[SuperJon]

Did they change that recently? It used to be something like the first year or two they counted as DIIs.

[Libertine]

As soon as the NCAA receives notice of a school's intention to move up to D-1, they are granted provisional D-1 status for the following two school years (August to July). At the end of those two years, if the school meets all the requirements for D-1, they are then granted full D-1 status. They are, however, still ineligible for conference championships and any NCAA playoffs for another two years (they'll be eligible in 2011).
Granted, Presby is D2 right now and they will be all the way up until August. When they visit us in October, they'll still be playing w/ a D2 team (they can't have more than the D2 total of 42 schollies until '08) however, for all intents and purposes, they're considered as a D1 opponent.

[SuperJon]

See, I was told somewhere (I can't remember where) that those first two years, when they're not able to get to the full scholarship limit, they were still counted as a DII in terms of playoffs.

[SuperJon]

One of the App fans on AGS:

I would not be at all surprised to see App play a Home and Home with Liberty. We're going to have a struggle getting games and Liberty has never backed away from playing us. I could see us at your place in '07 and you returning the date in '08. I think at this point we must still be searching for a BC$ money opponent before we lock in with any PCS or DII teams.

It's nothing official, but it's exactly how I feel.

[Libertine]

I love the idea of playing App. We went down there and bumped them out of the playoffs in '97 and nearly picked them off at our place in '02 when they were ranked #4 in the country. Of course, they smoked us in '00 and '01. I'd really like to see them again.

[SuperJon]

We're drawing a lot better than the Karcher era. We've got a lot better facilities than we used to. They went to G-W last year. It's possible to get a home and home with them.

[PAmedic]

will the average LU student understand the significance of App at our place? I think not.

[Sly Fox]

Most students couldn't tell you the difference between Appy & St. Pauls. But that shouldn't stop us from doing the best we can in scheduling.

[PAmedic]

agree 100%

and you KNOW I would move heaven and earth to make THAT game.

I sat thru a monsoon for the opener against a D II for cryin' out loud.

I'd love to see 16k at the 'Bill to see us take on App

[SuperJon]

Most students couldn't tell you the difference between Appy & St. Pauls. But that shouldn't stop us from doing the best we can in scheduling.

Actually, you're wrong. Once the rumor spreads that we're playing the two-time national champs, it'll spread like wild fire. Everyone knew CSU was a big game last year. It's just a matter of promoting it.

[Chris Lang]

North Greenville, yes, is the team that is slated to come to LU on Oct. 13, as some of have hinted.

That leaves two games ... I know of one, but I can't say right now until it's completely done. I haven't heard any talk of App State, but I wouldn't be surprised if it happened. Desperate times and all, trying to fill your schedule in January/February.

[Stevev]

We need someone like App State on our schedule for the same reason Coastal needed Furman last year to get into the playoffs. In order to have a shot at the playoffs you must beat a ranked team considering how lousy the Big South is right now. There is no other way around it. Our schedule right now does not have a team that would be preseasonally ranked. Beating up on the BSC teams or the Savanah States of the world just won't in itself put us in a playoff position. We have got to thing that we have a shot at the playoffs right now in this stage of our programs developement.

[SuperJon]

North Greenville, yes, is the team that is slated to come to LU on Oct. 13, as some of have hinted.

Well we're guaranteed a win on my birthday.

As for the Big South being "lousy" - that's not the truth. The conference has gotten a whole lot better. G-W has a good team, Coastal is going to be a lot better than everyone on here expects, we're better, CSU had a pretty decent team last semester, and VMI is getting a lot better. We're not great by any means. I'd go as far as to say we're not even a "good" conference. We're a decent conference, and not "lousy" by any means.

[Libertine]

NGU is far from a guaranteed win. They are a much better D2 opponent than we faced last year. NGU finished 10-2 last in '06 and return nearly everyone on both sides of the ball. They went down to CSU and led for most of the way. If not for a late surge from CSU and NGU turning the ball over 3 times in the red zone in the 4th quarter, the Crusaders (nee Mounties) win that game going away.
I'm still trying to get access to some kind of message board but the prevailing thought of their fans over at D2Football.com says they're making a push for the playoffs in '07.
Not saying I'm worried, but these guys aren't going to be a pushover.

[Sly Fox]

If we are as good as most of us believe we are going to be this fall, we should beat Liberty Wannabe South, er. North Greenville fairly handily. But Lib is correct that they are not the lame DII opponent we've seen the past couple of seasons at Williams Stadium (i.e. Concord, Glenville State of St. Pauls).

I see us making a roadie the first couple of weeks and I'm anxious to where that might take us. I wouldn't be shocked to see that open date in the middle of the season stay that way.

[Chris Lang]

Here's the thing ... I know Danny wants to open at home. I know he doesn't want to play anybody who is ultra-tough. But reality might get in the way of those particular aspirations. I really don't think he wants a schedule with three DIIs in the non-conference.

[SuperJon]

Are we talking DII home opener AND NG or just NG as the DII?

[Chris Lang]

Perhaps ... to the first part of your question.

