(10-05-2014 07:43 PM)MU ATO Wrote:  I highly doubt passing ECU will be impossible or even hard for that matter. ECU may lose which would obviously help but even if they win out a couple things would most likely happen.
1. The UNC & VT wins might not be as magical as the day they took place. I personally think UNC will finish near the bottom of the ACC & VT will be middle. Still solid wins but not Top 25 wins.

2. ECU will eventually stop rising no matter what. That always happens and if ECU & MU win out the 13-0 will look better than 11-1 especially when it's broken down and the dominance MU put up is in the numbers. No matter what kind of schedule is played if the winning team is dominant that's hard to say they arnt worthy.

3. MU will jump ECU especially once the undefeated teams start to dwindle. Voters have a natural inclination to vote undefeated teams higher.

4. Marshall is better than ECU and would beat them by 4 TDs or more

If Marshall is 13-0 and ECU is 11-1 then the system should be designed to just do the right thing and let us settle it on the field with a match up in the Peach Bowl I would also be delighted to take a $1k bet with you on the 4 TD victory with the loser making the $1k donation to the other schools booster club

My heart is all about an undefeated Marshall passing by a one loss ECU, but my head thinks they will end up right behind them if they both win out. The C-USA championship could possibly make the difference in the end. I haven't seen either play this year, but didn't Marshall beat ECU like a Mike Tyson wife last year?

I've got a weird feeling about ECU @ USF this weekend. Possible upset?

It really doesn't matter very much right now where ECU and Marshall are ranked. There are only 10 unbeatens in the country; if Marshall keeps winning, they'll begin to stand out like a sore thumb.

Massey's composite has Marshall at #22 and ECU at #35. Sooner or later the rest of the country will catch up and recognize what many of the computers already have. No ill-will toward ECU, two strong G5's is better than one.

(10-06-2014 05:55 AM)ShoreBuc Wrote:  

(10-05-2014 07:43 PM)MU ATO Wrote:  I highly doubt passing ECU will be impossible or even hard for that matter. ECU may lose which would obviously help but even if they win out a couple things would most likely happen.
1. The UNC & VT wins might not be as magical as the day they took place. I personally think UNC will finish near the bottom of the ACC & VT will be middle. Still solid wins but not Top 25 wins.

2. ECU will eventually stop rising no matter what. That always happens and if ECU & MU win out the 13-0 will look better than 11-1 especially when it's broken down and the dominance MU put up is in the numbers. No matter what kind of schedule is played if the winning team is dominant that's hard to say they arnt worthy.

3. MU will jump ECU especially once the undefeated teams start to dwindle. Voters have a natural inclination to vote undefeated teams higher.

4. Marshall is better than ECU and would beat them by 4 TDs or more

If Marshall is 13-0 and ECU is 11-1 then the system should be designed to just do the right thing and let us settle it on the field with a match up in the Peach Bowl I would also be delighted to take a $1k bet with you on the 4 TD victory with the loser making the $1k donation to the other schools booster club

To be honest with you, I'd be happy with a Marshall-ECU Peach Bowl game!

ECU will remained ranked well ahead of Marshall unless they lose. Which I'm hoping is very likely by time UCF rolls into town.

ECU beat a Top 25 VT team and UNC with their only loss coming to South Carolina. There is not even a single team comparable to any of these teams on Marshall's entire schedule.

Assume both teams win out- what game on Marshall's schedule is the game that lets them leapfrog over ECU? I can't see any such game as of today.

(10-06-2014 08:56 AM)HerdFan_n_WV Wrote:  

(10-06-2014 05:55 AM)ShoreBuc Wrote:  

(10-05-2014 07:43 PM)MU ATO Wrote:  I highly doubt passing ECU will be impossible or even hard for that matter. ECU may lose which would obviously help but even if they win out a couple things would most likely happen.
1. The UNC & VT wins might not be as magical as the day they took place. I personally think UNC will finish near the bottom of the ACC & VT will be middle. Still solid wins but not Top 25 wins.

2. ECU will eventually stop rising no matter what. That always happens and if ECU & MU win out the 13-0 will look better than 11-1 especially when it's broken down and the dominance MU put up is in the numbers. No matter what kind of schedule is played if the winning team is dominant that's hard to say they arnt worthy.

3. MU will jump ECU especially once the undefeated teams start to dwindle. Voters have a natural inclination to vote undefeated teams higher.

