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FCS vs FBS 2018 (Big Sky Version)

How many upsets?

  • Zero, zip, nada

    Votes: 8 18.2%
  • One or Two

    Votes: 28 63.6%
  • Three

    Votes: 5 11.4%
  • Four

    Votes: 2 4.5%
  • Five

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Six or more ?!!

    Votes: 1 2.3%

  • Total voters
    44

IdaGriz01

Well-known member
Over on STATS.com, Craig Haley ran a series that listed all 111 of the FCS-FBS matchups for next season, broken down by conference. Link: http://www.fcs.football/cfb/story.asp?i=20180504111653826218804&ref=rec&tm=&src=FCS

Since we’re rather light on basic football talk right now, I figured a discussion of the Big Sky matchups might be interesting. Cal Poly, the Griz, Montana State and NoColo do not play any FBS in 2018. Although North Dakota only “partially” counts as Big Sky, I have included them anyway … which gives the conference 15 FBS games. (Haley does not include NoDak, so he has 14 games, tying the BSC with the MEAC and SWAC.)

So, in alphabetical order, with last year's records:
Eastern Washington (7-4) at Washington State (9-4)
Idaho (3-5) at Fresno State (10-4) and Florida (4-7)
Idaho State (4-7) at California (5-7) and Liberty (6-5)
North Dakota (3-8) at Washington (10-3)
Northern Arizona (7-5) at UTEP (0-12)
Portland State (0-11) at Nevada (3-9) and Oregon (7-6)
Sac State (7-4) at San Diego State (10-3)
Southern Utah (9-3) at Oregon State (1-11) and Arizona (7-6)
UC Davis (5-6) at San Jose State (2-11) and Stanford (9-5)
Weber State (11-3) at Utah (7-6)

Haley, BTW, has NAU as an Upset Alert, with Cookus getting hot against a UTEP team that did not win a game last year. The UTEP program is still a shambles, so that notion is not out of the question.

So what are some other games that look promising?

(I have set the poll conditions so you can change your vote ... in case you hear/read something that changes your mind.)
 
IdaGriz01 said:
Over on STATS.com, Craig Haley ran a series that listed all 111 of the FCS-FBS matchups for next season, broken down by conference. Link: http://www.fcs.football/cfb/story.asp?i=20180504111653826218804&ref=rec&tm=&src=FCS

Since we’re rather light on basic football talk right now, I figured a discussion of the Big Sky matchups might be interesting. Cal Poly, the Griz, Montana State and NoColo do not play any FBS in 2018. Although North Dakota only “partially” counts as Big Sky, I have included them anyway … which gives the conference 15 FBS games. (Haley does not include NoDak, so he has 14 games, tying the BSC with the MEAC and SWAC.)

So, in alphabetical order, with last years records:
Eastern Washington (7-4) at Washington State (9-4)
Idaho (3-5) at Fresno State (10-4) and Florida (4-7)
Idaho State (4-7) at California (5-7) and Liberty (6-5)
North Dakota (3-8) at Washington (10-3)
Northern Arizona (7-5) at UTEP (0-12)
Portland State (0-11) at Nevada (3-9) and Oregon (7-6)
Sac State (7-4) at San Diego State (10-3)
Southern Utah (9-3) at Oregon State (1-11) and Arizona (7-6)
UC Davis (5-6) at San Jose State (2-11) and Stanford (9-5)
Weber State (11-3) at Utah (7-6)

Haley, BTW, has NAU as an Upset Alert, with Cookus getting hot against a UTEP team that did not win a game last year. The UTEP program is still a shambles, so that notion is not out of the question.

So what are some other games that look promising?

(I have set the poll conditions so you can change your vote ... in case you hear/read something that changes your mind.)

NAU will win that game. Davis could give San Jose a decent game. SUU very well could win as well against the Beavs. Otherwise, probably not too many other games worth watching. Weebs may give Utah a scare early.
 
I think the 'Jacks will handle UTEP with relative ease, and I think UC-Davis has a decent shot at beating the Spartans. UTEP and SJSU had the #107 and #124 overall defenses in FBS last year, and NAU and UC-Davis both have outstanding quarterbacks.
 
I must say that this thread has worked out great. Not a huge number of votes, but lots of interest (but then, there’s not a lot of stiff competition on eGriz right now ;) .)

I think the comments so far have nailed the best possibilities: NAU at UTEP and SUU at OSU … and some relative wildcard shots. But actually, when I look over the list, I see all of six games where an upset is not out of the question. Unlikely, in some cases, but not out of the question. (But as you can see, nobody has voted for 6 upsets 😀.) So what are my “chosen (maybe) six”?

First, obviously, are the two high-interest candidates: NAU and SUU. That leaves four “notion” picks (somewhat in a “likelihood” order):

(3) ISU is going to get their butts kicked at Cal, but I can see them getting by Liberty. Turner Gill had a great run, but he has not (apparently) been able to consistently attract top talent to Lynchburg. They score a lot of points … but also give up a lot. And the Flames have little to play for, after going 6-5 against a mostly-FCS schedule. Now they’ve patched together a 2018 schedule that includes only 9 FBS opponents (including a home-and home against New Mexico State 😂). So they are not eligible for the FCS playoffs or an FBS conference championship, and they’ll have trouble winning enough games to be bowl eligible.

(4) UC-Davis at SJSU. As pointed out above, you have a really bad team, with an especially poor D against a QB who can get hot. Plus, it’s the opening game of the season and the Spartans have had a lot of turnover. The Aggies could put up a lot of points before SJSU really gets going.

(5) WSU at Utah. Yes, I know this seems like a stretch. But the Weebs were legit last season, almost pulling off the upset at JMU in the playoffs. And yes, the Utes look to be pretty good, but they have some key holes to fill in the DL and WR … and a QB who has been injury-prone.

