[jcmanson]

Athlon:

1 Villanova
2 Appalachian State
3 Richmond
4 Montana
5 William & Mary
6 Elon
7 Southern Illinois
8 S.F.Austin
9 South Dakota State
10 South Carolina State
11 James Madison
12 Eastern Washington
13 Penn
14 New Hampshire
15 Liberty
16 Delaware
17 Northern Iowa
18 Montana State
19 Jacksonville State
20 Eastern Illinois
21 Prairie View A&M
22 Maine
23 McNeese State
24 Furman
25 Texas State

[Kolzilla41]

Nice. I tried looking it up but have we ever had a pre-season ranking this high before? And does this poll matter towards the division rankings?

[SuperJon]

We've never been ranked this high preseason. Athlon is the ranking that most others are based off of.

[Kolzilla41]

Thanks Jon.

[SumItUp]

It's not a poll. It's a magazine's preseason rankings. I would expect that we will start the season ranked in the top 25 (maybe high teens). Our first four games will set the tone for poll rankings next year. Coach Rocco has always emphasized winning the conference. This year, it counts. If we are on the bubble before the playoffs next year, it is because we did not get it done in the conference.

[BJWilliams]

I made a similar point you yours on AGS (yes they're back) SumItUp. This four game stretch to start the year will really show just where we are at. If we come out of it 3-1 (with the one being probably JMU), we are a top 10 team or very much in the discussion. If we somehow come out of it 4-0 we could potentially be right around that 5 spot. if we split, we probably will be in the 15-20 range (now if one of those wins is BSU we may bump inside the top 15)

[jcmanson]

We should be easily top 20 preseason. No reason we shouldn't finish the season at least in the top 15. Which would set us up for a possible top 10 preseason ranking going into 2011.

[Kolzilla41]

I made a similar point you yours on AGS (yes they're back) SumItUp. This four game stretch to start the year will really show just where we are at. If we come out of it 3-1 (with the one being probably JMU), we are a top 10 team or very much in the discussion. If we somehow come out of it 4-0 we could potentially be right around that 5 spot. if we split, we probably will be in the 15-20 range (now if one of those wins is BSU we may bump inside the top 15)

You think we have a better chance of beating Ball State than JMU?

[BJWilliams]

LU for some reason has played a lot better their last few encounters with FBS programs...you have to think the boys are due to break through one of these years. I think that if our one loss is to BSU and we beat JMU that will get us at least talked about in the usual group of teams hovering around that 9-10-11-12 group in most rankings

[SuperJon]

I made a similar point you yours on AGS (yes they're back) SumItUp. This four game stretch to start the year will really show just where we are at. If we come out of it 3-1 (with the one being probably JMU), we are a top 10 team or very much in the discussion. If we somehow come out of it 4-0 we could potentially be right around that 5 spot. if we split, we probably will be in the 15-20 range (now if one of those wins is BSU we may bump inside the top 15)

You should just stop.

[BJWilliams]

All Im saying is this four-five games is important...maybe not the "biggest stretch of games in the history of the program" important, but important nonetheless. LU has made some major strides in the last few years and if we can get off to a really hot start (4-1 with a loss to either JMU or BSU or *longshot of this happening* 5-0), we probably are going to find ourselves in the upper third of the rankings going into conference play. if we're 3-2 (with losses to both JMU and BSU we wont have a ton of chances to really make a huge move in the rankings through conference play and we wont have that "signature win" that could really bolster our chances should we slip up (God forbid that happening) at any juncture over those last 6 games.

[Kolzilla41]

I don't think rankings really matter. The Big South is a must win this year. If we go 3-2, I would be happy. 4-1, ecstatic.

[jcmanson]

I’ll be satisfied with 3-2.
4-1 happy.
5-0 ecstatic.

[Rooster Cogburn]

Undefeated, haha. No 4-1 is good!

[LUnpretty11]

You think we have a better chance of beating Ball State than JMU?

Yes.

Anything less than an undefeated season for 2010 is a terrible disappointment for me. We expect to win.

[quedog]

The talk within the team is Big South first then make a national championship run. You win championships with defense the buzz is we have the defense to win it all.

[BJWilliams]

Good to see the team not get ahead of themselves...we have a real chance to do something special this year to be sure. We can banter on and on about all this stuff because we're fans (and some of us journalists too), the players job is to focus on making sure they take care of business where it matters...on the field.

[Stevev]

I remember 1 year in the Sam R era that we were ranked 9/10 in Sporting News and Street and Smith's publications. The highest preseason ranking that I remember. We finished the year 5-6 and as I remember throughout the Sam R era a high preseason ranking was a bad omen as we usually failed to acheive expectations. That year we started off the season with losses to ETSU, W Carolina, Morgan State, Indiana State, and Hofstra and Ben Anderson was the QB.

[quedog]

What does that have to do with 2010 Flames team!

[Stevev]

Trying to remember the highest preseason ranking we ever had.

[Libertine]

I made a similar point you yours on AGS (yes they're back) SumItUp. This four game stretch to start the year will really show just where we are at. If we come out of it 3-1 (with the one being probably JMU), we are a top 10 team or very much in the discussion. If we somehow come out of it 4-0 we could potentially be right around that 5 spot. if we split, we probably will be in the 15-20 range (now if one of those wins is BSU we may bump inside the top 15)

You should just stop.

This.

[FactChecker]

Media guide says we were ranked #9 in the 1996 Sporting News preseason poll.

[LUnpretty11]

Is that a .... fact???? Buh Duh CHAH

[Keenan]

I’ll be satisfied with 3-2.
4-1 happy.
5-0 ecstatic.

[Stevev]

Media guide says we were ranked #9 in the 1996 Sporting News preseason poll.

That was the year I was referring to (1996). Still not sure why we were ranked so high that year considering who we lost to graduation and no transfers of significance. I guess we proved the rankings wrong.