[PAmedic]

oh man, I hope not

[Stevev]

Due to our influx of 1A transferes with the possibliity of more to come, I think that we should look to add some potential nationally ranked teams from major 1AA conferences such as the Southern and the Colonial. I think that playoffs are a possiblilty even with us being in a low-end conference. We need to give ourselves a chance and if we put weaklings on our schedule we are going to screw ourselves in the end, similiar to what we have done in the past. I don't want our playoff possibilities all riding on the Toledo game because you never know what will happen. Hopefully we can whip up on the BSC teams and knock off say an App State or Furman to get us in the playoffs. We need that chance and that comes with scheduling up.

[Sly Fox]

Allegedly the Toledo came doesn't factor into our FCS playoff possibilities. But if we were to pull off the upset it would certainly be an ancillary argument to our benefit. But I agree that I'd like to see us schedule up and not down if at all possible.

[Chris Lang]

OK, reality check time:

Let's look at Liberty's non-conference wins from the last decade ...

2006
St. Paul's -- horrible Division II team that failed to break 10 points FIVE times
Glenville State -- bad Division II team
Savannah State -- might as well be a Division II team
Western Carolina -- 2-10

2005
Concord -- 4-7 Division II team

2004
Elon -- 3-8
Chattanooga -- 2-9, and a game Liberty doesn't win without unreal special teams play
West Virginia Tech -- Division II team

2003
Hofstra -- 2-10
Norfolk State -- bad team
Kentucky Wesleyan -- Are they even Division II?

2002
West Liberty State -- Division II

Pre-Big South
2001
Wingate -- Division II
Delaware State -- 5-6
Charleston Southern -- 5-6

2000
Samford -- 4-7
Wingate -- Division II
Gardner-Webb -- still Division II at this point

1999
Charleston Southern -- 4-6
Johnson C. Smith -- Division II
Fayettenam State -- Division II
Virginia Union -- Division II

1998
Norfolk State -- sucks
Buffalo -- 4-7
Delaware State -- 0-11
Charleston Southern -- 3-8
Glenville State -- Division II

1997
Appalachian State -- 7-4
And we'll snip there.

Liberty hasn't won a quality non-league game in NINE YEARS, and you are talking about adding App and Furman to the schedule and beating them? Come on, man. That's ridiculous.

And you act like Liberty is the only school with FBS transfers coming in. App and Furman have plenty of them. And these transfers you're getting, they're transfers for a reason.

Ausberry wasn't going to play a snap this season and didn't want to end his career as a backup.
Stevie Ray Lloyd wasn't going to play another snap at Virginia Tech.
Rashad Jennings was going to be buried on the depth chart at Pitt.
Vince Redd wasn't going to be able to maintain his academics at Virginia.
Eddie Pinigis got beat out by a freshman and was going to be buried on the depth chart.

Basically, Liberty has a bunch of what would be FBS backups (with the exception of Redd, who probably would have started at UVA). Don't get me wrong, I don't think these are bad players. But you're not getting FBS starters. They're fantastic players at this level, no doubt. But if they were FBS starters, they'd still be at their FBS schools. A lot of Liberty's starters could very easily be backups at FBS schools. So you're getting solid, FCS-level players here. Nothing more than that.

I think when this schedule is done, the fans are going to be quite disappointed. You might as well get the "P" word out of your vocabulary now. Nothing short of 11-0 will give Liberty a shot at them if the schedule turns out the way I think it's going to.

[Sly Fox]

Chris, you've been around us long enough to realize we aim high even if its unrealistic. I think most of us would rather lose to quality FCS schools (and FBS programs for that matter) than beat up on bad DIIs. And keep in mind we feel like we have a competitive team for the first time in quite awhile. That list covers the dark days of Liberty's program so even our in conference victories were rare.

You are correct that Vince wasn't going to play at UVa ever again. But it wasn't due to lack of talent. And its a big step from not starting to not taking a snap for Eddie & Marshal. They both were in the O-line rotations. That's why there was so much bellyaching on the Sabre over those two transfers. But I agree that we aren't the only school adding FBS transfers and we aren't close to the same level as the Appys and Furmans of the college football world ... yet.

[Chris Lang]

Sly, I understand. And it's great to have high expectations. I just worry that people are putting way too much stock in these transfers ... they will not immediately turn Liberty into a FCS beast. It just won't happen. It's great for Liberty to have them, though, especially along the lines and in the secondary. For all of the talk of the transfers last year, some of the best players on the field were Ryan Greiser, Zach Terrell, Jarrett Winfrey, Tim Torrence and Jason Horn ... guys that were here.

I can tell you Danny is taking a baby steps approach to this program, and I think it's the right way to go. Beating William & Mary and Elon on the road will not be easy, and if LU gets both, it would mark a monumental step forward for the program. This team still won't be a senior-heavy team next year.

[Chris Lang]

Groh made it pretty clear in Doughty's column that Ausberry wasn't going to be a big part of things there ... if you're going to play backup linemen, why not play younger players instead of a fifth-year senior? That seems to be Groh's tack up there.