Patriot League Week 4 (9/19 + 9/20)

[RichmondNative]

Depending how other teams do in FCS, I think it’s certainly possible. Keep in mind the Ivy League will be participating in the tournament this year, so that’s one less spot for an at large. Looking at our schedule, there is no chance for a signature win. Holy Cross would’ve been nice had they one at least 2 of their first 4 games. This will certainly change next year with Villanova and W&M joining.

Our best hope is that Lehigh loses 1-2 games and we somehow get the autobid. As an at-large, it’ll be tough.

Sure the most certain way to get into the playoffs is an auto-bid which is exactly why the first game of the season was nearly a must-win. Holy Cross losing to the CAA teams really hurts the Patriot this year. Still seems like UR has a shot IF the Spiders AND Lehigh win out. If Lehigh loses, then you have to root for the autobid scenario again.

However, I think the PL has to be rooting for both teams to win out.

 

[whampas]

We need Lehigh to win out and we need to do the same. If that happens it would be hard pressed to keep us out. If Lehigh loses, they need to lose two.

 

[whampas]

Sure the most certain way to get into the playoffs is an auto-bid which is exactly why the first game of the season was nearly a must-win. Holy Cross losing to the CAA teams really hurts the Patriot this year. Still seems like UR has a shot IF the Spiders AND Lehigh win out. If Lehigh loses, then you have to root for the autobid scenario again.

However, I think the PL has to be rooting for both teams to win out.

Should have read your post before I posted. I totally agree.

 

[Gallipoli]

The Patriot League is a terrible football league. Say want you want about the CAA watering itself down, it has, but at least the member schools cared about athletics. Athletics is secondary to academics in the Patriot League, always has been and always will.

I'm glad Nova and William and Mary are joining the Patriot League but I wonder if they along with us, will simply be fielding a nice to have football teams in a few years. I was never a huge Spider football fan, but I would always make it to a game or two and follow the team closely because we we're often a Top 25 program. I just have zero interest in Patriot League football.

These are reasonable points.

 

[Gallipoli]

The MVFC has 7 teams in the top 25, the Big Sky has 5 (by my count), the CAA has 3, and the PL has 2, with Richmond at 23. This is just no room for a PL school that comes in 2nd place in the conference. I submit that if we were still in the CAA, we would be ranked in the top 15, and still behind Lehigh.

 

[SFspidur]

Bryant beat UMass. If Bryant can maintain their momentum, they will be in the playoffs.

Everybody beats UMass...they're an FBS team with the quality of an NEC program. Bryant just lost to a Campbell team that is unlikely to do much. They're getting zero votes in the polls.

I mean, sure, they might run the table from here on out, but I'm seeing nothing to indicate they have any hope of doing that.

 

[SFspidur]

I certainly agree we aren't in great shape for a bid. Aside from Lehigh, the schedule just isn't there to allow us to climb high enough. And we obviously need some help to get the auto.

All we can do is keep taking one game at a time. If we get to 10–2 and we don't get a bid, then we can say we did all we could. The Lehigh game was unfortunate scheduling given what they had and what we didn't have coming back. Certainly a missed opportunity as we really needed that game, but it's over and done with. Can't give up after the first game of the season.

 

[LU808]

Over at AGS, people are grumbling about the CAA, saying it deserves no more than 2 bids.

I'm not convinced URI is worthy of their gaudy ranking given the close game against Holy Cross, but undefeated is undefeated until proven otherwise and remain in good shape. Monmouth put a beatdown on Villanova this weekend, but I don't know if that says more about Monmouth or Villanova...Monmouth needed a big comeback to take down Colgate in the opener, but they also hung right with Charlotte. Nova has question marks given the 51 points given up to Monmouth and only a touchdown win over Colgate.

Who else is there other than those three? W&M barely squeezed by a Maine team that's still winless and lost to a Furman team that itself lost to non-scholarship Presby. Stony Brook just lost to Lindenwood. UNH crapped the bed losing to Dartmouth after barely surviving Holy Cross a couple of weeks ago.

97spiderfan...Based on this analysis by SFspidur doesn't sound like CAA is all THAT stellar.​

 

[32counter]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1970148025000402955

 

[32counter]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1970119118620938419

 

[97spiderfan]

97spiderfan...Based on this analysis by SFspidur doesn't sound like CAA is all THAT stellar.​

A low of 2 bids is still better than the likely 1 bid that the Patriot already gets. It wasn't until 2013 that the Patriot League allowed scholarships in Football, so historically this league and its member schools was never about making itself the best athletic league, it was a bunch of schools with high academics that wanted to play sports against other high academic schools.

 

[SFspidur]

Historically the CAA and its member schools were about making it the best FCS conference in the country. Now it's about bloating itself with non-competitive programs at the bottom while a succession of top programs move on.

Sagarin now has the CAA as the 5th best conference in FCS with the SoCon and Southland right on their heels. Then it's the Patriot in 8th. And next year two of the top-half CAA teams will be joining the Patriot.

The CAA is still better at the moment, but the gap is closing.

 

[KE Spider]

Precipitously.

 

[Mississippi Gambler]

Someone needs to beat Rhode Island.

 

[ncspiderfan]

I certainly agree we aren't in great shape for a bid. Aside from Lehigh, the schedule just isn't there to allow us to climb high enough. And we obviously need some help to get the auto.

All we can do is keep taking one game at a time. If we get to 10–2 and we don't get a bid, then we can say we did all we could. The Lehigh game was unfortunate scheduling given what they had and what we didn't have coming back. Certainly a missed opportunity as we really needed that game, but it's over and done with. Can't give up after the first game of the season.

Agree on the keep winning. If Spiders do that, I just have a hard time believing that committee leaves Spiders out with a 10-1 FCS record when the loss is 7 points on the road to a ranked team (provided Lehigh stays ranked).

As for the MVFC having 7 ranked teams and Big Sky 5, those teams are going to start playing each other. Some of them will end up 4-4 in conference and not be considered, I would think.

Main thing is to keep getting better week to week on offense and beg for no key loses on defense and things could work out.