We are seeing the preseason predictions coming out. What team is being consistently undervalued?
For me, it's James Madison.
Too many people are making wayyy too much about moving up from the FCS. I got news for you. JMU in their last few seasons could have beaten anyone in this league.
If you think it's going to take a little time for the Dukes to be ultra competitive in this league, think again.
Remember when Georgia Southern moved up into the Sun Belt. All they did their first season was run the table in the league and hoist a trophy. Then they made two bad hires and now they are struggling.
If JMU is on your schedule, you had better be ready. 'Cus they're going to wear that "FCS Call up" on their sleeve this year.
(07-15-2022 09:05 AM)BirdofParadise Wrote: [ -> ]We are seeing the preseason predictions coming out. What team is being consistently undervalued?
For me, it's James Madison.
Too many people are making wayyy too much about moving up from the FCS. I got news for you. JMU in their last few seasons could have beaten anyone in this league.
If you think it's going to take a little time for the Dukes to be ultra competitive in this league, think again.
Remember when Georgia Southern moved up into the Sun Belt. All they did their first season was run the table in the league and hoist a trophy. Then they made two bad hires and now they are struggling.
If JMU is on your schedule, you had better be ready. 'Cus they're going to wear that "FCS Call up" on their sleeve this year.
Gonna save this post for the end of the season when JMU has won less than 6 games. Yeah, JMU can beat a good bunch of FBS teams and they've got talent. Can they do it 11 games in a row? Nah. The SBC that GS won back when they moved up does not look like the SBC now. In fact I think most folks are overvaluing JMU, and that transition is gonna be a lot rougher than most Dukes fan are ready for.
(07-15-2022 09:09 AM)Blue_Trombone Wrote: [ -> ] (07-15-2022 09:05 AM)BirdofParadise Wrote: [ -> ]We are seeing the preseason predictions coming out. What team is being consistently undervalued?
For me, it's James Madison.
Too many people are making wayyy too much about moving up from the FCS. I got news for you. JMU in their last few seasons could have beaten anyone in this league.
If you think it's going to take a little time for the Dukes to be ultra competitive in this league, think again.
Remember when Georgia Southern moved up into the Sun Belt. All they did their first season was run the table in the league and hoist a trophy. Then they made two bad hires and now they are struggling.
If JMU is on your schedule, you had better be ready. 'Cus they're going to wear that "FCS Call up" on their sleeve this year.
Gonna save this post for the end of the season when JMU has won less than 6 games. Yeah, JMU can beat a good bunch of FBS teams and they've got talent. Can they do it 11 games in a row? Nah. The SBC that GS won back when they moved up does not look like the SBC now. In fact I think most folks are overvaluing JMU, and that transition is gonna be a lot rougher than most Dukes fan are ready for.
That GS team that ran the table was....good. It should have had a win over NC State (fumble on the 1 yard line), and a win over GA Tech (phantom fumble call on a pitch that was clearly forward). The only game that they were truly outmatched against was the Navy game in November. Hard to have a better transition year than that.
Here are the storylines from potentially undervalued teams I'm interested in(which all happen to be in the West):
Butch Jones in year 2
Will Hall in year 2
Does Texas State put up wins with a 'weaker' division?
How does ULM look without RichRod?
USA QB production post Jake Bentley
Fans of the west feel free to sound off on those
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(07-15-2022 09:29 AM)bcp_jmu Wrote: [ -> ]Louisiana
I wasn’t going to say this, so thanks.
Yeah, we took a lot hits when Napier left, but people are underestimating the depth of the roster we had built. And I have the utmost faith in Coach Dez.
But you know, it is kinda nice that expectations for us are not through the roof, as they have been for the past few years. It will make 2022 that much more better.
The Sun Belt that App and GaSo entered didn't have 3 different teams ranked in the top 25 for multiple years and half a dozen power 5 wins every season. JMU is a great program, but I don't expect our experiences to offer a lot of insight on what to expect from them. They're entering a power 5 division, essentially. I could see them finishing as high as 3rd or as low as 6th in the east.
I think Marshall is undervalued. They're probably my pick to win the conference. App is the team to beat but you can never really call us "undervalued" given how consistently we're picked to win, and actually win.
ODU. With the right mindset, that team can have a historic year. I assume that getting the chance to beat teams who wouldn't offer you a scholarship/starting position raises a players' energy, and ODU is playing those teams this year in Virginia and Virginia Tech.
Once you add in games against JMU and Liberty, ODU could be a regular part of college football conversations throughout Virginia this fall, if they show up determined to win. They need the same energy they had when beating Virginia Tech in 2018.
(07-15-2022 09:32 AM)TroyFootball05 Wrote: [ -> ]The entire SBC West.
I agree with this.