(6) PSU at Nevada. Another stretch, obviously. But I think this could be a bounce-back year for the Vikings, and they do have some talent. Nevada was a bad team that got better late in the season … or their overall record would have been way worse. Trouble, is, the Wolfpack did not get better because a lot of young players improved with experience. Instead, players who had been around for awhile finally bought into the program. But a lot of those guys are now gone (including an All-Conference and four-year starting OT). Gonna take awhile to replace them.
 
EWU over WSU
I believe EWU can win this game.
Nau should win however I would bet won't
The rest highly unlikely!!!!!
 
I know what the alignment is but can one really consider the the Idaho State-Liberty contest an FCS-FBS matchup? (It's a rhetorical question).
 
Gaeilge1 said:
I know what the alignment is but can one really consider the the Idaho State-Liberty contest an FCS-FBS matchup? (It's a rhetorical question).

Some of us older people would have once asked the same of any team playing Miami, Nevada or Boise. More recently, South Florida or UCONN. What is Old Dominion now?

There is such a slight difference between FCS and the Plus 5.
 
IdaGriz01 said:
Okay, I like a joke as much as anybody.

But who voted for 6 or more upsets?

REALLY? :-o

Eastern Washington (7-4) at Washington State (9-4) - Close but no win for EWU
Idaho (3-5) at Fresno State (10-4) and Florida (4-7) - Close at Fresno, Win at Florida
Idaho State (4-7) at California (5-7) and Liberty (6-5) - Close at Cal (24 point loss) and Win at Liberty
North Dakota (3-8) at Washington (10-3) - nope
Northern Arizona (7-5) at UTEP (0-12) - NAU by 21
Portland State (0-11) at Nevada (3-9) and Oregon (7-6) - PSU beats Nevada and not close with OU.
Sac State (7-4) at San Diego State (10-3) - nope
Southern Utah (9-3) at Oregon State (1-11) and Arizona (7-6) - Win at OSU but not AZ
UC Davis (5-6) at San Jose State (2-11) and Stanford (9-5) - Win at SJS
Weber State (11-3) at Utah (7-6) close but no..

So that is my 6....
 
Gaeilge1 said:
I know what the alignment is but can one really consider the the Idaho State-Liberty contest an FCS-FBS matchup? (It's a rhetorical question).
Actually, not a bad question.

As I understand it, the Flames have fully moved to the FBS scholarship level. And they're ramping up their schedule -- which always takes time. But no FBS conference has yet invited them to join, so they'll be independent for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, they're moving their other sports into the Atlantic Sun (a non-football Division I conference, filled with teams you've never -- or hardly ever -- heard of). So it is a legit question to ask if they really are FBS.

Still, they'll be bowl eligible in 2019, if they win enough games. And here's the big kicker: With their deep pockets, Liberty is prepared to pay (a bunch) to "bribe" some FBS conference to take them. There are claims out there that they offered a $24 million "entry fee" to Conference-USA ($2 million is more typical). They were turned down, but with that kind of up-front money possibly involved ... I suspect it won't be long before they find an FBS home.
 
Montanabob said:
IdaGriz01 said:
Okay, I like a joke as much as anybody.

But who voted for 6 or more upsets?

REALLY? :-o

Eastern Washington (7-4) at Washington State (9-4) - Close but no win for EWU
Idaho (3-5) at Fresno State (10-4) and Florida (4-7) - Close at Fresno, Win at Florida
Idaho State (4-7) at California (5-7) and Liberty (6-5) - Close at Cal (24 point loss) and Win at Liberty
North Dakota (3-8) at Washington (10-3) - nope
Northern Arizona (7-5) at UTEP (0-12) - NAU by 21
Portland State (0-11) at Nevada (3-9) and Oregon (7-6) - PSU beats Nevada and not close with OU.
Sac State (7-4) at San Diego State (10-3) - nope
Southern Utah (9-3) at Oregon State (1-11) and Arizona (7-6) - Win at OSU but not AZ
UC Davis (5-6) at San Jose State (2-11) and Stanford (9-5) - Win at SJS
Weber State (11-3) at Utah (7-6) close but no..

So that is my 6....

:lol: :lol:

Florida puts up 50 on Idaho.
Nevada beats PSU by 24
Liberty beats ISU by 17
 
AZGrizFan said:
Montanabob said:
IdaGriz01 said:
Okay, I like a joke as much as anybody.

But who voted for 6 or more upsets?

REALLY? :-o

Eastern Washington (7-4) at Washington State (9-4) - Close but no win for EWU
Idaho (3-5) at Fresno State (10-4) and Florida (4-7) - Close at Fresno, Win at Florida
Idaho State (4-7) at California (5-7) and Liberty (6-5) - Close at Cal (24 point loss) and Win at Liberty
North Dakota (3-8) at Washington (10-3) - nope
Northern Arizona (7-5) at UTEP (0-12) - NAU by 21
Portland State (0-11) at Nevada (3-9) and Oregon (7-6) - PSU beats Nevada and not close with OU.
Sac State (7-4) at San Diego State (10-3) - nope
Southern Utah (9-3) at Oregon State (1-11) and Arizona (7-6) - Win at OSU but not AZ
UC Davis (5-6) at San Jose State (2-11) and Stanford (9-5) - Win at SJS
Weber State (11-3) at Utah (7-6) close but no..

So that is my 6....

:lol: :lol:

Florida puts up 50 on Idaho.
Nevada beats PSU by 24
Liberty beats ISU by 17



i would tend to agree with azgrizfan .....the previous picks are way to optimistic imo....
 
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