Future Football Schedules

User avatar
ST_Lawson
Site Admin
Posts: 8247
Joined: Wed Apr 16, 2014 1:15 pm
Location: Macomb, IL
Contact:

GV Dad wrote: Tue Oct 16, 2018 3:43 pm Let's either add a Power 5 FBS team for the payday, or add an easy FCS team to get a sure W. Eastern Washington, Montana and Montana St should never be on our schedules. Nothing to gain.
I don't know about "nothing to gain", necessarily. There's reasons for each type of team on the schedule.
FBS - we get $
"lower" FCS (like a Pioneer League team...Valpo, Drake, Butler, etc.) - easy win, but unless we do a H&H agreement with them, we have to pay them $ to come here.
Upper level FCS team (like the Big Sky teams) - makes our schedule tougher...I know that sounds like a bad thing, but SoS is taken into account with regards to making the playoffs
In 2015, for example, we played then #25 ranked Eastern Illinois (won), played Illinois (lost), and played at then #1 FCS Coastal Carolina (lost a fairly close one). We went 5-3 in the conference, finished 6-5 overall and 5th in the conference, but became the first 6-5 team to ever make the the FCS playoffs as an at-large (I think a team had that record and won their conference one year to get their autobid...NEC maybe). We got picked ahead of quite a few decent 7-4 teams like Northern Arizona, North Dakota (they were really pissed about that one), Towson, UT-Martin, Western Carolina, and Central Arkansas. UND was especially mad because they'd actually beaten FBS Wyoming that year. They'd gone 5-3 in-conference like us (although Big Sky, as opposed to MVFC). But because we had the #1 toughest SoS that year in the FCS...we got the spot instead of them.

We also have the MVFC/Big Sky scheduling agreement in place, and I don't know what the terms are for that. Like, if we have to schedule a Big Sky team every year, or what.
Scott Lawson - Board Admin
Western Illinois University Alum/Fan/Employee
Member of the Marching Leathernecks - 1996-2000
GV Dad
Posts: 1013
Joined: Sun Oct 15, 2017 4:52 pm

ST_Lawson wrote: Tue Oct 16, 2018 4:01 pm
GV Dad wrote: Tue Oct 16, 2018 3:43 pm Let's either add a Power 5 FBS team for the payday, or add an easy FCS team to get a sure W. Eastern Washington, Montana and Montana St should never be on our schedules. Nothing to gain.
I don't know about "nothing to gain", necessarily. There's reasons for each type of team on the schedule.
FBS - we get $
"lower" FCS (like a Pioneer League team...Valpo, Drake, Butler, etc.) - easy win, but unless we do a H&H agreement with them, we have to pay them $ to come here.
Upper level FCS team (like the Big Sky teams) - makes our schedule tougher...I know that sounds like a bad thing, but SoS is taken into account with regards to making the playoffs
In 2015, for example, we played then #25 ranked Eastern Illinois (won), played Illinois (lost), and played at then #1 FCS Coastal Carolina (lost a fairly close one). We went 5-3 in the conference, finished 6-5 overall and 5th in the conference, but became the first 6-5 team to ever make the the FCS playoffs as an at-large (I think a team had that record and won their conference one year to get their autobid...NEC maybe). We got picked ahead of quite a few decent 7-4 teams like Northern Arizona, North Dakota (they were really pissed about that one), Towson, UT-Martin, Western Carolina, and Central Arkansas. UND was especially mad because they'd actually beaten FBS Wyoming that year. They'd gone 5-3 in-conference like us (although Big Sky, as opposed to MVFC). But because we had the #1 toughest SoS that year in the FCS...we got the spot instead of them.

We also have the MVFC/Big Sky scheduling agreement in place, and I don't know what the terms are for that. Like, if we have to schedule a Big Sky team every year, or what.
H and H would be fine. The MVFC is tough enough to make our SOS quality. If we made it at 6-5 because of SOS, we would have made it at 7-4. Plus, for recruits, 8-3 looks much better than 6-5 or 7-4.
User avatar
ST_Lawson
Site Admin
Posts: 8247
Joined: Wed Apr 16, 2014 1:15 pm
Location: Macomb, IL
Contact:

GV Dad wrote: Tue Oct 16, 2018 4:30 pm H and H would be fine. The MVFC is tough enough to make our SOS quality. If we made it at 6-5 because of SOS, we would have made it at 7-4. Plus, for recruits, 8-3 looks much better than 6-5 or 7-4.
True. On the plus side, next year we have North Alabama and Tennessee Tech, which should both be winnable, Montana State, which we're about even with (and this one's going to be here), and Colorado State, which is about as "winnable" as an FBS game can be (they lost to Illinois State this year).
Scott Lawson - Board Admin
Western Illinois University Alum/Fan/Employee
Member of the Marching Leathernecks - 1996-2000
GV Dad
Posts: 1013
Joined: Sun Oct 15, 2017 4:52 pm

