record yet Austin Peay beat them head to head?
Good showing by St Thomas this year. They will be in the MVFC before we know it.

The ASUN and WAC are "sharing" an autobid this year. Last year they actually played a round robin between each other and called in the "AQ7" or something like that but this year there was enough teams (6 in each) to play separate conference schedules but I don't think either would've been able to get an autobid on their own due to the D2->D1 and FCS->FBS transitioning teams in each conference. They had a super convoluted process to determine the WAC/ASUN autobid that you can read about here and try to figure out but it pretty much came down to EKU being the ASUN champ by tie breaker and being rated higher than Abilene Christian out of the WAC in some power ranking put together by Warren Nolan I think.

Next year the OVC and Southland are doing something similar and sharing an autobid and I'm assuming the ASUN/WAC will be doing the same with SHSU, Jax St, and Kennesaw St all moving to the FBS.

The MEAC forfeited their autobid in 2015 when they started sending their champion to the Celebration Bowl instead.

[BigHorns]

ASUN/WAC and OVC/Southland might as well go ahead and merge and just call it east/west divisions.

[BisonNeil]

Bet MGM odds to win it:

SDSU +200
Sac St +250
Montana St +750
NDSU +800
Incarnate Word +1400
Weber St +1600
Montana +1600
Holy Cross +2000
William & Mary +2500
Samford +3000

Those odds are crap, based almost totally on seeding. Sac St has shit in the bed every year they have been seeded. If the Bison keep winning I’ll be totally f’ing shocked if the Bison have to hit the road.

I think the seeding the committee did was terrific if for only one reason, a potential rematch in the semifinals against the Turds and Kitties. Both cold weather outside teams, this time in SD. That could be a phenomenal game to watch!!

[NDSUBowler]

Bet MGM odds to win it:

SDSU +200
Sac St +250
Montana St +750
NDSU +800
Incarnate Word +1400
Weber St +1600
Montana +1600
Holy Cross +2000
William & Mary +2500
Samford +3000

Where on BetMGM did you see these?

Buddy in Nevada can't find those odds anywhere even listed.

[BigLakeBison]

Those odds are crap, based almost totally on seeding. Sac St has shit in the bed every year they have been seeded. If the Bison keep winning I’ll be totally f’ing shocked if the Bison have to hit the road.

I think the seeding the committee did was terrific if for only one reason, a potential rematch in the semifinals against the Turds and Kitties. Both cold weather outside teams, this time in SD. That could be a phenomenal game to watch!!

Eh, seems pretty accurate to me. Those odds are largely based on computer algorithms/rankings with some human judgement added for good measure. A similar process to the Selection Committee selecting the seeds. Seems reasonable to me that they would be similar. I think we all have some curiosity about whether the Sac St. team can finally live up to their ranking but based on their resume to date and what they have accomplished so far this season, it doesn't seem like a stretch for the odds for them to be what they are. The one I would probably question more is Montana. I would probably put them a bit lower in the odds but they did only lose to Weber by 3 and their strength of schedule is much tougher than the three teams behind them. I guess we'll see.

[stevdock]

Two things were blatantly obvious from the bracket this year. First small conferences you are given your chances, you better get it done. Second, if you are a middle of the road team in a Power Conference would you be better off (playoff wise) in one of the smaller conferences? I never saw UNI play this year, but are you seriously telling me that they couldn't beat at least half of this playoff field?

One last thing NDSU wise. Even as many issues as this team has going on, they have it all set up to go do something special this year. They can easily win first game by 40. Second game by 30. And then I'm not exactly convinced that we are going on the road for the Semi's, but even still they can still get it done by multiple touchdowns.

[BigLakeBison]

Two things were blatantly obvious from the bracket this year. First small conferences you are given your chances, you better get it done. Second, if you are a middle of the road team in a Power Conference would you be better off (playoff wise) in one of the smaller conferences? I never saw UNI play this year, but are you seriously telling me that they couldn't beat at least half of this playoff field?

One last thing NDSU wise. Even as many issues as this team has going on, they have it all set up to go do something special this year. They can easily win first game by 40. Second game by 30. And then I'm not exactly convinced that we are going on the road for the Semi's, but even still they can still get it done by multiple touchdowns.

UNI has the potential to beat 8-10 of the teams in the field. However, they didn't win enough of their games to get that chance. If they moved to the OVC (for example), they would likely win the conference every year but would it benefit them in any meaningful way. Overtime I think they would end up playing to the level of their competition in the OVC and be less prepared to make a run in the playoffs. See Jacksonville State. If you're at the top of the MVFC or Big Sky, you're going to be in the top 5 odds to win the championship. If you're a middle of the pack MVFC or Big Sky team you lump yourself in with everybody else. It is what it is.

[ndsubison1]

Where on BetMGM did you see these?

Buddy in Nevada can't find those odds anywhere even listed.

Saw it on the app.

[NDSUBowler]

Saw it on the app.

Hm, I don't see it there now. Only CFB future is FBS