I think JMU is still getting mentioned in most write ups. The SBC West is being neglected in a lot of conversations, but there's a lot to like about what's happening over there.
I assume that no one is really going to be all that surprised if one of USM, Troy, Ark State, or even ODU take big steps forward this season. GS and JMU are probably the top 2 teams people expect to struggle in the east, so I'll talk about them.
I don't think JMU is as good as GS was personnel wise in 2014, but they might have the best coach in the league other than Jamey Chadwell. They also play in Boone after a week off after facing Norfolk and Coastal and Marshall at home. If they played in the West they could get to 7-4, but the East is going to be nuts.
Georgia Southern isn't nearly as far from being able to compete as people think. We have Houston's second-leading receiver and the guy might be the third-best receiver on the team and we have a top-tier running back corps. Coaching and OL are bigger question marks, but it's been apparent strength and conditioning might've been a significant issue with the OL (including a senior that packed on 30 pounds).
Neither of those teams is what I'd call a dark horse, but yeah I would say they're under-valued.
(07-15-2022 09:33 AM)FrankyP Wrote: [ -> ] (07-15-2022 09:29 AM)bcp_jmu Wrote: [ -> ]Louisiana
I wasn’t going to say this, so thanks.
Yeah, we took a lot hits when Napier left, but people are underestimating the depth of the roster we had built. And I have the utmost faith in Coach Dez.
But you know, it is kinda nice that expectations for us are not through the roof, as they have been for the past few years. It will make 2022 that much more better.
Good schedule too... 6-0 start isn't out of the question...and a 11-1 reg season (FL State probably won't be your toughest game)
As far as preseason hype... I think Coastal Carolina is being a little bit undervalued... mainly because they've been sharing hype with App State and Marshall in the East.
They have one of the easier schedules to start the season... and 5 of their first 7 games are at home.
They could, realistically, be 7-0 with a Top 25 ranking before heading to Huntingdon to face Marshall.
(07-15-2022 09:05 AM)BirdofParadise Wrote: [ -> ]We are seeing the preseason predictions coming out. What team is being consistently undervalued?
For me, it's James Madison.
Too many people are making wayyy too much about moving up from the FCS. I got news for you. JMU in their last few seasons could have beaten anyone in this league.
If you think it's going to take a little time for the Dukes to be ultra competitive in this league, think again.
Remember when Georgia Southern moved up into the Sun Belt. All they did their first season was run the table in the league and hoist a trophy. Then they made two bad hires and now they are struggling.
If JMU is on your schedule, you had better be ready. 'Cus they're going to wear that "FCS Call up" on their sleeve this year.
I have so much respect for what JMU is and I do believe they are gonna be good, even this season, but they are definitely not undervalued! Looking at that schedule, I'm having a hard time getting them more than 4 wins. I'm thinking 4-7 if they beat MTSU, probably 2-6 in conference. Most articles I've seen have them middle of the SB East...
(07-15-2022 10:23 AM)Meathead Wrote: [ -> ]I have so much respect for what JMU is and I do believe they are gonna be good, even this season, but they are definitely not undervalued! Looking at that schedule, I'm having a hard time getting them more than 4 wins. I'm thinking 4-7 if they beat MTSU, probably 2-6 in conference. Most articles I've seen have them middle of the SB East...
They could easily be 5-1 going into the Marshall game, which I think will be a toss up game. Old Dominion is another toss up, and Georgia State is beatable. I don't think their schedule is all that terrifying.
(07-15-2022 09:05 AM)BirdofParadise Wrote: [ -> ]We are seeing the preseason predictions coming out. What team is being consistently undervalued?
For me, it's James Madison.
Too many people are making wayyy too much about moving up from the FCS. I got news for you. JMU in their last few seasons could have beaten anyone in this league.
If you think it's going to take a little time for the Dukes to be ultra competitive in this league, think again.
Remember when Georgia Southern moved up into the Sun Belt. All they did their first season was run the table in the league and hoist a trophy. Then they made two bad hires and now they are struggling.
If JMU is on your schedule, you had better be ready. 'Cus they're going to wear that "FCS Call up" on their sleeve this year.
I don't think anyone is undervaluing JMU as a competitor. I think everyone believes the Sun Belt East has improved to the point where saying JMU may finish 5th isn't a dig. Every Sun Belt East team except for Georgia Southern went bowling last year and JMU was a bad fade away from going to the FCS National Championship. So finishing 5th could still mean a 7-5 season which wouldn't even be "terrible" considering the competition.
The margins of the East are going to very closely mirror those of the NFL. Clock management and turnovers will decide games. Inches will become magnified. The margin for error week in amd week out just went way down. Look at the App State v. Coastal and Marshall games. Obviously App took over in the 2nd half of both but the margins were still tiny.
