Leatherneck preseason snub

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Western_101
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Location: Morton, IL

Leathernecks did have coaching turnover between '17- '18 however, I believe there is continuity in the system.

Maybe I am a complete homer, but, I have yet to find any preseason publication that has our Leathernecks in the top 25.

That to me seems either absurd or just lazy on the part of the folks that put these preseason rankings together. I honestly don't know a lot about other leagues so I guess I don't know what the 'Necks are up against.

I do know that the MVFC is rated as the top FCS league in the land. They typically do a coaches poll and I would expect Western to rank between 5 or 6 in the poll.

Typically speaking a # 5 team in the MVFC has it's way with non MVFC teams. I think the folks doing the rankings saw two players leaving that landed in the NFL and a coaching shake up and just decided to not do anymore homework.

I would love to get some pre-season perspective from folks that are in the know.
WIU2DC
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Joined: Sat Nov 07, 2015 3:31 pm

I totally agree that it seems like we always get the snub or that while everyone is saying “SIU is getting better every year.” Where we have been too and been producing much better on the field. At least since I graduated our team has been getting better every year.

Now, I actually like we get snubbed hope that teams over look us and think we don’t have a squad that can win. I am hoping U of I does that so we can go into Urbana and shock them. Everyone on their board thinks we are going to be a push over.


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ST_Lawson
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I don't generally put a lot of stock in media polls and stuff...especially preseason polls. They're pretty much just one (or a few) person's/people's opinion(s) and are based largely on last season performance and name recognition. I've mentioned before that the AGS poll is the one that seems to be the most accurate more often than any of the others. While it's not as highly publicized as some of the others, they have a large group of knowledgeable people who pay A TON of attention to FCS football (like, way more than I do...I don't feel I'm qualified to vote in that poll and you guys have seen the stuff that I've written about the MVFC teams overall).

Anyway, here's a few responses from some of the people over on AGS about some of the various polls...
Regarding the recent Lindy's Top 25
SHSU, UNH, and JSU were all in the top 6. Ha. That is funny.
APSU, Lehigh and NAU all in the T25 while not including WIU (McGuire and McShane) and Stony Brook (Carbone and Liotine) makes this even that more pathetic.
This person went with name recognition hard over returning talent.
Hero Sports Preseason Top 25
WIU is one of the most glaring omissions from list .. finished 8-4, despite playing 8 of 12 on road against the 5th ranked SOS. Not sure how much you guys lost but I doubt Hero's intended to infer you guys would finish 8th, I think they just didn't know what to do with teams like YSU, USD, and SIU .. I think all 3 have very big ranges around their "expectations" for 2018. WIU has been a fixture in top 4 or 5 of MVFC the last 3 years.
I see it like this:#1: NDSU
#2-10 (No order): JMU, SDSU, WIU (I think they will push for a top 3/5 in the Valley/Nation with McShane and McGuire coming back), KSU, SHSU, Samford (Hodges will push for OPOY), WSU, EWU (they got snubbed IMO), SBU/UNH/Furman (yes I know they "suck").
So, I just consider most of the media polls to be good "bulletin board material" to motivate our players, but don't read much more into it than that. We go 2-1 in OOC (or even 3-0) and are competitive in the MVFC and we'll be in the playoff picture.
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leatherneckcountry
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Not really surprised many people think we ,might be 2nd or 3rd from the bottom. I don''t understand all the love around the Jacks they lost two of the top weapons in there schools history and many of the polls have them in the top 5.
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sealhall74
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Stay under the radar, go with a stealth attack and have 'em shaking their heads after the game asking "What the f**k was that?".
Embrace the pace of the race.
letsgonecks
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Joined: Tue Apr 22, 2014 6:19 am

I get an outsiders perspective with us losing 4 of 5 starting OL, one of the best LB's we've ever had and our best offensive weapon last season.

I'm optimistic, but when you lose 4 starting senior linemen and a backup to graduation, it's hard to replace when those guys played together for a few years. As always, next guy up, but offense production starts with the OL and that unit is a big question mark. We shall see and maybe we're looking at our next group of 3 to 4 year starters.

I'm probably overly optimistic with our D, but even though we lost Taylor, feel this defense could be one of our best ever. Thinking our studs and depth on the DL/OLB with wreak havoc this year and take tons of pressure of our DB's and allow them to press and take more chance.

We have major weapons on offense as well, so if the line comes together and the D plays half as good as I'm expecting, this team will be in the playoff hunt. If the O-line excels and the D plays to my expectations, we're a contender..........forever Leatherneck optimistic!!!!!!
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Western_101
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Location: Morton, IL

Nice to see Mr. Lawson represent our team on AGS with respectful and civil discourse and not get pulled into the quagmire of D-baggery and chest thumping.
wiu712
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Joined: Tue Apr 22, 2014 2:05 pm

From Saturday's McDonough County Voice:

Once again, Western Illinois football fighting for respect.
http://www.mcdonoughvoice.com/sports/20 ... or-respect

’Necks looking for offensive linemen.
http://www.mcdonoughvoice.com/sports/20 ... ve-linemen

Moon next man up in middle of WIU defense.
http://www.mcdonoughvoice.com/sports/20 ... iu-defense
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