ST_Lawson wrote: Tue Oct 16, 2018 4:55 pm
GV Dad wrote: Tue Oct 16, 2018 4:30 pm H and H would be fine. The MVFC is tough enough to make our SOS quality. If we made it at 6-5 because of SOS, we would have made it at 7-4. Plus, for recruits, 8-3 looks much better than 6-5 or 7-4.
True. On the plus side, next year we have North Alabama and Tennessee Tech, which should both be winnable, Montana State, which we're about even with (and this one's going to be here), and Colorado State, which is about as "winnable" as an FBS game can be (they lost to Illinois State this year).
And at a great time, breaking in a new QB. I thought Sampson looked really good in his drive. Taking away the Int that is
User avatar
ST_Lawson
Site Admin
Posts: 8247
Joined: Wed Apr 16, 2014 1:15 pm
Location: Macomb, IL
Contact:

GV Dad wrote: And at a great time, breaking in a new QB. I thought Sampson looked really good in his drive. Taking away the Int that is
I agree; Sampson looked great when he was playing. I'm not bothered by the INT personally...against the best FCS defense in the country, late in a game that was pretty much out of hand, young guy trying to make something happen, young o-line.

Put Sampson in a more "standard" situation, with a bit more experience himself and a more experienced o-line...I'm not worried at this point.

I also had a nice chat with his dad before the game at your tailgate.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Scott Lawson - Board Admin
Western Illinois University Alum/Fan/Employee
Member of the Marching Leathernecks - 1996-2000
GV Dad
Posts: 1013
Joined: Sun Oct 15, 2017 4:52 pm

Ya, Mike is a great guy!
User avatar
ST_Lawson
Site Admin
Posts: 8247
Joined: Wed Apr 16, 2014 1:15 pm
Location: Macomb, IL
Contact:

Illinois State's 2019 schedule has been released: https://goredbirds.com/schedule.aspx?schedule=444
The Redbirds play in Macomb (finally) on October 19th. I should be able to start getting the "Conference Schedule Matrix" put together fairly soon to see if we can parse out who/when/where our other conference games are.
Scott Lawson - Board Admin
Western Illinois University Alum/Fan/Employee
Member of the Marching Leathernecks - 1996-2000
leatherneckcountry
Posts: 2312
Joined: Mon May 09, 2016 4:55 pm

Interesting I just noticed UNI plays 3 big sky teams next year.
User avatar
ST_Lawson
Site Admin
Posts: 8247
Joined: Wed Apr 16, 2014 1:15 pm
Location: Macomb, IL
Contact:

ST_Lawson wrote: Thu Oct 18, 2018 2:19 pm Illinois State's 2019 schedule has been released: https://goredbirds.com/schedule.aspx?schedule=444
The Redbirds play in Macomb (finally) on October 19th. I should be able to start getting the "Conference Schedule Matrix" put together fairly soon to see if we can parse out who/when/where our other conference games are.
Actually, strike that...I've now been able to extrapolate our conference schedule next year from the other schedules that have been released. You can view the whole conference schedule here.
Confirmed games are in black and "estimated" games are in grey.

Essentially, we play @ North Alabama on a Thursday night, @ Colorado State (FBS), home against Montana State and Tennessee Tech, then bye week. In conference we should be, if my "calculations" are correct:
vs Missouri State for Homecoming, @ Indiana State, vs Illinois State, @ Youngstown State, vs South Dakota, @ North Dakota State, vs Southern Illinois, @ Northern Iowa
So...home games on 9/14, 9/21, 10/5, 10/19, 11/2, and 11/16. Also, we don't play the last game of the season at home next year (thankfully)...it'll be at UNI.
Actually, once conference season hits, home games every other weekend. Our first home game isn't until September 14th, but once that starts, we don't have more than 2 weeks without a game.

I've updated the first post with this information as well: viewtopic.php?p=5330#p5330
Scott Lawson - Board Admin
Western Illinois University Alum/Fan/Employee
Member of the Marching Leathernecks - 1996-2000
WIU2DC
Posts: 695
Joined: Sat Nov 07, 2015 3:31 pm

Random question, but when UND joins the league will each team (excluding the Dakotas) not play two teams every two years?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Post Reply