4. Marshall is better than ECU and would beat them by 4 TDs or more

If Marshall is 13-0 and ECU is 11-1 then the system should be designed to just do the right thing and let us settle it on the field with a match up in the Peach Bowl I would also be delighted to take a $1k bet with you on the 4 TD victory with the loser making the $1k donation to the other schools booster club

To be honest with you, I'd be happy with a Marshall-ECU Peach Bowl game!

No way. It denigrates both programs. Its a way to protect the power 5 by giving nei5her a "strong" opponent, and let them play by theirselves while everyone else parties in another room. Its a shame they did that to tcu and boise a few years back, both those teams were great teams and neither got to legitimize their team agter. No matter what happens, if ECU makes it or Marshall, every g5 fan should root for them to beat down the inevitable sec team they face

(10-05-2014 06:08 PM)MUther Wrote:  If they'd lost to NC State we wouldn't even be having this conversation. They'd have hung themselves.

Haha, post of the week nominee.

(10-06-2014 08:57 AM)The Knight Time Wrote:  ECU will remained ranked well ahead of Marshall unless they lose. Which I'm hoping is very likely by time UCF rolls into town.

ECU beat a Top 25 VT team and UNC with their only loss coming to South Carolina. There is not even a single team comparable to any of these teams on Marshall's entire schedule.

Assume both teams win out- what game on Marshall's schedule is the game that lets them leapfrog over ECU? I can't see any such game as of today.

Is VT ranked? If the season had ended after that win, good argument. It didn't. ECU has some quality wins, but Marshall is dominating opponents. Undefeated is hard to ignore, and it will get harder as the season plays out. As stated, the computers are already there. I am not claiming Marshall is easily pulling ahead of ECU, but if you bank a season on teams you beat that were ranked in weeks two, three, or four, it's purely wishful thinking. UTSA beat the heck out of Houston. You guys crowned them CUSA champs going away. It turned out Houston sucks. Let's reverse your logic. Name a loss on Marshall's schedule that is worse than the loss to SC?

Bottom line, they are both good teams. I feel the rest of the games will produce a winner. It is by no means a done deal.

(10-06-2014 09:23 AM)WEARE Wrote:  

(10-06-2014 08:57 AM)The Knight Time Wrote:  ECU will remained ranked well ahead of Marshall unless they lose. Which I'm hoping is very likely by time UCF rolls into town.

ECU beat a Top 25 VT team and UNC with their only loss coming to South Carolina. There is not even a single team comparable to any of these teams on Marshall's entire schedule.

Assume both teams win out- what game on Marshall's schedule is the game that lets them leapfrog over ECU? I can't see any such game as of today.

Is VT ranked? If the season had ended after that win, good argument. It didn't. ECU has some quality wins, but Marshall is dominating opponents. Undefeated is hard to ignore, and it will get harder as the season plays out. As stated, the computers are already there. I am not claiming Marshall is easily pulling ahead of ECU, but if you bank a season on teams you beat that were ranked in weeks two, three, or four, it's purely wishful thinking. UTSA beat the heck out of Houston. You guys crowned them CUSA champs going away. It turned out Houston sucks. Let's reverse your logic. Name a loss on Marshall's schedule that is worse than the loss to SC?

Bottom line, they are both good teams. I feel the rest of the games will produce a winner. It is by no means a done deal.

VT is not ranked largely in part becuase of the loss to ECU. 4-2 vs being 5-1. Moot point.

To be honest, I'm a bit baffled that you just made that point about SC. Are you really suggesting that any loss on Marshall's schedule would be better than ECU's loss to South Carolina? Really?

(10-05-2014 11:14 AM)GreenSteve Wrote:  http://sportspolls.usatoday.com/ncaa/foo...ches-poll/

You're welcome!

(10-06-2014 09:49 AM)The Knight Time Wrote:  

(10-06-2014 09:23 AM)WEARE Wrote:  

(10-06-2014 08:57 AM)The Knight Time Wrote:  ECU will remained ranked well ahead of Marshall unless they lose. Which I'm hoping is very likely by time UCF rolls into town.

ECU beat a Top 25 VT team and UNC with their only loss coming to South Carolina. There is not even a single team comparable to any of these teams on Marshall's entire schedule.

Assume both teams win out- what game on Marshall's schedule is the game that lets them leapfrog over ECU? I can't see any such game as of today.