Then you have the fact that Coastal beat a P5 like a drum, App was 15 yards from attempting a game winning field goal against Miami, Georgia State was hosed against Auburn, etc.
It's going to be fun to watch. I'm getting kind of salty with league projections leaving out Georgia Southern in the coming years. We've earned the back seat for now, but GS, Troy, Southern Miss, and Ark State have great football traditions and the programs will rise to the top again. I predict a lot of dog fight games.
(07-15-2022 10:27 AM)TroyFootball05 Wrote: [ -> ] (07-15-2022 10:23 AM)Meathead Wrote: [ -> ]I have so much respect for what JMU is and I do believe they are gonna be good, even this season, but they are definitely not undervalued! Looking at that schedule, I'm having a hard time getting them more than 4 wins. I'm thinking 4-7 if they beat MTSU, probably 2-6 in conference. Most articles I've seen have them middle of the SB East...
They could easily be 5-1 going into the Marshall game, which I think will be a toss up game. Old Dominion is another toss up, and Georgia State is beatable. I don't think their schedule is all that terrifying.
You are correct, they could be 5-1 going into Marshall, but if they are, they will end the season 5-6. I don't know really what MTSU has so I'm giving them that W, but truthfully it's a tossup. By midseason GaSouthern could be legit. Tx State is no easy out either. By the time they get to ODU and GaState, they need to hope they have stayed healthy as their depth will be tested along that O-line...
I think ODU is a sleeper. Through this whole thing they've been kind of talked about as an "also ran" behind established schools of Marshall and Southern Miss coming in along with the FCS Powerhouse of JMU (Bleacher Report didn't even bother to mention them in their SB article). They've been the George Harrison of the group through this whole offseason and I would not be surprised if they are getting talked about by November.
(07-15-2022 10:33 AM)Eagles Cliff Wrote: [ -> ]It's going to be fun to watch. I'm getting kind of salty with league projections leaving out Georgia Southern in the coming years. We've earned the back seat for now, but GS, Troy, Southern Miss, and Ark State have great football traditions and the programs will rise to the top again. I predict a lot of dog fight games.
Not gonna lie, I'm starting to think GaSouthern is the most undervalued. You boys have pride and tradition, paired with a new head coach who has proven he can win... a new QB for the job... if the pieces fall into place this could be a dangerous team this season. This is one year I wish App could play you early... I'll still likely be there in Gnatsboro in November... always fun!
(07-15-2022 10:38 AM)Meathead Wrote: [ -> ] (07-15-2022 10:27 AM)TroyFootball05 Wrote: [ -> ] (07-15-2022 10:23 AM)Meathead Wrote: [ -> ]I have so much respect for what JMU is and I do believe they are gonna be good, even this season, but they are definitely not undervalued! Looking at that schedule, I'm having a hard time getting them more than 4 wins. I'm thinking 4-7 if they beat MTSU, probably 2-6 in conference. Most articles I've seen have them middle of the SB East...
They could easily be 5-1 going into the Marshall game, which I think will be a toss up game. Old Dominion is another toss up, and Georgia State is beatable. I don't think their schedule is all that terrifying.
You are correct, they could be 5-1 going into Marshall, but if they are, they will end the season 5-6. I don't know really what MTSU has so I'm giving them that W, but truthfully it's a tossup. By midseason GaSouthern could be legit. Tx State is no easy out either. By the time they get to ODU and GaState, they need to hope they have stayed healthy as their depth will be tested along that O-line...
If I understand correctly, JMU will not have the same roster problems most FCS move ups would have. COVID allowed them to have larger rosters, and with the 125 limit, they could be fine. They currently have 111 players on their roster, the same number as Troy.
(07-15-2022 10:46 AM)Meathead Wrote: [ -> ] (07-15-2022 10:33 AM)Eagles Cliff Wrote: [ -> ]It's going to be fun to watch. I'm getting kind of salty with league projections leaving out Georgia Southern in the coming years. We've earned the back seat for now, but GS, Troy, Southern Miss, and Ark State have great football traditions and the programs will rise to the top again. I predict a lot of dog fight games.
Not gonna lie, I'm starting to think GaSouthern is the most undervalued. You boys have pride and tradition, paired with a new head coach who has proven he can win... a new QB for the job... if the pieces fall into place this could be a dangerous team this season. This is one year I wish App could play you early... I'll still likely be there in Gnatsboro in November... always fun!
I think most who are high on GS are underestimating how long it takes to switch from an option based offense to a more traditional style offense. From personnel to coaches, I think it's going to be a tougher climb than many are expecting. Reports from camp about how good the offense is performing have zero value at the moment, with the QBs only going up against their own defense.