Way too early top 25

[AppStFan1]

Just for some historical perspective:


2018 Final Rankings for G5 teams:


UCF - 11
Fresno State - 18
Army - 19
Utah State - 22
Boise State - 23
Cincy - 24

2019 Preseason AP Poll for G5 teams:

UCF - 17


We actually started with 5 votes this preseason after finishing right outside the top 25 last year.

If I had to guess we will start the preseason at 25 or receiving votes right outside.

Wins against Morgan State and Wake will push us clean into the top 25. Possibly top 20 for our matchup against Wisconsin. Oooo doggy.

I had looked at that a while back and I agree. UCF lost a lot of key players and we don't so I could see 23-25 but it would not surprise me at all if we were 26-29 range. G5 teams don't get the same love in the preseason as they do in the postseason. The reality is that there are really 1-3 G5 teams who belong in the top 25 usually.

I'm not sure how many starters return for the following schools but if any of them return say 15 or more starters and win their bowl games they all will and should be ranked ahead of any G5 team in the preseason.

Texas A&M 7-5
Southern California 8-4
Kansas State 8-4
Virginia 9-4
Oklahoma State 8-4
Virginia Tech 8-4
Texas 7-5
Iowa State 7-5
Louisville 7-5
Wake Forest 8-4

Louisville should be a preseason top 25 team for sure but other than them I'm not entirely sure what all returns. Some of these schools will lost some players early to the NFL.

One player who announced he is coming back at Wake Forest in DE Carlos Basham is a big time returnee. He is a likely top 50 draft pick if he had decided to come out. There will be a lot of first round buzz on him in the preseason if he indeed decides to stay in school and doesn't change his mind late.

I'd be shocked if Louisville was a preseason top 25, TBH.

I think we will start off in the Top 25 given our recent 2 year record, but fully expect the bar to be high for us to stay there.

I am 50/50 on Louisville starting the season ranked. If they don't lose a lot of players early to the NFL I could see them either in the 20-25 range or high receiving votes. Most expected them to win 4-5 this year and they won 7. I could see many voters thinking they win 9 in 2020.

[AppStFan1]

I had looked at that a while back and I agree. UCF lost a lot of key players and we don't so I could see 23-25 but it would not surprise me at all if we were 26-29 range. G5 teams don't get the same love in the preseason as they do in the postseason. The reality is that there are really 1-3 G5 teams who belong in the top 25 usually.

I'm not sure how many starters return for the following schools but if any of them return say 15 or more starters and win their bowl games they all will and should be ranked ahead of any G5 team in the preseason.

Texas A&M 7-5
Southern California 8-4
Kansas State 8-4
Virginia 9-4
Oklahoma State 8-4
Virginia Tech 8-4
Texas 7-5
Iowa State 7-5
Louisville 7-5
Wake Forest 8-4

You touch on it a bit but the name brand plays as big of a role, if not bigger sometimes, than on field results do for getting ranked in the preseason. All it took was hype and the brand name for Nebraska to get ranked going into 2019 yet they ended up 5-7.

I have just a small sample from UCF's experience that shows they really put an emphasis on consistency and establishing your brand.

I'll add onto ah59396's example.

After the 2017 season UCF finished 6 in the AP poll. Here's how they looked going into 2018:

Positives: won the big game, star QB returning
Negatives: HC leaving with entire staff

2018 pre-season rank - 21

After the 2018 seasons UCF finished 11 in the AP poll. Going into 2019:

Positives: HC and staff returning, extended win streak before the bowl
Negatives: lost the big game, star QB injured and out for at least a year if not permanently

2019 pre-season rank - 17

So despite 2018 not being as magical as 2017 and Milton going down, just sticking around in the conversation helped UCF somehow start off the 2019 pre-season rankings better than 2018.

Which is a positive I hope you'll all take. Although I know the majority of you guys are rightfully pleased with the historic season App State had. But for those that feel like it was a missed opportunity, I'd consider it building up for the next opportunity.

