My FCS Top 25, 11/14/2011

Below the flip, see my Top 25 for this week.
1: Montana State Bobcats
2: Lehigh Mountain Hawks
3: Montana Grizzlies
4: Georgia Southern Eagles
5: Sam Houston State Bearkats
6: North Dakota State Bison
7: Northern Iowa Panthers
8: Wofford Terriers
9: Appalachian State Mountaineers
10: Towson Tigers
11: Harvard Crimson
12: Maine Black Bears
13: Old Dominion Monarchs
14: New Hampshire Wildcats
15: Liberty Flames
16: Central Arkansas Bears
17: Norfolk State Spartans
18: Youngstown State Penguins
19: Illinois State Redbirds
20: Albany Great Danes
21: Stony Brook Seawolves
22: Duquesne Dukes
23: James Madison Dukes
24: Bethune-Cookman Wildcats
25: Jackson State Tigers

Three (very) quick hits on my Top 25:
* Yes, that's Bethune-Cookman at my No. 24, a second MEAC team who could finish at 8-3 with 7 D-I wins. Will it be enough to put them in the 20 team field? I can't say for sure, but if I'm a committee member I'd take a long, hard look at them over more 7-4 teams than you think. Folks seem to think that it's a gimme that a 7-4 Illinois State or a 7-4 James Madison is in before the Wildcats; I think otherwise.

* Central Arkansas at No. 16? Absolutely. While some think the Bears are a bubble team for an at-large bid, I do not. I think they have no bad losses (two to FBS teams, and one to undefeated Sam Houston State) while taking care of business against everyone else. Is the playoff subcommittee really going to deny a team with those credentials against a team like, say, Illinois State with a loss against 2-9 Eastern Illinois? No way.

* Who's the best team in the East? Judging by my ballot, you'd think: No. 1, Lehigh, No. 2 Towson, No. 3 Maine, and No. 4 Old Dominion. If the playoff committee thinks the same way, it could mean that Lehigh may have a chance at securing one of the top five seeds in the entire tournament. But I feel that the Mountain Hawks right now are on the outside looking in when it comes to a seed.

Lehigh's best chance at a seed comes with beating "that school in Easton" (of course), while having Towson lose at Rhode Island and Montana State beating Montana. If that happens, Montana State gets the overall No. 1 seed (dropping the Griz) while Towson becomes a clear No. 2 in the East behind Lehigh.

Of course, Lehigh needs to simply win, and then see where the chips fall.

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