#1 NDSU vs #12 Montana today live on ESPN at 3:30. This is Montana's HC first game. Should be a good game to open the 2015 college football season.

Looking forward to the start of the season, and I think this is a great matchup to showcase the FCS. Montana is a great atmosphere (I'd rather go to a game there than at the Fargodome), and I think they will pull off the win.

Agree. You couldn't pick 2 better teams to showcase what the FCS offers. #1 and #3 in attendance last season, top programs in two top conferences, and fan bases who think they're undiscovered versions of Alabama and Ohio State

28-21 NDSU at the start of the 3rd.

Tied at 28 to start the 4th.

Montana scores with 2 seconds left to win 38-35. Tremendous showcase for FCS football. 26,000 fans and a really well played game.

What a game! I'm glad the FCS got some good press from it

It was a great game. Fun to watch. The game changed when NDSU QB tweaked his ankle. His threat to run changed, also later in the game it seemed like he couldn't get as much on his passes no t being able to push off on it. But, like you all have said the FCS season is off to a great start. Looking forward to traveling to Easton next week.

Saw this on another sight.

Apparently Brent Musberger, who broadcast the NDSU/Montana game, spoke specifically about FCS and "trade-ups".

He essentially commented that NDSU should beware any tendency to move to FBS - sometimes things look better from the outside than when you actually jump in. He referenced Idaho and the mistake he thought they made by moving - and stated they should frankly be looking to move football back to FCS/Big Sky.

In Idaho's case, they had a record of 113-45 from 1982-1994 in FCS - a perennial powerhouse - to 69-154 since being in FBS, playing in the Sun Belt and viewed as a perennial cupcake. I don't think going FBS changed either the attendance at Idaho games (in fact, it may have gone down) and I don't believe you can say they have expanded any "national recognition".

It's an interesting scenario to watch with all the trade ups - like UMass, ODU, App State, GA Southern, WKU etc. - schools that were accustomed to annually strong programs and boisterous fan support - and then reality that sometimes surfaces on the fanbase, the school, etc. once they are no longer powerhouses - now transitioning toward the punching bag side of things once locked into FBS.

I still think the smartest decision the last 2 years was Montana spurning a move up to FBS.

(09-03-2015 09:35 AM)Sitting bull Wrote:  Saw this on another sight.

Apparently Brent Musberger, who broadcast the NDSU/Montana game, spoke specifically about FCS and "trade-ups".

He essentially commented that NDSU should beware any tendency to move to FBS - sometimes things look better from the outside than when you actually jump in. He referenced Idaho and the mistake he thought they made by moving - and stated they should frankly be looking to move football back to FCS/Big Sky.

In Idaho's case, they had a record of 113-45 from 1982-1994 in FCS - a perennial powerhouse - to 69-154 since being in FBS, playing in the Sun Belt and viewed as a perennial cupcake. I don't think going FBS changed either the attendance at Idaho games (in fact, it may have gone down) and I don't believe you can say they have expanded any "national recognition".

It's an interesting scenario to watch with all the trade ups - like UMass, ODU, App State, GA Southern, WKU etc. - schools that were accustomed to annually strong programs and boisterous fan support - and then reality that sometimes surfaces on the fanbase, the school, etc. once they are no longer powerhouses - now transitioning toward the punching bag side of things once locked into FBS.

I still think the smartest decision the last 2 years was Montana spurning a move up to FBS.

I'm not sure the example schools you picked really make sense. All though schools minus maybe UMass/Georgia State were better moving up. Georgia State and ODU only played like a year of FCS football, so it's not like they had that much of a culutre of winning. Georgia Southern and App State could easily win the Sun Belt this year, ODU has been respectable so far, WKU made a bowl last year, etc.

(09-03-2015 10:20 AM)TDenverFan Wrote:  

(09-03-2015 09:35 AM)Sitting bull Wrote:  Saw this on another sight.

Apparently Brent Musberger, who broadcast the NDSU/Montana game, spoke specifically about FCS and "trade-ups".

He essentially commented that NDSU should beware any tendency to move to FBS - sometimes things look better from the outside than when you actually jump in. He referenced Idaho and the mistake he thought they made by moving - and stated they should frankly be looking to move football back to FCS/Big Sky.