Is VT ranked? If the season had ended after that win, good argument. It didn't. ECU has some quality wins, but Marshall is dominating opponents. Undefeated is hard to ignore, and it will get harder as the season plays out. As stated, the computers are already there. I am not claiming Marshall is easily pulling ahead of ECU, but if you bank a season on teams you beat that were ranked in weeks two, three, or four, it's purely wishful thinking. UTSA beat the heck out of Houston. You guys crowned them CUSA champs going away. It turned out Houston sucks. Let's reverse your logic. Name a loss on Marshall's schedule that is worse than the loss to SC?

Bottom line, they are both good teams. I feel the rest of the games will produce a winner. It is by no means a done deal.

VT is not ranked largely in part becuase of the loss to ECU. 4-2 vs being 5-1. Moot point.

To be honest, I'm a bit baffled that you just made that point about SC. Are you really suggesting that any loss on Marshall's schedule would be better than ECU's loss to South Carolina? Really?

I'm saying we haven't lost. I'm shocked you couldn't put it together. Again, what loss by Marshall is worse than SC?

(10-05-2014 07:39 PM)TheEastisPurple Wrote:  If people voting in these polls actually paid attention to all of college football, Marshall would already be in the top 25. Sure Marshall's schedule isn't great but that doesn't change the fact that their team is good, REALLY good.

I mean UNC started the year in the polls FFS what had they done at any point in recent memory to warrant that? If you look at Marshall's schedule so far they are putting up the kind of scores you would expect to see a top 25 team put up. Sure they haven't played the toughest schedule but it's not like their eeking by these teams either.

In any event if Marshall beats a solid MTSU team they will be in the polls as they should be.

And to the poster who pointed out Marshall's votes vs WVU's, how can you be so insensitive? Don't you know their players are starving because of lowly programs like Marshall and ECU?

Let them eat cake....

Cry me a river, build me a bridge, and jump off of it.

Marshall looks like the most likely of the remaining ten undefeated teams to stay that way by the end of the season. But if East Carolina makes it to the end of the season as a one-loss AAC champion, they'll likely get the access bid ahead of the Herd.

Would any other one-loss teams be able to pass Marshall? We still have four left in addition to ECU -- Temple, Air Force, Colorado State, and Northern Illinois. The last of that bunch has quite the name recognition after a run to the Orange Bowl two years ago, and the Mountain West still benefits from a perception of relative strength vis-a-vis the other Group of Five leagues.

But the real question is what will happen if the AAC, MWC, MAC, and Sun Belt champions all have two or more losses and Marshall emerges undefeated? At this point we can almost certainly discount whichever team decides it wants to win the Sun Belt (Arkansas State, most likely).

How would the selection committee handle a two-loss conference champion like ECU, NIU, or Boise State in relation to an undefeated Marshall with a weaker strength-of-schedule rating? It's a conundrum I'm sure the 13 selectors are hoping doesn't play out...

(10-06-2014 11:47 AM)Bigalke Wrote:  Marshall looks like the most likely of the remaining ten undefeated teams to stay that way by the end of the season. But if East Carolina makes it to the end of the season as a one-loss AAC champion, they'll likely get the access bid ahead of the Herd.

Would any other one-loss teams be able to pass Marshall? We still have four left in addition to ECU -- Temple, Air Force, Colorado State, and Northern Illinois. The last of that bunch has quite the name recognition after a run to the Orange Bowl two years ago, and the Mountain West still benefits from a perception of relative strength vis-a-vis the other Group of Five leagues.

But the real question is what will happen if the AAC, MWC, MAC, and Sun Belt champions all have two or more losses and Marshall emerges undefeated? At this point we can almost certainly discount whichever team decides it wants to win the Sun Belt (Arkansas State, most likely).

How would the selection committee handle a two-loss conference champion like ECU, NIU, or Boise State in relation to an undefeated Marshall with a weaker strength-of-schedule rating? It's a conundrum I'm sure the 13 selectors are hoping doesn't play out...

Your last scenario is not a conundrum. Its fairly simple and easy that a 13-0 team as dominate as Marshall has been will get the bid over a 2 loss team from anywhere else. You also seem to ignore that cusa has been very strong ooc vs g5s and ranked the highest g5 by a lot of meaningless rankings but still. A 1 loss team is a conundrum, 2 loss? Not close.


And NIU scraped by kent state. The end.