I did not look that deep in to your preseason rankings compared to what you lost and returned but I have noticed that G5 teams have to build a brand. That is why I kept saying on here we need to beat UAB by double digits because you want to finish strong. We have now been in the polls a good bit and it won't be taboo to rank us in the preseason. We had just one vote in the preseason this year but I think we will either be ranked or very high receiving votes.

It is interesting to note that the polls usually have 1, maybe 2, G5 teams ranked in the preseason and then have 8-12 or so receiving votes. You have to have a brand name and a lot of your roster returning or just get a few votes and have to prove it.

[InFor6More]

Thanks for all your comments. I am very hopeful that we can get into the preseason top 25 because I believe it represents the next step for the program and will serve to really help our recruiting efforts. Like many of you have pointed out, we won’t be ranked on our historic season alone or even on the basis that we’re bring back a ton of talent.

[ah59396]

Speaking of brand building, numbers like this blow my mind:

[VNova]

Speaking of brand building, numbers like this blow my mind:

Are those just the schools that are Skullsparks clients?

That level of social media interaction is great. I hope it continues.

[ah59396]

Speaking of brand building, numbers like this blow my mind:

Are those just the schools that are Skullsparks clients?

That level of social media interaction is great. I hope it continues.

Not sure, I believe this is just market research. Obviously a lot of this has to do with the fact that we had a bowl game, but overall we perform quite well on social media. This kind of online activity is an absolute must for long term success.

We also did well on Twitter:





We need to up our Instagram game though:

[Black Saturday]

Hard to believe The Ohio State doesn't have 1000k

[bigdaddyg]

If we are talking the AP for next year I honestly believe we will be ranked lower than where we finish this season. The usual suspects will make up the top 10. Some blue bloods like usual- most legit and a couple who will ultimately fall out quickly. The next 10 will include a couple who went about 6-6 this year. Memphis will be there and App will probably be 26th. We will have to knock off Wake and at least play Wisconsin close if not beat them to get back in- basically start over again. Nature of the beast.

[Apple@chin1]

Not many G5 teams on those lists. We’re moving into uncharted territory. I’m loving the direction that we’re heading. Seems that the sky’s the limit for our little institution on the mountain!

[AppStFan1]

If we are talking the AP for next year I honestly believe we will be ranked lower than where we finish this season. The usual suspects will make up the top 10. Some blue bloods like usual- most legit and a couple who will ultimately fall out quickly. The next 10 will include a couple who went about 6-6 this year. Memphis will be there and App will probably be 26th. We will have to knock off Wake and at least play Wisconsin close if not beat them to get back in- basically start over again. Nature of the beast.

Pretty much the consensus expectation here. I think we finish 18 or 19 this year but enter the 2020 season ranked between 23-29. Once we see where we start the rankings literally won't matter for us the rest of the year in terms of worrying about other G5 teams. If we start out in that range and win out then we will leapfrog other G5s because nobody among the top G5 teams has 2 ranked P5 road games. If we go undefeated I would say we have a 80% shot at the NY6. Only an undefeated season by a Memphis, Cincy, UCF, or SMU with large margin of victories in the AAC for each week would scare me off from that. If we only had one P5 game I would say we have no shot but having 2 ranked ones puts us in the driver seat, despite our conference.

[spacemonkey]

Who says we don't have playoffs in the G5???? Our playoff starts Saturday Sept 5th, 2020.

[AppStFan1]

Who says we don't have playoffs in the G5???? Our playoff starts Saturday Sept 5th, 2020.

In a way we are in one. Single elimination in our league. If we lose any game we have no shot at the NY6. If we win out we are the front runner next year.

I fully expect this team to shock the world in Madison, Wisconsin. If we develop like we should in the spring and our staff has the right game plan I believe we could beat Wisconsin by double digits. I'm not impressed with the Big Ten outside of Ohio State this year. They lose their RB Taylor and the top players on their team overall. I really think we can go up there and win.

