All Things D2 and D3 College Football 2023 Season Thread

[Some guy]

Still head to head with NFL on Saturday.

Friday night makes the most sense but apparently this is a bid issue with host cities. It's a pretty big economic impact for the host city and the thought is that a Sunday game equals longer stays and more tourist dollars. Lots of Griz and Jacks in Frisco as we speak golfing, drinking, making merry, etc.

11am Saturday was floated by NCAA but Frisco said no thanks. I think ABC pays the same no matter what, and just re-upped NCAA championships at 4x the previous contract. The Frisco contract is for two more seasons (NCAA option for an additional year).

Other host cities might not be as finicky. But this is a Frisco thing.

If they played noon Saturday they wouldn’t be head to head with NFL. They’d be lead in to NFL.

 

[Out State Gopher]

If they played noon Saturday they wouldn’t be head to head with NFL. They’d be lead in to NFL.

That's how they use to do it on Saturday noon before the 1st NFL game. Weird they would change it to Sunday. It shows people in charge making decisions are not qualified. Like when companies will not allow their sports programming on streaming services. Anyone you know?

 

[swede2]

If they played noon Saturday they wouldn’t be head to head with NFL. They’d be lead in to NFL.

Frisco pushed back on 11am/noon start. I can't believe the host city has that much say in the matter but apparently so. They've had the game for a decade or more now and the last renewal wasn't even bid so the NCAA must be pretty happy. Maybe if a new city outbids they don't have the same gameday demands.

 

[Some guy]

That's how they use to do it on Saturday noon before the 1st NFL game. Weird they would change it to Sunday. It shows people in charge making decisions are not qualified. Like when companies will not allow their sports programming on streaming services. Anyone you know?

I’m sure they’re qualified
I’m sure they maximized short term revenue

It’s just dumb

 

[disco]

Frisco pushed back on 11am/noon start. I can't believe the host city has that much say in the matter but apparently so. They've had the game for a decade or more now and the last renewal wasn't even bid so the NCAA must be pretty happy. Maybe if a new city outbids they don't have the same gameday demands.

I've always thought Frisco is kind of an odd location. It's not all that warm - I think one year, there was an ice storm, which isn't uncommon in N. Texas. I suppose it's centrally located, and near a major airport, but there's nothing all that interesting about Frisco itself.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

apparently future games could be moved to a different location. this is from an interview with NCAA official Ty Halpin on a Montana sports website:

TY HALPIN: “We're here the next two years and then we have an option for the 2027 game. We'll be looking at that in the near future and then our 2028 games. So the 2027 season going into the 2028 game is part of our overall NCAA championships bid openings. So we will see in the near future what cities are interested in bidding. Several have expressed interest already. We certainly expect Frisco to be part of that and they've been a great, great partner with us. So I don't anticipate that being discontinued. But we'll see what other cities are interested in bidding.”

on the TV deal, here's something from Hero Sports:

However, finding a good TV window for ABC will be a challenge with the College Football Playoff expanding and the NFL playing on Saturdays late in the season. The FCS championship has usually been played at 11 a.m. CT Saturdays on ESPN2, but last year and this year it is at 1 p.m. CT Sunday on ABC due to ABC having an open window. Last year’s game drew 1.07 million viewers, down from 1.32 million the year prior when it was Saturday on ESPN2.

To show how well the game can do on ABC with no competition, the 2019 season’s game was on ABC on a Saturday and drew 2.68 million viewers.

and this note - with the FBS going to the 12-team playoffs, it's likely that there will be FBS playoffs games being played on this same weekend starting next year, so that adds another wrinkle to finding a time slot for the FCS championship game.

 

[swede2]

I've always thought Frisco is kind of an odd location. It's not all that warm - I think one year, there was an ice storm, which isn't uncommon in N. Texas. I suppose it's centrally located, and near a major airport, but there's nothing all that interesting about Frisco itself.

It was played in Chattanooga prior Frisco. The NCAA's interest is $$$.

 

[Gopherchase]

BTW - just in case anyone has forgotten - the FCS Championship Game is this Sunday at 1:00pm on ABC, with South Dakota State's Jackrabbits taking on the Montana Grizzlies.

it seems like forever since the semi-final games were played. (December 15th - I had to look it up...)

I will probably start watching the Vikes game, but if the Vikes are stinking up the place, at least I have a backup plan.

There was more good football and exciting plays in the first quarter and change of this game then we had the last two months of our season. I hate the Jacks, but they have a better team than we do.

 

[MplsGopher]

I've always thought Frisco is kind of an odd location. It's not all that warm - I think one year, there was an ice storm, which isn't uncommon in N. Texas. I suppose it's centrally located, and near a major airport, but there's nothing all that interesting about Frisco itself.

You're backwards.

The NCAA says "uh ... hi everyone .... does anyone ... ya know ... actually want this thing?? Anyone? And maybe want to throw us some spare change in your couch cushions for it??? Thanks!"

