(08-30-2013 08:52 AM)Polish Hammer Wrote:  Towson State is no joke, they play in the very tough CAA which could be considered the SEC of DIAA. The CAA has Stony Brook, Villanova, James Madison, William & Mary, Maine, Delaware and more, so Ls are spread out but there's always a handful of teams in the top 25. Last year they gave a good effort and lost to Kent State and LSU, then also lost to ODU and James Madison.

Indeed that is a very good FCS conference.

As many might remember, I believe Stony Brook is a university with an excellent future as an academic and athletic institution. They beat Army handily last year and led Syracuse going into the 2nd half.

Towson.

Just Towson.

Not Towson State.

Official attendance for BSU game vs. ISU: 16,327. Better attended than most games at BSU, and the home crowd went home happy after a shaky first half.

(08-30-2013 09:22 AM)exCincy Kid Wrote:  Official attendance for BSU game vs. ISU: 16,327. Better attended than most games at BSU, and the home crowd went home happy after a shaky first half.

Just think how happy they would have been had they stayed for the second half!

A pretty decent Ball State team beats up on a top 20 FCS team. While the top FCS schools can beat FBS schools, it does show there still is a pretty good gap. Where is that annoying Redbird fan at?

Depth is what separates the top DIAA and bottom DIA schools. One advantage they'll always maintain is the instantly eligible transfers. These days kids don't want to sit a season out, and they realize they can pick a top DIAA program and still excel andor reach the NFL.

I wouldn't count on ISU finishing top 20. They lost the 2012 MVFC Offensive POY, QB Matt Brown, and their new O-line didn't look too hot from what I gather.

It's a mediocre program at best. They've won their conference exactly one time (1999) in the 40 years they've been in the Missouri Valley/Gateway. It's a basketball school, and they're not particularly good at that either (last title and NCAA appearance: 1997-98). A lot is made of their nice stadium renovation, but it's literally the only renovation they've done in the last 50 years, and it only brings their capacity to 13k. They're really good at hype though.