In the preseason I said I expected 13-1 and 12-2 was worst case that I would accept. Next year 13-1 is worst case. We have the squad to go 14-0. Take it one game at a time and if we stay healthy we could be looking at 14-0. #1-0 #Keepthechip

[citroknight]

Who says we don't have playoffs in the G5???? Our playoff starts Saturday Sept 5th, 2020.

In a way we are in one. Single elimination in our league. If we lose any game we have no shot at the NY6. If we win out we are the front runner next year.

I fully expect this team to shock the world in Madison, Wisconsin. If we develop like we should in the spring and our staff has the right game plan I believe we could beat Wisconsin by double digits. I'm not impressed with the Big Ten outside of Ohio State this year. They lose their RB Taylor and the top players on their team overall. I really think we can go up there and win.

In the preseason I said I expected 13-1 and 12-2 was worst case that I would accept. Next year 13-1 is worst case. We have the squad to go 14-0. Take it one game at a time and if we stay healthy we could be looking at 14-0. #1-0 #Keepthechip

Absolute worst case though, Cincy proved this year that an early season loss to a highly ranked P5 is forgiveable for a team competing for the G5 autobid. Lose to Wisconsin and still very much in it.

[Yosefus]

Cincy is in the AAC. A Sunbelt team will have to go 13-0 to get in NY6. We do have 2 P5 games again in 2020. Only way we could get in with a loss is to lose to a ranked Wisconsin and beat a ranked Wake. Wake would have to finish the season ranked as well. Otherwise it would be normal sunbelt tie ins.

Hopes and prayers for another great year next year, those guys stay healthy, coaches scheme well and all compete at the top of the game.

[JMappfan5]

Wisconsin was a very young team this year. Losing Taylor will hurt but they have a stable of good backs. Always tough to go undefeated but it can be done. We return 9 starters on Offense but lose a lot of quality leadership and tremendous talent on Defense. ADG, Cook and Fehr will be tough to replace. EJ Scott may be missed the most. Good talent on Depth Chart just unproven! I like our potential on that side of the ball with Hampton, Doublin, Bird, Jackson & R-FR. We should also get Willis back. Combine him with Meech and we may be watching "Hunter & Murrell" Part 2.

We will probably finish 18-19 this year and anywhere from 24-30 in 2020 Pre-Season.

[AppStFan1]

Who says we don't have playoffs in the G5???? Our playoff starts Saturday Sept 5th, 2020.

In a way we are in one. Single elimination in our league. If we lose any game we have no shot at the NY6. If we win out we are the front runner next year.

I fully expect this team to shock the world in Madison, Wisconsin. If we develop like we should in the spring and our staff has the right game plan I believe we could beat Wisconsin by double digits. I'm not impressed with the Big Ten outside of Ohio State this year. They lose their RB Taylor and the top players on their team overall. I really think we can go up there and win.

In the preseason I said I expected 13-1 and 12-2 was worst case that I would accept. Next year 13-1 is worst case. We have the squad to go 14-0. Take it one game at a time and if we stay healthy we could be looking at 14-0. #1-0 #Keepthechip

Absolute worst case though, Cincy proved this year that an early season loss to a highly ranked P5 is forgiveable for a team competing for the G5 autobid. Lose to Wisconsin and still very much in it.

You are judging by the AAC. SBC is not considered strong enough to allow for a team with a loss. We absolutely need to go undefeated. Starting 3-0 with wins over two ranked teams would put us in the driver's seat for the NY6.

[AppStFan1]

Wisconsin was a very young team this year. Losing Taylor will hurt but they have a stable of good backs. Always tough to go undefeated but it can be done. We return 9 starters on Offense but lose a lot of quality leadership and tremendous talent on Defense. ADG, Cook and Fehr will be tough to replace. EJ Scott may be missed the most. Good talent on Depth Chart just unproven! I like our potential on that side of the ball with Hampton, Doublin, Bird, Jackson & R-FR. We should also get Willis back. Combine him with Meech and we may be watching "Hunter & Murrell" Part 2.