Frisco was like " .....mmmmalllright, malright, we can do somethin with that". New MLS stadium, at that time like 14 years ago.


Before that it was in Chattanooga, Tennessee


EDIT - swede2 always beats me to FCS stuff

 

[MplsGopher]

Congrats to SDSU, though.

Stig finally gets his richly deserved natty, then immediately JR takes over and takes them back to back.

Who do they think they are, NDSU??

 

[MplsGopher]

It's a pretty big economic impact for the host city and the thought is that a Sunday game equals longer stays and more tourist dollars. Lots of Griz and Jacks in Frisco as we speak golfing, drinking, making merry, etc.

This.

Frisco for the natty is a big party, as it's usually a bunch of Dakota people going down to get drunk for the weekend.

This time it was Montana people doing the same thing.

 

[PhiloVance]

Bill Connelly, ESPN Staff Writer said SDSU would have won the B1G west and would have been ranked in the top 25.

 

[PMWinSTP]

Bill Connelly, ESPN Staff Writer said SDSU would have won the B1G west and would have been ranked in the top 25.

Yeah, heard the announcer say that and almost spit out my drink. It's one thing to play one P5 and win, no chance with that roster that they compete at that level for 12 games. Size, speed, and athleticism and competition is at a whole different level.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

SDSU 23, Montana 3. Big showing by the defense to shut down the Grizzlies in the 2nd half. Jacks will lose some good players to graduation but they should be ranked #1 going into next season.

 

[Catechol]

Yeah, heard the announcer say that and almost spit out my drink. It's one thing to play one P5 and win, no chance with that roster that they compete at that level for 12 games. Size, speed, and athleticism and competition is at a whole different level.

Well, SDSU is ranked #19 by Sagarin’s algorithm. I agree there’s no chance they win the B1G west due to having to play that level of competition week after week. However, they could have beaten any one of the B1G west teams this year, that much is accurate. The gap between the tippy top of FCS and the average to mediocre FBS teams is not as large as it once was.

 

[swede2]

SDSU 23, Montana 3. Big showing by the defense to shut down the Grizzlies in the 2nd half. Jacks will lose some good players to graduation but they should be ranked #1 going into next season.

Gronowski at QB has two years eligibility remaining but its fairly certain in Brookings that he'll follow OC Zach Lujan to Northwestern. He's given SDSU 4 years and 2 natties and another runnerup where, had he not torn his ACL, maybe a third and fourth.

 

[PMWinSTP]

Well, SDSU is ranked #19 by Sagarin’s algorithm. I agree there’s no chance they win the B1G west due to having to play that level of competition week after week. However, they could have beaten any one of the B1G west teams this year, that much is accurate. The gap between the tippy top of FCS and the average to mediocre FBS teams is not as large as it once was.

Its 30 point average margin of victory against a much lower level of competition is driving Sagarin. Bold part...said as much in my first sentance. I think they would have trouble winning a title in a G5 conference.

 

[disco]

Its 30 point average margin of victory against a much lower level of competition is driving Sagarin. Bold part...said as much in my first sentance. I think they would have trouble winning a title in a G5 conference.

They may not have been able to win a P5 division, but I think this team would very easily win a G5 conference if not most. I think this team was much better than Liberty that got the G5 major bowl bid.

 

[PMWinSTP]

They may not have been able to win a P5 division, but I think this team would very easily win a G5 conference if not most. I think this team was much better than Liberty that got the G5 major bowl bid.

I don't.

 

[swede2]

Yeah, heard the announcer say that and almost spit out my drink. It's one thing to play one P5 and win, no chance with that roster that they compete at that level for 12 games. Size, speed, and athleticism and competition is at a whole different level.

There's plenty of talk that this SDSU was one of the FCS all-time greats. There's of course no way to quantify that but there's plenty of discussion about it. SDSU beat 11 playoff teams over the course of a 15 game schedule and only a couple were in any kind of doubt midway through the 3rd quarter.

I agree that for most good FCS teams, it would be tough to sustain championship level success over the course of 12 games with 63 scholarship players. But this SDSU team, like the dominant Bison teams of the previous decade was deep, very deep. In fact, a defense that gave up 9.3 points per game over the course of the season and only one touchdown during the playoffs, had very few players show up on the very many post season All-America teams (and none on some of these teams) precisely because the defense subbed so liberally that none of these guys put up the gaudy stats necessary to make these teams.

On the offensive side of the ball, there is a running back, tight end and two offensive linemen that should hear their names called during the NFL draft. There are two wide receivers (twin brothers) that should be on NFL rosters next fall and could be drafted. There are a couple of defensive stalwarts that will find their way onto to NFL rosters as UDFAs. And if Easton Stick can get his name called in the 5th round, Mark Granowski should be worth even a late round pick if he entered the draft but the word is he's moving with his OC to NW. And there's NFL caliber talent returning next year.

