Last game time change

The game time for Jacksonville State's final regular season game at Tennessee Tech on Nov. 20 has been changed.

The game, which could lock up the OVC title and complete an undefeated regular season for the Gamecocks, will kick at 4 p.m. It originally was a 6 p.m. kick.

The change was done at the request by the Division I Football Championship Selection Committee, which asked for a game to be considered in any playoff discussion start no later than 4:00 p.m. CT (5 p.m. ET).

It was done so the bracket can be completed and announced in a 30-minute special on ESPNU at 9 a.m. CT Nov. 21 (an earlier announcement than in previous years).

The latest Sports Network projection has JSU as the No. 5 seed, drawing a first-round bye and playing Bethune-Cookman at home in the second round Dec. 4. It also projects a first-round game for Southeast Missouri at Northern Arizona.

Bethune-Cookman currently leads the nation in total offense, scoring and turnover margin, and is second in scoring defense. It is ranked in the top 30 in all 10 NCAA offensive and defensive statistical categories.

Power rankings

The Gamecocks are third in both major national polls, but after their win at UT Martin they slipped nearly out of the top 40 when comparing their offensive and defensive statistical standings with the other teams in the FCS. With a little more time, we'll tweak the numbers to include even more stats.

Here's the top 40 (x-indicates teams ranked in either the Sports Network or Coaches Top 25)

x-B-Cookmn 93
x-W Illinois 207
x-Montana 219
x-Delaware 223
x-SC State 259
x-Villanova 265
x-Liberty 272
Harvard 296
Chattnooga 306
x-N Hampshire 322
x-Wofford 330
x-App State 340
x-Umass 344
x-Wm&Mary 344
x-Montana St 348
x-Penn 348
x-James Madison 362
Jacksonville 364
x-Ga Southern 369
Yale 375
Jackson St 386
Dayton 387
x-SEMO 390
x-SF Austin 398
Furman 399
N Arizona 406
Robt Morris 411
Tennessee St 425
Cent Arkansas 430
Grambling 432
Cent. Conn. 440
Indiana St 446
x-S Illinois 448
Brown 464
Hampton 466
x-UNI 506
x-ND State 519
38. x-Jax State 530
Youngstown St 549
Old Dominion 554

Ex-JSU DL Scott signs with AFL

Former JSU defensive lineman John Scott signed with the New Orleans VooDoo of the new Arena Football League earlier this week. The reborn indoor league starts in March.

Fun with football numbers

It’s a good thing the two major FCS polls are based on winning and losing or Jacksonville State might not enjoy as lofty a position as they do right now.

The Gamecocks are 5-0 and ranked No. 3 in both major polls this week – their highest ranking in the school’s Division I history – but if you compared where they stand statistically on offense and defense, they’d barely be in the top 40.

Applying point values to a team’s position in the 10 major offensive and defensive categories in the weekly NCAA FCS statistics, the Gamecocks would come in 35th with 485 points. They wouldn’t even be the best in the Ohio Valley Conference, trailing Tennessee State (16th, 348 points) and Southeast Missouri (26th, 404).

But statistics can only tell you so much.

Consensus No. 1 Appalachian State is fifth in the Musky Power Rankings (249) and consensus No. 1 Delaware is third (240).

Bethune-Cookman (4-0), ranked in the top 10 in eight of the 10 categories, tops the list this week. The MEAC school leads the nation in total and scoring offense, and is second in rushing, pass efficiency and pass efficiency defense.

For what it’s worth, here’s this week’s the top 40. We’ll try to keep up with it each week now that the season has hit the mid-point.


Bethune-Cookman 88
W Illinois 202
Delaware 240
SC State 242
App St 249
Montana 258
Villanova 274
Liberty 282
Ga. Southern 294
Wofford 300
N Arizona 309
Montana St. 311
New Hamp 323
James Madison 335
UMass 342
Tenn. St 348
Harvard 353
Dayton 356
J'ville 380
Wm & Mary 380
Cent Arkansas 381
Chattanooga 391.5
Brown 393
Jackson St. 401
Robt Morris 401
SE Missouri 404
N. Iowa 420
Stephen F Austin 423
Penn 429
Old Dominion 433
Cent. Conn 437
S. Illinois 469
Furman 474
Hampton 481
JAX STATE 485
Youngstown St 529
Missouri St 530
ND State 533
Maine 534
Alabama St 540