(10-06-2014 11:47 AM)Bigalke Wrote:  Marshall looks like the most likely of the remaining ten undefeated teams to stay that way by the end of the season. But if East Carolina makes it to the end of the season as a one-loss AAC champion, they'll likely get the access bid ahead of the Herd.

Would any other one-loss teams be able to pass Marshall? We still have four left in addition to ECU -- Temple, Air Force, Colorado State, and Northern Illinois. The last of that bunch has quite the name recognition after a run to the Orange Bowl two years ago, and the Mountain West still benefits from a perception of relative strength vis-a-vis the other Group of Five leagues.

But the real question is what will happen if the AAC, MWC, MAC, and Sun Belt champions all have two or more losses and Marshall emerges undefeated? At this point we can almost certainly discount whichever team decides it wants to win the Sun Belt (Arkansas State, most likely).

Marshall need not worry about a one loss N. Ill as C-USA is a stronger conference than the MAC this year. The Sun Belt leader already has two losses; they're out. The ECU v. Temple game will eliminate one of those two and I really can't see the Air Force running the table (forced academics there are just too demanding).

This leaves Colorado St and the ECU/Temple winner as the only real roadblocks for Marshall. And unbeaten Marshall will be a tough team to overlook, esp. with the AAC not be super strong right now (though Memphis is a nice surprise, traditionally strong schools like UCF, Houston, Tulsa and SMU are not setting the world on fire).

So running it out to its conclusion, unless VT or USC catch fire, Marshall passes ECU (may take to the Champ game to catch them). A one loss Colorado St. may be a darkhorse right now, given the MWC is currenlty ranked above C-USA as a conference. CSU, however, is not on anyones radar and even the computer indices of all rankings has them around #53 behind a 2 loss Boise.

At the halfway pole, it's Marshall by a head over ECU with CSU a couple lengths back.

Why are you even worrying about polls now. Beat the MUTS and everything will work itself out. I just hope Tech or Rice doesn't ruin the perfect season in the championship game.

(10-06-2014 11:47 AM)Bigalke Wrote:  Marshall looks like the most likely of the remaining ten undefeated teams to stay that way by the end of the season. But if East Carolina makes it to the end of the season as a one-loss AAC champion, they'll likely get the access bid ahead of the Herd.

This would be a travesty, but could happen. If it weren't two G5 teams, the conferences would be up in arms and calling for why we need to expand the playoffs etc. As it is, they won't care because there are 5 of their teams in place before an undefeated team. Its ridiculous. Not like the SEC or BiG10 is accepting applications. Im sure Marshall tried to get some of those guys on the schedule but couldnt make it happen. Which is how the P5 will justify this type of injustice... well they didnt play anybody... when in fact "anybody" wouldn't play the G5. Its sad there isnt a fair system. In some ways it makes me kind of see a positive if the P5 break away, because a national championship playoff with the likes of ECU, Marshall, BYU, Cincinnati, Boise St, No. Ill, MTSU, UCF, Navy, Ark St. etc could be a lot of fun and if done in a true tournament one and done fashion, create excitement and be a differentiator for the G5.

What people are forgetting is that these polls, coaches, AP, whatever else, computer rankings, Phill Steele, all of them don't matter anymore. The only poll that will matter from now on is the selection committee's poll. Until that starts coming out most of this pointless. We see which matters most, undefeated while playing a weak schedule (no slight meant, just facts the 122nd SOS of 128) or a good SOS and testing yourself. The whole time this has been talked about SOS is the one thing that keeps being brought up as a major factor. Now, will that play a part for G5 slot or just the play off spots? We'll see. But, I think SOS will play a big part. Marshall could very well be the best G5 team and maybe could beat ECU head to head this year, but we don't play each other. Marshall could or could not be hurt by the SOS. UofL backing out may very well screw them over. Had a UofL stayed on the slate and Marshall won, then they would be the top G5 school right now.

While our SOS may be stronger, there is no denying that MU is absolutely dominitating the competition so far. I think those margins of victory will start to shrink with MT and other tough conference games looming on the schedule. If Marshall finishes undefeated then yes, they deserve a hard look from the committee. Right now the ball is in our court, and we need to keep winning games and finish strong. Both programs have been known to Coog it, so it could end up being CSU anyway.

Good luck the rest of the year. A strong East Carolina, Marshall, and CSU/AF will make a statement to the 'P5' hyped media (briefly, until Lou starts pimping Notre Dame again). Hopefully it's us, but i'll be cheering for whichever of us makes the Peach Bowl.