There aren't many (any?) G5 teams with the top end talent or depth that SDSU has. JMU? Liberty? It'll be tough to ever replicate what SDSU has had the last two seasons and it likely won't happen in the NIL/Portal era. But had this team played in the MAC, Sun Belt or C-USA, I'd put my money on SDSU.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

I watched SDSU play at least a half-dozen times this year in whole or in part.

a really solid, well-coached team with some playmakers on both offense and defense.

so get out the flame-throwers, folks:

If SDSU and the Gophers had played each other this season, I think SDSU would have won by 6 to 10 points. I think they were just flat-out an overall better team than the Gophers, with a big edge at QB. If the Gophers would have had Gronowski at QB this year, they win 1 or 2 more games.

 

[Tommyboy]

I watched SDSU play at least a half-dozen times this year in whole or in part.

a really solid, well-coached team with some playmakers on both offense and defense.

so get out the flame-throwers, folks:

If SDSU and the Gophers had played each other this season, I think SDSU would have won by 6 to 10 points. I think they were just flat-out an overall better team than the Gophers, with a big edge at QB. If the Gophers would have had Gronowski at QB this year, they win 1 or 2 more games.

What does that say about the Gopher's recruiting when North and South Dakota, two states at the end of the world, have better football teams then a Big 10 program in a large metropolitan location?

 

[Panthadad2]

What does that say about the Gopher's recruiting when North and South Dakota, two states at the end of the world, have better football teams then a Big 10 program in a large metropolitan location?

Better because you say so? LOL.

 

[IceBoxGopher]

Seems like a good place to put this, full list of national championships across divisions:

• NJCAA DIII - College of DuPage (Illinois)
• NJCAA DI - Iowa Western Community College
• NAIA - Keiser University (Florida)
• HBCU - Florida A&M University
• Division III - State University of New York at Cortland
• Division II - Harding University (Arkansas)
• Division I FCS - South Dakota State University
• Division I FBS - The University of Michigan

 

[Word]

I watched SDSU play at least a half-dozen times this year in whole or in part.

a really solid, well-coached team with some playmakers on both offense and defense.

so get out the flame-throwers, folks:

If SDSU and the Gophers had played each other this season, I think SDSU would have won by 6 to 10 points. I think they were just flat-out an overall better team than the Gophers, with a big edge at QB. If the Gophers would have had Gronowski at QB this year, they win 1 or 2 more games.

Hard to compare. They played a really weak schedule and blew everyone out. It makes it hard to make honest comparisons. Also, if they played a big ten schedule they likely would accrue more injuries and fatigue playing against bigger/better athletes (Gophers had many injuries that definitely affected our play).

I do agree if the Gophers had competent QB play they win at least 2 more games.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

Hard to compare. They played a really weak schedule and blew everyone out. It makes it hard to make honest comparisons. Also, if they played a big ten schedule they likely would accrue more injuries and fatigue playing against bigger/better athletes (Gophers had many injuries that definitely affected our play).

I do agree if the Gophers had competent QB play they win at least 2 more games.

I'm not arguing how SDSU would do playing a full FBS schedule. I'm just saying that in a one-time, head-to-head matchup, I honestly think that the 2023 SDSU team would beat the 2023 Gopher team.

which is really not that wild of a statement - we are talking about the best team in FCS against an FBS team that went 5-7 in the regular season.

(which reminds me I used to have this Sports Illustrated College Football game - one of those games based on cards and dice throws - where you would have different top college FB teams play each other - like the 1966 Notre Dame team against the 1969 Ohio State team and so forth. I wonder what happened to that game? I remember it as being a lot of fun - but that was over 50 years ago.....)

 

[swede2]

Seems like a good place to put this, full list of national championships across divisions:

• NJCAA DIII - College of DuPage (Illinois)
• NJCAA DI - Iowa Western Community College
• NAIA - Keiser University (Florida)
• HBCU - Florida A&M University
• Division III - State University of New York at Cortland
• Division II - Harding University (Arkansas)
• Division I FCS - South Dakota State University
• Division I FBS - The University of Michigan

HBCU is FCS. The two conferences send their champions to the Celebration Bowl in lieu of an autobid in the FCS playoffs. But in theory, if seldom in reality, its non-champs can receive FCS playoff bids.

 

[IceBoxGopher]

HBCU is FCS. The two conferences send their champions to the Celebration Bowl in lieu of an autobid in the FCS playoffs. But in theory, if seldom in reality, its non-champs can receive FCS playoff bids.

Yeah I saw that as well, they label the Celebration Bowl winner as the Black College National Champion so I figured I'd include it.

 

[Ope3]

(which reminds me I used to have this Sports Illustrated College Football game - one of those games based on cards and dice throws - where you would have different top college FB teams play each other - like the 1966 Notre Dame team against the 1969 Ohio State team and so forth. I wonder what happened to that game? I remember it as being a lot of fun - but that was over 50 years ago.....)

Wonderful game, "Bowl Bound". My family probably recreated the 1966 Notre Dame vs Mich St game well over 100 times.

My cousin and I thought about digging it up when I was visiting over the holidays. USC, LSU and Texas were the other stalwarts that I can remember.