How in the hell did these guys lose to Holy Cross?

Buffalo is about to get a very rude awakening. They have been very fortunate in the MAC thus far as they beat EMU with a backup QB, they pounded BG who simply never threatened, they barely squeaked past Miami with a backup QB on a last-second TD, and Toledo blew a 17-point fourth quarter lead as the Rockets had 6 turnovers. To UB's credit, they found ways to win, I'll give them that. But they're up against something much bigger here. Athens has been a house of horrors for Buffalo as they haven't won their in almost 15 years. In UB's last trip to OU, the Bulls entered the game 9-1 overall and a perfect 6-0 in the MAC, and got absolutely DESTROYED by Ohio, 52-17, on a team loaded with stars such as RB's Jarett Patterson and Kevin Marks, QB Tyree Jackson, WR's Anthony Johnson and Kyle Nunn, and a great OL. It didn't matter and it was a complete mismatch blowout. They just crumble and fall apart when they play in Athens. I don't expect to see another blowout type of a win for OU, but Ohio will win and this game will pave the way to Detroit for the Bobcats.

Holy Cross is undefeated. Meanwhile, Ohio barely beat Fordham, and Fordham is otherwise undefeated. For those that believe in comparative scores, maybe we will get some insight into the Ohio-Buffalo game when Fordham and Holy Cross meet this weekend.

Funny is the total disdain for top level FCS programs, just because they are FCS.

Holy Cross is #8

Fordham is #15

I can think of another who has supported TA. :-)

I do know the gap between top level FCS and low level FBS is a lot smaller than people realize.

What I did not know is Holy Cross has been on quite a roll, having been to the FCS Playoffs three straight years. This year should be four.

Anyone know how long Sieh is out or the extent of his shoulder injury?

I don't think there IS a gap.

Nice . . . the background football music was not mixed in as well as last week, but the piece was still very good. Thanks, Russell!

The Bulls have not actually been defensive juggernauts! They give up 6.1ypp, 5.0 ypr, and 7+yppass attempt. Not sure what your point is? Holy Cross rushed for 233 yards vs. Buffalo, and threw for another 238 in only 13 completions and 3 TD's. Costal Carolina rushed for 221 yards at 7.1ypc, and had 283 yards passing.

I think that this depends on exactly what you mean. Is the best FCS conference stronger than the worst FBS conference? No, this is rarely if ever the case but when there is a particularly bad FBS conference it can sometimes be reasonably close. This year the MAC is bad enough that the gap between the MVC and MAC is probably about the same as the gap between the MAC and CUSA and the MWC.

Is the best team in the whole FCS better than the worst team in the whole FBS? Yes, this is always the case and usually by a pretty wide margin.

Are the best, say, 4 teams in the FCS as a whole better than the best 4 teams in the weakest FBS conference? This is more interesting. I think that the answer is sometimes, by a small margin. Would Holy Cross be favored to beat Buffalo if they played again? Almost certainly not. Would they be the favorite if they played in the MAC? No, but not to the extent that if they caught all the breaks that they wouldn't have a chance. A lot of the MAC's problem this year is so many QBs, particularly among the preseason favorites, are having health problems and the MAC title game is going to look like a pillow fight by typical G5 championship game standards and typical MAC title game standards. So this question leans toward the FCS top 4 more than it normally would. Sacramento St. and South Dakota State probably would be the MAC favorite now that Toledo lost and is having QB issues too. Schools like NDSU and Weber St. probably wouldn't be but would be given about as good of a chance as anyone.

Every MAC school has a team they struggle with "scheme-wise." Buffalo struggles with our balance as well. We struggle with CMU historically because they always put us in 3rd and long with aggressive pass-rushes and turnovers.

I do agree this will be a test of a team that can run and throw. I would like to see OU run the 4-3 scheme with a LB as a 5th man on the line. Buffalo saw NIU use zone blocking to get to the edge. If our 3 LBs are behind the DL, Buffalo will get to the second-level and gain 4 yards per carry which will lead to PA Passes down the field. Putting that LB on the edge may help stagnant Buffalo's push against us in the trenches. But the LB has to be wary of the HB sneaking into the flats on PA passes.