In Idaho's case, they had a record of 113-45 from 1982-1994 in FCS - a perennial powerhouse - to 69-154 since being in FBS, playing in the Sun Belt and viewed as a perennial cupcake. I don't think going FBS changed either the attendance at Idaho games (in fact, it may have gone down) and I don't believe you can say they have expanded any "national recognition".

It's an interesting scenario to watch with all the trade ups - like UMass, ODU, App State, GA Southern, WKU etc. - schools that were accustomed to annually strong programs and boisterous fan support - and then reality that sometimes surfaces on the fanbase, the school, etc. once they are no longer powerhouses - now transitioning toward the punching bag side of things once locked into FBS.

I still think the smartest decision the last 2 years was Montana spurning a move up to FBS.

I'm not sure the example schools you picked really make sense. All though schools minus maybe UMass/Georgia State were better moving up. Georgia State and ODU only played like a year of FCS football, so it's not like they had that much of a culutre of winning. Georgia Southern and App State could easily win the Sun Belt this year, ODU has been respectable so far, WKU made a bowl last year, etc.

I meant down the road. Who knows if App State or Georgia Southern will maintain their programs as perennial winners. It will take some time to see. They could easily turn into perennial 6-6 or worse teams now.

Same with ODU. I think there was a lot of excitement there when they went 9-2 in the CAA against local competition and swept through to the FCS playoffs. I think reality set when they shortened their game against UNC by 5 minutes while losing 80-20 the following year. It remains to be seen how excited the fan base there stays if they don't produce a consistent winner with schools from Louisiana, Texas and Florida highlighting the schedule.

WKU, who knew they went to a bowl. Last time I saw them in the headlines was when they won the FCS championship.

The case of Idaho has 20 years behind it.

I realize you have excellent examples of success as well - Boise, UConn, Marshall.

Fans are fickle and support winners. There are more examples of teams floundering as they move up, sacrificing a winning tradition at their schools. It's riskier I think than people are willing to acknowledge.

#3 SHSU lost to unranked--and very dangerous--Lamar.

#15 Liberty beat #8 Montana

Unranked Furman beat UCF on a 55 yard fg. Furman nearly upset #2 Coastal Carolina a few weeks ago but were blasted by VT the following week.

#15 Harvard is really struggling against #22 Dartmouth. I've watched most of the game...my take is maybe a couple-few players from each team would have a shot at cracking the starting line-up at W&M. I do like #99 on Dartmouth's DL--solid player--and they have a good TE and MLB.

Watched a bit of that game and completely agree on the skill level. Both of those teams get destroyed by anyone else receiving votes in the polls.

Harvard wins, Dartmouth chokes at the end.

Not so sure on the comparisons. We never seem to just romp Ivy teams in our history. Win, yes, but not like we are on such different levels. They are also 4-0 against the CAA this year.

My last experience was our game a couple years ago at Penn. We won 34-28, Penn tried to win on a last play pass, about 30 yards.

We didn't have a great team that year, but neither did Penn.

Agree our talent is better but most games will be competitive.

In watching a good part of last nights Ivy game it looked to me The Tribe's D team speed would make it real hard for either team to move the ball on us with any sort of consistency .

That year we beat Penn in a close one we were 2-9 and Penn won the Ivy League. And it's not like the Ivy played any good CAA teams this year (though Maine may turn out to be a playoff team when all is said and done). The game last night featured two undefeated top 25 teams in what many billed as FCS game of the week. It was a fun game to watch, but definitely a gap in talent and pretty sure both of the teams on the field at Zable today would win handily.

(10-31-2015 08:05 AM)Sitting bull Wrote:  Not so sure on the comparisons. We never seem to just romp Ivy teams in our history. Win, yes, but not like we are on such different levels. They are also 4-0 against the CAA this year.

They may be 4-0 but the games were
Harvard over URI
Brown over URI
Penn over Nova in their first full game without Robertson
Yale over Maine (This may be the best win since Maine is 3-1 in the CAA but has only beaten URI, Albany and a Stony Brook team that has fallen apart and all 3 are at the bottom of the CAA)

#2 CCU is currently losing
#9 JMU lost
#10 McNeese only beat an unranked opponent by 2
#11 Fordham got steamrolled by an unranked team
#13 EKU got blasted by the #1 team
#15 Harvard narrowly beat #22 team
#16 W&M beat the #9 team
#17 Montana got manhandled
#19 Montana St lost

I see us moving up to #12

CCU loses.

Columbia beat Yale for their first league win since 2012. Same Yale team that beat Maine.