[Sly Fox]

From the blog ...

The News & Advance FCS Top 25: Preseason edition

By Chris Lang
Published: August 7, 2008

Here’s an experiment that will only make me a more astute follower of FCS football: A weekly Top 25 ranking. Not a poll, mind you. This is my ranking, and mine alone. I thought it would be fun to take a stab at it and stimulate conversation among local FCS fans.

My experience in covering FCS football has been mainly in the Big South and Big Sky, but I’ve gotten a chance to see my fair share of CAA, Southland and Southern Conference teams in the past decade or so. I’ll update my rankings each Monday during the season and offer predictions for the teams within the top 25 each Saturday.

Feel free to argue with any of the rankings, please. Here’s my preseason Top 25, with the next update coming after the first week of games:

Click Here for Chris' Rankings & Explanations

Uh, Chris. We do play football down here in Texas.

[ATrain]

From the blog ...

The News & Advance FCS Top 25: Preseason edition

By Chris Lang
Published: August 7, 2008

Here’s an experiment that will only make me a more astute follower of FCS football: A weekly Top 25 ranking. Not a poll, mind you. This is my ranking, and mine alone. I thought it would be fun to take a stab at it and stimulate conversation among local FCS fans.

My experience in covering FCS football has been mainly in the Big South and Big Sky, but I’ve gotten a chance to see my fair share of CAA, Southland and Southern Conference teams in the past decade or so. I’ll update my rankings each Monday during the season and offer predictions for the teams within the top 25 each Saturday.

Feel free to argue with any of the rankings, please. Here’s my preseason Top 25, with the next update coming after the first week of games:

Click Here for Chris' Rankings & Explanations

Uh, Chris. We do play football down here in Texas.

Just because you play doesn't mean you're good

[Chris Lang]

Of course you do, Sly ... but I wouldn't expect a whole lot out of the Texas Southland bunch, except for maybe Sam Houston State. Can't see Texas State or Stephen F. being anything but mediocre.

As far as the SWAC schools go, I'm chalking Prairie View up as a fluke at this point, and Texas Southern was winless last year.

And there's your Texas report.

[RagingTireFire]

.

And there's your Texas report.

"Gold, Jerry! Gold!"

[Sly Fox]

Sam should be on the list and I could make an argument for PVU. But I'm not buying into the latter.

Rhett Bomar should have the Bearkats winning this fall or the coaching staff in Huntsville can kiss their jobs goodbye.

[Kolzilla41]

I know this might be unpopular, but isn't it a little early to be putting us in the Top 25? The two good teams we were supposed to beat last year we didn't. I think we will be up there but not this early in the pre season.

[RagingTireFire]

I could make an argument for PVU.

No, you couldn't. Not a good one anyway.

[Chris Lang]

Sam should be on the list and I could make an argument for PVU. But I'm not buying into the latter.

Rhett Bomar should have the Bearkats winning this fall or the coaching staff in Huntsville can kiss their jobs goodbye.

To be quite honest, I felt spot No. 25 was a toss-up between SHSU and Jacksonville State. Went with Perriloux and Co. That Prarie View-SHSU game should be an interesting one. Sam is definitely on my radar, if only for the Bomar factor, though I thought he should have been better than he was last year.

As for LU in the ranking ... not a homer pick. I find it difficult to believe there are 25 better teams nationally than LU, if only because of the return of Smith-Jennings-Terrell. Not saying they're a playoff team, not yet at least, but certainly capable of top 25 status.

[Chris Lang]

BTW Sly, love the discussion on this. Keep it coming.

[Sly Fox]

I'm smelling some SWAC smack. PVU is better than many are conceding. It may take an undefeated run to put the memories of their incessant ohfer seasons out of mind. But the Panthers have quietly built something nice here in Houston.TSU may be getting the home in the new Dynamo stadium but they aren't the ones deserving it.

As for Sam, they always have the talent but they haven't had a staff knowing how to utilize it since their playoff run a few years ago. There will be no more excuses this fall.

[RagingTireFire]

I'm smelling some SWAC smack. PVU is better than many are conceding.

I would put some Division II and/or NAIA conferences up against the SWAC any day of the week. The SWAC is to D1 scholarship football as Bangladesh is to world politics.

[Sly Fox]

Don't hate just because you cannot replicate their cash generating classics.

[SuperJon]

The SWAC is the worst Division I conference in the country. Yes, their classics make some money, but their production on the field is terrible.

[Sly Fox]

They play so few non-conference games except for I-A matchups that is tough to tell how good they really are in comparison to other I-AAs.

And come on, they are better than the MEAC and Pioneer and probably the OVC and whatever they are calling the old NEC these days. The SWAC still sends a bunch of talent to the NFL every year.

Then again I'm not sure how I became the champion of all things SWAC. The SWAC faithful on AGS would get a kick out of me playing this role as opposed to what they see over there.

[SuperJon]

I wasn't talking about just football. I was talking overall. Their basketball programs are a joke.

[Sly Fox]

Football is the only sport in the SWAC. Even they ackowledge that without debate.

[Chris Lang]

I would just like to point out that Texas Southern lost 83-10 tonight to Arkansas State.

83-10.

That's some great football down in Texas, Sly.

[Sly Fox]

TSU is arguably the worst I-AA program in America. And Arkie State won at Kyle Field last night. So not even the 81 is very surprising.

When you have as many programs in a state as Texas possesses, you are going to have a clunker or two.

Glad to see Beamer figured out a way to finally pull away from the Paladins in the 2nd half.

[Chris Lang]

Whew. Not a banner year for Tech, I'm afraid. They still may be the best team in the dog awful ACC though.