We will probably finish 18-19 this year and anywhere from 24-30 in 2020 Pre-Season.

I feel like for the first time next year we will have a duo close or as good as Hunter and Murrell if Willis is fully healthy. Our replacements are just as good in many spots but yes the leadership early on will be a question. We should be able to outscore anyone early on next year while the replacements get their feet wet. I feel like Hampton will be our ADG next year. He is an absolute beast and could be a 10 sack guy if he plays most of the snaps. We will be very fast again next year.

[bigdaddyg]

So if Memphis wins are they the mythical G5 National Champ? Say what you will that’s pretty much it

[AppSt94]

Wisconsin was a very young team this year. Losing Taylor will hurt but they have a stable of good backs. Always tough to go undefeated but it can be done. We return 9 starters on Offense but lose a lot of quality leadership and tremendous talent on Defense. ADG, Cook and Fehr will be tough to replace. EJ Scott may be missed the most. Good talent on Depth Chart just unproven! I like our potential on that side of the ball with Hampton, Doublin, Bird, Jackson & R-FR. We should also get Willis back. Combine him with Meech and we may be watching "Hunter & Murrell" Part 2.

We will probably finish 18-19 this year and anywhere from 24-30 in 2020 Pre-Season.

I feel like for the first time next year we will have a duo close or as good as Hunter and Murrell if Willis is fully healthy. Our replacements are just as good in many spots but yes the leadership early on will be a question. We should be able to outscore anyone early on next year while the replacements get their feet wet. I feel like Hampton will be our ADG next year. He is an absolute beast and could be a 10 sack guy if he plays most of the snaps. We will be very fast again next year.

I am going to put this here and place mark it. We are going to experience some growing pains on defense while these replacements get their legs under them. While I agree that Hampton looks really good, he has only been a situational defender this year. That’s not a knock on him, just fact. He has been in to get upfield and disrupt, which he did at a high level. But he will be asked to do more next year. Let’s see how he responds. You can’t expect him to replace an AA without some drop off. Same goes for the safeties.

[AppStFan1]

Wisconsin was a very young team this year. Losing Taylor will hurt but they have a stable of good backs. Always tough to go undefeated but it can be done. We return 9 starters on Offense but lose a lot of quality leadership and tremendous talent on Defense. ADG, Cook and Fehr will be tough to replace. EJ Scott may be missed the most. Good talent on Depth Chart just unproven! I like our potential on that side of the ball with Hampton, Doublin, Bird, Jackson & R-FR. We should also get Willis back. Combine him with Meech and we may be watching "Hunter & Murrell" Part 2.

We will probably finish 18-19 this year and anywhere from 24-30 in 2020 Pre-Season.

I feel like for the first time next year we will have a duo close or as good as Hunter and Murrell if Willis is fully healthy. Our replacements are just as good in many spots but yes the leadership early on will be a question. We should be able to outscore anyone early on next year while the replacements get their feet wet. I feel like Hampton will be our ADG next year. He is an absolute beast and could be a 10 sack guy if he plays most of the snaps. We will be very fast again next year.

I am going to put this here and place mark it. We are going to experience some growing pains on defense while these replacements get their legs under them. While I agree that Hampton looks really good, he has only been a situational defender this year. That’s not a knock on him, just fact. He has been in to get upfield and disrupt, which he did at a high level. But he will be asked to do more next year. Let’s see how he responds. You can’t expect him to replace an AA without some drop off. Same goes for the safeties.

I expect a slight drop off to start for sure. It happens. We lost some key starters from last year and still did fine. We appear to be recruiting better and better so we should have new guys to step in. Ross, Huff, Hampton, Jackson, Cobb, and others all showed out at times. A lot needs to happen between now and then but the speed and talent is there. I feel like ADG and Thomas are the two losses that hurt most but we will miss them all. The top P5 programs just reload and I feel like top G5 programs should reload for most part. I think we will.